• Don't miss out on all the fun! Register on our forums to post and have added features! Membership levels include a FREE membership tier.

Learning curve going to Turbo?

boondocker97

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Oct 30, 2008
4,074
2,794
113
Billings MT
Had a 900 kit on my 16 pc with 3" track for a few year and then put a silber turbo on my 19 twin rail. Half way into the season I sold the turbo. My takeaway was the turbo has a bit more top end but the placement of the weight in the chassis takes too much of the playfulness out of it. After a half day in deep tech terrain I was shot. So I traded my buddy with the stock 18 twin rail and the light playful was back and right then I knew the turbo was going down the road.
Rewind back to the 16 pc with the 900 this motor was the funest thing I have ridden in 20 years on the snow. The reason is the snap the throttle has in the low end was what you need to get the nose up and over stuff as where the turbo had to have a longer runway to make it happen. And when your in the trees and pinned up to a creek the turbo couldn't make it happen. The 900 also had the less weight in the front and added to the playfulness of the front end.
Last year I rode a 2020 alpha with all stock with a can and as said above a perfect balance! But this year I'm going back to a 900.
Cheers!
Similar experience with the Bikeman 900 on my '14 bottom end. Power is not even close to stock (in a good way). End of the 2019 season there were a few guys lining up and drag racing up a moderately steep hill for fun on spring snow. Lined up next to a turbo Alpha and had a few sled lengths on him at the top. I don't know what brand was on it or how well it was tuned, and my Kmod skid no doubt was helping me put the power to the ground. If the snow was deep he might have pulled away from me. Turns out we were parked across from each other in the parking lot. At the end of the day he made a point to come over and tell me my sled runs! Made me feel pretty good about my ol' girl packing my 300lb butt around the mountain!

Bought pistons for it this fall for preventative maintenance. $200 each for the piston kits and $280 for OEM gaskets and wrist pin bearings. All in stock. I can't even buy OEM pistons for my backup M7 anymore :(.
 
J

jim

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2007
1,014
635
113
Boise
It is give and take for a lot of reasons. I've had people jump on my turbo, riding the identical sled stock, and comment about how light it feels because of the power to weight ratio and how it gets up and out of the snow. If you are doing a bunch of down hill muscle moves, you might feel the weight...and you should. Turbos are a lot of fun once they are spooled and you are going where you want. And chopping the throttle and techniques there can overcome the delay. Always tradeoffs.
 

nytro41

Well-known member
Premium Member
Oct 11, 2008
386
155
43
Some where in the hills ID
Not sure how a BOV is going to help with bottom end. I would take a look at the solid turbo kit if you are wanting to go turbo. that kit is expensive but it is expensive for a reason. i love mine and with the Ibexx clutch that is on it...i now have the bottom end of my buddies supercharger. I had a big bore and loved it. i have had turbos for years. turbos now days are completely different then they used to be. in the last 3 years the tuning, knowledge, weight and piping has changed so much that an old turbo kit would never compare to a kit now days. sure they might have been faster and spooled really fast. but not like the stuff now days and turbos have changed to tree climbing instead of shoot riding. i love deep powder and i love the bottom end mid range and top end pull of this turbo. it truly is the best turbo i have ever ridden
 
L
Nov 25, 2018
122
26
28
46
I've heard, read, and seen videos on the force systems, however, I'm already having a hard time spending the coin on the silber kit all done up! I understand HP costs $, but not willing to spend force turbo money.

I appreciate your response and feedback though.
 

nytro41

Well-known member
Premium Member
Oct 11, 2008
386
155
43
Some where in the hills ID
I've heard, read, and seen videos on the force systems, however, I'm already having a hard time spending the coin on the silber kit all done up! I understand HP costs $, but not willing to spend force turbo money.

I appreciate your response and feedback though.


Not sure if you were replying to me or not but this isnt a force turbo. it is a solid turbo kit. the company is called Solid. it still is expensive but completely different then a Force.
 
L
Nov 25, 2018
122
26
28
46
Welp...I finally installed my silber setup, now to wait for snow!

Install was quick, even w/the BOV and Boost Tee.

And Cycles and Sleds were AWESOME to deal with when I had questions!
 
T
Jan 13, 2013
53
44
18
Ive been ridin turbos for the last few years and the new turbos kits on the market are amazing. They run great and you arent always working on them like the old ones. I ride with mainly stock sleds and I never found I was going places they couldnt, If anything sometimes I found it harder to get to those places because I didnt have proper suspension to keep the front end down with the extra power on really steep stuff. The biggest difference for me is the turbos are just so much more fun to ride! if youre an aggressive rider that likes a playful front end then turbos are for you. Ive never had someone try my sled and not love the power. Boost is an amazing thing on these new sleds
 
Premium Features