Got a 96' 583 mxz and it is terrible on the trail, even frightening at times the way it tracks. I have had 3 sets of skis on it now, put on an M-10, everything is aligned properly but it is all I can do to keep this thing going straight down the trail. the other guys I ride with have yamahas and there sleds do not do this. Does anyone have any experience with this or found any solutions to this problem. I am tempted to just sell the sled but it has run flawlessly for 7 years and still looks like new. Anyone?

Assuming you've checked the front end components for slop, bends, breaks, and proper ski alignment, it sounds to me like you have way too much weight on the skis. Most guys call the resulting problem darting. To cure, you need to transfer some weight to the front of the rear suspension. This will help the front end as the front of the skid will now help support the weight of the front of the sled. Do this by increasing tension on the front skid spring. This will throw the calibration of the rear spring all out of whack, so expect to do some tuning there as part of this to get sag back in to specs.

i had a 1997 MXZ670- too much weight on skis...let off on the rear end tension and it will go much better

Originally posted by dave583@Aug 20 2003, 08:59 AM
I have had 3 sets of skis on it now,... everything is aligned properly
Skis are toed out 3/16", right? Proper alignment does not mean straight.
Wait, what skis are on it? If you've moved up to a dual-carbide, they should be aligned with no toe, I believe.

Hey mich, will letting out the limiter strap help this? I've done all kinds of monkeying aroung with this. I have a m-10 on it now. And how do I remove the slop out of the ski's? Theres definatley some side to side movement there but I figured that is unavoidable. I have aligned everything perfectly. 1/4" toe out. What about increasing the spring preload on the skis, will that help take weight off?

Dave, the limiter should be all the way out, as loose as the factory adj. holes will allow. Tightening that only restricts suspension travel under most circumstances. M10 is kind of different on this because it's almost fully coupled. When you pull up or hit a bump with one end, both ends react equally. So when you pull up on that strap, you're pulling up on BOTH ends. That could be one of your problems.

You're right on the amount of slop in the front end. Most sleds, other than new, will have some. That's a judgement call you'll have to make. You might want to go back through it with the weight off the skis to see if you have some excessive movement some place.

Front suspension spring preload should be left fairly loose on a trail sled. Tight springs there usually result in your inside ski lifting too easily. Your chassis is already pretty well known for that already. I wouldn't go there...

AL

Thanks Al. Youre right the inside ski lift is notorious. I have since installed a widening kit and believe it or not the m-10 helps with that too. All in all it has been a great sled but the poor tracking has been my biggest complaint and I'm tired of dumping more money into products that dont live up to their expectations.

The $20 PCS strips that skidoo sells have eliminated the darting on the zx chassis sleds equipped with the flex skis. They were originally equipped on the touring and formula deluxe sleds I believe. Its the best $20 youll ever spend.

Will those PCS Strips fit on most plastic skis or only flex?

I just installed an easy steer kit from Shade Tree Powersports and they are pretty generic. They will not work on dual runners, including the twin runner carbides, but they look like they will work for most single runner setups. They come with tiny rivets, most likely for steel skis. I just had to improvise a bit to make them work on my precision skis. I am anxious to see how well they actually work. A breeze to install.

J