Incorporating technology on your ride

I am a huge sucker for technology.  I wish I had thousands of dollars to spend on all kinds of different goodies, but I don't.  However there are some things that can be incorporated into your riding without a ton of cost. Here are a few...

SxS "Dusting Death"

A quick heads up for all of you side-x-side owners/lovers out there looking to do some mods.  I have rebuilt many top ends to these units this last season due to "pod" air filters!!!

The intake system is usually in the worst conceivable spot in relation to getting a fresh, clean air supply.
Probably the best stock location that I have noticed is on the T-rex by Kawasaki-between the seats up high.

The aftermarket 'high flow' filters are NOT doing an adequate job of delivering clean air. (One Yamaha had an end gap of over 5/8" inch on the piston rings due to the ground out cylinder bore!)

The best aftermarket intake that I have seen and installed is called an S&S Intake, it was for a Polaris RzR 800.  It is a snorkel type that relocates the "pod" filter to between the seats in its own air box, and includes a foam pre-filter on the inlet that is rear-facing.  (I located this intake after doing a major top-end overhaul due to the K&N  filter box allowing the motor to get 'dusted' ruining 2 valve seats, and the Nikasil in the bores.) We can obtain and install this intake system for you if an air intake mod is a must.

The first stages of power improvement, in my opinion, come from a aftermarket exhaust, and a clutch spring/weight change-It really wakes up most of the manufactures' side-x-sides.

Feel free to call for more info.....

KaN Powersports
(801)686-4556


See you on the Snow, Dirt, or Sand  we love it all.......

2008-2010 Polaris problems

As many of you already know there have been some known engine issues with the dragon 800 from 2008-2010.  In 2008 they released the all new 800 as a single ring piston in a mono-block.  There were premature failures right off the bat! in 2009 we saw 2 piston rings, still failures! In 2010 a different top-half to the case and thicker skirts on the mono-block.  Better, but not there yet!  So like the 05-06 900's back to the drawing board for the2011!
Where does that leave all of us?
With the bitter taste in our mouth that Polaris does not care about their consumer.

I have seen a lot of independent efforts to try to make this engine right (It really is a good powerhouse when it runs).  I absolutely do NOT agree with the one independent kit out there that requires you to put a steel girdle under your cylinders and run a taller forged piston!  If a flexing case were the problem, the 900 would have reviled these same traits years earlier, for their case was very similar to the following 800, but they had two cylinders on top, and narrower crank bearings. (Candidates for even more flex).

There is hope, however, to this amazing power plant! After a lot of research, we here an KaN Powersports have an answer!!  The truth of the matter is that the problem stems from an engineering error associated with the engine's installation, not the engineering of the engine itself.  As it turns out I always Q&A customers about what happened a the point of  failure. This is when I started to notice the trend-"It ran great all day.  I shut it off for lunch. After a soda break, or lunch break I started the sled and it blew".

Come to find out, you shut the machine off and the engine continues to climb in heat for a bit (this happens in all engines), however the tunnel cooler loaded with snow immediately cools off (heat seeks cold). When you start the sled this cold rush of water enters the water jackets!  The thin walled mono-block contracts right down onto the piston and there it is!! Seizure on an engine that was just running fine 20 minutes ago.

We do have a solution for this problem!  I want to be clear, the part is patented by someone else. (I wasn't fast enough)  But if you give us a call, we can obtain the part and take care of the install for you.  The plus side is this mod/repair is less than $500.00.

Let us know if we can help out-(801)686-4556

KaN Powersports
2108 s  1100 w West Haven (Ogden)

Well There Is Always YouTube

What do you do when you have the itch to go ride but something happens that makes it impossible?

Last week I really wanted to get out on the snowmobile. The only problem is there isn't enough snow. So naturally I turned my attention to YouTube and watched other people snowmobile.

This really doesn't solve my dilemma. As a matter of fact it makes it worse. It makes me want to go and try what I just watched, but it is still better than nothing.

I love all the YouTube content for power sports. With the advent of POV cameras the content is growing every day. There are even full length hour+ long videos on there. As a matter of fact, I spent my spare time yesterday watching one from SledNecks 13. Here it is bellow if you are interested.



Thanks for reading,
DPS

A Little about us post...

HI all,  Thought we would take a minute and introduce ourselves; My wife and I saw the need for a much needed "Ma & Pop" style shop in the powersports industry.  We are a  powersports machine, and repair shop located in Ogden Utah.  We perform all repairs in house (except Nikasil).  We Bore or re-sleeve cylinders, build and true cranks, port two and four stroke engines, and do performance mods to all degrees.  Our many accounts allow us to offer you most of the OEM and aftermarket parts and accessories available out there.  We can handle anything from simple services to major in house overhauls!  

I am a firm believer that there does not need to be a "Black Magic" based around your rebuild, tune-up, or mods.  I not only take the time to tell you what I am doing, I explain why.  Furthermore, In the near future I plan on making some tutorial style videos of some of our in shop operations and posting them here.  Many other shops try to guard this info, it is my firm opinion this behavior is to guard in-competencies that may be present around a given topic.  The reality of this is that much of the processes involved are simple but time consuming, and the correct tooling is not feasible for the 'do-it-yourself-er'.  So if you have the ability and tooling to do it, I support you and hope I can offer assistance.  From an engineering standpoint many given subjects around an engine are derived by targeting, planing and mathematical problem solving.  In reality it is not that much different for performing many of the given modifications that can be made to these finicky little engines.........


SEE YOU ON THE SNOW, DIRT, or SAND-We love it all!!


