Custom/Hybrid Happy burfday to me...

[badvinny]

Nobody's AM ski comes with instructions, learn by the school of hardknocks!

 

[Matt_E]

Nobody's AM ski comes with instructions, learn by the school of hardknocks!

Pretty much true. But really, how hard would it be to include a few pages of basic tricks with a hull? Manufacturers can pull it off for other parts (pole, pole bracket, steering, whatever!)

 

[Mxsuperjet921]

Actually the bobs do come with an instruction / assembly manual ...

 

[swapmeet]

So the idea that if I don't know what to do I shouldn't be building skis is pretty uncool. Hope you're kidding. Everyone does something for the first time (noob). And not having a clue what is normal or not right is frustrating.

Anyhow, Steve sees the sense in providing some basic tricks and tips, it's just a matter of having the bandwidth to make it. Remember this is the guy who struggles to return texts occasionally

I could probably make it faster, but I only know the issues I've had.

 

[XJCrawler]

So the idea that if I don't know what to do I shouldn't be building skis is pretty uncool. Hope you're kidding. Everyone does something for the first time (noob). And not having a clue what is normal or not right is frustrating.

Anyhow, Steve sees the sense in providing some basic tricks and tips, it's just a matter of having the bandwidth to make it. Remember this is the guy who struggles to return texts occasionally

I could probably make it faster, but I only know the issues I've had.

That's not the point of the comments, the hull builders should have to teach there customers the basic stuff of assembling any ski. Yes providing tips help, but when you take on a project like this, shouldn't you research what your doing first? All those answer could be found pretty quick by searching

 

[Joker]

That's not the point of the comments, the hull builders should have to teach there customers the basic stuff of assembling any ski. Yes providing tips help, but when you take on a project like this, shouldn't you research what your doing first? All those answer could be found pretty quick by searching

XJ get off the high horse dude. We all have to start somewhere.


Hey swap I guess it ain't cool to be noob.

 

[wanderer1]

Plenty of hulls available that simply "bolt" together available. Most people do not agree with me,but I believe that with templates such as these are available,all A/M hulls should bolt together like or easier than a SJ or an SXR. People are really tight lipped about issues with there hulls,which I think is caused by the "fanboy" syndrome. I for one would like to be aware of any issues. It would help me decide if I were willing to take on such a hull or move on to a different one. And everyone needs a little help sometimes,which I thought was what this forum was partially about. Sometimes when a simple ? Is asked the SHTF,ridiculous. Lots of undisclosed flaws in many of the hulls on the market,sad IMO.

 

[XJCrawler]

XJ get off the high horse dude. We all have to start somewhere.


Hey swap I guess it ain't cool to be noob.

I'm not on a high horse, nothing wrong with being a noob, but complaining about not knowing what shims to use because your builder didnt tell you is crazy.

I'm all for asking questions, but when guys complain rather then asking for advice it makes it sound like these hulls go together difficult because of inexperience it makes the builder look bad

 

[XJCrawler]

Plenty of hulls available that simply "bolt" together available. Most people do not agree with me,but I believe that with templates such as these are available,all A/M hulls should bolt together like or easier than a SJ or an SXR. People are really tight lipped about issues with there hulls,which I think is caused by the "fanboy" syndrome. I for one would like to be aware of any issues. It would help me decide if I were willing to take on such a hull or move on to a different one. And everyone needs a little help sometimes,which I thought was what this forum was partially about. Sometimes when a simple ? Is asked the SHTF,ridiculous. Lots of undisclosed flaws in many of the hulls on the market,sad IMO.

See it's comments like this that get carried away and I get called a fanboy.

These hulls go together just as easy if not easier than a Superjet.

I'm not being a fan boy, I've owned skis by bob, wdk, and Trendsetterz. I've also assembled rickters, trinity's and helped with a rok-r.

For ease of build, the chan and matrix were easier to assemble then a Superjet, due to less shiming being needed. 100% every part bolted in

The gen 3 was a step below, only because it required more shimming then the other two

Rickters are a bit more work due to needing a pump shoe installed

Are the rok-r has been the biggest bitch so far. No pump inserts and difficult to fit exhaust.

Everytime I've tried to defend the ski clinic for how well the hulls go together I get called a fanboy. I'm not saying there the greatest hull ever made, but the second I give a positive post on them, I'm a fab boy.

If I was such a fab boy of the ski clinic why have I purchase a wdk hull and a chan after my gen3?

 

[Str8huckin]

The thing is, if your gonna shower the guy with phone calls msgs and texts about nonsense or too ask questions you can answer yourself then realize its gonna take a little longer than expected. I could throw everyones favorite companys under the bus about a full build. my buddy paid 31000$ for last year. Mr know it all billy bo susposedly built the pos too and just about everything had to be redone after two weeks. It took.over 6 months to get said ski and was nothing but problems. Guess what? Nobody answered there phones either. If they responded to everysingle msg n call nothing would get done.

 

[XJCrawler]

I'm all for bashing a company on they do wrong, but I hate when people mis read posts or develop negative views from threads that are off base.
Here's some negative for each hull builder
WDK- good luck getting your , but quality
BOB- goes together really good, the ride is better then what people post a about. Especailly on the newer gen3's. The gen 1 was its own pig. There biggest problem is fit and finish, but there addressing that. The hoods all chip at the edges and the paint spiders.
Trendsetterz- great quality, rides awesome, but there communication can be poor, but Steve's working on that and it's getting better. Personally I had no problems getting ahold of him during the hull build, it was just when I wanted some other parts after the fact it was difficult for about a week or so.
Trinity- probably the best fit and finish of any ski, zero shims used, but there intake are just a stock Superjet which is too small for the big motors. There communication is very poor and very difficult to even get your hull.
Rickter- nice fit and finish, but heavy, can have long wait times and expensive shipping

These are my experiences, everyone's are different

 

[XJCrawler]

Sorry for any poor grammar, I'm posting from my phone in that garage right now working on the gf's car

 

[98gti]

Everyone gets so offended by "fanboy" maybe we should use "fan man" instead, lol.

