I'll second the Caliber sled wheels, they work great!!! I've tired several different style over the years and these do work great. They don't slip off, there easy to put on, and easy to take off. In fact there so easy, I asked my wife to put them on and without skipping a beat, she got it without questions. So yes there that easy !! LOL
Kreating Khaos, 162" extreme and other easy mods
- Thread starter Prayn4snow
- Start date
I'll second the Caliber sled wheels, they work great!!! I've tired several different style over the years and these do work great. They don't slip off, there easy to put on, and easy to take off. In fact there so easy, I asked my wife to put them on and without skipping a beat, she got it without questions. So yes there that easy !! LOL
The rest of the CVcustoms wire harness installed with the box and battery mounted. Just zip tie up the fuse holder and circuit breaker. You will need an 8mm to tighten the battery terminals. Not shown, but I riveted the fuse holder to the bottom corner of the battery box in the hole that was already there.
I took the pipe off to install a new front bumper and oil just poured out of the pipe, the belly pan and floor lol. I had to hang it on a chair to finish draining, guess they don't want it to run dry during break in. I noticed an extra spring from the assembly line that found its way wedged in-between the block and coolant hose, glad I found this now! Next was installing an oil reservoir insert from Strightline found here: https://www.straightlineperformance...-07/oil-reservoir-sleeve-insert-part-185-100/ Keeps your filler neck from distortion when the engine is hot and the cap installed to tight causing oil to leak down on your belt and clutches.
I took the pipe off to install a new front bumper and oil just poured out of the pipe, the belly pan and floor lol. I had to hang it on a chair to finish draining, guess they don't want it to run dry during break in. I noticed an extra spring from the assembly line that found its way wedged in-between the block and coolant hose, glad I found this now! Next was installing an oil reservoir insert from Strightline found here: https://www.straightlineperformance...-07/oil-reservoir-sleeve-insert-part-185-100/ Keeps your filler neck from distortion when the engine is hot and the cap installed to tight causing oil to leak down on your belt and clutches.
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Anyone else have a "Lift-a-Sled" lift? I bought this one a few years ago at Haydays and it's been holding up great! All aluminum, plus I can hook my drill up with a 3/8" ratchet end and raise or lower it quickly. Sure is nice working with lifts when you get old lol. Not sure who this is in the Youtube video, but he's impressed it can handle a heavy Yamaha: https://www.facebook.com/Liftasled-478231105562255/
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J
Looks like you’re building your sled in the power tools isle at Home Depot. ?
No lift a sled, this is the one i use. I like that one though, alot easier to store when not in use!
LOL, I do a lot of volunteer projects in my community, many people here cant afford to hire a plumber, carpenter or electrician. My wife and I have also ran a local youth group here for 10 years. One example of a project I did last year (snowmobile related) is we have the oldest snowmobile club in the country that was about to close down because the building was falling apart and there was no money to fix it. We are the only club in Upper MI that does Free ATV and Snowmobile training and we feed them for free. We also teach basics like changing belts, plugs, cleaning carbs etc. I took the youth group to the club house one day and handed them sawsalls, sledge hammers and crowbars and said "Gut this place to the shell, rip out all the doors, windows, plumbing, cabinets". The plumbing had been leaking so long the floor rotted through as well. I talked to local suppliers that support my other volunteer projects and we had over $50,000 worth of material donated! With the help of these volunteers (using my tools), we completely renovated the club in a month. New steel roof, new siding, windows, doors, plumbing, electrical, well, water heater, kitchen cabinets, appliances, flooring, natural gas furnace, and more. Now the club is thriving and back to supporting the community. It was built in 1963 with donated materials, much of which was used at the time. So, yes I keep a few tools around
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Nice! I had a similar lift in Alaska for 12 years. I had to much stuff to move to MI so we sold all the sleds, wheelers and furniture in the house. We moved my tools, (10,000lbs overweight through the Yukon wasn't fun) and kept our clothes and personal belongings to start over. The steel lift took up to much room so it stayed in AK. The new aluminum Lift-a-Sled sometimes goes in my trailer out west if I know I'm testing lots of parts. I like your use of jack stands!
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Some were wondering about the changes to the 2020 850 motor cases. Here is a couple pics that I took showing the machined locater ring slot, oil drain holes on the center crank bearings and the new check valve on the inside of the cases, see TRS post (below mine) for the view of the top view of the case assembled showing the new drain holes. 
