850 RMK setup for 13 year old

[KhaosRipcord]

I picked up a pair of leftover (new) 2022 Matryx RMK Khaos 850 155s. One is for me, the other I want to setup so my son can learn to ride. It's also a buddy/backup sled. Anyway, I want to temporarily tame down the 850 power until he learns the fundamentals. I've heard folks say put a hose clamp on the handlebar to limit throttle and/or tune down the clutches to limit his ability to get into trouble until he gets more proficient. Curious on anyone's realworld experience or recommendation in the best way to do this. We will start him on trails and simple meadows then work his way up.

 

[volcano buster]

How much does the kid weigh?

 

[KhaosRipcord]

How much does the kid weigh?

150 lbs

 

[revrider07]

What has he been riding? Seen a 12 year old blow a corner on an 850 this year at west Yellowstone wasn’t a very good deal search and rescue were Needed.

 

[KhaosRipcord]

Yeah. That's the point of the question. Best way to limit power until he gets more proficient. He has ridden a 550 trail sled in the past. This sled exists...in my garage right next to mine. So getting a 650 or Evo or whatever is not an option right now. I'm looking for the safest most effective way to tame it down for him based on anyone elses real world experience.

 

[couch]

That's a lot of sled to start with ....big difference/ jump from a 550 trail sled ... In most respects likely far more sled than required esp if relatively new to sport and considering age ....not saying you can't get hurt on a 550 but the 850 is about 3x the power (top of the food chain excepting boost) so I'd suggest an intermediate sled for now ....

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[KhaosRipcord]

That's a lot of sled to start with ....big difference/ jump from a 550 trail sled ... In most respects likely far more sled than required esp if relatively new to sport and considering age ....not saying you can't get hurt on a 550 but the 850 is about 3x the power (top of the food chain excepting boost) so I'd suggest an intermediate sled for now ....

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Understood. That isn't changing in the immediate future so this is what I'm working with. For reference I ride at 10k-12k ft in Colorado. A 850 NA is at best an intermediate level sled at that elevation. 3% loss in power for each 1k ft. I'm not super concerned once we get into the powder. It's getting himused to the trails and meadows for now. I actually discussed this with other local riders and everyone suggested the 850 is the way to go even though he's young. I'm simply asking on this forum if anyone else has direct experience tuning down a 850 Partiot initially for this purpose.

 

[volcano buster]

My daughter broke both of her arms in one event on a 340. I can only imagine the devastation with more power.

I'm not saying you would find yourself in a similar situation, but I don't see tuning an 850 down for a kid to be very easy.

 

[IDspud]

I have six kids that all rode 800’s at 10. We’ve never had a major accident which I’m very grateful for.
Their phasers they rode from 7-10 were 30 mph faster than the 800’s on the flat.
Some kids can, some kids can’t.

Does your throttle have a limiter screw or place to create a stop on engine side?

 

[PembyJon]

I started my kids out with gorilla tapping different sized spacer blocks on the back side of the thumb throttle limiting the throw limiting power. It’s a governor that’s easy to remove.

 

[Ex-Flit]

it really depends on your kid, some kids can handle more depending on experience and how responsible they are. I have seen some grown ups that could not handle a 340 cc sled and some 10 year old's that could easily handle an 850. I agree some type of throttle block would probably be the easiest solution with a tether especially if you use it for a back up sled for you and your buddies.

 

[meathooker]

What came of this? As other have said it’s all about the particular kid rides - my 11yr old rolled her 550 fanner on three different occasions last winter while my 8 year old is jumping his 650 khaos and going through powder decently - and both of them can out ride their 19yr old sister! They all vary so much.

i agree on the throttle block. I zip tied some dense rubber behind the throttle on a kids sled years back and it was effective at limiting power. Keep on mind on a long groomed trail they will still be able to get to a resonant high top speed if given enough time.

 

[KhaosRipcord]

What came of this? As other have said it’s all about the particular kid rides - my 11yr old rolled her 550 fanner on three different occasions last winter while my 8 year old is jumping his 650 khaos and going through powder decently - and both of them can out ride their 19yr old sister! They all vary so much.

i agree on the throttle block. I zip tied some dense rubber behind the throttle on a kids sled years back and it was effective at limiting power. Keep on mind on a long groomed trail they will still be able to get to a resonant high top speed if given enough time.

OP here. It went well. I actually ended up taking off the throttle block limiter about an hour into his first ride. No issues. It was clunky and getting in his way too much. A lot of instruction and prep for him but honestly he took to it really quickly. I was amazed how responsible and adaptive he was. Second ride got him sidehilling and even some small jumps. Only thing that I had to watch out for and correct as he gained confidence was trail speeds and trail etiquette. The 850 itself was not the issue I thought it would be. We also normally ride at 10k ft as well. Now we'll see how my crazy 7 year old does in coming years. Need that one to mature a bit. Lol!

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