Taming A Lynx Rave RE – Expert Tuning Advice for PPS3 Rear Suspension

In model year 2022, Lynx snowmobiles were introduced to North American riders after strictly being a Scandinavian brand for its first 55 years of production.

Then and now, the crew from the BRP-owned brand proudly proclaims its sleds are built to excel in rough situations that would allegedly overtax snowmobiles from any other brand. Company taglines say of Lynx, “Just like the Finnish folk who build them, they’re totally at home in extreme conditions.” Promotional videos reinforce the message by featuring two massive, shirtless weightlifting brothers unafraid of subarctic weather.

Let’s face it, there’s always some bravado in marketing campaigns, so grains of salt should be added. Yet at the same time, Lynx insists its Rave snowmobiles and specifically their suspensions are designed to be ridden on harsh, never-groomed trails with the skis dangling in the air.

If that reflects the rider’s modus operandi and the conditions they regularly pursue and encounter, that’s great. However, we personally know of many common trail riders who bought Lynx Rave models over the last three years due to the machine’s exotic look and previous forbidden-fruit appeal. But then when they went out and rode the red-and-black rockets, they realized that the unique, uncoupled PPS3 suspension could make the machines less than ideal for zooming corner-to-corner on a twisting path.

To help those people dial in better ride characteristics for the trails on which they ride, we interviewed Janne Tapio, a former snocross phenom who is now the manager for Lynx’s R&D department. He explained the “why” behind the design and then gave practical tips on how to dial it in for North American-style trail riding.

While some self-proclaimed online experts focus on the shock settings, Tapio said to start with rear ride height, and then move to the limiter strap.

PPS3 Background

Tapio said the PPS design dates all the way back to the brand’s racing efforts decades ago.

“In the 1990s and even going back into the 1980s, we were riding snocross here in Scandinavia, and snocross in our case always meant rough tracks” that were often snow-covered motocross facilities. Meanwhile, so-called “snocross” races in North America at the time were primarily ice lemans races with small jumps.

“And at the same time, the trail system [in Finland] in the 1980s and ’90s didn’t really have any maintenance,” Tapio continued. “So we had these trails, powerlines and forest roads that people were riding on that ended up having big bumps and moguls. For both racing and our trails here, we were asking for the same thing: To have suspension capabilities maximized and to use good quality shocks.”

Therefore, a team at Lynx led by legendary motocross and snocross star Pauli Piipola started developing long travel, uncoupled suspensions. Prototypes were first used in racing in the late 1990s before the design made it to consumer sleds starting in model year 2006. It was called the Pauli Piipola Suspension – or PPS.

Over time the PPS has undergone a couple of big, generational steps, which explains why the latest version is called the PPS3.

Welcome To North America

Grooming has become more prevelant on some Scandinavia trails since the suspension was originally designed, Tapio said, but riding there is still a mixed bag of often rugged conditions. It’s quite a contrast to riding here.

“From our side of the ocean at the time, we looked at North American trail sleds in your magazines and videos and saw the groomed, flat trails with fast speeds and leather suits and full-face helmet,” Tapio said with a laugh in a Zoom call while sitting in his office in Finland. “We understood that in North America it’s a totally different story than where we are. And when we’d get some of our competitors’ sleds here, we could see they were developed for a completely different environment than what we have here.”

That gave Lynx an important advantage in Scandinavia.

Now that the Lynx sleds are available here in North American, though, the script has been flipped.

Tapio confirmed that every Lynx Rave RE leaves the factory in Rovaniemi, Finland, with the same exact stock suspension settings and specs, whether the sled is being shipped to a customer in Helsinki, Finland, or Finland, Minnesota. So, it’s more-or-less set for Scandinavian conditions.

To make the sled work better for the sort of trail riding done here, Tapio suggested an owner first ensure they have the correct ride height, then adjust the limiter strap to their liking, and then if necessary adjust the clickers on the big KYB Pro 46 shocks.

Set The Sag

Setting the correct ride height/suspension sag is something every rider  should do with any snowmobile to get the best ride quality and handling.

In the case of the Lynx Rave RE, Tapio said the ideal amount of sag is 95 millimeters, plus or minus 5 mm. In imperial measurements, that’s 3.75 inches. Setting it correctly can be accomplished in the garage or driveway as long as the sled is on a flat surface.

Start by unweighting the rear suspension. Lift the back of the sled off of the ground by pulling up on the rear bumper. Then measure and record the distance on the riderless sled from the rear suspension’s rear arm mounting bolt to the ground.

Next, the sled’s rider should plop onto the seat, wearing the riding gear he or she normally uses plus the stuff they regularly carry (in a backpack or in tunnel-mounted luggage). Have a friend measure the distance between that same rear suspension mounting bolt and the ground again. Ideally, the difference between the two measurements should be 3.75 inches. If it’s less than that – let’s say it’s 3 inches – the rear spring likely has too much preload or is too “stiff.” If the back end drops 4.5 inches, though, the rear end is squatting too much and the spring is set too soft.

Unlike most traditional snowmobile skid frames, the PPS3 has a coil spring on the rear arm instead of a torsion spring. To adjust it, loosen the lock collar and then turn the spring clockwise for more preload or counter-clockwise for less preload. It’s a stiff spring, though, so one rotation makes a big difference. Then go through the process of measuring again until you get it right. After dialing-in the correct sag or ride height, remember to re-set the locking collar. Heavier riders may need to use an accessory spring to attain the preferred 3.75-inch ride-in.

