SO I installed a Racewerx bumper on my 2014 XM. You may have seen the build video...it was a beauty.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyC-Pyj4Tao
I hade the bumper powder coated then mounted it on my new XM. The install was pretty straight forward. Fit was very tight and I had to drill one hole slightly larger on the bumper bracket to make it all line up. The bottom plate is kind of tricky as you have to work thru the slots in the plate to get the bolts installed. But with the right tools it wasn't hard to accomplish.
I was really stoked on the look..fit and finish of the whole unit. My first concern was that it may hold some snow between the bumper and front of the sled. It is a large bumper...but shed the snow quite well. On one day I had some build up about a 5 inch patch in the center...about 1.5 inches thick. A quick kick with my boot and it all released. SO yes it can hold a bit of snow but not a significant amount.
Next time to test the durability of the bumper...so I pinned the throttle and let it slam into a parked truck in the parking lot.
Well it was more like the throttle stuck..slamming a Denali truck and pushing it sideways 10 inches. It hit dead center on the aluminium rim and the bumper took the full force of the hit. I figured the sled was a goner.
The bumper folded and was pushed into the pipe...damaging the pipe and the front plastics. I knew for sure the S-module and E-module were going to be toast.
But to my delight this was not the case! The E-module..untouched. s-module slight bend on the front right side where the plastics mount. But structurally the sled was solid. Could not believe it.
After breaking it all down and inspecting things it was obvious that the bumper had done a great job protecting the sled. This was a full hit, under boost and the damage was contained to the very front of the sled. The bumper was toast but it had done it's job perfectly by absorbing the energy.d
The mechanic took me in into the shop where he had two others XM's taken apart after much less significant hits. The first was a stock bumper. It had been ghost rode down a hill into a tree. It was hit slightly off center and was wadded up like crazy. both modules toast...cast shock mount shattered and all plastics toast. Kind of what you expect from that cheap stock bumper.
The next was a skinz bumper and this was a tree hit while playing in the trees...rider claimed maybe 10-15 MPH during contact. Dead center. I was shocked to see the bumper in decent condition but the structure of the sled was toast. All of the energy was transferred thru the bumper into the sled. OUCH
Needless to say I promptly ordered a new Racewerx bumper with confidence that it would do its job when needed.
non tubular arms folded instead of transferring the energy back
bottom plate rivets popped and folded down...taking some of the force protecting the modules
I highly recommend this bumper...and have worked with Racewerx to offer a DIZcount for us. Just use coupon code THE CREW when ordering and get 10% off all racewerx orders.
SHould have the sled rebuilt by friday...just in time for the foot of fresh!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyC-Pyj4Tao
I hade the bumper powder coated then mounted it on my new XM. The install was pretty straight forward. Fit was very tight and I had to drill one hole slightly larger on the bumper bracket to make it all line up. The bottom plate is kind of tricky as you have to work thru the slots in the plate to get the bolts installed. But with the right tools it wasn't hard to accomplish.
I was really stoked on the look..fit and finish of the whole unit. My first concern was that it may hold some snow between the bumper and front of the sled. It is a large bumper...but shed the snow quite well. On one day I had some build up about a 5 inch patch in the center...about 1.5 inches thick. A quick kick with my boot and it all released. SO yes it can hold a bit of snow but not a significant amount.
Next time to test the durability of the bumper...so I pinned the throttle and let it slam into a parked truck in the parking lot.
Well it was more like the throttle stuck..slamming a Denali truck and pushing it sideways 10 inches. It hit dead center on the aluminium rim and the bumper took the full force of the hit. I figured the sled was a goner.The bumper folded and was pushed into the pipe...damaging the pipe and the front plastics. I knew for sure the S-module and E-module were going to be toast.
But to my delight this was not the case! The E-module..untouched. s-module slight bend on the front right side where the plastics mount. But structurally the sled was solid. Could not believe it.
After breaking it all down and inspecting things it was obvious that the bumper had done a great job protecting the sled. This was a full hit, under boost and the damage was contained to the very front of the sled. The bumper was toast but it had done it's job perfectly by absorbing the energy.d
The mechanic took me in into the shop where he had two others XM's taken apart after much less significant hits. The first was a stock bumper. It had been ghost rode down a hill into a tree. It was hit slightly off center and was wadded up like crazy. both modules toast...cast shock mount shattered and all plastics toast. Kind of what you expect from that cheap stock bumper.
The next was a skinz bumper and this was a tree hit while playing in the trees...rider claimed maybe 10-15 MPH during contact. Dead center. I was shocked to see the bumper in decent condition but the structure of the sled was toast. All of the energy was transferred thru the bumper into the sled. OUCH
Needless to say I promptly ordered a new Racewerx bumper with confidence that it would do its job when needed.
non tubular arms folded instead of transferring the energy back
bottom plate rivets popped and folded down...taking some of the force protecting the modules
I highly recommend this bumper...and have worked with Racewerx to offer a DIZcount for us. Just use coupon code THE CREW when ordering and get 10% off all racewerx orders.
SHould have the sled rebuilt by friday...just in time for the foot of fresh!
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