Track Maintenance

Content Source: 2020 Timbersled ARO/RIOT Owner’s Manual (9929951 R01) > Maintenance Chapter

IMPORTANT

The Owner's Manual for this vehicle contains warnings, instructions and other information you must read and fully understand before safely riding or performing maintenance on this vehicle.Always follow the warnings and instructions in Owner's Manual.

Click the CONTENTS link above for the Table Of Contents, or download a full PDF of the Owner Manual in the Owner Support area of Polaris.com

Track Maintenance

Track Inspection

Using a hoist, safely lift and support the rear of the snow bike off the ground.
Rotate the track by hand to check for damage.
Carefully examine the track along the entire length of each rod. Bend the track to check for breakage.
Replace the track if any rod damage is found.

WARNING

Broken track rods can cause a rotating track to come off the snow bike, which could cause serious injury or death. Never operate with a damaged track. Never rotate a damaged track under power.

Track Alignmment

Proper track alignment is an essential factor in proper snow bike handling and in preventing excessive wear to the track and rail slides (i.e hifax).

Inspecting Track Alignment

To inspect track alignment, follow the steps below.

With the rear of the bike off the ground and properly supported by a stand, allow the bike to idle in gear for several revolutions to inspect whether the track is running straight. Then shut off the engine. When the track is properly aligned, the track clips should run evenly along the hifax (i.e. rail slides) and the track should be centered on the suspension.
Measure the horizontal distance between the hifax (i.e. rail slides) and the track edge on both sides of the bike.
If the track is aligned properly, both sides should have approximately the same distance measurement between the hifax and the track edge.
If the track is running too far to one side, track alignment should be adjusted. See the following section, Adjusting Track Alignment.

Adjusting Track Alignment

To adjust track alignment, follow the steps below.

With the rear of the bike off the ground and properly supported by a stand, loosen the axle bolt .
Loosen the adjustment bolt’s jam nut .

If the track is running too far to the left, tighten the left side of the track by turning the tension adjustment bolt

, on the left side of the bike, to the right (approximately one-half turn).

If the track is running too far to the right, tighten the right side of the track by turning the tension adjustment bolt , on the right side of the bike, to the right (approximately one-half turn).

NOTE

The amount you should turn the adjustment bolt on either side of the bike will depend on how far off center the track is running. Therefore it is suggested that you turn the bolt one-half turn at a time, checking the alignment between each half-turn adjustment to determine if additional adjustment is needed.

Re-tighten the adjustment bolt’s jam nut.

Then re-torque the axle bolt.

TORQUE
Axle Bolt – 50 Nm (36.9 ft. lbs)

Ensure the bike is still secure and the track is still off the ground. Then allow the bike to idle in gear for several revolutions which allows the track alignment adjustments to take full effect.
Observe the running track for several additional revolutions before turning the engine off. When aligned properly, the track should appear to run straight and centered on the suspension rails.
With the track stopped and the engine off, measure the horizontal distance between the rail slide (i.e. hifax) and the track edge on both sides of the bike.
If the distance between the hifax and track edge is approximately the same on both sides of the bike, and the track appears to run centered on the rails, the track is properly aligned

If the distance between the hifax and track edge is NOT the same on both sides of the bike, and the track does NOT appear to run centered on the rails, repeat the steps above until your track is properly aligned.
Track Alignment adjustments will change the track’s tension. After completing track alignment, it is best to measure track tension and adjust if necessary (see Track Tension section: Track Tension)

Track Tension

Proper track tension adjustment is critical for proper snow bike handling. Always maintain proper track alignment and tension. Each track is slightly unique and will break in a bit differently depending on how and where you ride. If the track starts to skip on the drivers, this is a sign the track is too loose. If the rail sliders (i.e. hifax) is wearing quickly, the track tension may be too tight.

NOTE

Before measuring and adjusting track tension, ensure the track is properly aligned. For more information on track alignment, see the Track Alignment section beginning on Track Alignmment.

Measuring Track Tension

TRACK TENSION DATA
SUSPENSION	PROPER SLACK MEASUREMENT	APPLIED WEIGHT	MEASUREMENT LOCATION -
All Model Types	3/4” to 1”	10 lbs	10” to 15” in front of the rear axle

To measure track tension:

Using an appropriate hoist or stand, safely lift and support the rear of the snow bike off the ground.
Place the recommended weight or downward pressure on the track at the measurement location specified (see table).
At the measurement location , measure the vertical slack or space between the bottom of the hifax (i.e. rail slider) and the wear surface of the track clip . This is the slack measurement.

If the track is properly tensioned, the slack measurement should be between 3/4” to 1” (as shown in the table).
If the slack measurement is less or greater than the proper slack measurement ( 3/4” to 1”), the track tension should be adjusted (see the following section, Adjusting Track Tension).

Adjusting Track Tension

Measure track tension to be sure adjustment is needed.

NOTE

If the track starts to skip on the drivers, the track is too loose and will need to be adjusted. Occasionally this will happen after a new track has been run.

With the rear of the bike off the ground and properly supported by a stand, loosen the axle bolt on the track tensioning block.
Loosen the adjustment bolt’s jam nut .
Then tighten or loosen the tension adjustment bolt , a half-turn at a time on both the right and left side of the bike. Turn the adjustment bolts the same amount on both sides of the track to tension the track evenly and keep the track aligned (track alignment should be performed before measuring and adjusting track tension).
Turning the adjustment bolts on each side of the bike to the right will push the rear axle back and tighten track tension.

Turning the adjustment bolts on each side of the bike to the left will allow the rear axle to move forward toward the front of the bike putting less tension on the track.
Re-tighten the adjustment bolt’s jam nut.

Torque the axle bolt once again.

TORQUE
Axle Bolt – 50 Nm (36.9 ft. lbs)

With the bike still secure and the track off the ground, rotate the track several times by hand or by running the engine in gear for several seconds. Then stop or turn the bike off. (It takes several track revolutions for track adjustment to take effect.)
Measure the track tension again (see Measuring Track Tension).
If the slack measurement is within the proper slack measurement range, your track tension is set properly.

If the tension is still too loose or too tight, repeat the steps above until your track tension is set properly.
Once the track tension is set, check to ensure the track is still properly aligned. To check and adjust track alignment, see the Track Alignment section.