Turn To The Limiter Strap

Ski lift is a common problem many North American sledheads have when riding a Lynx Rave RE. The front end won’t stay down because the suspension quickly transfers weight and lifts the skis whenever the throttle is engaged. Let’s face it, popping wheelies is fun, but it’s also hard to control a snowmobile’s when the skis are always in the air.

Many modern, trail-focused suspensions make solving this issue relatively easy by adjusting the coupling blocks. Those don’t exist, however, in the independent PPS3 design. Another common option might be to increase the compression rate on the rear arm shock. That can help a bit, but it may only make a moderate impact on the weight transfer while sacrificing some ride quality in the process.

The key on the PPS3, Tapio stressed, is the limiter strap position.

 “The amount of ski lift you want to have coming out from the corner is mainly decided by the length of the limiter strap, and then the clickers should be used mostly to tackle the bumps or increase the comfort,” Tapio said. He said to mentally “keep the clickers in the ‘bump side’ and use the limiter strap mainly for the cornering.”

On the PPS3, the top of the limiter strap mounts into one of four holes on an arced cam. Lynx considers the lowest hole (the one closest to the ground, which results in the longest effective limiter strap) position 1, and the highest hole (which results in the shortest effective limiter strap) position 4. From the factory, the strap typically comes in position/hole 2 (though it varies by year).

For those who love weight transfer and lifting the skis over every obstacle, unbolting the limiter strap and remounting it into the first/lowest hole will provide a ridiculously playful ride. This position also allows for maximum travel from the high-end KYB clicker shocks, but don’t except slot-car handling in the twisties.

Those who want more control of the weight transfer, skis closer to the ground and the headlight pointed at something other than the treetops, should try mounting the limiter strap in position 3 or even position 4. This higher mounting position will effectively shorten the limiter strap, suck down front arm and control the weight transfer. It will sacrifice a bit of shock travel, however.

The amount of ski pressure can also be fine-tuned with the front-arm spring, Tapio noted, but start with the limiter strap adjustment. He also noted that Lynx uses a much higher-rate front arm spring than what’s standard on other brand’s sleds, so adjust it in small increments.

Shocks Optimize Ride Quality

Once the ride height/sag and limiter strap are properly set, the focus can shift to ride quality.

Since its North American debut in model year 2022, Lynx have altered the stock spring and shock calibrations a bit on the Rave RE’s PPS3 suspension to make the machines more compliant.

Model year 2024 brought the biggest changes when the machine moved to the Radien2 chassis platform (the Lynx equivalent of the Ski-Doo REV Gen5). Tapio said the settings were updated gain for model year 2025, Tapio said.

“When we came for 2024 with the new [Radien2] platform, we wanted to calibrate the suspension in a way that the North American customer can benefit when riding is done on smoother trails and flatter conditions,” Tapio said, “but at the same time we didn’t want to sacrifice the Scandinavia customers. So, we did the fine tuning with the shocks to match North American users a little bit better but still maintained the DNA that we had for our rough riding and the variable trails.”

For 2025, Tapio said adjustments were made once again to high-speed, low-speed and rebound damping as well as the preload on the center shock.

Therefore, the amount of adjustment needed will depend on the model year Rave (or so-equipped Xterrain) you have, as well as personal preferences. Trial and error is key.

The massive KYB Pro 46 HLCR shocks found at all four positions on a Rave RE not only look impressive, they also have a lot of adjustability.

The accompanying chart on page 51 shows the factory suggestions for clicker settings for the 2022-2024 Lynx Rave RE models for comfort, standard and aggressive/sport riding. The numbers shown are the number of positions the clicker or nut should be turned back after turning it all fully in clockwise to “full-stiff.” 

The low-speed compression setting is controlled by the center clicker knob on the remote reservoir on the front and rear shocks. On the center shock, it adjustment is made by turned a dial with a flat blade screwdriver.

The high-speed compression setting is altered by rotating the nut found at the base of that clicker using a 17 mm wrench. The rebound position is controlled by the small, turnable knob at the base of the shock.

Specific to 2025, Tapio said the standard settings now put all low-speed compression clickers at 30 turns out from full firm and high-speed at 1.5 turns out, with rebound setting at 24 on the front and 10 in the skid frame.

For the comfort setting, he said, turn all low-speed clickers to 35 and high-speed to 2. Keep front-end rebound at 24 but move it to 11 in the skid frame.

For the aggressive sport settings on 2025 models, he suggested 20 clicks out on all low-speed adjusters and 1 turn out on high-speed, with the rebound at 22 in the front and 8 in the rear.

Don’t Be Afraid

All snowmobiles come from the factory with settings that are aimed at the “average” rider in terms of height, weight and anticipated riding style for that model, irreguardless of the brand. Lynx assumes its RE models are going to be purchased by the most aggressive riders in the roughest conditions, and it tunes its suspensions accordingly.

But obviously not every rider is 5 foot, 8 inches tall and 175 pounds, for example, and not every rider attacks the trails in the same manner. Whether its the Lynx Rave RE that was the focus of this story or any other modern machine, the key is to set the suspension for the person you see reflected in the mirror when brushing your teeth. The factories give riders adjustable suspensions for a reason – don’t be afraid to dial-in your ride.

That said, whenever making suspension adjustments or changes, it’s best to record the settings you started with and the settings you changed to in a notebook or on your phone so you can return to “neutral” if you took some serious steps in the wrong direction.