Finally Picked Up An Alpha One

[Frostbite]

This is the kind of stuff I needed to hear, thanks guys! I was telling my wife that back in the day, there were no such thing as mountain sleds and we did our best through mods to build one. Like many of you, I have continued to do that for decades. It's become a tradition for me to research what works and what doesn't and accumulate mods during the summer and when the weather turns, I turn the heat on in the shop and enjoy working sled mods. It's going to be sad/tough to slow down or stop that tradition.

There are few things I am fairly sure I will be doing.

1. A belt drive - I'll either steal the TKI off my 2015 (with the extended chain case) and put the chain drive on the 2015, or buy another one.
2. Iceage Elevate Kit - $200 deposit already done.
3. Front track shock - it will more than likely be sent to Nextech for a re-valving and a stiffer spring.
4. A lithium battery in the stock battery location. I will research which one.
5. Some kind of lightweight silencer - probably a Diamond S titanium but, I may get a single pipe if I can get away with not running a fuel controller.
6. Some brand of mountain front bumper
7. A raised handle rear bumper.
8. I already have a pretty cool windshield I will be adding so I can add a gauge bag.
9. The rear snow flap has to go. It will either become a bikini or something else will be going on.
10. Seal up air box - is there a Youtube video of where to seal it exactly?

That's about it for the must haves at this point.

Other considerations are:

1. ECU update - which one I have no idea.
2. High compression heads - now that I have electric start and don't have to pull the sled over.
3. Stock pipe mod?
4. Clutching - I will try the sled first
5. Skis - I will try the stockers and then try the Grippers on my 2015 and see which I prefer.
6. Running boards - I understand Hardcore running boards are stiffer? I will try them and see how they shed snow. Maybe open up the stock holes?
7. Was the tunnel thicker on the Hardcore? if not, do I need to add tunnel re-enforcement?
8. Bar riser height - I will try what's on there first and go from there.
9. Some kind of air filters/ flappers so the engine can't bog in over the hood snow.
10. Boyesen Rage cages - will the ones from my Suzuki fit the CTEC2?

 

[sno*jet]

A good lightweight battery's weight wouldnt be noticed up front. not as much as that seat which you will feel the diff when riding vs. non ES model, in the tech terrain.
but boy, do you have the tinkeritis! ride it stock first for sure!

 

[Chewy22]

10. Boyesen Rage cages - will the ones from my Suzuki fit the CTEC2?

No. You will need the new design for the ctec2. It’s nice, you don’t have to cut down the intake tube like on the zuk. The boots on the throttle bodies are super tight, lube then up with a little oil.

 

[niner]

Lots of good info here. I love my backwoods bumper, BDX titanium can,BDX front bumper ,BDX boards, SSI ypipe and the BDX front end, just put the raised spindles on so can’t comment yet on how they handle. I say ride it stockish and go from there and you can decide what works and what doesn’t.

 

[Frostbite]

A good lightweight battery's weight wouldnt be noticed up front. not as much as that seat which you will feel the diff when riding vs. non ES model, in the tech terrain.
but boy, do you have the tinkeritis! ride it stock first for sure!

Doing mods are half the fun of having a new sled! Her's my first mod, the Arctic Cat Alpha One Expert or Bikini Mod! Thanks Niner for the idea!
I will get a raised handle bumper later. It may not be what I go with in the end but, that stock snow flap just had to go. It would have been like dragging a snow shovel vertically behind the sled.

 

[Octanee]

Like mentioned ride the sled first! So damn good as it is, I wouldn't waste money on a belt drive my self if the chaincase has no issues which it won't and you likely won't feel any difference with the alpha due to th e low gearing and good clutching.

I may or may not of mentioned, I picked up a turbo kit for cheap cheap(only reason I grabbed it, felt I'd be foolish not to), but I still don't think im going to install it, up until this sled, all my previous sleds have been turbos, love them and I know the new kits are so much better than the older stuff but the sled now just goes so well that i actually don't think it needs a turbo and may take away from some of the technical riding I've begun to love to do that I couldn't do on my other sleds.

 

[Frostbite]

Thanks Octanee!

I do have a few more questions.

Does the Ascender chassis require any additional venting to keep things cool like my M8 and M8000 did?

I will have to look under there but, does the single rail require a single rail version of an anti-stab kit?

What Clutch puller part number do I need? My blue on for the M8000 probably won't work, right?

 

[summ8rmk]

Same puller for my 14,16,18,19.
Best sled cat has ever built.
U really don't "need" to do anything to the sled(except seal the intake and the hard core front track shock).

There is still several weeks of riding left, get out there and put some miles on it.


Sent it

 

[Octanee]

Thanks Octanee!

I do have a few more questions.

Does the Ascender chassis require any additional venting to keep things cool like my M8 and M8000 did?

I will have to look under there but, does the single rail require a single rail version of an anti-stab kit?

What Clutch puller part number do I need? My blue on for the M8000 probably won't work, right?

