2019 Alpha Flash Grief

ippielb · Apr 18, 2019

Got the letter in the mail in March, got the flash done, and not happy with the sled after the flash.

Riding around 7,000 feet, i am now barely pulling 8000rpm.
Every time i stop it is in high idle 2600+ for at least a minute, regardless if i did a pull or not.
Fuel consumption has increased drastically.

I have 1170 miles on my Alpha, and prior to the update i was regularly well below everyone else in fuel usage. Now after the update i am using more fuel then everyone, i am riding less miles(camera guy), and not riding as hard.

Only mod i have is a Munster Finger Throttle.

summ8rmk · Apr 18, 2019

Same elevation, i also lost some top end RPM. Was 8,200-8,300. Now 8,000 but track speed is still 45-50mph on the firm snow. That's damn good for a stock 165.
Fuel consumption still around 6mpg.
High/erratic idle is a bit annoying but not un manageable.
My sled starts quicker now.

Legends ZX2 SR

ltmfb · Apr 18, 2019

summ8rmk said:
Same elevation, i also lost some top end RPM. Was 8,200-8,300. Now 8,000 but track speed is still 45-50mph on the firm snow. That's damn good for a stock 165.
Fuel consumption still around 6mpg.
High/erratic idle is a bit annoying but not un manageable.
My sled starts quicker now.

Legends ZX2 SR

same experience here with mine. High idle, not much top end loss. Haven't tracked MPG, but on par with other machines that I ride with.

summ8rmk · Apr 18, 2019

I have yet to get oil ratio since the flash.
Only 3 rides. I'll fill oil up tonight and get a ruff estimate. Won't be exact till i fill up with fuel. I expect to be around 65:1 still.

Legends ZX2 SR

ippielb · Apr 18, 2019

Mine is a noticeable amount of top end power lost. High idle is an issue, and usually still backfires when turned off once it does idle down to 1700rpm. My fuel consumption went from roughly 15 liters a day, to 20+ liters a day on similar amounts of riding. My sled is a 154", and was in roughly 12-14" of fresh snow, on top of a solid base, gentle slopes, 8,000 rpm, with a peak of 8,150 i seen once when track basically came out of the snow. Paying attention off of a gopro clip.

CO 2.0 · Apr 19, 2019

Measured both my sleds twice now. One with reflash one without. 55:1 and 50:1. I add oil to the tank now before every ride. Don't get any bogs adding more oil even in warm temps.

bcsnowdog · Apr 19, 2019

Ask your dealer i was told a new flash is out to fix the first one.

Barcode · Apr 19, 2019

Our Alpha was a high idle mess form the first ride. 2400-2600 When started cold or warm. But ran strong, loads of fun. But zero backshift. This really was the part I hated. Let off a throttle and sled would just coast forever.
Got the flash done. And was much worse. Mid range disappeared and felt like a tractor. I ended up getting the Precision flash done. and added a Speedwerks clutch kit. DAMN!!!! Its FANTASTIC now. Thanks to MTN_VIPER for the recommendation.

Hardass · Apr 19, 2019

i just called my dealer theres no fix hi idle is normal they said.

Barcode · Apr 19, 2019

Hardass said:
i just called my dealer theres no fix hi idle is normal they said.

Higher idle is normal. My Doo 850 idles at 1200 All day long. Cat as per manual is supposed to idle at 1750

Id say 1750 is high idle.

ippielb · Apr 20, 2019

Barcode said:
Our Alpha was a high idle mess form the first ride. 2400-2600 When started cold or warm. But ran strong, loads of fun. But zero backshift. This really was the part I hated. Let off a throttle and sled would just coast forever.
Got the flash done. And was much worse. Mid range disappeared and felt like a tractor. I ended up getting the Precision flash done. and added a Speedwerks clutch kit. DAMN!!!! Its FANTASTIC now. Thanks to MTN_VIPER for the recommendation.

This is my exact issue, I noticed it immediately when I got the flash done, I thought my engine braking got worse, I thought my secondary was worn out... I didn’t realize the high idle would effect the engine braking. I had a difficult time sometimes getting it to engage coming down hills, usually I’d just end up getting going faster. Not ideal in spring snow.

Before the update it would engine brake very easily, always felt in control. Only had my sled idle up 1 time before the flash. Never backfired ever. Now it see,s every second time I turn it off it backfires.

The precision flash sounds like the answer, but I’m going to wait to see if cat can figure this out with this new flash that was mentioned. My season is over now...

