yeti ski clogging up

[raleigh111]

Any tips on yeti ski clogging up with wet heavy snow? Tried crisco oil no luck. Couple late season rides this year when it was warm and if you stopped it would clog up and over you would go. Pain in the butt. Even did it a couple times on the trio ski but not as bad as the yeti. It is a older yeti ski all black. My buddy had a little newer one that did not clog up black and orange.

 

[byeatts]

The ski packs in certain condition's when warmer or wet snow, whats happens is the ski shape compacts the snow as it moves from the tip to the center causing it to be very dense, The friction as this compaction occurs warms the snow then as you stop the wet snow quickly freezes in the channel of the ski , this typically happen when ewe stop and sit awhile , when ewe take off its frozen and have no steering, Simple fix , in wet warmer conditions as ewe stop simply shift ewer weight backwards , this pulls the ski back and leaves a small gap between the ski and the compacted snow, It will not freeze into the ski channel.

 

[raleigh111]

Thanks, I enjoyed reading your explanation. I was hoping for a better fix than that. It will and has happened to me while i was moving slow so I am not sure sitting back on bike will help when i stop. Looking maybe to change the shape of the ski some how.

 

[aka Mr Floyd]

That will ruin your day for sure.

This has happened with our timbersled skis (both mountain horse and ARO) and seems to worsen as skis age and get scratched up in my experience. Tends to not happen with new skis that are mirror smooth on the bottom.

Fix is to smooth the bottom of the ski best you can and apply a layer of wax (just like snowski/snowboard).

First, curled plastic from deep gouges from rocks i would trim away with a razor blade. Second I would smooth all scratches by using a propane torch to lightly melt the surface and smooth out the scratches (if you need to be told to be careful doing this... you shouldn't own a torch). Once it is a smooth as I can get it I use the torch to lightly heat the ski surface in small areas and apply a layer of wax to the entire underside of the ski.

Don't worry about scraping excess wax or anything, it doesn't have to be perfect as we are motorized and the first ride will smooth it out.

Hope that helps.

 

[00Tundra]

I wax mine but I tell none of my riding buddies. So fun watching them fall over after lunch or breaks.

 

[David24]

Yep, that’s the evil of snow biking. It only seems to happen in wet snow, or stoping on a frozen lake that I have encountered. For me it helps to lightly torch the ski with a large torch , then use Snowboard wax.

 

[M5-]

We call it "Plywood Ski" when it happens

 

[kanedog]

This is a sticky situation

 

[raleigh111]

Thanks for the suggestions! It is pretty darn frustrating when it happens over and over. One buddy has a newer yeti ski and did not happen to him. I have heard they keep changing the design. My other buddy kept laughing at me when I would try to take off after stopping until it happened to him also with the aro ski. For those of you luck ones it has not happened to it is impossible to ride when the ski clogs, lucky if you make it 10 ft. I was so frustrated I put the old timbersled ski back on last couple days. Easy swap back n forth from yeti. I honestly did not notice a huge or any handling difference from old tsled ski to the yeti in these conditions except old tsled ski did not clog up! I read all these forums on skis, I have tried 4 different ones and they all suck on the trail and are okay in powder. I should start a new thread on bike set up. We have a attic cat svx (sherco with camso kit ) that we bought all set up from a very experienced snow biker. It has ktm forks set up with stiffer springs, solid strut that seems long ( bike sits high) and that is by far the best handling bike in the group. I can rock that thing through the trees with confidence it goes where you want it. I believe I am missing a lot on the bike set up part. My yz450fx seems to push in the tight turns and I set my tss up at 11.750, 350- psi and track is flat on ground. 11.75 seem to be the length the experienced guys recommended. Idk still learning and tweaking on these things. I have 3 now, it’s addicting and I love having backups. Attic svx, ktm sxf and yz450fx. I hate the wide ratio trans , second to low and can’t pull third out west. Going up 2 teeth on front sprocket on fx trying to get between current 2-3 . Have not tried ktm yet as late season purchase but I think I will like Mx transmission much more,

 

[byeatts]

Guys super simple , just yank back on the bars when ewe stop , this slightly moves bike back and leave a gap between the compressed snow and ski channel. Cant get much easier than that," ewe only need to move back 1/2 inch .

 

[raleigh111]

What does ewe mean. I googled it? No luck. ?

 

[aka Mr Floyd]

Lol. Ewe = female sheep. It is pronounced "you". Try reading using that pronunciation and ewe will figure it out.

Rocking the ski back and forth on stopping/starting does help but does not remove problem completely.

We do some rides boondocking through rocks and mud late season. Scratches up the ski. Scratched ski and sticky slushy conditions it will happen no matter how much rocking you do. At that point, time to wax.

 

[byeatts]

Its work every time on our fleet over 4 years. It is friction that warms the snow as it compresses into the ski, As soon as ewe stop it instantly freezes and sets up , Same thing is what happens in a Avalanche and all the snow instantly sets up after it stops. backing up puts an air gap between the snow and the ski. if the snow is not even touching the ski there no sticking.

 

[raleigh111]

Well now that i know ewe means you that explains a lot. I though he was speaking in a Niger–Congo language ? Thats all i could find... Moving the bike back makes sense and i will try that. I have had it happen while going slow a couple times also so not sure it is cure all but if it helps great.

 

[kanedog]

Ewe’s not fat, ewe’s just fluffy!

 

[raleigh111]

I said that to my girl friend once and she did not find it funny. She said ewe not getting any for a while from fluffy.