DeepFrz
Expert
The title says it all. This thread was created to discuss the 141 float skid swap on Nytro XTX models. Let me begin by saying that I know of the existing thread located in the Nytro Mountain section, but the majority of the content is related to the Nytro MTX, which has different tunnel mounting holes, and longer float skids. In addition, Arctic Cat has been slowly refining their "torsion spring-less" skids for nearly 10 years now, so the measurements taken from a 2010 Crossfire may not exactly match up with the skids you see newer sleds. This thread will focus on said newer skids found on Yamaha Vipers, Arctic Cat M and XF series' sleds.
For those of you who may not know why some of us are switching to these Arctic Cat skids, the majority of longtime XTX riders on this forum feel that the XTX rear suspension is sub-par at best. Sag, limiter strap life, and overall weight are the three most common complaints about the stock skid. XTX riders have a few different options in terms of correcting these negatives.
1. Scrap the skid and find a 141 AC Float skid.
2. Find the arms, etc from a Nytro MTX SE and install them on your 144 rails.
3. Star Suspension kit.
4. Swap Springs or torsion spacers.
I, like many others, decided to go with option 1.
(I'm not descrediting the effectiveness of the other 3 options, I have seen many reviews stating that all 3 of these options have shown great results. Weight was a major concern of mine and I wanted to lose as much of it as possible).
Speaking of weight, according to Four Stroke Solutions LLC...
"09 Yamaha Nytro XTX 144" ...74lbs
Arctic Cat XF7000/Yamaha SR Viper stock 141" ...43lbs"
The ability to drop ~30lbs for as low as $400 total is a great payoff.
Over time, I'd like to add other member's swaps to this post, but for now he is where I'm at...
DeepFrz's Build
Track: Composit Talon 45
Track Length: 144"
Track Width: 15"
Track Lug Height: 1.77"
Track Pitch: 2.52"
Drivers: 9t Wahl Bros. Extroverts (pressed on OEM shaft by Ulmer Racing)
Tunnel Protectors Removed? Yes
Cooler Protectors Removed? Yes
Arctic Cat Skid: 2016 M6000 141"
Front Skid Shock Length: 12.5"
Anti-Stab Kit? Yes
Front Arm Mounting Location: OEM Nytro Holes
Rear Drop Bracket Mounting Location: *tbd*
I had good luck at Hay Days this year and managed to find a 141 skid on Friday evening. $400 for what looked like a brand new skid with ice scratchers and rail reinforcements was a no-brainer. The seller could not say for certain what sled it came off of, so my best bet was to go straight to the manufacturer booth, Arctic Cat. After talking it over with several techs, we determined it was most likely off of a 2016 M6000 141"
Side by side images of both skids
I was very impressed with how well the from arm mounting holes lined up...
The float skid front arm holes maybe sit about 1/16th - 1/8th inch lower than the stock XTX skid. With the difference being so little, I decided I could use the stock front holes on the XTX tunnel and just make a slight correction on the rear.
With the skids lined up evenly together, you'll notice the rails being much shorter up front on the AC skid compared to the XTX skid. Even though the angles of the rails are dead on, its always a good idea to run an anti-stab kit. This kit prevents the rail tips from making contact and essentially cutting the track windows.
Up to last night, I got the majority of the hard work out of the way (pulling out old track, skid, new extrovert drivers, rebuilding chaincase, and mounting the front arm).
The front arm on the Arctic Cat skid is narrower than the XTX skid.
Stock XTX skid: 16 - 1/4"
AC Skid: 15 - 13/16"
This leaves a gap of roughly 3/16" on each side. To correct this issue, I shimmed with washers and used longer bolts than the OEM AC ones.
1/30/18 UPDATE
I took a short break from this project because of the cold weather we've had in Northern MN for the past month or two. Last weekend, I finally got it all buttoned up!
I ended up reusing the stock drop brackets by simply moving them back and remounting them to the tunnel. I determined where to mount them by lowering the front of the sled until the carbides contacted the ground. I then used a farm jack and raised the rear end from the bumper until it got to what I considered the correct ride height. I will update with these measurements some time tomorrow and post some additional pictures.
I don't want to leave any ride review quite yet since I haven't been in significant snow. Hopefully that changes this weekend *fingers crossed*
My goal for this thread is to have it consistently updated with measurements, FAQ's answered, and a list of builds from fellow members.