Venting I don't think so it seems fine, the reasons to do it previously was to get cooler air in under the hood to help hopefully cool the clutches more, but since these sleds don't have belt issues.... I wouldn't worry about it.

The single rail already has anti stab wheels built into it up front.

 

[Frostbite]

Thanks Octanee!

 

[IceAge Performance]

2020 hardcore needs the updated rear track shock spring to help manage transfer better, especially when installing the elevate kit. The oem shock valving/spring combo leaves a bit to be desired. This $50 change makes a major difference in the sleds overall performance.

AC PN: 2704-010 210# rear spring. (stock is 175#)

We did side by side back to back testing against '20 hardcores vs our shop 19' the stock config hardcore either wheelied WAY too much or with preload cranked on the rear shock it then trenched and didnt soak up terrain well and had to turn out before the other every time.

 

[Frostbite]

Iceage, thank you for sharing that information.

Did the replacement of the Front Track Shock Spring remedy completely remedy the issue or would a re-valve and spring change perhaps be an even better fix?

Also, is there a digital shop/service manual available somewhere?

 

[dgibbons]

Definitely get the FTS spring from RacinStation. It stopped the shock from bottoming the spring and making rail contact - I'm still sending my shock in to Andy for a revalve.

Ice Age - this is the first I've heard of the RTS spring change - thanks for the info as I snowchecked an elevate kit as well for my HC.

As for venting, my clutches get WAAAAYYY hot after long WOT in deep SE WY/NO CO pow. Thought about the mtn fit shock tower vent, but think under that condition, it wouldn't help at all anyway as it'll be plugged up. Stock clutching works great - I added glide washer on primary cover and a delrin washer on secondary spring.

Also, when you seal up the hood, I'd recommend buying the mtn fit defender. I was still getting a bit of water in my airbox that seeps in on deep days from the intake vents on the cowl.
- Pro tip on the Defender, when cutting the nosecone plastic lip, instead of drilling holes to mark the corners and using a utility knife to cut it out, I just used an oscillating tool to mow through the plastic. Essentially, turns a multistep process into a 30 second rip and it created straight, clean edges.

 

[bnorth]

Definitely get the FTS spring from RacinStation. It stopped the shock from bottoming the spring and making rail contact - I'm still sending my shock in to Andy for a revalve.

Ice Age - this is the first I've heard of the RTS spring change - thanks for the info as I snowchecked an elevate kit as well for my HC.

As for venting, my clutches get WAAAAYYY hot after long WOT in deep SE WY/NO CO pow. Thought about the mtn fit shock tower vent, but think under that condition, it wouldn't help at all anyway as it'll be plugged up. Stock clutching works great - I added glide washer on primary cover and a delrin washer on secondary spring.

Also, when you seal up the hood, I'd recommend buying the mtn fit defender. I was still getting a bit of water in my airbox that seeps in on deep days from the intake vents on the cowl.
- Pro tip on the Defender, when cutting the nosecone plastic lip, instead of drilling holes to mark the corners and using a utility knife to cut it out, I just used an oscillating tool to mow through the plastic. Essentially, turns a multistep process into a 30 second rip and it created straight, clean edges.

Where did you get the glide and delrin washers?

 

[Frostbite]

Lon Hanson's' fine company Thunder Products!

 

[sno*jet]

There is still several weeks of riding left, get out there and put some miles on it.

not sure this was ever part of the plan lol.
jk. nothin wrong with a passion for building sleds.

 

[summ8rmk]

Still 7ft here..... get some miles on it....

Sent it

 

[IceAge Performance]

Iceage, thank you for sharing that information.

Did the replacement of the Front Track Shock Spring remedy completely remedy the issue or would a re-valve and spring change perhaps be an even better fix?

From our experience on the skid side of the Alpha, the spring updates make a serious upgrade in overall performance but valving and springs takes things to peak performance. But to counter that, $100 in springs gets you 75% of the performance gains, where valving is even more and is the last little piece of the pie. Its unfortunate the 2020 HC had such poor shock calibration as the sled and shocks themselves are awesome, but bad tuning be it shocks or an engine can make or break the sleds overall riding experience.

We would highly recommend redoing the shocks and you will be very impressed with what the sled is capable of.

 

[Frostbite]

Thanks Iceage. I know you guys have become a FOX shock repair facility for Polaris, have you gotten authorization to do so for Arctic cat yet?

I would want my shocks (which ones other than the front track shock) re-valved for peak performance.

 

[IceAge Performance]

Thanks Iceage. I know you guys have become a FOX shock repair facility for Polaris, have you gotten authorization to do so for Arctic cat yet?

I would want my shocks (which ones other than the front track shock) re-valved for peak performance.

We are not going to be handling any valving in house, we're leaving that to the pro's at the Fox Factory. For having your OEM shocks rebuilt/valved/sprung you want to follow the link below to get ahold of them to get your shocks in and serviced.

Snowmobile

Fox Factory Service Portal

www.ridefox.com