JakeKo

Thanks yamadad. We finished it yesterday believe it or not. Here's what happened;
Pulled out the skid and noticed that one of my rails on the skid was bent pretty good. Turned out one of the shock main brackets was bowed in. Pic is attached. Also, found a Guy in the local area with spare Yamaha parts. He had a mountain Max skid, but its a 136", and an entire chaincase sitting around. I paid $50 each for them! Killer deal! Got it all back together yesterday around 11pm, started her up and runs like a champ. Idle is a little rough though. Overall I'm happy! It sits a little lower than I expected. Going to try and see if I can take the shocks out of my old skid and put them in the new one. Means taking the skid out, but it'll be worth it I think. When I'm on the sled, it sits realllllly low. I'd be bottoming out constantly. Finished product is attached. Do not have a before and after, sorry.


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yamadad4

good score on the parts. not much difference between the two skids, seems odd yours would sit lower in the rear unless the shocks are shot? does the suspension cycle properly?

seems like the mtn max skids actually had about a half an inch more travel, depending on what year it was out of. didnt see from the pics if you added a tunnel extension for the longer track, if you went that route, could be a flap sucker.

theres alot of improvements you can do to that sled to make it a more viable mtn sled. starts at the front.

JakeKo

So here is the latest picture of what it looks like.
Dropped the skid and swapped out the shocks with my old skid shocks. Shocks on the mountain Max skid must have been shot. Got the shocks tightened as much as possible from my old SRX skid. Also loosened up the shock limiter straps as far as they go. Found out that the Guy before had the skid as high as it could go, so I used different holes in the tunnel to make it sit a little higher.

I do not have a tunnel extension, but I have forced the flap into the rear bumper bar and that seemed to pull it out quite a bit. As long as I keep it tucked up in that while I'm not using it, it stays out of the way of the lugs.

I think it sits alllllot better. The very rear of the track doesn't touch the ground. I hope that doesn't make it unenjoyable to ride. Looking to mostly rip in deep powder, so I think I have the right settings.

Yamadad, what can I do to the front of the suspension to make it better?

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yamadad4

if i read you right, you upped the preload on both rear shocks? for what you describe as your riding style, you will want to run the front skid shock with as much preload as you can get away with and loosen the rear skid shock to the minimum.

almost looks from your pic that you need to let the rear of the skid out a bit. more than likely some drop brackets will get that to flatten out where it should be or maybe dropping the mount a bit. sucking up the limiter straps may change it but that would be counter-productive for your needs.

do you know what exactly that skid came out of as far as year?

if you havent already, you should consider installing the exhaust deflector from an 01 or newer mtn max or an 03 viper mtn. if yours has that small, black deflector with the holes in it its not performing to the potential of the newer style deflectors. cheap upgrade.

as for the front, you need to raise the nose. that sled has a tendancy to "submarine" due to the low stance. also by narrowing the front end you can get that wide pig to rollover better in the snow. no insult intended, mine has been a labor of love since 99.

to raise the front, look for viper trailing arms. you will need the viper spindles along with the steering arms to make it all work. theres a few years of the venture models that share the added spindle height. keep that as an option. from there you will want the tie and radious rods from the mtn sleds. mtn max or mtn viper. your stock shocks will work fine if you swap the mount brackets from side to side.

that should give you a few things to ponder. my sled is a 98 srx that started life as a 121. currently running a 155 x 2.5 track. you could only guess at the hours and dollars. i may have alot of viable advice to get your sled to perform for what it can. just one of several mtn specific sleds i currently run.

JakeKo

Wow, you have some knowledge. That is for sure.

I'm taking it out tomorrow morning and gonna see how I like it. I figure the way I have it right now, I will be running through hyfax left and right.

You are correct about the shocks. I tightened both as much as I could get away with. Also, if this makes sense, the rear skid shock is (accidentally) as high on the frontal mounting bracket. I did not mean to do this, just installed it backwards and upside down and I thought it was correct. I wanted it as low as it could go, but it's not. Cause it has those 3 options on the bracket part. Accidentally went the wrong way. Might have something to do with how the skid is sitting as well.

One last thing about the stance. The middle bracket for the skid, or rather, the middle bolt on the skid. I am able to raise that bolt, but only about a 1/2 inch. Don't know if it would be a considerable difference or not.

For the time being, I'm not going to spend any more money on it. I'm leaving in a couple weeks for Afghanistan and not going to be able to ride my "Bluetooth". That's what I call her.

Will be looking into rolling chassis vipers and mtn max when I get back though. In order to narrow the stance that is. I'm actually able to throw it around just on the ground. Feels 100lbs lighter from just the shocks and limiter straps.


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yamadad4

my hat is off to you if your going to afghansitan as part of our countries service. god bless!. thanks in advance for all you you are about to give.

you lost me a bit on your setup. sounds more like the fra. you should have a a,b,or c option for that. as long as the shock isnt hitting the track, it wont care if its downside up or upside down.

skip the rolling chassis idea, your engine wont fit any other chassis except the srx. you could adapt it to another, but its hardly worth the effort.

theres alot of performance gains to be had with simple suspension adjustments, not to mention clutching.

good luck, stay safe, and merry christmas.

JakeKo

Thank you for your positive reinforcement.

I will be looking for a rolling chassis for the front suspension parts and also extra suspension parts/skid/track. Not just to bolt my engine in. I won't do that.

But thank you.


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JakeKo

Took her out today. OMG! Control is limitless, but you were right yamadad, no control on the trails. Very very scary on the trails actually. In the powder is a different story. All I had to do was put my feet towards the middle of the tunnel and move my body to whatever side I wanted to go, and BAM! Great day! Great day!!!


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JakeKo

Yamadad, would you recommend loosening the limiter straps or loosening the front shocks to get the skis to sit better on trails?

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yamadad4

tightening the limiter strap will add ski pressure. cranking the adjusters on the front ski shocks will add ski pressure.

ski pressure equates to the ability for the skis to bite the surface. dont make radical changes to both at once, try one or the other. be sure and note your starting points so you have a reference to go back to.

theres a fine line of happiness between there somewhere as is some adjustments on the front of skid shock and the rear of skid shock.