For those of you who may not know why some of us are switching to these Arctic Cat skids, the majority of longtime XTX riders on this forum feel that the XTX rear suspension is sub-par at best. Sag, limiter strap life, and overall weight are the three most common complaints about the stock skid. XTX riders have a few different options in terms of correcting these negatives.
1. Scrap the skid and find a 141 AC Float skid.
2. Find the arms, etc from a Nytro MTX SE and install them on your 144 rails.
3. Star Suspension kit.
4. Swap Springs or torsion spacers.
I, like many others, decided to go with option 1.
(I'm not descrediting the effectiveness of the other 3 options, I have seen many reviews stating that all 3 of these options have shown great results. Weight was a major concern of mine and I wanted to lose as much of it as possible).
Speaking of weight, according to Four Stroke Solutions LLC...
"09 Yamaha Nytro XTX 144" ...74lbs
Arctic Cat XF7000/Yamaha SR Viper stock 141" ...43lbs"
The ability to drop ~30lbs for as low as $400 total is a great payoff.
Over time, I'd like to add other member's swaps to this post, but for now he is where I'm at...
DeepFrz's Build
Track: Composit Talon 45
Track Length: 144"
Track Width: 15"
Track Lug Height: 1.77"
Track Pitch: 2.52"
Drivers: 9t Wahl Bros. Extroverts (pressed on OEM shaft by Ulmer Racing)
Tunnel Protectors Removed? Yes
Cooler Protectors Removed? Yes
Arctic Cat Skid: 2016 M6000 141"
Front Skid Shock Length: 12.5"
Anti-Stab Kit? Yes
Front Arm Mounting Location: OEM Nytro Holes
Rear Drop Bracket Mounting Location: *tbd*
I had good luck at Hay Days this year and managed to find a 141 skid on Friday evening. $400 for what looked like a brand new skid with ice scratchers and rail reinforcements was a no-brainer. The seller could not say for certain what sled it came off of, so my best bet was to go straight to the manufacturer booth, Arctic Cat. After talking it over with several techs, we determined it was most likely off of a 2016 M6000 141"
Side by side images of both skids
I was very impressed with how well the from arm mounting holes lined up...
The float skid front arm holes maybe sit about 1/16th - 1/8th inch lower than the stock XTX skid. With the difference being so little, I decided I could use the stock front holes on the XTX tunnel and just make a slight correction on the rear.
With the skids lined up evenly together, you'll notice the rails being much shorter up front on the AC skid compared to the XTX skid. Even though the angles of the rails are dead on, its always a good idea to run an anti-stab kit. This kit prevents the rail tips from making contact and essentially cutting the track windows.
Up to last night, I got the majority of the hard work out of the way (pulling out old track, skid, new extrovert drivers, rebuilding chaincase, and mounting the front arm).
The front arm on the Arctic Cat skid is narrower than the XTX skid.
Stock XTX skid: 16 - 1/4"
AC Skid: 15 - 13/16"
This leaves a gap of roughly 3/16" on each side. To correct this issue, I shimmed with washers and used longer bolts than the OEM AC ones.
1/30/18 UPDATE
I took a short break from this project because of the cold weather we've had in Northern MN for the past month or two. Last weekend, I finally got it all buttoned up!
I ended up reusing the stock drop brackets by simply moving them back and remounting them to the tunnel. I determined where to mount them by lowering the front of the sled until the carbides contacted the ground. I then used a farm jack and raised the rear end from the bumper until it got to what I considered the correct ride height. I will update with these measurements some time tomorrow and post some additional pictures.
I don't want to leave any ride review quite yet since I haven't been in significant snow. Hopefully that changes this weekend *fingers crossed*
My goal for this thread is to have it consistently updated with measurements, FAQ's answered, and a list of builds from fellow members.
Last edited:
herndonp
TY 4 Stroke Guru
Nice write up. You running a 141" track and which one ?
Pete
Pete
devilnabludress
Expert
Can't wait to see how this turns out. I've been wanting to do this for a while now, and now I can finally see the comparison. Keep us posted and good work!!
WinderFab
TY 4 Stroke God
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Wow great work, keep us posted...
DeepFrz
Expert
Sorry for the late reply, I had a hectic weekend. To answer herndonp's question, I'm running a Composit Talon 45 track which is a 144x15x1.77 (2.52 pitch). This track is very similar to the Camso (formerly Camoplast) Backcountry. I went with the Composit because they're new to the US and wanted to see for myself how they compared. I've also added this information to the original post. If anyone has any additional questions, feel free to ask and I'll answer them to the best of my ability. If the weather holds up here in Duluth, I plan on buttoning up the rest of the front end stuff this weekend.
