Vector upgrades---- M20, Curve skis, Assault shocks

[Dusty Dan]

Before getting into this I would like to thank Northern Sledder for his help and encouragement throughout this process, a truly generous, sharing person. Also a tip of the hat to Mr Sled for his help and patience with answering my questions on the Curve skis. Overall this site has been a tremendous help to me and has assisted me get back into the swing of things after a 30 year absence from snowmobiling.

Anyway, I guess I have turned into a high miler by some descriptions, having logged over 13,000 km over the past two years. I was faced with some serious maintenance, perhaps buying a new machine, or upgrading the one I had and truly enjoy. I decided that I would make the Vector the best that it could be - that is - for my type of riding and enjoyment. My thinking was that I had bought Yamaha partially for the quality and longevity, so I was going to make the best of it. I started researching in the spring and looked at Ezryde, Carbon sleds, and the M20. At about the same time I came across Northern Sledders thread about his M2o Apex installation.

http://www.ty4stroke.com/threads/team-fast-m20-apex-xtx.119161/

I settled on the M20, bought it in July and afterwards decided to do it right and add the Assault ski shocks as well. Bridget and Brian from Team Fast were always very helpful throughout the process. I approached the project very carefully, always checking, then double checking prior to drilling holes or otherwise messing with my baby. At the end of the day it was a very simple installation. Admittedly the instructions were a bit less than perfect, but the few questions I had were answered quickly by Brian. If I were ever to do this again, it would be a very quick install.

I rounded off the upgrade with a new set of Curve XS skis and Retrax ski wheels. Now all that is needed is snow.

More later.

 

[Dusty Dan]

Before getting into this I would like to thank Northern Sledder for his help and encouragement throughout this process, a truly generous, sharing person. Also a tip of the hat to Mr Sled for his help and patience with answering my questions on the Curve skis. Overall this site has been a tremendous help to me and has assisted me get back into the swing of things after a 30 year absence from snowmobiling.

Anyway, I guess I have turned into a high miler by some descriptions, having logged over 13,000 km over the past two years. I was faced with some serious maintenance, perhaps buying a new machine, or upgrading the one I had and truly enjoy. I decided that I would make the Vector the best that it could be - that is - for my type of riding and enjoyment. My thinking was that I had bought Yamaha partially for the quality and longevity, so I was going to make the best of it. I started researching in the spring and looked at Ezryde, Carbon sleds, and the M20. At about the same time I came across Northern Sledders thread about his M2o Apex installation.

http://www.ty4stroke.com/threads/team-fast-m20-apex-xtx.119161/

I settled on the M20, bought it in July and afterwards decided to do it right and add the Assault ski shocks as well. Bridget and Brian from Team Fast were always very helpful throughout the process. I approached the project very carefully, always checking, then double checking prior to drilling holes or otherwise messing with my baby. At the end of the day it was a very simple installation. Admittedly the instructions were a bit less than perfect, but the few questions I had were answered quickly by Brian. If I were ever to do this again, it would be a very quick install.

I rounded off the upgrade with a new set of Curve XS skis and Retrax ski wheels. Now all that is needed is snow. View attachment 113175View attachment 113176

More later.

The starting point, outside and inside.

In the shadow is a small arrow pointing at the starting hole as identified by Team Fast. As I have extrovert drivers I had to move to the left .950" for clearance. After drilling the holes on both sides I riveted the plates supplied for the front mounts. Apparently there used to be a metal template to use for locating the rear holes. This has been changed since there has been a redesign of the mounting brackets, at least for my machine which has very large rear brackets.

The new brackets from fast seem to be a good design. Before installation it is necessary to flip the skid over and set the brackets to the same point on both sides. I set them on 4x4" blocks to clear the wheels and get the flats level before tightening.

Once they are level and tight the unit goes in but now there are two rear bolts on each side.

