2017 MC steering HARD!

jerherr · Jan 9, 2017

Hey all, anyone else's mountain cats turning really hard? I compared my '17 mountain cat to a '17 limited and it's night and day difference between ease of steering on his and mine.

Is drop and roll making that big of a difference?

Factory skis - I want to switch to powder pros but they make the steering even harder.
Shock setup:
Fronts - 55/100
Front skid - 55/120
Rear skid - 115/155

kiliki · Jan 9, 2017

put the front end in the air and make sure you don't have anything binding on a full side to side turning.

Frostbite · Jan 9, 2017

Maybe let your limiter strap out a notch and go up a hair on your front track shock pressure.

boondocker97 · Jan 9, 2017

Your main chamber pressures seem a little low to me. I was riding a 2011 M8 of a friends one time and it felt sluggish and didn't want to turn well. Check the shocks and added some air all the way around and was noticeably better. The whole thing was just riding too low.

jerherr · Jan 9, 2017

Comparisons..

Anyone else with a '17 MC noticing the same thing?

sno*jet · Jan 9, 2017

mine feels good. factory setting on limiters is all way out i believe.
once you get it figured out pump that rear shock up a bit if you like hillclimbs. im at 125/200 now. adjust with all weight off or settings will be off.

jakey-boy · Jan 9, 2017

Front skid shock needs stiffened up but check to see if you have bent tie rods? Mountain cat normally steers easier than the limited in deep snow especially.

jerherr · Jan 9, 2017

thanks guys.

Tie rods are straight.

I'm reluctant to stiffen up the rear at this point because that should give me even more ski pressure.

Frostbite · Jan 9, 2017

Think of the front of your track as the balance point of your sled. If you drop the pressure on the front track shock, the front of your sled drops and you add more ski pressure. If you add more pressure the the front track shock, you lessen ski pressure and ease your steering ability.

Raising the rear track shock pressure will raise the rear of the sled and add more ski pressure, so I wouldn't go there.

Suzzy-Q · Jan 9, 2017

Ice buildup in the steering system behind those rubber boots on the tie rods?

jerherr · Jan 9, 2017

Sled is melted out.

and I agree, i am going to raise the front skid shock 10-15 psi and see how that goes and I'll look into letting the limiter straps out a notch.

Not touching the rear skid shock at this point.

bopper · Jan 9, 2017

I find mine super easy to steer the wife won't let me ride it when she comes along as it's so much easier then the 14

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Hewhospends · Jan 9, 2017

I've road a buddy's MC several times and I would say it steers easier than my 16 ltd. I think the dropped chain case makes it even easier to adjust weight front to back and vise versa with the front skid shock. My 2 cents...

jerherr · Jan 10, 2017

Dang, sounds like I've got some skid set up issues then perhaps.

What are you running for shock pressures?

I have a turbo and mountain fit hood so there shouldn't be a question of added weight in the front as those should equal out..

Chewy22 · Jan 10, 2017

jerherr said:
Dang, sounds like I've got some skid set up issues then perhaps.

What are you running for shock pressures?

I have a turbo and mountain fit hood so there shouldn't be a question of added weight in the front as those should equal out..

How tight do you have the top bushing? The one above the pipe, two 10mm nuts. It should just be snug. If cranked to tight that will cause hard steering.

Insaneboltrounder/sjohns · Jan 10, 2017

All things being equal , a d and r should take pressure off the skis

F_ast · Jan 12, 2017

Do you ever get your sled thawed out?

One thing people dont mention often is the amount of snow and ice that accumulate in the steering box. After a day of fresh ooe, my steering box is usually jammed full of snow that melts down to an iceblock and locks up my steering. The injestion is terrible.

mtncat600 · Mar 11, 2017

did you find the problem to your hard steering?

sno*jet · Mar 12, 2017

mine was hard to turn a while back. i jacked up the front when i got home and noticed the boots were dragging on the tie rods a LOT. i think it was just the right condition where the rubber was sticky or something. i rubbed the tie rods with light coating of white grease and problem solved.

jdsauter · Jan 28, 2018

2017 mtn cat

Did you ever get the steering figured out.. Mine turns hard too. I rode a 2017 850 skidoo today, it was like power steering.

2017 MC steering HARD!

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