2012 Crossfire 600 w/141" track
ArticChat – Jan 22, 2012
Hi All,
I wanted to give a little payback here by posting a review of the Bergstrom carbides I put on my new sled.
I just bought the sled in December and for the first six miles the steering felt heavy, really pushed in turns, etc. It had 4" single carbides on it that were pretty worn after 200 miles.
So, after reading a bunch of reviews on here. I called Scott at Bergstrom and he gave me his recommendation for my sled – 8" triple points with ski savers and shims. I had a little sticker shock at first, but even the other brand dooly's are in the $130-160 range, and with the milage testimonials on Bergstrom's site I thought I would take a chance on them.
So, I took Scott's advise and ordered the triple points. Well, I got the wrong ones in the mail -6" instead of 8". I called Scott, he said keep the hardware and just send him back the bars. I got the 8" bars in the mail the NEXT DAY, before I even sent the 6" back. Outstanding customer service! Thanks again Scott
On the install. That was easy, just follow the instructions. The bars and ski savers went on fast. The shims were easy too. The hardest part was getting the skis back on, but again, follow the directions about dropping the ski edge down on a 2x4, and it will work just fine.
Yesterday, I traveled up to my cabin (35 miles north of Two Harbors, MN) to find some snow and check on the cabin. I put on 42 miles, mostly on the lake and the river that runs out of it. Wow, what a big difference in handling. The sled turns easy now, floats in the deep stuff, and corners at higher speed almost as well as the '99 Indy 500 that I was riding. The inside ski comes up a bit in the fast corners, but that may be me on the gas too much. This thing has 40 more hp than I was riding before, and this was my first real time on it so I have a bit of learning to do.
Up-dated – Jan 29
Okay, just got back from a long weekend ride, and was able to give both the sled and the carbides a true test.
We rode Wed afternoon through Saturday, going approximately 50, 140, 160, and 30 miles on each day, respectively. Wed was just an afternoon jaunt, and Sat was a determined run to go pound on some ditches. Thurs and Fri were both good trail days spent in the general vicinity of Minocqua, Boulder Junction, Presque Isle, Mercer (Thurs) and the Mercer, Turtle Flambeau, Iron County boondocking, then back down across the TFF. Base camp was about 10 miles west of Minocqua off 70. (Just throwing that all out there to give you guys an ideal of trails and conditions.)
Anyway, the overall trail conditions were pretty good, with a few brown "snirt" stretches the sled handled great. Coming off of a "99 Indy 500 with 121x.75, I can officially state the the CF handles way better in the trails than the Indy. Very little spin out on the corners and with the Bergstrom TP's it is just about glued down in the turns. Once I got the feel for the handling (after about 30 minutes) I was able to keep up just fine with the "lively pace" that my group liked to run.
The combination of more power plus track and suspension meant that instead of riding close to my LOT (limit of talent) and really pushing the sleds capability (like I did with the Indy). I was able to ride comfortably, use about half the sleds available power, and have fun (and not feel like hammered dog s@#t at the end of the day).
In the ditches/powder – wow– up-hill, down hill, side hill, carving – didn't matter. I have the skis all the way out and it still rolled to the side pretty good. The shock mid height bars are sweet as well.
When in doubt, I just throttled out.
To break it down
Pros
Bergstrom skegs/shims/ski savers (skis are stock) – outstanding - can't say enough. Super handling, no darting, can steer on any surface, even icy roads and bare corners. Much better than my Indy 500 was.
Longer track – less spin out in corners, quicker hook upcoming out of turns.
Longer track – much better in the bumps, powder, ditches, side hills, etc.
High bars/seat position – standup through the bumps, carving, side-hilling
Overall – love the whole setup – not changing a thing. The sled rocks.
Chris
Superior, WI
