There’s a handful of people on the planet who can actually tell you how a snowmobile is performing.
ROGER SKIME
This incredibly powerful statement from Roger Skime has ALWAYS stuck with me, and one I think about often. Recently, its been at the forefront of my mind after seeing a social media post from Zach Herfindahl showing photos of him testing ice racing set-ups on the new Catalyst RXC that said, “5 laps and then adjust…Repeat over and over again all day.”
After reading this, my mind flashed back to Roger’s statement, and the day he said it as I watched Roger and the engineering team test and change clutch, suspension and shock set-ups a hundred times that day, on a prototype snowmobile, which lasted weeks on end.
Shortly after reading the Herfindahl post, my mind continued to reel after spending far too long on a social media owners group forum where Catalyst owners were telling/showing plans of swapping skis and carbides and adding studs and asking the group what clutch kits, pipes and cans are available, and Im sure someone even asked what oil they should run…[sigh]
Now, I know tinkering is all part of snowmobiling, and the “talk” on forums is fun, and far more of it is happening since there is absolutely no snow, but I read all these comments and think, “Fella! You haven’t even ridden your Catalyst yet (a completely new platform), and you’re changing all this stuff without establishing a baseline ride evaluation?”
So, I ask anyone here, do you test before you tune? All I know, is Roger wasn’t referring to me as one of “the handful”, but maybe you are.
If you haven’t already, follow Zach Herfindahl’s YouTube channel. He’s been sharing some really good insight on what it takes to set-up his new Catalyst RXC for ice racing. (Video below)
