summer projects

[afroman]

i bought my 96 EXT 580 this winter and have to sell my dirt bike to pay for it leaving me with time to kill this summer. snowmobiles are a new toy for me and i hade fun fixing and playing this winter. tell me what you guys think i should do to my sled this summer.

Option 1 - add an electric start (need ideas where to find used parts)

Option 2 - Add reverse (need ideas where to find used parts)

Option 3 - Add plastic skis and play with suspension (i was thinking it doesnt look too hard to make a custom rear suspension rather than paying $2000 for an M-10 set-up)

Option 3 - Take apart motor and give it the once over(compression is good but [PoorWordUsage])

any advice or other options you see will be looked at

Oh ya and keep praying for that one last blizzard (it happened here last year)

[hanson]

afroman-

I've got a few summer projects scheduled for 2 of my sleds. The focus with these modifications will be on ice fishing.

1- Rear luggage racks/auger holder

2- Saddle bags

3- RAM mount for handheld GPS

4- My ZR 600 still needs studs

5- Plastic skis for the 92 EXT Special

One of my favorite accessories was the installation of motocross style handguards. Mine were Acerbis with Rox mounting brackets. It keeps the wind off my hands but then again, I have a really low windshield.

Check HSOList for used parts.

[Leader]

would definitely go with the plastic ski's, a vast improvement in ride comfort and handling. the newer light weight front spindles assemblies are pretty phat also.

elec start is very spendy to add on.

reverse will slow your top speed down considerably and create alot of chaincase heat from the parasitic drag.

if your motor has low compression or unbalance, if your cylinder's compression is not within 10% of each other or it's got more than 4000 miles, than it's due for topend rebuild.

there is a over abundance of thing you can do to perfect and make your sled much better to suit your needs.

clutching, piping, gearing, big bore kit, ect.

or improvements as Chris pointed out.

sleds are built on assembly lines, which means attention to detail is kind of somewhat overlooked.

just by squaring and aligning everything, you will feel the improvements, and some of the above are not offered at a dealership which can make a big difference in performance and handling, depending what you want out of your sled.

hopefully this gives you some ideas.

[mechanictim]

Afroman, I will second the plastic skis, and put in a distant second for reverse.

If you want to really get into the snowmobile scene, check out the Snobarrons Haydays snowmobile grass drags and swap meet held in Lino Lakes the weekend after Labor day. The swap meet has an incredible variety of parts, clothes and sleds for sale or trade.

[GoodToGo]

Hanson-

What route did you decide to go on the auger rack?

[hanson]

GoodtoGo-

I ride my ZR600 the most so it will be going on that sled. Part of my dilemma is I don't want something to be permanently welded or attached to the sled. I'm going to start with a factory Arctic Cat luggage rack for the ZR style sleds. The particular rack I'm eyeing is metal and it repositions the tail light to the back of the rack also. Its in the last few years Cat Accessories catalogs.

From there, I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do yet. There was an earlier thread in the equipment forum that had some ideas, I like the one that had the bucket holders on the side also. Here was the link- Auger Rack for Snowmobile. There were a bunch of good ideas including yours GoodtoGo.

We'll see what happens. I'd like to carry the auger crossways on the back, strap my LX-3 into the rack and possibly carry 1 bucket with.

[afroman]

ok pastic skis it is. any advice on type. are all the skis make to fit all makes and models the spindle is 3" with one bolt i saw a polaris ski on HSOList that said the same thing. also what is a big bore kit and will it make my sled less reliable?

[Leader]

i would stick with cat pats to keep steering geometry correct and ease of installation.

w/ plasic ski's and spindle assemblies you will lose approx 15lbs off the frontend which will be very noticable.

7lbs of unsprung weight=1hp along with a lighter frontend feel.

sould beable to find ski's for $100 w/carbides (used).

big bore kits are a after market hop-up kit, they consist of boring cyl and renikasil,new bigger pistons and rings and some change transferport heights and some may have to do some machining on the top half of crankcase to match the new cyl ports and accept the bigger bore cyl's(case porting)

do alot of research and they can be very dependable with major horsepower gains.

hope this helps.

[Lip RIPPER!]

If you want to add something really handy for carrying your flasher, go to shadetree powersports and order the deluxe tank bag. I think it is around 40 bucks. My vex fits in there perfectly with room to spare. There is also side compartments to carry other things and a clear platic top to slide the GPS into so you can read it while you drive. Easy to install with only 4 rivots into the tunnel and the bag has quick release buckles when you want to take the bag off. It's the best thing I have on my sled.