Dear Ralph, A few of us noticed that Polaris has upgraded (increased the size) of the crank bearing on the monoblock XLT engine and has added an oiling line to that bearing. One of our group is bummed that his XLT Limited SP doesn’t have the “XC Motor” which... Read more

Dear Ralph, Can any more power be had from the ’97 ZR-440? Is it only a different spread of power that can be had from various pipes, etc. or can we get more power? Jeff Piccolo Plymouth, CT. Snowmobiling – The only winter progression for a bored & battered... Read more

Dear Ralph, I have a stock 1994 Yamaha V-Max 600 and about $500-$600 dollars to spend. What do you recommend for the best performance gains for this kind of money? Brian M. Polka You need to define “performance” before we can make recommendations. Do you want 1000 ft acceleration,... Read more

Dear Ralph, Your Oct/Nov ’96 issue illustrates one of the major problems in educating snowmobilers: CONFLICTING INFORMATION! On pages 66 & 67 Jim Shepard and Bill Westhoff tell us that a more aggressive (greater angle) secondary clutch cam will increase the squeeze on the belt. This is contrary to... Read more

Dear Ralph I own a ’97 EXT 580 EFI and was wondering if you can give me some tips on what I can do to modify my sled to get more power. Is it worth playing around with the EFI or should I just buy a bigger sled? Terry... Read more

Dear Ralph: What is your recommended procedure for removing stickers from snowmobile hoods without damaging the hood? Is there any quick and easy method? Whatever you do, keep razor sharp blades and such away from your sled. The best method of removing plastic and vinyl decals is by using... Read more

Dear Ralph: My ’94 Vmax 500 has a continual leak at the Y-pipe area. Oil is dripping down into the belly pan and sure makes a mess. I’ve already installed new gaskets, but still have the problem. Any suggestions ? Even though new gaskets are used, you will sometimes... Read more

Dear Ralph: Are there advantages of the rotary intake that Rotax uses on many of their twin cylinder engines ? Are rotary equipped engines more powerful than piston ported or reed intake designs ? First let’s compare the rotary intake to a piston ported engine. The advantages of the... Read more

Dear Ralph: I have a 1995 Indy XLT and the head gasket keeps blowing out. What is the solution to this problem? You’ve got one of two problems. Most likely is that the water (coolant) filter is partially blocked (plugged) and the coolant flow is reduced. This reduction in... Read more

Dear Ralph: I have a flooding problem with my engine. If the sled sits for a while without turning off the gas, the crankcase gets quite a bit of gas in it. J. Barsness One of two things is happening. We had a similar problem on one of our... Read more