 

[wanderer1]

I wasn't pointing fingers,maybe you should reread it. Your personal experiences don't tend to be the norm(XJ) with certain hulls. A perfect example was the Fiore build thread. Mark brought up some issues and the shtf. I was addressing the industry and its patrons. Just asking for a little honesty from people. Any of my skis I've been the first to point issues out to people, whether it be the hull or drive train. Back to this thread, I reread Robins post and I didn't come away with just shims, but maybe I read into it.

 

[wanderer1]

I agree with ol str8huckin about bothering these guys. Small companies can't get anything done if they are on the phone talking to people that are just wasting time. Not just hulls but motor guys, carb guys etc.

 

[swapmeet]

Tap the brakes ya'll let's all hug and sing kum-bai-yah or something lol... I didn't need 'help on shims.... '

First of all, if you've built just one AM hull before your BC, your opinion is irrelevant to the point I'm making. If I had built a bunch of AM skis I'm sure I'd grind my way to happiness. But unfortunately I just don't have the experience. And Wanderer is right, if all you read about is Backie Chans going together without any issues/ little to no shims etc, and you've never had a AM hull, guess what you're gonna expect? It to go together without issues... So when it doesn't I develop a case of WTF's.... I don't understand why that's not ok. And when I'm (really) frustrated... And I ask Steve, he's like 'Oh yeah... other people have been doing ______, its normal, no big deal' I stand in my garage yelling 'why didn't you just tell me in the first place???' Hence the need for "instructions."

I had to open up all four pump mount holes. That's not normal SJ assembly stuff IMO. Especially when all I have read about is how everyone is slapping their ski together with little to no shims. It doesn't mean I'm an idiot, I want to make sure I'm not doing something wrong, so I ask Steve and other owners. It didn't have to open them much, but still, its something that any builder should be made aware of. Just as a courtesy call if nothing else. I'm sure Steve isn't excited that I'm mentioning that, and he felt bad when we discussed it on the phone yesterday because a few other customers had similar issues even though his mock up pump fits. (Part of the instruction conversation)
Also, the drive shaft wasn't centered left to right in the bulkhead hole. But when centered, the midshaft wouldn't align... So on my second try, I let the drive shaft sit where it wanted, and slid the midshaft on. BOOM, lined up. Every how-to I've read on this site says "center the drive shaft first". But, and Steve and I discussed this, if you use the midshaft as a guide to aligning the driveshaft, it works great, just don't torque the midshaft into place, it has to float freely in the correct spot.

Once again, just basic little tips for people who have never owned a AM hull on some things that will help.

 

[deftons56]

As far as the pump goes, bolt the mid shaft first and look through the back of the ski to where the drive shaft needs to be. Then take out the mid shaft and make the pump line up where the mid shaft hole was... If that makes sense.

And did you pay for the ebox mount and battery box before your hull shipped or was it an add on? Just curious.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[swapmeet]

That's not the point of the comments, the hull builders should have to teach there customers the basic stuff of assembling any ski. Yes providing tips help, but when you take on a project like this, shouldn't you research what your doing first? All those answer could be found pretty quick by searching

No, if I have a stock RN and something is sketchy, I search the X. But if my brand new $6k hull isnt going together perfect I don't see how contacting the builder is uncalled for. If my hull isn't right he needs to know for quality control reasons at the very least.
I mean, if my pump needs grinding, and nobody else building a BC on the X has had to do that, what is there to 'search'?

I'm not on a high horse, nothing wrong with being a noob, but complaining about not knowing what shims to use because your builder didnt tell you is crazy.

This statement gets me twisted up a bit. Please show me where I complained about Steve not telling me which shims to use. I've repeated multiple times what my complaint was. As a matter of fact, Steve thought I had too much shim on the engine and I thought it was fine.... And it aligned great.




Wow dude.... You say this stuff... And it just digs up old BS that I'm trying to put behind Steve and I. But since you brought it up...

The thing is, if your gonna shower the guy with phone calls msgs and texts about nonsense or too ask questions you can answer yourself .....

Nonsense? like "Hey, i know my hull is a month late with no explanation, but when is my hull/ or parts gonna ship?" And when it doesn't ship the day I'm told, where exactly can I get the information so that I can answer that myself? Maybe I should use the search function?

If they responded to everysingle msg n call nothing would get done.

If he sent my parts when he said, I wouldn't be bugging him and he could get more done.

 

[camojoe]

As far as the pump goes, bolt the mid shaft first and look through the back of the ski to where the drive shaft needs to be. Then take out the mid shaft and make the pump line up where the mid shaft hole was... If that makes sense.

And did you pay for the ebox mount and battery box before your hull shipped or was it an add on? Just curious.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

brian I thought you knew better than that. Gotta start with the pump in first in my opinion, then once you use a gauge to make sure driveshaft is centered slide the midshaft on but not all the way against the firewall. Check with a gauge to see if the clearance from the back of the midshaft housing is equidistant from the firewall. If its not even then shim accordingly. This step process is critical when installing pump shoe mainly and can be debated both ways on midshaft first or pump in first if hull has pump shoe already installed. The way I look at it is the bulkhead/firewall could be off a little bit and if everything is not perfectly straight then buying bearings will be your new hobby, ask me how I know

 

[hornedogg79]

You got promo pricing and a sick free paint job just like I did. I think a few bumps in the road were to be expected with the first few hulls and that's part of the reason for the discount. I'm happier than a pig in with mine!