Anyone install a KMOD Skid on their 850?

christopher · Jan 11, 2019

Thinking about doing my first major upgrade to my 2019 850.
Looking at a new KMOD Skid and a set of new shocks.

Anyone had a chance to play with a KMOD on their 850 yet?

Devilmanak · Jan 11, 2019

What did you think of the skid on your 19 vs your 18? I keep ranting, but the lack of tipped up rails REALLY makes a difference.
I spent 2300 on shocks, that also made a HUGE difference. I have never looked at skids, what kid of coin does that cost?

Reeb · Jan 11, 2019

Devilmanak said:
What did you think of the skid on your 19 vs your 18? I keep ranting, but the lack of tipped up rails REALLY makes a difference.

I spent 2300 on shocks, that also made a HUGE difference. I have never looked at skids, what kid of coin does that cost?

I put Raptors all the way around on my stock rails and that alone made a huge difference. Thinking of doing the same on the Assault. Gonna Revalve them first but a call to Raptor might not be far away.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ziggity · Jan 12, 2019

Would love to try out all new shocks and skid, but after paying 18k for a brand new sled its hard to drop that much more money lol

tchriste · Jan 12, 2019

I installed a Kmod skid with Raptors and K motion, with a set of Raptors on the front on my 17 in 17. difference is night and day.

Chadly · Jan 13, 2019

I have had the second generation Tom's on my 154 this season and I really like it. I have the one with the lock out which I haven't got to play with that much but I do think the newer billet arm is an improvement from his first Emotion for the G4 if that's even possible. It's less money than doing a Kmod and I think you get the same results. It makes the sled a lot more stable and takes most the wheelie problems out of it. For the money I think it's the best way to go!

Matte Murder · Jan 13, 2019

Chad are you smart enough to post a pic of the 2nd gen Emotion.

ak · Jan 13, 2019

Matte Murder said:
Chad are you smart enough to post a pic of the 2nd gen Emotion.

Here’s a link with pic.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdnsNujnacJ/

Chadly · Jan 13, 2019

Full disclosure here: I am NOT Tom's Snowmobile web guy! :face-icon-small-win

Matte Murder · Jan 13, 2019

Thanks! I had Emotion kits on my XMs. Even with the long tracks 164 and 174 they had way better wheelie control without killing the playfulness of the sled. Way better ride too.

christopher · Jan 13, 2019

Looks like KMOD’s web site is down?
http://www.kmodsnowmobileparts.com

tchriste · Jan 13, 2019

The KMOD has a number of features I really liked, very good rails (Iceage), very strong rear arm, adjustable coupling, 2 inches more travel, coil over Raptor shocks. The rear arm has less movement than the T motion and one can lock it out. One can grease pivot points. Mounting points are very solid. When I installed mine I used 5 inch wheels on the top to keep clearance between track and tunnel. You'll never run over your snow flap backing off your truck/trailer again. No more wheelies, total control over how much ski lift, this was very important for me, my machine is a 2017 G4 154 3inch and I'm 5'7" and a buck 40 no gear so the stock machine spent most of it's time with the skis 3 plus feet in the air.
And no I'm not a KMOD rep or sponsored.

Devilmanak · Jan 14, 2019

A hillclimb Pro guy just sold his Mod sled to a local hillclimb guy. It has a Kmod on it. Looks good. No idea how it works. Actually, it was Blaine Mathew's sled, so considering that it was Open Mod winner at Jackson last year, it must work.

christopher · Jan 14, 2019

Devilmanak said:
A hillclimb Pro guy just sold his Mod sled to a local hillclimb guy. It has a Kmod on it. Looks good. No idea how it works. Actually, it was Blaine Mathew's sled, so considering that it was Open Mod winner at Jackson last year, it must work.

Spoke with Kevin last night.
He mentioned that he had done 6 RMSHA installs in the last week.

schaef_12 · Jan 15, 2019

I'm very interested to see what you find if you go down the route of getting a Kmod skid. I've ridden nothing but Polaris Rmk's since 2012, and bought a hold over 18' 850 this winter as it was by far the best deal on a new sled.

Before I even rode it, I started doing tons of research to get it setup correctly to give myself a chance to enjoy the sled. Most of the research I did led me to believe the stock skid is junk, Tmotion sucks, and you need a coupled skid to keep the wheelies down.....yet I could not find much info on anyone with an 850 and a Kmod.

Fast forward to today, and I know have 200 miles on the sled. I've actually let the limiter strap out to the second hole and increased the preload on the RTS and it is the most fun sled I have ridden to date, especially in the less than ideal snow conditions we have had in northern Idaho so far.

Now, when/if the snow get super deep the wheeling and trenching will not be nearly as fun. This is where a Kmod does interest me. I like the idea of being able to quickly adjust the level of coupling the skid has to match snow conditions. My fear is that even on the least coupled setting I will not get it to match the payfulness of the stock skid the way I currently have it setup.

Blk88GT · Jan 15, 2019

schaef_12 said:
My fear is that even on the least coupled setting I will not get it to match the payfulness of the stock skid the way I currently have it setup.

Unless the design has changed, your fears are not unfounded. I had one in an M series years ago and although it would climb incredibly well, it wouldn't pull the skis to save it's life!

tdbaugha · Jan 15, 2019

The design has changed since then. The Get 3 skid is more playful than the Gen 1 and 2. And coupler setting 1 is almost completely uncoupled. You have to use like 90% of the rear travel before the coupler engages the front of the skid.

schaef_12 · Jan 15, 2019

That's good to hear, if I could keep the same playfulness I have now and also get the benefits of the coupled skid when need would be great. Depending on what 2020 has in store for new sleds, finding a 2019 Summit holdover in the 146" track length and putting a 154" Kmod under it would be a sweet sled.

boondocker97 · Jan 15, 2019

tdbaugha said:
The design has changed since then. The Get 3 skid is more playful than the Gen 1 and 2. And coupler setting 1 is almost completely uncoupled. You have to use like 90% of the rear travel before the coupler engages the front of the skid.

This is what I'm hoping for. Modified my Gen II that is in my cat to Gen III this year hoping to get the front end to lighten up. I'm a big guy with a big bore so it should still be able to lift the front if desired. Hopefully this weekend I'll get to try it out.

The Kmod rides well on the trail and certainly makes the sled more capable in the deep snow, but I was more tired at the end of the day with it because it planted the front so hard anytime I was off-throttle or not going up. I did a fair amount of adjusting trying to get it where I wanted it too. All the reviews I read before I got it were great. No one mentioned any downsides. Maybe because no one wants to admit their $3000 suspension isn't perfect???

Anyway this just my experience in a 2017 Cat chassis. Ski-Doo kit might be just fine. In defense of Kmod, the Gen II geometry with Cats was designed to run mounted higher up in the old 2013 mounts in tunnel. When Cat dropped the driveshaft that wasn't possible anymore due to clearance, and the ride height went up in the rear 1" to 1-1/2" in the 2014+ mounting holes. The Gen III is supposed to drop the ride height back down on the Cats as well as reduce the coupling amounts. So if you do decide to go down this road, I'd be inclined to make sure you get a Gen III skid. Also make sure the limiter strap hardware is clear of everything when the front of the skid compresses all the way.

christopher · Jan 15, 2019

Looks like KMOD's website is in the process of coming back online !
They got the home page working again.

http://www.kmodsnowmobileparts.com/

Just waiting for the DOO page to come back now.:face-icon-small-hap

Anyone install a KMOD Skid on their 850?

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