Camso Ski Trail Manners

ktm131rob · Jan 16, 2018

I know this subject is beat to death but I had to ride out yesterday on nicely groomed trails for about 20 miles and it sucked. Its never been great but I have kind of dealt with it. But it sucks and I want to fix it I have a buddy that I chased thru the trails on a timbersled 120 and he rails the corners. My front end darts all over and I cant get it to work. Bike has the proper front forks as well.

I was thinking about buying a timbersled ski? Any thoughts or tips?

Thanks

M5- · Jan 16, 2018

You are right, the trail is not the strong suit of the ski. I think the issue is the dual keel design vs the single keel most companies use. It creates that sketchy zone going rail to rail which is not a comfortable feeling. I've been living with it as well. I like the ski in the deep but it blows on the trail. Some guys I know have built deeper outside keels more Yeti like and they say it helps. I haven't done that yet but I may. I'm also thinking of building a new spindle that I can use my Yeti ski on but keeping the Camso fork clamps. I've been trying riding faster which helps but if that ski lets go on me its going to be ugly. I want to give Camso the benefit of the doubt but its one of the things on the Camso kit which needs improvement IMO.

M5

byeatts · Jan 16, 2018

ktm131rob said:
I know this subject is beat to death but I had to ride out yesterday on nicely groomed trails for about 20 miles and it sucked. Its never been great but I have kind of dealt with it. But it sucks and I want to fix it I have a buddy that I chased thru the trails on a timbersled 120 and he rails the corners. My front end darts all over and I cant get it to work. Bike has the proper front forks as well.

I was thinking about buying a timbersled ski? Any thoughts or tips?

Thanks

there are errors in the Camso strut setup. their setup has the front of the skid an inch off the ground and it hardly sits on a flat floor without tipping over, Set the skid flat, The ski design will not excel on trail and better suited in the deep.

Motogeek33 · Jan 16, 2018

byeatts said:
there are errors in the Camso strut setup. their setup has the front of the skid an inch off the ground and it hardly sits on a flat floor without tipping over, Set the skid flat, The ski design will not excel on trail and better suited in the deep.

I agree that the ski does much better in the deep snow than down the trail, for sure. But Camso's setup instructions say to set the strut rod length so the track sits flat and the bike/kit will sit just fine without tipping over. I'm not sure where you saw that they said to set it with the front of the track off the ground. Unless you're talking about the error in the instructions for some bikes where the spacer was in the wrong position? Anyways, it's not great going down a trail with frozen ruts, but I live with it knowing that the most important thing is how well it handles the fresh snow.

PalousePoo · Jan 16, 2018

Curious, what TS ski does your buddy have? The new wide ARO ski or the previous 10" one.

Keystone · Jan 16, 2018

I cut 1/2" off of strut to lift rear of track up about1/4". Toy with the front forks. Up or down depending on the bike. Mine is flush with the tripple clamp and i can hold 5th gr. Pinned on the groomed trail. Its not the ski. There is a sweet spot. You just have to find it.

ktm131rob · Jan 16, 2018

So he has a 15 kit which is my comparison, I have half inch of the strut and the bike sits perfectly flat. I have built a customs set of forks for the bike so it sits properly in the stroke. I suppose I will play with it more but if I can’t find a solution this thing is going down the road deep snow or not a lot of places you have to ride in and it’s not that fun vs how good it is in the step and deep

wwillf01 · Jan 16, 2018

Motogeek33 said:
I agree that the ski does much better in the deep snow than down the trail, for sure. But Camso's setup instructions say to set the strut rod length so the track sits flat and the bike/kit will sit just fine without tipping over. I'm not sure where you saw that they said to set it with the front of the track off the ground. Unless you're talking about the error in the instructions for some bikes where the spacer was in the wrong position? Anyways, it's not great going down a trail with frozen ruts, but I live with it knowing that the most important thing is how well it handles the fresh snow.

For my 14 ktm I shorten the rod as much as possible... For me that works the best everywhere... Basically remove as much skin pressure as possible... I think the directions are flawed a bit.

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byeatts · Jan 16, 2018

Motogeek33 said:
I agree that the ski does much better in the deep snow than down the trail, for sure. But Camso's setup instructions say to set the strut rod length so the track sits flat and the bike/kit will sit just fine without tipping over. I'm not sure where you saw that they said to set it with the front of the track off the ground. Unless you're talking about the error in the instructions for some bikes where the spacer was in the wrong position? Anyways, it's not great going down a trail with frozen ruts, but I live with it knowing that the most important thing is how well it handles the fresh snow.

yes their spacer setup was incorrect on the 18 sx 450,s

powdermuncher · Jan 16, 2018

When I started down the one ski trail many years ago we all played around with the Simons 10 inch ski with dual runner's , they just can not go down a trail straight unless you lean the bike over to one side and ride crucket down the trail. Never could figure out why Camso went that way. One enter runner with a large triple point carbide is the answer for trails , just waiting for mine for the new aro ski.
Even the dual runners from TS suck .

ktm131rob · Jan 17, 2018

powdermuncher said:
When I started down the one ski trail many years ago we all played around with the Simons 10 inch ski with dual runner's , they just can not go down a trail straight unless you lean the bike over to one side and ride crucket down the trail. Never could figure out why Camso went that way. One enter runner with a large triple point carbide is the answer for trails , just waiting for mine for the new aro ski.
Even the dual runners from TS suck .

