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Bumper and skid plate

karlburns

Expert
Joined
Oct 3, 2013
Messages
322
Location
Anchorage,AK
Country
USA
Snowmobile
2011 apex xtx
2010 vector ltx gt
I read several threads about people's various bumper and skid plate setup. Now that everyone has some miles on their sled what setups are working good?

Also which damn line do you fill the coolant too? There's three marks then like a notch where it says full cold. Who designed that tank???
 

I like the full underbody skid plate from Yamaha like shown below. It covers everything, only thing I don't like is some aftermarket plates like Skinz extend out to protect the inner few inches of the suspension arms as well where as the Yamaha one doesn't. For the front I knew the stock bumper wouldn't cut it, need something I can grab with 2 hands and keep the arms spread apart. I was at a Cat dealer looking at helmets and they had their accessory bumper on clearance for 50% off. I like it because it protects the coolant tube right in the nose of the machine. So even if I hit the rhubarb I have a much better chance of limping it home if it still runs.

dP-l1QMqhv29_r0raKW-b0xJa284keoOKLHnI1erIj01.jpg
6639-731-3.jpg
 
As for coolant, I've learned that with sleds some run high, some run low, fill it to a nice happy medium and if some burps out, just keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't keep falling. My Viper sits about in the average range, My Nytro ran higher than the full line, and I've had 2 Doos that ran so little coolant in the bottle you could barely see it but never went down past that point.
 
I like the full underbody skid plate from Yamaha like shown below. It covers everything, only thing I don't like is some aftermarket plates like Skinz extend out to protect the inner few inches of the suspension arms as well where as the Yamaha one doesn't. For the front I knew the stock bumper wouldn't cut it, need something I can grab with 2 hands and keep the arms spread apart. I was at a Cat dealer looking at helmets and they had their accessory bumper on clearance for 50% off. I like it because it protects the coolant tube right in the nose of the machine. So even if I hit the rhubarb I have a much better chance of limping it home if it still runs.

dP-l1QMqhv29_r0raKW-b0xJa284keoOKLHnI1erIj01.jpg
6639-731-3.jpg
I also like the rear skid plate on my sleds for protection; however they really are a PITA to install. The first one took me 1 1/2-2 hours, and I thought the second one would go quicker, but for some reason it did not line up as well as the first one did, and it ended up taking longer!

I bought the Yamaha "front sport grab bar"; it seems fairly beefy and provides protection very similar to the accessory bumper shown above. It takes may 15 minutes to install. One thing though, and it may be the case with the AC accessory bumper shown, is that with the sport grab bar, you cannot get at the two screws under the nose of the hood. I have taken those screws out on my sleds anyway, as the consensus of opinion seems to be that they are not really necessary to hold the hood on. If you don't take those screws out before you install the bar, getting the hood off by the side of the trail could be quite a daunting task!

So far, it has worked out well, but then again, I have not hit anything too hard yet!
 
I also like the rear skid plate on my sleds for protection; however they really are a PITA to install. The first one took me 1 1/2-2 hours, and I thought the second one would go quicker, but for some reason it did not line up as well as the first one did, and it ended up taking longer!

I bought the Yamaha "front sport grab bar"; it seems fairly beefy and provides protection very similar to the accessory bumper shown above. It takes may 15 minutes to install. One thing though, and it may be the case with the AC accessory bumper shown, is that with the sport grab bar, you cannot get at the two screws under the nose of the hood. I have taken those screws out on my sleds anyway, as the consensus of opinion seems to be that they are not really necessary to hold the hood on. If you don't take those screws out before you install the bar, getting the hood off by the side of the trail could be quite a daunting task!

So far, it has worked out well, but then again, I have not hit anything too hard yet!

The skid plate was on my sled when I bought it and the previous owner replaced all screws with nuts and bolts. It takes about 10-20 minutes to remove and depending on lining up, 30 mins to install, but it only has to be once a year for doing an oil change. I'm also thinking about cutting a hole the same size as the access panel underneath as some have done on here.

