Please help! Advice for left hand side hilling

T.O.T. · Jan 3, 2013

I obviously can't go around making right hand turns all the time so I need some advice from all of you ladies that have been riding mch longer then myself. Though I haven't been riding sleds long I have raced quads, dirt bikes, and asphalt track bikes. I am used to having to get off the side of something using my body albeit the stuff I am used to is a lot narrower. I seem to be having a lot of trouble on the left hand side of my sled. I am not very tall and don't have a lot of weight to throw off the side of my sled. Even to the right to really get it leaned and digging I have to use my mountain bar to jerk it over. Every time I am getting stuck it is in deep snow when I am having to get to the left side of my sled and ususally on a hill where the sled is leaned away from me. I feel like by the time I get ahold of the throttle all my upper body weight is on the wrong side of the sled and I can't throw it all to the left. We have discussed options like a riser to make my bars taller so I don't have to lean so far back over my sled to grab the throttle and also a left handed throttle. No one in the group I ride with has faith in a left handed throttle even though a lot of the girls we run into use them.

What advice can you give me as far as what else I can try with my body or what performance mods have helped you the most? Please help!

Murph · Jan 3, 2013

What sled are you riding?

T.O.T. · Jan 3, 2013

2004 Rev 600

144 track

Montana powderhound · Jan 4, 2013

Best thing is Rt foot in your left footwell( wrong foot forward ) both hands on grips and give it major gas and pull also turn skis away from you so they are not grabbing snow, This will allow front to turn uphill but make sure and hang on ,as one bump will unload you and your sled will do a ghost ride down the hill. If you want a left throttle then buy one. for us short people ,,they do work . especially in a tight spot where throttle is not an option on the right but on the left . they can be dangerous if you or a friend forget its there and grab throttle instead of brake. They do take practice to use and you can fall off with a lefty as well. The guys here can laugh all they want but My partners and I have been riding for over twenty years and we all have them, although I CAN RIDE without, I prefer not to. We ride very steep terrain with a lot of very tight trees to get to the sweet spots and you cant break a clean trail by pointing and gunning. the first guy gets through and theres usually a stuckfest that follows because of a he man without a lefty. I am a guy and I dont care what these guys think. riding isnt much fun for a girl if your fighting it. Most people riding without a lefty are way taller ( Leverage )or they dont really ride . or if they do they make such a mess that nobody else will follow and in some places there is no other way thru the trees . My advice !!! Good luck and enjoy yourself.

Montana powderhound · Jan 4, 2013

Oh and we ride with my buddies wife every weekend and she wont ride without either. she is very athletic and in good shape . dirtbikes and every thing else. and she rides with us guys every week.

T.O.T. · Jan 4, 2013

Unfortunatly a few bad riders have ruined the left hand throttle for me. The guys in the group I ride with have pretty much said they won't ride with me if I get one.... I guess they would rather get me unstuck on the side of steep hills and such. And trust me when I get stuck it's a good one! :face-icon-small-win Right now we are looking into just getting my bar height up so that I don't have to lean so far but I don't want to put a bunch of money into risers and other stuff only to find out I don't like the way it feels. I have a 7in rise as is and my arms are almost straight. I feel like I need another 2in but of course the guys tell me they don't even ride with that much rise. I pointed out their arms are longer..... I am looking into finding some girls to ride with since anatomically we are so much different. It seems the guys just won't ever get it and I am not a girl that will ever be happy on the trail or sitting at the bottom of the hill.

mtnjunkie · Jan 4, 2013

First I'd start with the sled, do a few things to make it handle a little better. I used to ride a rev 600 144 and stock i think they are hard to ride. Take off the sway bar, no question about that, it's miserable on those sleds. The stock shocks will be usable without it, but not great. Try to upgrade your shocks when you can, I use fox floats and get them valved for my weight, height and why type of riding I do. It really is a huge difference over just having stock setup floats. But you can get by with stock shocks and no sway for a while, the shocks just wear out faster.

Keep the front shocks soft, and your front track shock soft and turn your springs down. You might need to change that for different snow, but while you learn to get the sled over it will make it all collapse easier.

Also, the stock skidoo skis are garbage I think. I have a very hard time gettin or holding an edge with them, on any sled. My favorites are powder pros, they make it easy to pull over and hold. The keel is aggressive, some don't like that but I do. Basically try a ski with more keel and the outer edge higher up, flat skis are hard to carve with I think. The polaris skis are nice and less aggressive, might work for you too.

Try that and then do what the posts above say. The better your sled responds the easier it will be.