SO who thinks a ts ski would work, or what ski there has to be a good answer.

powdermuncher · Jan 17, 2018

So far the old timber sled ski with 3 triple point carbides is hands down the best on the trail.
I am on the waiting list for the first run of triple points for the new aero ski , it should be as good or better on the trail and for sure better in the pow than the old 10 Inch.

Hawkster · Jan 17, 2018

There isn't a faster face planting ski than this old girl . Still my favorite for ripping everything but a trail

Really want to try a Camso because I think it might be the next ripper .

Throndson · Jan 18, 2018

I think the Milled UHMW spindle is superior to all alternatives in regards to bending fork tubes and bending spindles etc. I do wish it was compatible with other skis though.
Hopefully Camso makes it compatible with the yeti ski next year.
Ski pressure does have a lot to do with the handling.
I'm still struggling to get mine dialed this year.

ktm131rob · Jan 19, 2018

Throndson said:
I think the Milled UHMW spindle is superior to all alternatives in regards to bending fork tubes and bending spindles etc. I do wish it was compatible with other skis though.
Hopefully Camso makes it compatible with the yeti ski next year.
Ski pressure does have a lot to do with the handling.
I'm still struggling to get mine dialed this year.

I like the track, that is really about it, mind you this is my second season on this as well the traction is incredible and it handles great in the steep and deep trees etc... Which is what I do 90% but now that the appeal of just being on a snow bike has faded I want to fine tune my set up. After trail handling I want to screw with the suspension to see if i can get it to jump a little nicer. When it comes to setup I have a set of custom forks and I have the strut cut with the "standard spacer set up" so the bike is not nose down. I am fairly sure I can get a TS ski on that spindle. It will not bolt on but I think i can machine a bracket that will adapt the TS mount to the Camso mount.

I rode my buddies TS back to back yesterday. My bike climbs way better and is more stable. but the TS is not bad. On the trail its night and day. So something will be done or the thing will collect dust int the garage and I will hop on my sled.

wwillf01 · Jan 19, 2018

I know at least on Yamahas we have been able to adjust where they are even jumpers and not nose heavy by adjust the rod to almost no threads... For me the trail handling is way better than my 15 lt....

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M5- · Jan 19, 2018

wwillf01 said:
I know at least on Yamahas we have been able to adjust where they are even jumpers and not nose heavy by adjust the rod to almost no threads... For me the trail handling is way better than my 15 lt....

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Agreed my TS LT pushes really hard and always seems to want to be flat on the ground the monorail Camso is much more like riding on wheels. I am going to fab up some new outer skegs more vertical like same as the Yet has. I think that will smarten it up some. With the dual keel system its always going to pick up twice as many ruts and such on the trail. I'm learning to trust the ski more now and it really benefits from riding it hard bank to bank on the trail. As my buddy says you need to ride the track on the Camso and feel what its doing and forget about the ski. I'm not a big fan of trying to go down the trail in a straight line on it as the kit wants to rail over anyways so I just let it go where it wants to. It would be nice to ride down the trail with one hand because at the end of the day I don't always feel like riding one last 30 minute moto.

M5

gsled04 · Jan 21, 2018

Im running a 2017 kit that handled great on the trail last season. Added the 2018 updates and the straight line handling went to sh!t. Reinstalled the 2017 carbides and all is good again. The Woodies carbides in the 2018 kit corner a little better but suck in a straight line, especially if you get on a trail that has been groomed down tight and you are cutting thru to the gravel. Scary to say the least !

Snowbikenewbie · Jan 21, 2018

Does anyone have any input on the limiter cable adjustment? I’ve just changed mine to the longer length for trail riding instead of deep snow hoping for less darting on the trail. I know from experience on an rmk that adjusting the limited strap took ski pressure down and allowed easier side hilling and less ski pressure. I haven’t been able to test ride yet but will do so this weekend. I also moved the cam to the center position stiffening up the rear skid a bit as I’m not the smallest rider. I’ve been pretty happy overall but wouldn’t mind a little more stable trail manners. Kind of sketchy unless the snow is super soft. I also hate trail riding but unfortunately many great riding areas are accessed by them.

dirtnerd · Jan 22, 2018

ktm131rob said:
I know this subject is beat to death but I had to ride out yesterday on nicely groomed trails for about 20 miles and it sucked. Its never been great but I have kind of dealt with it. But it sucks and I want to fix it I have a buddy that I chased thru the trails on a timbersled 120 and he rails the corners. My front end darts all over and I cant get it to work. Bike has the proper front forks as well.

I was thinking about buying a timbersled ski? Any thoughts or tips?

Thanks

That is the exact opposite of my experience, it handles great on the trails. No drama for me. If there are some serious sled ski ruts it will track those, but talking to my buddies with the 18TSs they say theirs do the same thing. Perhaps you might want to play with setup a little? Perhaps I don't know what good or bad is, it just feels like a dirt bike to me going down a trail.

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