As for the bumper, mine does have access holes for the front bolts, but I've taken these off as well as the ones on top of the shock tower. I'd like to go completely screw-less but Yamaha has raised the price of the twist-locks to $30 CDN each.
 
The skid plate was on my sled when I bought it and the previous owner replaced all screws with nuts and bolts. It takes about 10-20 minutes to remove and depending on lining up, 30 mins to install, but it only has to be once a year for doing an oil change. I'm also thinking about cutting a hole the same size as the access panel underneath as some have done on here.

As for the bumper, mine does have access holes for the front bolts, but I've taken these off as well as the ones on top of the shock tower. I'd like to go completely screw-less but Yamaha has raised the price of the twist-locks to $30 CDN each.
On my first Viper, I actually used a hole saw to drill access holes for those nose screws, but in the end, it was much easier to just go without! You mention "twist-locks" - does Yamaha have replacement for the screws that hold the hood on? Where did you find them? Are they the dzus fasteners? I bought an aftermarket kit with thumb screws for my first Viper, but have not bothered for the others. $30 is pretty steep, but I am curious about any options to the screws.
 
On my first Viper, I actually used a hole saw to drill access holes for those nose screws, but in the end, it was much easier to just go without! You mention "twist-locks" - does Yamaha have replacement for the screws that hold the hood on? Where did you find them? Are they the dzus fasteners? I bought an aftermarket kit with thumb screws for my first Viper, but have not bothered for the others. $30 is pretty steep, but I am curious about any options to the screws.

They're like the DZUS style, they're the ones Yamaha has been using for the past 10 years on panels - 1/4 turn locks. Not sure they'd work on the ones on the side of the hood thought, might be in the way of the panels closing.
 
I like the full underbody skid plate from Yamaha like shown below. It covers everything, only thing I don't like is some aftermarket plates like Skinz extend out to protect the inner few inches of the suspension arms as well where as the Yamaha one doesn't. For the front I knew the stock bumper wouldn't cut it, need something I can grab with 2 hands and keep the arms spread apart. I was at a Cat dealer looking at helmets and they had their accessory bumper on clearance for 50% off. I like it because it protects the coolant tube right in the nose of the machine. So even if I hit the rhubarb I have a much better chance of limping it home if it still runs.

dP-l1QMqhv29_r0raKW-b0xJa284keoOKLHnI1erIj01.jpg
6639-731-3.jpg


What sled are you telling them when your going to a cat dealer? I know the frame is the same however I've lost faith in almost every part person to ever look anything up. If I don't give them a part number, I get the wrong part.
 
What sled are you telling them when your going to a cat dealer? I know the frame is the same however I've lost faith in almost every part person to ever look anything up. If I don't give them a part number, I get the wrong part.

Oh I go to a yamaha dealer for my parts. I was just at the cat dealer looking at helmets when I noticed the cat bumper on sale. Depends who you get at the dealer closest my house. One guy gave me the wrong chaincase oil and I only found out because it was only 200ml and I went back in for more. They gave me the right stuff free and I had to siphon the old stuff out myself.
 
Oh I go to a yamaha dealer for my parts. I was just at the cat dealer looking at helmets when I noticed the cat bumper on sale. Depends who you get at the dealer closest my house. One guy gave me the wrong chaincase oil and I only found out because it was only 200ml and I went back in for more. They gave me the right stuff free and I had to siphon the old stuff out myself.

Which model do they claim they fit on though? I know they call the chassis the procross chassis but that gets me no where. The parts guys I get have to go find the manager when I ask for hyfax to make sure they are selling me the right ones. I'm fairly certain if I ask for windshield washer fluid or headlight heating fluid they would go in the back to check for me. I don't claim to know everything but I know enough to not ask for a part number from then.
 
Which model do they claim they fit on though? I know they call the chassis the procross chassis but that gets me no where. The parts guys I get have to go find the manager when I ask for hyfax to make sure they are selling me the right ones. I'm fairly certain if I ask for windshield washer fluid or headlight heating fluid they would go in the back to check for me. I don't claim to know everything but I know enough to not ask for a part number from then.
Procross is the same as sr chassis except for the hood parts and windsheild I'm pretty sure. Sliders should be the same.
 


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