 

[Dusty Dan]

The starting point, outside and inside.
View attachment 113177
View attachment 113178
In the shadow is a small arrow pointing at the starting hole as identified by Team Fast. As I have extrovert drivers I had to move to the left .950" for clearance. After drilling the holes on both sides I riveted the plates supplied for the front mounts. Apparently there used to be a metal template to use for locating the rear holes. This has been changed since there has been a redesign of the mounting brackets, at least for my machine which has very large rear brackets.
View attachment 113182
The new brackets from fast seem to be a good design. Before installation it is necessary to flip the skid over and set the brackets to the same point on both sides. I set them on 4x4" blocks to clear the wheels and get the flats level before tightening.
View attachment 113184

Once they are level and tight the unit goes in but now there are two rear bolts on each side.
View attachment 113185

Originally I had decided to mount the compressor on the back of the machine, just behind the taillight. I was going to mount it on a 3" piece of angle iron so I asked a friend to try and locate me a piece of aluminum. He obviously misunderstood and got me a piece of SS, man was it heavy. At any rate, I made a last minute decision to just install it per Fast instructions and keep it really simple for the first year. I wanted to minimize the chance of leaks and this seemed the best way to do that.
I ran two wires through the openings on either side of the running board. I only needed the one wire but anal as I can be I ran a spare so that if anything went wrong with the first wire I could quickly change to the second, even if on the trail.

One is enclosed in poly tubing and the other in easy bend copper. They come out just under the chain case.

From there I joined them together and routed them towards the battery.

 

[Dusty Dan]

Originally I had decided to mount the compressor on the back of the machine, just behind the taillight. I was going to mount it on a 3" piece of angle iron so I asked a friend to try and locate me a piece of aluminum. He obviously misunderstood and got me a piece of SS, man was it heavy. At any rate, I made a last minute decision to just install it per Fast instructions and keep it really simple for the first year. I wanted to minimize the chance of leaks and this seemed the best way to do that.
I ran two wires through the openings on either side of the running board. I only needed the one wire but anal as I can be I ran a spare so that if anything went wrong with the first wire I could quickly change to the second, even if on the trail.
View attachment 113186
One is enclosed in poly tubing and the other in easy bend copper. They come out just under the chain case.
View attachment 113187
From there I joined them together and routed them towards the battery.

Next came the air line and compressor mounting, all quite routine.

I have both saddlebags and a top bag for when traveling, and one of the reasons I had wanted to mount the compressor on the rear was because of the difficulty at getting at the straps so I utilized the metal compressor cover and riveted the strap clamp to it. I can now access it easier than before.

 

[Dusty Dan]

Next came the air line and compressor mounting, all quite routine.
View attachment 113188
View attachment 113189
View attachment 113190
I have both saddlebags and a top bag for when traveling, and one of the reasons I had wanted to mount the compressor on the rear was because of the difficulty at getting at the straps so I utilized the metal compressor cover and riveted the strap clamp to it. I can now access it easier than before.

I had purchased a tool bag that was supposed to mount on the clutch guard, but I did not like the fit of it there so ended up mounting it on the back.

Next came the mounting of the Assault shocks, Curve skis and the Retrax wheels.

 

[Dusty Dan]

I had purchased a tool bag that was supposed to mount on the clutch guard, but I did not like the fit of it there so ended up mounting it on the back.
View attachment 113191

Next came the mounting of the Assault shocks, Curve skis and the Retrax wheels.
View attachment 113192

I went to the shop this morning wanting to do some work on the machine but it dawned on me that I was finished, nothing more to do than maybe a snow dance. Job is complete.

 

[Redbeard]

Looks awesome Dan! Keep us posted on your ride impressions when we do actually get snow some day.

 

[Dusty Dan]

Looks awesome Dan! Keep us posted on your ride impressions when we do actually get snow some day.

Thanks Joe, I really enjoyed doing it. I'm sure getting concerned over the lack of snow though.

 

[Redbeard]

I hear you! I'm already worried about being able to ride the UP after New Years!

 

[Soldier'spapa]

Nice job Dan!

I hope you are as pleased with the outcome of your project as I am with mine. N.S (Joe) was a big help to me too. I added the same semi-rigid handguards you have to my sled for this season. How do you like them?