T.O.T. · Jan 4, 2013

When we bought this sled for me the front end was totalled so we had already replaced shocks though I am not sure what brand are on it. We removed the sway bars first thing and I believe that I have Simmons skis on it now. Glad to know that we were on the right track as far as that goes! I did request the other night that we do some adjustments to the suspension so maybe that will make a difference. I think after slaughtering my NUN on Sunday turning left to avoid a stump they are a little more interested in giving me a hand with this. Leaned as hard as I could with my upper body stretched across to reach the throttle but couldn't get the sled to grab and it just skated sideways into the stump. I now have the NUN with all the added brackets and plates to make it beefier.

Thanks for all the input! Keep it coming as this is gonna be my backup for the guys to read! LOL :bounce:

mtnjunkie · Jan 4, 2013

If you're talking about having problems turning left with both skis on the ground, or are you also talking about carving a turn to the left? For the slower turns, keeping both skis on the ground, a lefty would help. I have issues with that too. The guys that weight twice as much can weight the boards and turn much easier. Sometimes I am hanging/ dragging off the left side to try and get weight out there. A lefty is good for those situations, I used to have one and never had any accidents with it. You can always leave the pin in it for most of the time or if anyone else gets on the sled.

T.O.T. · Jan 4, 2013

I am mostly having trouble when carving up steep inclines when the sled will get a little off camber and leaned away from me. I can not for the life of me get it back onto the left side! Usually I slow up enough to stand up and try to jump on my boards and at that point I am stuck. I also have trouble from a standstill. I really do think a left hand throttle would be the trick but since the guys are so adamant that I not have one I figured we can exhaust all other options and the bf's wallet before i say " I told you so" LOL!

mtnjunkie · Jan 4, 2013

So are you sitting down until you feel you're in trouble? Always stand up and be ready to jump back and forth. If you see a hill you might have trouble with, get in wrong foot forward position or both feet on uphill board. Don't wait until you're in trouble, go into the hill in the correct position to give you the most control. Have you practiced this on flat ground? Go into a meadow and practice holding the sled on one ski in a straight line, practice throttle control so you can keep it straight and maybe half throttle. Try this with both feet on one side, standing astride the sled, and wrong foot forward. Throttle timing and control is important. Where do you live?

T.O.T. · Jan 4, 2013

I don't ever sit lol. I have tried what you are describing in a meadow and still have a good bit of trouble. Mainly the guys trying to show me tho and it is so easy for them. I am in Helena, MT

T.O.T. · Jan 4, 2013

I still have stock clutching so there isn't a lot of low end power and I do have to compress the throttle paddle almost halfway to get it to engage. That may be part of my problem as well

mtnjunkie · Jan 4, 2013

It could be, having clutches respond quickly so you can pop the throttle a bit and then let off might help. Can anyone do clutch work for you? Clean them, see if anything needs replaced, change springs?

T.O.T. · Jan 4, 2013

Since the front end is torn apart right now I will have them look at that. Any suggestions on what can be done with stock clutching? I have thought about a Dynamo Joe kit but wanted to learn to ride it first.

WYsteph · Jan 4, 2013

I have a thought on bar height. Everyone is different but my sweet spot for bar height is below my waist so I just have bend my knees a hair to be in postion.

I use to ride with tall bars thinking it would make things easier. What I found was that yes it was easier to pull the sled over but the sled also had a ton of leverage on me. If I hit a rough spot on a sidehill I would get the slingshot-ed down the hill. Also think shoulder damage from trying to wrestle my bars instead of riding the whole sled.

As for the going to the left issue.... practice, practice, practice. Until you can get your sled on its edge on a whim both sides there will be issues. It takes time, the wrong foot forward postion is your best friend, counter steering, and thottle control. Strength shouldn't be a big issue, yeah it makes it easier if you are 200lbs, but even at half that if you counter steer, use your throttle, and get into the correct postion it should be easy and just naturally come over on you.

The schooled video series is a good watch.

T.O.T. · Jan 4, 2013

What is the schooled video series?

WYsteph · Jan 4, 2013

http://www.schooledfilms.com

agalen · Jan 4, 2013

I would agree with the schooled suggestion. They go through the thought process of why you don't need a left hand throttle, mountain bar, or a riser on your handlebars. the real key is getting the countersteer down along with wrong foot forward technique...this allows the sled to do all the work with just a little bit of rider input.

Mevv · Jan 4, 2013

When i first started shreddin the Boyz, they had me hop on theirs, sitting in front hanging on2 the mountain bar, while they carved up the mountain and dropping off bluffs and what not. Thats when i really caught on2 the technique of leaning and counter steering as well as powering in. I used to struggle alot trying to get places following them. Im 5'3 and 120 pounds and shred with the Boyz no problem now!!

Please help! Advice for left hand side hilling

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