HELO Rear Link Upgrade

     We’ve come to expect some unusual, outside-of-the-box thinking from the savvy group at Great Lakes Sound and Vibration (EZ Ryde) up in Houghton, Michigan. Their new HELO rear link upgrade (suspension mount) is yet another one of those products that makes you stop and take notice.
     EZ Ryde makes some sweet-looking and nice-performing single swing arm rear suspensions, well known for their deep snow and hill climbing capability out west, but not as well known back in the Midwest and east – yet. But this new product is a twist (pun intended) on the new fad of allowing the rear suspension to pivot, or twist, within the sled’s chassis, for the ease of sidehilling and banking.

     The new EZ Ryde HELO is a replacement rear suspension mount. This patent-pending rubber mount replaces the stock rear link on most OEM snowmobile suspensions and can be swapped out with minimal effort. Constructed of tough, military grade technology, the HELO controls weight transfer better than stock and also adds additional travel, twist, and additional damping to a stock skid. Tough enough to protect vital electronics in the U.S. military, it handles the torque of a snowmobile suspension with ease.
     The HELO is claimed to be a significant upgrade to a stock suspension and offers some of the same benefits as the EZ Ryde Carve rear suspension, but without having to invest in a complete suspension. Quite simply, the HELO replaces the solid-mount lower portion of the rear scissors on a conventional rear suspension with a great big chunk of super-tough flexible rubber tube. Let that one sink in for a moment and it should make a whole lot of sense. It allows twist, adds compliance, provides vibration isolation, adds damping, and lets the rear suspension do some flexing and twisting and moving without the energy being immediately or directly transferred to the upper scissors, the chassis, and ultimately the rider.

     For deep snow applications, the benefits should be obvious. It allows the back of the rear suspension to pivot, or rotate side-to-side, so you can make your stock skid act similar to the Ski-Doo tMotion in that it can more easily tip-up into a sidehill. Rock your weight one way and the sled will be able to start moving in the direction without having to pull the track up off the ground. Sidehilling and maneuverability is enhanced. This makes it super-desirable for just about any and every mountain sled that exists.
     But then consider the benefits to a trail sled, especially a crossover sled, in the bump filtering and damping, helping to isolate the rider from some of the chatter. We shouldn’t really have to spell it out for you, as the potentials and possibilities should become obvious. You’ll get increased suspension travel, it will control the weight transfer better, and it adds additional damping to the suspension along with eliminating the sharp jolt from the suspension bottoming out. So simple, so logical.
     Pricing for the link kit is $489, not exactly cheap, but considering the benefits provided it should be seriously considered. Call it a replacement suspension mount, call it a transfer control kit, we call it innovative. Model applications have just been released and they have versions to fit just about every sled there is from the past ten years, long track and short track. It will be available through EZ Ryde dealers or can be ordered directly from EZ Ryde. For the application chart or to find a dealer check www.EZRyde.com. There’s also a link to a short video showing how it works on the snow, in case you need even more convincing.

Excerpt From the September 2015 issue of SnowTech. – Subscribe to get the whole issue mailed to your door!