October 16, 2009
You Scratch Mine And I’ll…
Jamming to write an overdue post this morning before heading down to the Toronto Int’l Snowmobile and Motorsports Show. I am curious to see how this years show is going to play out with the manufacturers and federation joining the circus.
Had a bad run last week starting with the discovery of a cracked frame on my full suspension mountain bike which forced me to ride my Ti hard-tail on the technical tr
ails of Buckwallow. I took a nasty highside on a rather large rock structure and impaled myself on my handle bar taking the butt end in the chest. Finished the ride by blowing out a rear wheel, popping a bunch of spokes and packing my sorry butt back to the cottage and my old pal the Cap’n …
‘Nough about me. We’ve been working on an interesting accessory over the summer. Ice scratchers have been on the market for quite some time, evolving with the track applications found on mountain sleds. The combination of taller lugs, fewer idler wheels and spring conditions created a need to have more lube and cooling to the skid and exchangers. No one in Canada has taken this idea very seriously with the average trail rider in mind, that is until now. Our new Tric Ice Scratcher, is designed for trail use with a simple ‘plug and play’ installation.
I saw the first version in Europe a few years back and after a little investigation, discovered our f
actory has been building and supplying the Euro Yamaha distributor for a long time. The easy route would have been to import them to Canada but after getting the cost estimates from factory, we decided to pursue our own version. The factory scratcher mounts directly to the front sway bar link and is a plastic coated steel cable with a captive, non replacable, hardened steel pick. We have upgraded this system by using a flexible, stainless steel, braided cable with an adjustable stainless steel fitting, threaded to recieve a standard, replacable, carbide traction stud.
The Tric scratcher also comes with a universal mounting bracket which allows you to 
mount it anywhere on any sled given a maximum height (8 inches) from the ground. The cable can be rotated forward and aft to get the optimum angle and preload plus the stud can also be rotated to get the prefect 90 degree contact point… The benefit is a nice spray of ice and snow crystals to supply the hy-fax and heat exchangers in marginal snow conditions. Thus increasing slider life and insuring enough engine cooling. There is no worry about reverse gear or trailer loading with the flexible cable provided your mounting point is not too close to the track.
We haven’t released this yet to our dealers but the suggested retail is only 89 bucks for a pair including the universal brackets for retrofit to sleds without a sway bar link arm.
cheers cr
cr: great idea, but I rather see a push thru type stud used on the end.
Got lots of push thru studs laying around, and besides don’t have to worry about ruining the threaded hole. Should be cheaper to make with a through hole rather then a threaded hole.
Kaz
Thanks John, I’ll keep an eye on the threaded hole, we are recommending Loctite and will have spare studs available for a small cost… in the meantime have you got a good drill bit?
cheers cr
October 16th, 2009 at 10:39 amHi Chris, looks like you should wear your tek vest on the bike!
Have fun at the show.
CUL.
not a bad idea… wonder if Steve makes a Spandex version
cr
October 17th, 2009 at 8:26 amHi Chris – Very interesting!
Is there any way to hook it up out of the way if you are not using them?
Hope you get the part number available to us soon as our prairie riders like big tracks and trails.
Rick
Hey Rick, regarding ‘hooking it up out of the way’, its optional as the part doesn’t need to be retired when not in use. You can loosen the mounting bolt and swing the cable up and out of the way or install an eye bolt located such that the stud can be tucked into it (or in some cases there will be a natural location where you can rest the cable). Its my opinion that you just leave it to drag, its no different than the carbides or traction studs in the track… we’ll issue the bulletin next week.
October 17th, 2009 at 10:15 amcheers cr
Good/bad timing. Just ordered myself some RSI ice scratchers this week. Will come in handy on the river. I don’t have a reverse so they’re a good fit for me. Ordered two more set for my father and friend with their Venture’s… Hopefully they don’t forget them when backing up. If they do, now I can send them to the Yamaha dealer to get these ones.
October 17th, 2009 at 10:47 amAfter fabricating the sourced components for many years, Dnr would gladly pay for a number of pairs. These are up to my standards, hands down.
October 17th, 2009 at 11:44 amInteresting.
Stay off those ribs eh?
I believe i’m headed to the snowmobile show in Edmonton next weekend – any idea’s who from Yamaha will be behind the booth?
Cheers,
YK
..only hurts when I breath.. Not sure who all will be there from corporate but if I know Randy (Swenson) he may show up as well as Dan (Cochrane), Starr Yee is based in Edmonchuck… say hi to the guys for me. cheers cr
October 18th, 2009 at 9:13 amI seen this on one of the sleds at the show. They look well built and are a hell of an idea!
October 19th, 2009 at 11:51 amUnfortunally i bought the scorchers and mounts for my 08 Apex gt,and its beyond me on how to put them on with out removing my billet wheels,even with the mounts,to me they were a total waste of money for short track machines with the way the skid is made now its going to cost me more to get the tri ice scratchers
Hey Ron, hopefully your dealer will consider an exchange for the Scorchers towards the Tric cables, I have no experience with mounting behind the billet wheels, I’d be checking with your dealer or maybe toss it out to the guys on TY to see if anyone else has encountered this… cr
October 20th, 2009 at 9:30 amHey Chris, I’m not really understanding this statement.
“There is no worry about reverse gear or trailer loading with the flexible cable provided your mounting point is not too close to the track.” But, if we mount it where you are suggesting, the stabilizer linkage, then we should not have a problem?
correct on the stab link mounting = no problem, our kits include the universal brackets which opens up many possible mounting locations. I am a little concerned that someone might mount a set on the running boards or pan close enough to the track that the cable could possible reach the rubber (backing up?) and get run over maybe ripped off etc… just a heads up when you mount them. I can see these finding there way onto the REV chassis as they have a very similar stab link (will bolt right on), haven’t looked at the Polaris or Cat but am sure the bracket will fit somewhere on them… cheers cr
October 21st, 2009 at 7:30 amI find this product very appealing. Can you give me a idea when and where I will be able to purchase this?
Any Yamaha Canada dealer (snowmobiles) available in early to mid November… cr
October 22nd, 2009 at 5:33 pmThese look like an almost exact copy to my home made cable scratchers from the early winter of 2006 posted on ty4stroke.com website. Chris are you sure you did not get this idea from that post? I mean even the spot where I mounted them is copied along with the stainless steel hardware. Check out the date on the post as well.
http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php?t=25348&highlight=made+scratchers
Hey Rod, can’t say as i remember that thread but we certainly are on the same page. Quiite honestly the one that got me thinking has been marketed and sold in Europe since 2003 (RX1). An old friend at factory Max Aoshima came up with the idea, not sure where he took his motivation from, all I can say is ‘great minds think alike’. How were the results from your scratchers, did they work well? do you still use? cheers cr
October 25th, 2009 at 10:06 pmSo, how us guys in the USA get a set of these?
We’re working on that Charlie, stay tuned. Worse case you can order from any YMCA dealer, we have a couple that specialize in on-line parts sales that regularly ship to the USA, right Brian?
cheers cr
October 27th, 2009 at 11:20 amI’m still reeling from discovering what ice scratchers were…..this design is it – fantastic.
Do I recall some type of shoulder plant you did around 2000..I’m sure there have been many in between. It’s when they have to add bolts to hold things together ..that sucks.
Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
good one Mr. Holmes! cr
October 28th, 2009 at 11:33 am