Cast Bumper Question

[wyobob44]

I am looking to install the XC Cast bumper on my 23 Expert Turbo, i currently have the full skid plate from Skidoo installed and have read the instructions for the Cast bumper and see no mention of the skid plate or allowing for drilling thur it
Has anyone installed the XC Cast bumper on the new Gen 5 with a skid plate, if so how was the fit and were there any issues with the installation?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Bob

 

[rockinmranch]

Yes I did last week. Pull the hood and pipe. Be prepared, getting exhaust springs back on are a challenge. Springs are crazy tight. The kit is pretty straight forward, you will have extra parts due to it being made for multiple sleds. You will have to take the 6 belly pan hex bolts out of the front of the pan so you can peel the skid plate back to drill out a couple of rivets. No need to remove the whole skid plate. After you put in new bracket and rivets, you will drill two holes using the bracket as a template through belly pan and skid plate. One thing I would do differen't is put the small bolt in backwards, nut on the inside, for the bolt that holds the exhuast sensor module in place. Otherwise it's a bitch starting the nut. The kit also does not supply the nyloc nuts for the rear bumper mounts. They supply little metal brackets with nuts attached but don't seem to make much sense. Must have made sense for another model. It took awhile cause I took my time, but it wasn't too hard and fits perfectly.

 

[Driver]

Fit is 100%. Installation takes some work, but outcome is probaly the best bumper out there. What I like about XC bumper is that there is 5 attachment points to the frame/bulkhead, so in case of impact the force will be divided to larger area. All the aftermarket bumpers have lazy desing of 3 attachment points so there is a bigger chance of breaking something. I had 3x XC cast bumpers on my previous gen4´s and they have been very durable.

 

[skank]

I have both the skid plate and XC front bumper on my gen5 and they work and fit together wonderfully. You are correct about the instructions not being clear about the mounting with the skidplate.
Use the mount plate as a guide to drill two small holes through skidplate. Then re-drill the two small holes to 7/16 from the outside. ?

 

[wyobob44]

Thank you all for your replies and advice
This is what this forum is all about, sharing information and advice for our passion