Boondockingak · Apr 24, 2019

Dealer said they were going to update mine and I said “mmm, no thank you”. They had me sign a waiver. I told him my sled rips like crazy and that I’m in no hurry to change that.

ltmfb · Apr 29, 2019

This weekend was the first time the engine brake and high idle really affected my riding enjoyment.

Downhill even blipping throttle the engine would stay stupid high in the RPMs...would only engage clutch to get out of the high rpms when i was nearly stopped at the bottom of the hill.

Season is nearly over, so hopefully they'll have a flash fix soon.

jakey-boy · Apr 30, 2019

ltmfb said:
This weekend was the first time the engine brake and high idle really affected my riding enjoyment.

Downhill even blipping throttle the engine would stay stupid high in the RPMs...would only engage clutch to get out of the high rpms when i was nearly stopped at the bottom of the hill.

Season is nearly over, so hopefully they'll have a flash fix soon.

If you guys don't want the engine brake its easy to get around grab brake, give a fair amount of gas as you let off the brake. Personally I like the excessive engine brake sometimes but when I don't need it I get out of it.

kanedog · Apr 30, 2019

jakey-boy said:
If you guys don't want the engine brake its easy to get around grab brake, give a fair amount of gas as you let off the brake. Personally I like the excessive engine brake sometimes but when I don't need it I get out of it.

Yea that works really good coming down a steep 500ft descent, trying to control speed and then you have to go wfo as you let off the brake. Now instead of going 40mph you now rocket to 60mph.
That clutch characteristic is both wrong and dangerous.

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

jakey-boy · Apr 30, 2019

kanedog said:
Yea that works really good coming down a steep 500ft descent, trying to control speed and then you have to go wfo as you let off the brake. Now instead of going 40mph you now rocket to 60mph.
That clutch characteristic is both wrong and dangerous.

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

If it is that steep why dont you want the engine brake that is holding you slow? Either the hill is open and you want to go fast or it isn't and you want to crawl.. I haven't really seen where I dont want one of these two options.

kanedog · Apr 30, 2019

jakey-boy said:
If it is that steep why dont you want the engine brake that is holding you slow? Either the hill is open and you want to go fast or it isn't and you want to crawl.. I haven't really seen where I dont want one of these two options.

Because my ground speed is 40mph and the track speed is 20mph. Now the track lugs are filled with snow and my speed is increasing. On steep descents you need the ability to pump the brakes to help clear the track and you need to be able use the throttle.
Having the clutch locked in low gear is dangerous. Imagine your seeprise when you need to outrun an avy but the clutch is locked in low gear giving a top speed of 20mph and an avy is travelling at 50mph. You could die.
But hey, fill yer boots. I have a team boss secondary for sale if ya want. 40 miles on it.

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jakey-boy · Apr 30, 2019

All I am saying is "This is gonna get someone killed" is a bit dramatic.

If I am in an avy I am not letting the engine brake hold me. I am getting it in gear and going as fast as I can while I maintain control. Also you are acting like the only option is full throttle clear down the hill. It literally takes a blip of the throttle for a split second to get it out of gear then back on the brake and you can coast or pump the brakes and let the track turn in a higher gear just like you would any other sled. If you cant blip the throttle and stay under 60 mph you need more practice. Its alright if you havent learned to ride it. Spend your money replacing parts etc instead of actually trying what people are telling you... I don't need another boss secondary I have two working great on both sleds.

In neither line on your pic would I not want as much engine braking as possible so I don't follow what you are showing with that. When it gets interesting is when you are sliding into a tree and need to get on the gas to get it turned and it is stuck in engine brake mode. Even then: brake, gas, brake again and bam success. Did this exact thing two weekends ago.

kanedog · Apr 30, 2019

Hey bud I've been riding big mountains only and clutching for decades. Thanks for the lesson though. When gravity is taking me down a 500ft 45 degree slope, I will be going too fast to blip the throttle to kick the clutch out of lockup. At times, my life/riding crew depends on being able to brake. I have experienced holding the cat wfo trying to get it out of low gear. It works on gentler slopes and by applying the brakes to lockup and hitting it wfo it sometimes comes out. In sketchy situations, it usually doesn't. Sometimes I need throttle to shoot over a crevasse or riding over drop off going downhill. This clutch doesn't give me that insta throttle cuz it's locked in low. This is where it gets scary.
I don't have time on big stuff to be messing with throttle and brake to overcome a bad design.
You arent getting it and I've wasted enuff time. Dog out. Happy riding.

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ltmfb · Apr 30, 2019

Isn't just about avy run away...when you're going 20mph at 6500 rpms and you have to bump the throttle to get it down and manageable for the rest of the descent, it's not fun, or safe.

2019 Alpha Flash Grief

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