Also, if anyone has done this swap themselves, leave all this information and I'll be sure to add it above.
Track:
Track Length:
Track Width:
Track Lug Height:
Track Pitch:
Drivers:
Tunnel Protectors Removed?
Cooler Protectors Removed?
Arctic Cat Skid:
Front Skid Shock Length:
Anti-Stab Kit?
Front Arm Mounting Location:
Rear Drop Bracket Mounting Location:
Also, if anyone has done this swap themselves, leave all this information and I'll be sure to add it above.
Track:
Track Length:
Track Width:
Track Lug Height:
Track Pitch:
Drivers:
Tunnel Protectors Removed?
Cooler Protectors Removed?
Arctic Cat Skid:
Front Skid Shock Length:
Anti-Stab Kit?
Front Arm Mounting Location:
Rear Drop Bracket Mounting Location:
Snowman871
Lifetime Member
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- Woodville, WI
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- 2024 Polaris Assault 850
Any updates on this? Planning to pull the trigger on a 141" Proclimb skid I found!
Tyloooor
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
super cool
DeepFrz
Expert
Updated the original post! For anyone who is hesitant on buying a float skid, I would recommend pulling the trigger on one. The 141 float skids can be very hard to come by, and from my own experience and talking with other members, the swap can be done. Once I get more seat time on the sled, I'll be sure to post my thoughts.
radianguy
TY 4 Stroke God
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- 2009 Yamaha FX NYTRO XT Express
great write up! I've been toying with the idea of doing the same to my 09 XTX, one question though, if you mounted a 141 in front mounting hole how did you get proper track tension using a 144" track? I would think you would have to set the skid back 1.5" to keep proper track tension?
pedros83
Pro
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Does this setup ride bettee the star linkage kit and revalve?
Gone Blue
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Cool build! G.B.
Snowman871
Lifetime Member
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I'm sure DeepFrz will reply too. After just purchasing a 141" Proclimb setup myself to do this same swap and comparing them side by side, it looks like the front is close enough for a direct bolt in, and that sets the skid back enough to make the standard 144" track work. The rear mounting point will need some changes.
To Pedros83 - I doubt the off trail skid will ride "better" than a well setup torsion spring skid on the trail. That said, it should work much better off trail and is definitely a lot lighter! After picking up the 2 I believe the 30+ lb difference others talk about! I still need to compare them on a scale after I add an anti-stab kit.
DeepFrz
Expert
snowman is correct, I just had to move the rear drop brackets back. I promised I was going to get more pictures of the drop brackets this week, but ended up riding instead. Sorry, but can you blame me? Haha
130 miles yesterday on the new setup (only trails) and it felt great. The shocks will most likely need to be adjusted, but only after more seat time and different riding conditions. Surprisingly, you can actually feel the weight difference!
I can't compare it to the linkage kit because I've never ridden an XTX with it, but no complaints yet on the AC skid. Absolutely NO sag.
I should also mention that I swapped in extrovert drivers, so I am running the track pretty lose to prevent slide wear.
On a side note, the AC ice scratchers work very well. I probably have 20 pounds of ice built up in the tunnel.
130 miles yesterday on the new setup (only trails) and it felt great. The shocks will most likely need to be adjusted, but only after more seat time and different riding conditions. Surprisingly, you can actually feel the weight difference!
I can't compare it to the linkage kit because I've never ridden an XTX with it, but no complaints yet on the AC skid. Absolutely NO sag.
I should also mention that I swapped in extrovert drivers, so I am running the track pretty lose to prevent slide wear.
On a side note, the AC ice scratchers work very well. I probably have 20 pounds of ice built up in the tunnel.
chunkysoup13
Newbie
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- Sep 23, 2017
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- 29
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- Gaylord, MI
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- Snowmobile
- 2012 Yamaha Nytro XTX
How does the skid ride? Any input on off trail handling? Also, I have 8tooth drivers, would that effect the adjustment if the track since you used a 144 track on a 141 skid?
devilnabludress
Expert
Just wanted to see how the skid is working out in the build? Any changes made to make the skid perform better? What amount of changes did you have to make in mounting the rear drop brackets? Thanks!!
