I recently took delivery of my 2017 REV GEN4 Summit X. I’ve been fairly impressed with the fit & finish of the machine until I came across this problem. While analyzing the steering stem, it’s mounting points, & bushings it quickly became obvious something wasn't right.
Within the parts microfiche, this part (#1010) appears to be labeled upper half-housing. It is the ONLY mounting point for the upper section of the steering stem. This is a place that receives a large amount of rider input that has been transferred through the handlebars. Even with 0 miles I already noticed the bushing has spacing and is a little sloppy.
Upon further investigation a major design flaw is identified. The purpose and functionality of this bearing is designed to have a bolt on both sides of the steering stem to keep it tight. However, the exposed housing clearly shows that a bolt cannot be used through the front hole. (SEE PHOTO) The cast upper frame is not designed to accept both bolts. I’m extremely disappointed that Skidoo felt that the one bolt would suffice as a component to rider input and essential machine control. You can easily move this bushing up/down by hand. I'm worried that over time, this will become a weak point which will only lead to additional slop.
I sent the above writeup to Skidoo. This is their reply:
Thank you for taking the time to contact BRP.
In response to your request the new design has been through vigorous testing and that it's not something that has been forgotten or left out reducing parts, reducing weight where it is not needed and maintaining the strength of the unit is key .This also reduces vibration and feedback to the rider. If you need more explanations, please contact your dealership.
I didn't find this to be a sufficient response. In order to find a solution, I called Rick @ OFT Racing. He quickly got the groundwork running to offer a solution. A prototype was rushed out to me and we test fit the following replacement prototype bushing.
I can't thank Rick @ OFT Racing enough for quickly responding to this request and creating the immediate fix! As you can see, the sunken allen bolt will allow the front side of the bushing to be tightened and then slid back into position within the bulkhead. If you feel you are a rider that will test the limitations of the stock setup, OFT Racing now has a production solution available! Lower steering bushings are available as well. With both, there is absolutely no slack in the steering. The only movement that can be felt now is the flexing of the steering stem itself. :rockon:
Within the parts microfiche, this part (#1010) appears to be labeled upper half-housing. It is the ONLY mounting point for the upper section of the steering stem. This is a place that receives a large amount of rider input that has been transferred through the handlebars. Even with 0 miles I already noticed the bushing has spacing and is a little sloppy.
Upon further investigation a major design flaw is identified. The purpose and functionality of this bearing is designed to have a bolt on both sides of the steering stem to keep it tight. However, the exposed housing clearly shows that a bolt cannot be used through the front hole. (SEE PHOTO) The cast upper frame is not designed to accept both bolts. I’m extremely disappointed that Skidoo felt that the one bolt would suffice as a component to rider input and essential machine control. You can easily move this bushing up/down by hand. I'm worried that over time, this will become a weak point which will only lead to additional slop.
I sent the above writeup to Skidoo. This is their reply:
Thank you for taking the time to contact BRP.
In response to your request the new design has been through vigorous testing and that it's not something that has been forgotten or left out reducing parts, reducing weight where it is not needed and maintaining the strength of the unit is key .This also reduces vibration and feedback to the rider. If you need more explanations, please contact your dealership.
I didn't find this to be a sufficient response. In order to find a solution, I called Rick @ OFT Racing. He quickly got the groundwork running to offer a solution. A prototype was rushed out to me and we test fit the following replacement prototype bushing.
I can't thank Rick @ OFT Racing enough for quickly responding to this request and creating the immediate fix! As you can see, the sunken allen bolt will allow the front side of the bushing to be tightened and then slid back into position within the bulkhead. If you feel you are a rider that will test the limitations of the stock setup, OFT Racing now has a production solution available! Lower steering bushings are available as well. With both, there is absolutely no slack in the steering. The only movement that can be felt now is the flexing of the steering stem itself. :rockon:
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