Toms Full Skid / Review

Cool!! Will it lift the front when needed?

Is this a stock xm rear arm and his shock or is this a whole new arm? Would love to do this to my m1000. I have a exit shock now could it be used with this setup?

niner said:

Is this a stock xm rear arm and his shock or is this a whole new arm? Would love to do this to my m1000. I have a exit shock now could it be used with this setup?

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No; it is a new skid; originally designed for the Proclimb. Adapted to the M- series with different rails. Original front arm longer then stock, new rocker arm, pivoting rear arm, Float 3 Kashima front track 2.5" longer then stock M- series shock, bleed shim technology internally on both shocks, rear track R Evol Kashima, 1" longer then stock M shock. Solid 5 lbs. lighter then stock skid.
Sorry it is a stand alone skid, so no substitutions for shocks.
Dave McClure, Rob Kincaid both running it on their mod Proclimbs. Dave used it in his win at Jackson in the "Dash for Cash" race.

So do the longer shocks add height to the skid or does it give it some sag like a dirt bike..

KMMAC said:

So do the longer shocks add height to the skid or does it give it some sag like a dirt bike..

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It changes the ratio between suspension travel vs. shaft travel

Tom's full skid

I have one of these on order. Full skid that I'm putting on a 2010 M8 153 2.6pc turbo @ 9lbs. Can't wait to get it on the snow. Will post results as soon as I can.

Full Skid

Ok, so like my previous post says I purchased Tom's full skid, including front Fox Evol Float 3 shocks, at the end of summer. Live in California (no snow) so had to wait until I rode in McCall last weekend to comment on the suspension. This review is based on 6 rides in snow that ranged from 2' powder to firm spring conditions.

Sled is a 2010 M-8 with a 153x2.6 PC track running 8-10lbs boost. Old suspension was a stock suspension with the KMOD coupler with Raptor shocks in the back and ZBROZ in the front. I would rate my previous set up as good but never really liked how the coupled suspension felt. Didn't like the fact that I could bottom it out against the rear block and that it kept a lot of force on the front skis.

My first impression of Tom's skid was that it is well built and looks very close to a Ski Doo T-Motion suspension. When riding, the first thing I noticed was how well the suspension sucked up bumps. Very smooth down the trail. My best example of this was on the first ride when I came to a tree that was blown down over the road and was berried under the snow a foot or so. On my old skid, I would have been popped up in the air when I went over it. With this skid I didn't even feel it. To be honest I was shocked and actually turned around in the trail and went over the tree at twice the speed to see how the suspension did. Even at the faster speed I had the same result. I watched my son go over the same tree with his M-8 (stock suspension with well tuned float3s, and he nearly came off of the sled. I also noticed how much easier the sled was to turn and navigate through the trees. With the old skid, it was a workout to hit the trees.

Finally I did put the suspension though some good pulls. My first impression was not great. Had a hard time keeping the font end down and was nearly out of control. Then I remembered the other post on here that discussed foot position. On my second attempt I focused on foot position while climbing the hill and was amazed. While walking my feet forward on the skid the sled simply corrected itself and sat the front end on the snow. If I moved my feet back the front end would gradually start to come up. Insanely smooth reaction to my foot placement and never had to lift off of the throttle once. Sucks up bumps on a climb like no other. Even with the coupled suspension, I always had to let off of the throttle to maintain control.

In closing I would just say that I think Tom hit it out of the park with this suspension. I'm not bashing other suspensions but I have ridden similar sleds with pretty much all the aftermarket suspensions from KMOD to Timbersled etc. Most that are setup well with good shocks work great for some things and well at others. In my opinion Tom's skid works great at everything I put it through and as mentioned above has a ton of tune-ability for a persons individual riding style (although I never touched the skid or needed to tune it after installing it). If I were buying a new Yamaha or Arctic Cat, or looking for a better ride out of the M, this would be my first purchase.

price ?

Price

I would call Tom's for the price. It really depends on the shocks and skid. I had mine Black Anodized and put on the best shocks I could buy in the front. He can give you an accurate quote over the phone and they also run summer specials.