Editor's Note: The folks at Sherwood have finished production for this year on this kit, but we have been told that they are upgrading the kit to include the Torque Sensing Link (TSL) which they think will make the suspension even better. They are also planning to offer the kit for sleds from more years, and they plan to have it already for sale at Hay Days this year. We plan to look them up.

What's the biggest reason to trade your snowmobile for a newer model? Most would answer "to get a better ride". Or, there's always the option to keep your existing sled and install one of those hi-tech long travel units. That's, of course, only if you want to shell out some serious clams just to keep your hemorrhoids from coming out your nostrils. What about the sledder on a champagne diet, but a beer budget? Now there's a better answer. Allow me to explain.

After two full seasons and about 4500 miles on my ZRT 600, I was very pleased with the machine and the performance. The major improvement I wanted to make was the ride quality. I was content with the handling and ride of the AWS IV front end, but felt the rear could use more travel. Cat's 8-1/2" FasTrack is a great suspension. In fact, it was the first "long travel" and handled the small to medium size bumps just fine. When the wick was lit, or the moguls turned a bit nastier, there was only a limited amount I was willing to put my body through. After all, I'm not getting any younger. I checked out other options as well and found some pretty good deals, but, I still thought I could get the job done more efficiently. Enter the "LongLegs".

Sherwood Motorsports in North Mankato, MN has put together an assembly of new Arctic Cat parts to convert older (1993 to 1996) Arctic Cat models to a 11-1/2", long-travel, coupled rear setup. They've packaged these parts with detailed instructions, cool decals and are selling them for just under $250.00. The update installs very easily and is easy to adjust to individual preferences and riding styles.

The kit includes new rear arms, rear springs, shock spring and limiter strap. These are all genuine Arctic Cat parts chosen from select newer models and put together in the kit. It also includes new friction free bushings.

The instructions were complete and easy to follow. There isn't a missed step in the process. They claim the novice can install it in about 2 hours; this is very conservative. I try to pride myself in being quite handy (don't ask my son about the hole in the stairway wall). It took me, working alone, about 90 minutes from when I turned my sled on its side to my first test ride out in the rough stuff. There's no special tools required, but I borrowed a shock spring removal tool from a friend to make getting the spring off the front shock easier and safer. I'll bring it back next week, Steve!

The two-position rear arm adjustment creates the "coupling" effect, and it lets each rider fine tune for snow conditions and riding styles.

The first thing I noticed was the ride height change, or I should say, the lack thereof. Sitting on the shop floor, the sled's rear bumper was close to 3" higher than with the stock suspension. However, when I sat on it, the sag from the new rear springs created the "ride-in" effect that was so close to the stock riding height the difference wasn't noticeable at all. Out in the snow, it only took a few miles to realize this setup was something special - I was impressed! Mated perfectly with the factory Fox Shox, the suspension made the bumps encountered while banging through the ditches seem to magically disappear. The more I squeezed on the triple Mikuni?s, the better it performed. I actually found myself looking for the bumps. The recommended settings worked great for me; I didn't change a thing. Putting on about 100 miles that day, I found the ride, handling and weight transfer seemed just right.

The following weekend I put on over 300 miles in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I was looking forward to getting back to Ironwood the second day; I knew how Trail 2 gets the closer you get to Ironwood/Hurley after the weekend traffic. This would be the perfect test for this product. At about 65 mph, I felt amazingly in total control, while others were merely crawling along. Meeting other sleds on a bumpy stretch didn't invoke a feeling of panic; instead it was confidence inspiring. The great handling characteristics of Arctic Cat were still there. I was just in better control, and the sled didn't feel like it was going to "buck me off".

The new arms also have two positions for the shock mount and three positions for the shock rods for fine-tuning.

Later, back home, I was able to put it through the paces in various conditions. I was anxious to see if the increased travel affected the speed, so I entered a radar run. My three runs were 87.9, 88.4 and 89.5 mph respectively. This seemed in line with the others in my class for 1000 feet. Another test passed.

Then I wanted to compare the ride to other machines. My first choice was the XLT Special with the XTRA-12. As the 1995 Snow Goer Sled of the Year, there's not much doubt that this is one of the best riding production models to hit the snow. The sled I tested belongs to a friend of mine, is immaculately maintained, and the Fox's were freshly rebuilt. We swapped rides (not brides) for about 20 minutes and agreed there were amazing comparisons to the two sleds. The ride quality was so close that only extreme conditions would set them apart. The Polaris still had the slight edge in the small stutter bumps at low speeds, but the Cat took the large ones at higher speeds just a bit better with more control. Then we began to pick a bit, "yours feels so high, I thought my nose was going to bleed", "are you sure that's a triple?" and "how come your tach is on the wrong side?" Can we say, "Brand Loyal", boys and girls? It was time to switch back.

After a total of over 600 miles so far this season, with no noticeable hifax wear, I can say this is one of the best upgrade investments a person can make. It's still set at the recommended set-up, but after installing new carbides up front, the ski pressure could be lightened a little by lengthening the limiter straps. Sherwood has a Web Site at http://www.geocities.com/pipeline/6835. I have recommended this kit to all of my friends. And, as for my enemies, "Eat my Snow Dust!"