2001 MM 700 Rear Skid Swap

[gmac144]

All - I have done much research in regards to this topic as I understand there are several posts regarding it but still am undecided on the setup to proceed with as I will need to purchase the rear skid so I want to make sure I get the best setup the first time.

I live in Michigan and ride the Upper Peninsula mostly with 1-2 trips out west per season. It is a mixture of groomed trail and off trail riding. I also like to run powerlines and occasionally jump. I am wanting to reduce the weight of the MM 700 and improve the handling. I am thinking either of a 144" or 151" set-up with 2 wheel kit. Do to the majority of my riding being Michigan I am leaning more towards the 144"x15" set-up to reduce the amount of wear on hi-faxs due to lack of snow sometimes. I plan to use 1.5" - 2" lug height.

I hear that the arctic 141 skid is almost a direct drop-in with the rear mounting holes lining up but needing to drill new holes in the front approx 1-1.5" forward of existing holes. Heard various stories about this skid saving 20-35 pounds compared to stock pro-action and people say it makes night/day difference in the handling.

Many guys talk about the Skidoo sc10 III and the Polaris Edge. Both sound nice and hearing its about 20 lbs weight savings with improved handling.

What are your thoughts on the different rear skids? I appreciate your time and will plan to let others know how it goes when I actually start the swap. Thanks!

 

[TRIPLESWILLNEVERDIE!]

If you looking to match the ride quality of your proaction dont use the 1m or early m series skids. They are lighter but ride quality suffers.
The polaris xtra light is almost a direct bolt in similar to m series and rides better.
The edge skids will mount a little further ahead of the xtra lite and should ride as good or better.
Im pulling the cat skid out of one of my MM mod and installing an 09 dragon RMK WE skid.
My other MM mod has the xtra lite and rides real good and still soaks up big hits well. Kinda funny it rides better than any 2000-01 rmk ever did. That skid just likes the Yamaha chassis better.

 

[gmac144]

Any thoughts or experience with fitting a 2006 skidoo rev 144" rear skid? Would a 16" wide track need to be used if the rev skid could be used or can I use a 15"?

I believe the pro-action rear skid is approximately 74 lbs, does this sound correct?

Does anyone have a link or information regarding the weights of rear skids from the other manufacturers?

Also I am just looking for thoughts hear, instead of a full rear skid swap what are your thoughts on just doing a 2-wheel kit and a MPI Transfer Enhancement kit and replacing the stock track? It sounds like a few people mention this has helped handling a lot however have not seen much info regarding this.

Thanks!

 

[Backwoods M Max]

If your trying to build a better mountain sled that you can go put 100 miles a day on the trail with you might end up disappointed with what you get at the end. My 02 mm700 has been set up the best it can be to ride in the mountains, and just putting it on a longish trail ride to get to the days site can be a pain bu itself. I haven't weighed my skid as it stands now, wish I did but here it goes. 2 wheel axle kit, MPI straps (they are out I just read on totallyamaha) stripped all but the front 2 wheels and put on ice scratchers. It is rarely lighter than it was before and keep this in mind. Most of the skid is open now so there is less crap for snow and ice to collect on. These sleds all get heavy out in the woods with a load of snow frozen on all the shocks and bars that an extra skid has. Yamaha was on the right track keeping the rear shock up in the tunnel. I have achieved the best performance I can with the sucky stock track by tuning the skid. When I now stretch it to 151" it will really shine. A 1.5" 151" track will get you nowhere out west, other than buried in a hole. My sled pushes horrible in the corners on the trail now, and I have skis with a good keel for trail riding. A longer track will make it push even more into the corners. If you want a trail sled, it might be better to pick up a used trail sled. Sure poo is putting out this 144" assault crossover, but a 1 3/8" track is useless. You just bought yourself a long track trail sled that wont like the twisties and can't handle deep snow. A mountain max will never be a crossover. If your set on making it a dedicated mountain sled change the bars so you can ride wrong foot forward, change to a 7 tooth driver and tracksusa will take a 16x151x2.31 challenger and trim it to 15" for you and you've got a sled that will handle the glades and be good between the trees and still have enough track to play in the steep and deep out west.

 

[TRIPLESWILLNEVERDIE!]

Any thoughts or experience with fitting a 2006 skidoo rev 144" rear skid? Would a 16" wide track need to be used if the rev skid could be used or can I use a 15"?

I believe the pro-action rear skid is approximately 74 lbs, does this sound correct?


Yes, sadly that weight sounds about right.
06 rev skid will work just fine. I have seen a few with rev skids over the years. Should be an easier install than other skids because tunnel width is very close between the doo and yamaha.

 

[gmac144]

Thanks for the info. I have stumbled across an Extra Lite skid and going to move forward with the swap.

 

[mark]

skid swap/ Xtra-lite

Use the yamaha front cross shaft and mounting bolts with the factory mounting holes. Build some rear drop brackets out of 1/8" flat steel.

If your running a 141" track you will need to trim off 5/8" or so off the back of each rail.

If it's a 144" track you might have enough room to push the rear wheels back to take up the slack, not sure though.. You will like the polaris skid!