KaN  Powersports LLC
(801)686-4556

We made it

K a N Powersports would like to thank DPS for inviting our company to join.  We will be posting soon.  Thanks again DPS.....

The Holliday Season

I am sorry I haven't written in a while. Things get busy this time of year. However it is also a good time of year to think about some piece of equipment that you would like to have, or some upgrade you would like. For my brother this is a new 2013 Polaris RMK Pro. For me it is a bit more modest, maybe new gloves or even a carbon fiber helmet. Actually check that, I already got my Christmas present. It was the Contour GPS helmet camera. I guess I can stop thinking about me, and start thinking of others now. After all that is what the season is all about isn't it? Just wanted to check in with all my readers and let them know that I am still alive even though I haven't posted in a while. Good news though... KAN Power Sports accepted the invitation to write on the blog, so hopefully we will see something from them soon. Keep your fingers crossed. Thanks for Reading, DPS

Quick Video - Almost Wrecked

I went riding last Saturday as some of you may have read in a earlier post.  Out of all the footage I shot here is all I got that was worth viewing, and even then I don't think it is that great.  It is me almost clobbering a tree stump, and then a short wheelie.  Hope you like it.


Apparently the storm that we had dumped a bit more south of where we ride.  The local ski resort reported 48" of fresh snow that day.  Here is video to prove it. I hate when there is better snow somewhere else that I don't know about. Oh Well.  Hopefully the next storm will dump on us.



Thanks for reading,
DPS

Author Invitation

As you have read in my post about doing good business, I recommended using KaN Power Sports.  I think they are great at what they do.  Their prices are fair, and they have a lot of experience. 

Well, I have now taken that one step further.  I have invited them to be authors here on this blog.  If they accept I expect they will be writing about their experiences working on the stuff that breaks on our toys.  They will also be available for advice and questions.  They are a wealth of knowledge.  Hopefully it brings a wrenching dynamic to this blog, and hopefully it encourages you, the readers, to use him as your mechanic.

Thanks for reading,
DPS

Get out there and Ride

Sometimes you need to just get out there and ride.  I have been itching to get out and snowmobile after our first ride on October 26th.  As you may have already read, our October 26th ride was awesome.  Tons of snow, and beautiful weather.  Couldn't have asked for a better first ride.

Well I have been biting at the bit to get out on the snowmobile since then.  So when I found out that it was going to storm all weekend, I started salivating.  Now I had to figure out how much snow was actually going to fall.  The weather reports said anywhere from 15 to 20".  I thought to myself; "that could be enough."

Worn out parts

I hate when things wear out.  Every mechanical thing that moves will wear out eventually.  For me, this week, it is my constant velocity (cv) joints on my car.  It is making a horrendous popping noise when I turn.  So now I have to spend the $100 to buy the parts, and a Saturday replacing them. 

For most vehicles or power sports there are things that just don't last.  Given, with synthetic materials, and tighter manufacturing tolerances things are lasting a lot longer.  But even with the best material and tightest tolerance, the item will eventually give up the ghost.

For a snowmobile you can buy carbon fiber drive belts now.  They last a long time, and are probably lighter than the stock rubber.  They cost a pretty penny too.  But even they ware out eventually. 

So what can be done?  Not much outside of regular maintenance.  For my CV axles I am sure that the rubber boots failed long before the CV axle failed.  When the boot fails dirt, grim, and water gets in there and destroys it. So if I was on top of things I would have changed the boots for $8 instead of having to change the axle for $100.  But honestly who is under their car looking at things like this enough to catch the problem?  If you are I commend your effort. 

For power sports such as snowmobiling there are things to check every year.  There are items that need to be lubed and greased.  Stay on top of these things and your machine will last a lot longer.  When I bought my snowmobile it only had 730 miles on it.  I checked the chain case oil and it was dirty and low.  Imagine if I had run it while being low.  I could have burned up my chain and ended up needing to dump a bunch of money into the sled for repairs. 

Bottom line is this... DON'T GET LAZY ABOUT UPKEEP OR YOU WILL PAY FOR IT IN THE LONG RUN.

This isn't my cv joint, but it illustrates the bad rubber boot.

Thanks for reading,
DPS

Cheap DIY Tunnel Bag Solution

Some of you may have read one of my blogs about how tunnel bags are so unjustifiably expensive, if not you can read it here.  I feel this way because they are either a water resistant book bag, or some other form of bag that looks more like a thermal bag for your lunch than a snowmobile tunnel bag.  If you were to say it was for putting your lunch in, then there is no way they could charge $80- $150. Well PinNgiggle and I have come up with a cheap solution that I think you will like.  It requires some button snaps and a book bag of your choice.  We have put together a video tutorial of what we did, so that you can try it yourself.

The video I promised of the first ride

Ok, here is the video I put together of our first ride this year.  I didn't put any music to it, so maybe that cuts down on the entertainment factor a bit, but you understand.  It was filmed October 26, 2012.  Like I said in earlier posts, it never snows this early in the year.  As a matter of fact it is only one week later and the snow report says that there is down to 11" up there now.  So it went from 30" to 11" in a little over a week.  Too bad, but it was just a teaser storm anyways. 

I hope you enjoy the video, I didn't ad music yet.  I plan to later... (maybe :-)



Thanks for reading,
Please subscribe and share with your friends,
DPS

Dashware.net video editing software review

    Let me start off my saying that I believe DashWare is great software.  I have used it on a limited basis so far but it did exactly what I was looking for.  Let me describe the problem I had, and how I came across the solution.