Question:
I have a 2007 Venture Lite, it weighs 280lbs and cannot find a suitable set up!!
The 2008 apparently has 1.5 iches of less front end spring travel…apparently Yamaha learned that this sled has a handling problem. can you offer any thoughts?
Thanks,
Curt
Response:
Curt:
We’ve really enjoyed our 2007 Venture Lite press sled this year and have put over 1500 miles on it, using it as a both a 2-passenger sled and a single ride, too. We were, frankly, a little surprised at how much better this sled turned out to be than we anticipated.
Toward the end of the season we did notice the steering was getting a little vague and responded with more aggressive carbide runners. This solved the problem for us, but considering the fact you weigh 280, it sounds like you have a weight bias problem with the sled (weight is placed too far back on the chassis) especially if you’re carrying a passenger.
Normally this wouldn’t be a problem as 2-uppers tend to have the weight of a rider and passenger moved over center to the rear of the sled rather than in the middle of it.
I like your idea about updating the front springs to ‘08 calibration but you may be able to get more front end cornering bite by simply winding off some of the preload on the skidframe’s front shock.
This will put more pressure on the skis and, in combo with new runners, might solve the problem for you.
Kent Lester
