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torque steering


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Took the new V-Ride out on the lake for the first time this past weekend!!! Loved every bit of it, except for one thing. When underway at approx. 22mph i took my hands off the steering wheel and the boat tracked stright for a few seconds, but, then cut sharply to the right all on it's own. The dealer was with us, and said this was normal. When we had the boat up on the trailer, he showed me an adjustment on the rudder (sorry i dont know what it's called), and told me to loosen the 2 set screws in order to adjust it. My question is which way to adjust it? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Evan

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isnt that kind of liek the safety feature for jet skis? just drives in circles till it runs out of gas if the driver falls off

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You actually want the boat to pull one way or the other when you take your hands off the wheel. If there rudder is compeltely neutral the wheel will be sloppy when traveling in a straight line and you can't drive with as much exact control.

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Right now your adjustable rudder tab should be adjusted out to the port side of your boat just a little. To decrease the amount of rudder tension align the tab more inline with the rudder.

Joe

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It is normal to pull to the right.

As far as a safety feature, a jet ski idling back around to you is a far different story than an inboard ski boat with it's size and exposed propeller coming back around for you to jump back on to or let it run circles around you until it runs out of gas. Shocking.gif The "idle back" is definitely not designed into these boats...your lanyard should prevent this :)

Edited by rts
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It's all personal preference. I like a little more resistance because I don't like that sloppy, neutral feel that Chaunce describes. But those coming from i/os or other vdrive brands may not like it, so to each your own. The nice thing is that you can easily adjust it.

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Not everyone 'wants' torque steer. I really like my boat having nuetral steering. Slalom skiers usually prefer a bit or a lot of rudder torque. If you have neutral steering, after the boat ages and you gain a little slop in the steer cable, you probably will need to add a little rudder torque.

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If you do decide to adjust it, to it in VERY small increments. Before adjustable rudders people would file their rudders to get the safe effect and it takes very little filing to change the feel.

Mike

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JMO, if you primarily wakeboard, I would find a "neutral" adjustment. The difference between control at WB speed is very nil, whereas if in the course with a good skier at 36, having load is definitely better. I would tune it neutral.

I think you want the flange moved to the side to which it turns, if you know what I mean.

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It is normal to pull to the right.

As far as a safety feature, a jet ski idling back around to you is a far different story than an inboard ski boat with it's size and exposed propeller coming back around for you to jump back on to or let it run circles around you until it runs out of gas. Shocking.gif The "idle back" is definitely not designed into these boats...your lanyard should prevent this :)

I was just picturing a boat circling around people and them trying to catch the swim platform ROFL.gifROFL.gif

*off topic* Once I took a hard fall on my jet ski and it decided not to turn in circle but go almost straight, down river and I was swimming as hard as I could to catch it Crazy.gif I think the idle was up to high or something, I can't remember for sure what caused it to go straight Dontknow.gif

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Brings back a bad memory from high school. I had my friend pull me skiing. He hadn't driven my dads boat before. He punched the throttle but wasn't holding the wheel tight(if at all). The big deck boat immediately did a circle and almost killed me. The prop (I/O) was just about 2 feet away from me. Man was I pissed and bit into him so hard. What a dumb fu.. I think that was like 6 lives ago. 3 more left now.

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Took the new V-Ride out on the lake for the first time this past weekend!!! Loved every bit of it, except for one thing. When underway at approx. 22mph i took my hands off the steering wheel and the boat tracked stright for a few seconds, but, then cut sharply to the right all on it's own. The dealer was with us, and said this was normal. When we had the boat up on the trailer, he showed me an adjustment on the rudder (sorry i dont know what it's called), and told me to loosen the 2 set screws in order to adjust it. My question is which way to adjust it? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Evan

Candle-BU....I have my new v-Ride too and had just came here to post a question about the exact same thing!! Too funny.

Yes, mine does the same as yours....let go of the wheel at higher speeds and it cuts hard to the right. I am not crazy about that myself so I may do a little tweaking to see how it will change the steering. I am with you though.....love the boat so far! I have 6.5 hours on it and hope to finish the break-in this weekend! With the warmer temps here finally, the water is close to being ready!

Edited by DUKENO1
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To neutralize the rudder, the tab on the rudder should be slightly out to the right. This acts as a foil to push the back of the rudder to the left thereby increasing pressure for a left turn. Mine came from the factory this way. At any speed, even when increasing speed gradually, my steering will stay straight without touching it. I also get no wandering of the boat. My Malibu before (no adjustable rudder) did pull to the right as all of them do and I very much prefer the straight action for safety reasons especially when someone else may be driving the boat.

As reasons stated above, rudder loading is for competition skiing through a course to help maintain an accurate line of travel while a skier is pulling against the boat.

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