Skid assembly swap on a 2016 m6000

[Pinchecharlie]

Iam a dummy and I bought a 2016 m6000 141. Iam new and after last year and riding I'd like to swap out the skid for a 154. I will either find one used for a good price or eventually I'll just buy a different snowmobile. I really like the 600 though so....I found a skid that says it'll fit 2012-15. Is a 2016 a one year deal? Basically iam asking which skid can I use to swap out. Would be ideal to find the entire thing all at once. Also any leads on snowmobile salvage yards? If I swap ia. Under 2k even with ice age and new track . This skids 300 .a new sled with my re sale probably 9-11k . So I dunno. Thanks for any help you can give

 

[boondocker97]

The 2016 model year brought better skid and rail geometry than previous years. The 2012-2015 skid will bolt into your machine, but it would be better to find a set of 153 rails from 2016-2019 model years. Any full skid from those years would work as well. Not sure if you're on Facebook, but it's become the hot spot for part swapping.

 

[bgraff1]

the complete skid will interchange from any 2012-2017 (non mountain cat). the rail profile changed in 2016 (2015 for yamaha) so if you were just swapping rails you would need to find 2016+ rails (non mountain cat) or 2012-2015 rails but youll need a new front shock and rear pull rod to make the old rails work in your skid. i would 100% stick with 2016+ cat or 2015+ yamaha rails.

 

[sno*jet]

17s all have same part number MC or not, different from 16s. I believe profile is same from 17 to 19. Ive seen lots of rails for sale from people doing ice age and alpha upgrades, they shouldtn be hard to find. interesting about the yamaha rails.

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Sweet thanks!

 

[bgraff1]

17s all have same part number MC or not, different from 16s. I believe profile is same from 17 to 19. Ive seen lots of rails for sale from people doing ice age and alpha upgrades, they shouldtn be hard to find. interesting about the yamaha rails.

guess i never compared P/N's, jus assumed with the dropped case/larger drivers the mountain cats would have a different profile

 

[boondocker97]

I think the curve on the rail is even the same 2016+, just the 2017 and newer are shorter at the tips to clear the drivers. We had to grind down the rail caps on a buddies 2016 when it had the D&R done to it.

I remember the Yamaha bit about going to the new profile in 2015 before Cat did. Was one of the things that made the Yamaha version of the sled different. Magazine article outlined it and had CAD overlays of the new (at the time) Yamaha design with the old cat one to see the differences. Supposedly the raw extrusion used to make the newer profile had to be 4" longer to get the additional curve into the front of the rail.

 

[bgraff1]

I think the curve on the rail is even the same 2016+, just the 2017 and newer are shorter at the tips to clear the drivers. We had to grind down the rail caps on a buddies 2016 when it had the D&R done to it.

I remember the Yamaha bit about going to the new profile in 2015 before Cat did. Was one of the things that made the Yamaha version of the sled different. Magazine article outlined it and had CAD overlays of the new (at the time) Yamaha design with the old cat one to see the differences. Supposedly the raw extrusion used to make the newer profile had to be 4" longer to get the additional curve into the front of the rail.

Now that you say that about the shorter tips I remember hearing the same thing. I put 15 Yamaha rails on my older cat back in 2015 to get the new profile

 

[Pinchecharlie]

This is dumb to say but...can I just order stock rails from country cat and a track and be done? They're like 389 or something so way less than I eager. My ice age basket was almost 700 so I didn't do it. But honestly at 2k or kess I could have a nice older machine. If I buy new I'll be looking at least 10k after selling mine.

 

[bgraff1]

This is dumb to say but...can I just order stock rails from country cat and a track and be done? They're like 389 or something so way less than I eager. My ice age basket was almost 700 so I didn't do it. But honestly at 2k or kess I could have a nice older machine. If I buy new I'll be looking at least 10k after selling mine.

Yes, just order them in the color/length you need and swap them out. Sell your 141 stuff to recoup $ or keep it for riding around home. Just make sure to get the right year

 

[boondocker97]

Yep you can! I would suggest getting some new hyfax while you're at it. It's not much fun to pull and re-install old ones sometimes. Do you have the track nailed down that you're going with? I rode a friend's wife's 2014 M6000 153 with the 2.6 powerclaw and I thought it did really well as long as you kept your momentum up. I think a 3" paddle would be a little much for it to spin effectively.

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Last dumb question (for now) was thinking 153 just because they made them but a m8000 same vintage was made in 162 also. Can my m6000 turn a 162 track and van I interchange the m8000 to m6000 rails you think? Would a 162 be more forgiving for a newer mountain rider or just go 153. Thank's!!

 

[bgraff1]

that would be very dependent on what snow you ride (harder setup or sugar), what you want out of it and how often youll be in the deep. it will be more forgiving with the added flotation but they are a lot less playful and will be asking a lot out of the 600 but i dont think it will have an issue assuming you gear/clutch for it. m series suspension is the same regardless of if its a 600/800/1100. i personally would go with a 154 2.6. still be plenty playful, wont stretch the 600 too far and you could still ride it around home without worry (assuming at home is lower snow conditions and thats why you went 141 in the first place). if youve tried mountain riding recently and now your hooked you might want to look into getting an 800 but that comes down to how often youll need/want the extra

 

[boondocker97]

If I remember correctly you're in the Bozeman/Big Sky area? There are some deep days around there, but also varied snow conditions. I agree with what bgraff1 said. A 162 is more capable as far as being able to slow down and start going again, but with the power level of the 600 you won't generate a lot of track speed to be able to flick the machine around. More capable, but less fun if that makes sense. I stretched my M7 from a 153 to a 162 back in the day and it did help it go through the deep snow better, but kind of turned it into a tractor that just keeps motoring along.

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Ah OK thanks. Yeah we live in bozeman and last year I rode a few times in west and island park. We're just down the road from hundreds of miles of mountains in the Madison range. I did a ride clinic with Rasmussen and I really liked it. By no means sid it make me a ruder but I started to dial a little at the end of season being able to carve and side hill and surf around. Really fun. Full disclosure I'd just ride hard packed trails and go in meadows and minor hills no big pulls. I got stuck alot! I wanted a 600 and a friend's friend had this and I bought it without knowing anything about snowmobiles. I hate guys that say "yeah this perfect for you" So I screwed up but it's nice and it runs so...I'd like a 2019-20 m6000 alpha one. I can really sidehill and carve my wife's little blast but it gives out pretty quick going up lol. So yeah iam headed to lionhead on Saturday for some meadow surfing lol. The dealer called me and has a 2020 m8 alpha one hdc 154 2.6 with 348 miles for 12k. It's very tempting. Iam a little nervous I'll get hurt trying to hard these first years learning lol....

 

[sno*jet]

Id do a 153 and not mess with the tunnel. might have to take the flap off is all. but you cant go wrong trading it in if the dealer will give you a good price for yours. TONS of improvements. and he should be able to sell yours easily to a newbie, maybe its time...

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Hey guys, on the track are they year specific ? Iam only seeing 3 inch lugs on 2016 153 and I'd like 2.6 . There is a power claw 2.6 but I dunno even how drivers work with tracks lol! Thanks

 

[boondocker97]

They aren't really year specific, as long as you get one that has 3" pitch they will fit. This is the part number you're looking for though. You'll notice this one says 80-Duro... that's the rubber compound. There were some of these made for the HCR sleds that were 85-Duro and are stiffer to bite harder snow better. The 80-Duro is better all round though.