 

[Dusty Dan]

Nice job Dan!

I hope you are as pleased with the outcome of your project as I am with mine. N.S (Joe) was a big help to me too. I added the same semi-rigid handguards you have to my sled for this season. How do you like them?

Thanks guy, really appreciate it. Joe is so helpful and talented, just amazing. I sure hope I get to try it out soon, but this weather is unreal, sure hoping for a turn. I must say that I read some of your posts as well, helped me make my decision. I have told my wife that I am going on a trip this year, not sure when or where, but I am going..........just gotta get some miles on my baby. I bought those hand guards last year and I can say that they really help. I had reconstructive surgery on two fingers of my left hand back in 2011, was very close to having them removed until I found a brilliant surgeon who would do it. I added the hand guards and they helped but I still spent too many days in pain due to lack of circulation, so this year I have also added 12 volt heated glove liners, should really do the job.

I will certainly post my impressions going forward.

Best to you,

 

[Soldier'spapa]

I feel your pain to a lesser degree. I lost 1.5 digits off my right index finger about 15 years ago. It gets cold real fast!!

Doing the snow dance...

 

[Dusty Dan]

Thanks guy, really appreciate it. Joe is so helpful and talented, just amazing. I sure hope I get to try it out soon, but this weather is unreal, sure hoping for a turn. I must say that I read some of your posts as well, helped me make my decision. I have told my wife that I am going on a trip this year, not sure when or where, but I am going..........just gotta get some miles on my baby. I bought those hand guards last year and I can say that they really help. I had reconstructive surgery on two fingers of my left hand back in 2011, was very close to having them removed until I found a brilliant surgeon who would do it. I added the hand guards and they helped but I still spent too many days in pain due to lack of circulation, so this year I have also added 12 volt heated glove liners, should really do the job.

I will certainly post my impressions going forward.

Best to you,

For a first ride I did a combination of roads, fields and trail. The trail was unopened but had a fair amount of traffic in the last few days so was best described as brutal. I'm not really sure how to explain this but what used to make me cringe seems like no big deal, and this is my first ride when it is supposed to be like a pogo stick. I probably did only about 10 miles of trail and there were 4 spots where there was a very sharp dip in the trail where I suspect spring water was running across. At least twice I hit one of these at speed, prepared for a jolt that did not come,,,,,at least like it used to. The curve skis with slim jims performed well, it went where I pointed whether on the trail or in a field.

Two things negative that I noticed on my return when I went to put it back in my shop, one of the Retrax wheels had got ice on it and I could not activate it without chipping off the ice, the other wheel was fine. I suspect it was due to me hitting a bit of water a couple of times so I am not too concerned at this point. The other thing is when I pulled up to my shop I put it in reverse to better line up with the door........the rear end sagged and the studs tried to grab the snow flap. I went around the driveway again and retried the same thing and got the same results but managed to get it straight enough to put in the shop.

What I think cause this was a build up of snow in the undercarriage, and the extra weight cause it to sag. I has set it up at about 47 pounds and it seemed fine for the ride but I boosted it up to 50 and next trip we will see if it takes the snow better. Overall, I have just one more thing to add............WHOOPEE!!!

I just know I am going to love it.

 

[Soldier'spapa]

Nice!

Hope you get a lot more snow!

FWIW, I ride with much higher pressure... 80 psi +. I am on a 128" however.

 

[Dusty Dan]

Nice!

Hope you get a lot more snow!

FWIW, I ride with much higher pressure... 80 psi +. I am on a 128" however.

Thanks SP, much appreciated. It is interesting that you mention 80 lbs because a friend called me on the weekend and he had picked up a used Nytro for his girlfriend and it has the M20 skid. He said his air was at 75lbs, and he is about my weight, roughly 180 lbs. I repied that I thought it might be partially due to the longer track and possibly everything being so new, but I really do not know. I will have to play with it for awhile. A few of us are going for a bit of a ride tomorrow, still no groomed trails but some of them have been packed.

I am not the only person in a hurry to get some miles on.