Skinz Concept Front End is the real deal

[backcountryislife]

Alt Impact is in Montana. I'm not sure if he's Presbyterian or not, I'll have to ask next time I need rod ends


Comparably speaking though, it won't even be in the same ballgame, so exchange rate won't be an issue from what I've heard.

 

[kidwoo]

Hallelujah!

Or as they say in my parts: Yee Haw!

 

[RACINSTATION]

Just got one more full kit with shocks in for sale at this time.

We also stock spare heim joints for the front end if guys need them.

 

[Chewy22]

Was poking around Skinz web sight and found this write-up in the ask a tech section. They also have a good YouTube series on suspension, 4 parts.

"Concept Front Suspension
ARCTIC CAT

Q: "hello !
I have an arctic cat hcr m800 2013 with the 42" front. But after one day of tree rideing I am exhausted, so i have started to consider if i would by an a-arms kit from skinz 37".
how long shall the shock absorber be?
suits those who are already sitting on the my hcr (42")?
or do i have to buy new shocks to?"

A:
Hi John,
The oem shocks on your sled wont work for a couple different reasons, first they are too long (the narrow kit was designed for a 17” shock), they don’t have the spherical bearings in them and they are not valved for a narrow front end. The shocks that we sell are designed for our front end, not only for physical fitment but also for handling performance. We believe that in order to get the most out of a suspension design it has to be tuned as a complete system. All shocks are not alike, and the Fox shocks that come OEM are cost down shocks with a very general valve spec (even the evols that come on the HCR).
You are on the right track with wanting to narrow the front end, changing the ski stance will give you a huge amount of rider input, especially in technical terrain. We have been testing the handing of the proclimb chassis since it came out in 2012 and there are a few things on top of ski stance that we are able to address with the front end. If you only narrowed the stance, the sled would roll over easier but the rider effort would be just as high. The oem geometry was designed more for large bumps and jumping than technical terrain and off trail riding. Moving the spindle forward, changing caster, increasing ride height of the front and decreasing the height of the spindle translates into a very stable and predictable front end in all situations. The sidehill stability and technical maneuvers like down hill turns become intuitive and easy to control, which means less energy to ride. If you feel like you are fighting the sled then its most likely more than just ski width, it’s the handling characteristics as well."

 

[Prairiegirl]

If you look from the side view of the sled with the Skinz front end it looks to be at about the same angle of the Pro Rmk. The angle forward of the spindle. Although the RMK has a shorter spindle. We were working on gluing one back together tonight and I seen that. Just my thoughts. If I had a Prolite with the BDX front end on it, would I get everything in the kit that I would need to make the change?

 

[Chewy22]

If you look from the side view of the sled with the Skinz front end it looks to be at about the same angle of the Pro Rmk. The angle forward of the spindle. Although the RMK has a shorter spindle. We were working on gluing one back together tonight and I seen that. Just my thoughts. If I had a Prolite with the BDX front end on it, would I get everything in the kit that I would need to make the change?

Almost - uses the stock mounting locations for the a-arms. Kit comes with upper/lower a-arms, spindle, steering rods, and some hardware. You reuse the factory/stock bolts that attach the a-arms at the sled. So you will have to source the upper a-arm bolts. I'm assuming bdx uses the factor bolts on the lower a-arms, but cannot 100% answer that.

 

[RACINSTATION]

Just FYI, we just got it a couple more kits with shocks as well as a couple without.

 

[boondocker97]

If you look from the side view of the sled with the Skinz front end it looks to be at about the same angle of the Pro Rmk. The angle forward of the spindle. Although the RMK has a shorter spindle. We were working on gluing one back together tonight and I seen that. Just my thoughts. If I had a Prolite with the BDX front end on it, would I get everything in the kit that I would need to make the change?

The pro-lite uses the stock bolts to attach the a-arms so you don't need those. You will have to get the stock upper a-arm mounts that are bolted to the bulkhead though.