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Next step: Front bumper. I love tree riding and sometimes I get a little overconfident squeezing between lol. So, looking back at some of my old posts Ive ran almost every company's bumpers out there. The factory bumper is Extremely light weight and seen in the pics below is only 16Ga aluminum! I spent some time at Strightline Performance (SPI) last week and they showed me the different bumpers they have for the Axys. I've installed these SPI bumpers on Paul Thacker's sleds the last couple years and impressive how beefy they are. They are multiple pieces so you can replace just a part if you bend it and tons of color choices, some people even mix them. The instructions cover everything and it was easy enough for my 15 year old daughter to install it but she needed help drilling out a couple factory rivets. In comparison the Strightline Performance bumper is a full 1/4" thick and didn't bend when I stood on it!. Check out the quality of the welds and figment. It does have an optional lower wing that I'm not putting on at this time but showing a mock up of it if your interested. It's so beefy the MI DNR says you need to file for a logging permit if you ride with this thing . Pics below are comparison between factory front 16ga, Skinz 1/8" thick which was much stronger than stock and Strightline Performance's 1/4" thick bumpers. I will add more pics on the next post down. 
. Pics below are comparison between factory front 16ga, Skinz 1/8" thick which was much stronger than stock and Strightline Performance's 1/4" thick bumpers. I will add more pics on the next post down.
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More pics, note that some above show the factory bumper attached at just 1 point on the over structure tabs. The Strightline Performance bumper also has a 90* bend and you drill down through the top of the shock tower and install another bolt on each side tying it to the bulkhead as well. They have an option skid plate that I used, you drill out the 2 rivets on the belly pan and install the supplied hardware. This bash plate even works with some plastic full belly pans. Daughter showing the mock up of the lower wing not installed. Side view of how sleek it is. Good room to get my hands around with gloves on. https://www.straightlineperformance...xys/polaris-sport-series-bumper-part-182-109/ https://www.straightlineperformance.com/snowmobile/bumpers/
Check out the Youtube video of installation:
Check out the Youtube video of installation:
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Why do you leave all that foam in there? First thing I do with a new sled is tear out all the foam that holds water.
Next up is installing DuraPro Ski dampeners. These little rubber dampeners might not seem like much of a change until you've rode with them or blown out a stock one in the middle of a ride. They absorb impact better, protecting the sled, spindles, a-arms etc and bottoming out. As you can see they are about twice as wide as stock filling the whole ski cradle. There is also a performance improvement with these over stock. They have engineered in a slightly different angle that helps keep your ski tip more level during side-hilling. Made in the USA, with a lifetime warranty, available at CVcustoms: https://cvcustoms.com/products/durapro-ski-dampener-polaris-ayxs-pro-ride
In the first 2 pics below you can see the gap in the factory rubber dampers with 0 miles (shown with a 7/16" wrench inserted in the gap).
Anyone else had the stock ski stick in the snow from one of these blown out? DuraPros are super easy to install and a good time to set your ski width. I like the narrow or the middle setting for width on mine depending on the terrain anyone else?
I could say more about these, but your better off reading about them here: https://www.duraprousa.com/products/dampener-polaris
The last pic is the damage to a ski after having a stock rubber one completely blow out and after a day of pounding hillsides and rutted up mountain trails without a damper (whole is oblonged).
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In the first 2 pics below you can see the gap in the factory rubber dampers with 0 miles (shown with a 7/16" wrench inserted in the gap).
Anyone else had the stock ski stick in the snow from one of these blown out? DuraPros are super easy to install and a good time to set your ski width. I like the narrow or the middle setting for width on mine depending on the terrain anyone else?
I could say more about these, but your better off reading about them here: https://www.duraprousa.com/products/dampener-polaris
The last pic is the damage to a ski after having a stock rubber one completely blow out and after a day of pounding hillsides and rutted up mountain trails without a damper (whole is oblonged).
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I personally drill a couple small holes in the ski to let water drain and not freeze under the ski rubber. And the durapros are a must do for me, stock lasted 130 miles before it was junk, 
Good point, I use to worry about drilling holes in the skis, but Ive never had a problem with doing it. I put one in the low spots that collect water and ice in the fronts and back. That way the sled drys off completely when I pull it in the shop or my trailer.
Next easy fix (and cheap) is the large gaps between the bellypan and bulkhead on the clutch side. Every sled fitment is a little different but it is really worth checking to keep your clutches and belt dry. Shine a flashlight along the bottom and around the left front (clutch side) shock tower. If you can see light like my pics below you need to seal this up some or when your sidehilling or boon docking in deep powder its going to push right in. I do some water skipping at times and these gaps will drown the clutches fast! If you look close under the plastic there is already a drilled hole in the bulkhead in one of the worst spots. I drill out the plastic and instal a rivet there (see pics) then seal up the gap with Lexel. Its a waterproof sealant that adheres to almost anything even, stretches well and drys clear. Don't seal up everything, leave some open in the rear and I dont seal the exhaust side (except the shock tower) because the belly pan needs to drain especially durning deep pow days. 
For more protection and floatation you can install a Skinz Protective Gear Float plate. These have the most coverage of any skid plate out there and help protect your lower A-arms. Here is a few pics of how to install one on my Axys RMK. If you want one contact Tammy at Skinz here: http://www.skinzprotectivegear.com/home.html
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