153 on trail

[Snowbound98]

I’ll get back on here later and fill in the details but it was a good weekend and good trails.

After we got the spring and shock installed, he was able to ride it.

His old sled that my son drove this weekend vs his Apex. What a difference 10 years make.

Majority of the trails we rode were just like this. Nice and flat.

And I think this sums it up.

 

[basic700]

Very nice wright up!!!

 

[Snowbound98]

Very nice wright up!!!

appreciate that, thanks.

Last weekend we headed up again. Got a call from the guy we bought the Apex from and he was heading to Minocqua so we set up a meet in Merrill on Saturday morning at 7am to get the air shock that came in from being rebuilt.
Saturday morning after getting the shock, we put it on the Apex and set pressure to 195PSI then loaded the 2 Vipers and the Apex in trailer. This was just us guys this weekend. No anchors (kids or women).

First stop, Lake Tomahawk. We dropped trailer at the ball field next to the VFW and headed toward StGermain. It was crowded in St Germain. There was suppose to be a bikini run but was cancelled due to thin ice on lakes. Trails were rough due to the high traffic but it was still nice to be out.

We stopped at 19th Hole in St Germain for some food and beverages. I really like that place. My boys and I stopped there last year so I had to go back while in town.
This is from last year.

After lunch we headed back toward Lake Tomahawk taking the long way around because trails got good. At one point we stopped at an intersection and I noticed my dads sled was really low out back. Pulled out the air pump and the shock was only at 80PSI! After 40 minutes of taking turns between my brother and I pumping, we were back at 190PSI. Good enough to get us back to trailer.
Got back into Lake Tomahawk and had to stop at the meat market for jerky and beef sticks. I was hoping they would still be open, we always try to hit that place even in summer while we’re up there.

 

[Snowbound98]

When we got home my brother took the shock back off the Apex and put the spring shock back on. Pumped the shock back to 200PSI and put it in a bucket of water and it was leaking at the main seal.

That night my brother and I went out for a hard ride. I used to say, my brother is the only person that can keep up with me on the trails. Now I have to say, I can almost keep up with my brother on the trails. Sucker just gets thru the corners faster than me. But coming out of the turn I think the air box mod gives me an advantage. It pulls hard and I close the gap.

Honestly, everything I did to my sled has been a great improvement. The skis help go where I point it, the sway bar keeps me planted and allows me to corner a lot easier and keeps me on both skis, most of the time. Stingray Mods center spring is an improvement as far as helping the front end turn and push less. This was the first weekend I was able to ride solo and it really felt good to experience and feel the fruits of my labor and money spent on this machine.

The next day (Sunday) we stayed local to the house and set out toward Lake Alice in Tomahawk. The groomer was out the night before and my brother and I took full advantage of it but it didn’t appear many others did because trails were still perfect for us on this morning.

We spent about 2 hours heading northwest and ended up stopping at a little bar/campground just outside of Tomahawk. Food was good, the company (owners) were great. We talked for a good while and turns out he is from our area here in Illinois so we had a lot of stories swapping back and forth. By this time it was after 3pm and we needed to head back home to load up and go home for the week.
On the way back home, I was last in the pack because I like to drop back and play around a little. Well, during my playing around I must have broke the bolt holding the sway bar link. I didn’t notice it right away because I was purposely leaning sled on it’s side in turns and just playing around, I knew this was the last couple hours of seat time for me and chances are next trip my son will be on the seat with me.

When we got home I found the broken bolt and the link just beat the crap out of the tab on lower mount to the point it broke off. So I removed the mounts to bring home with me.

I already cut them off but you can see how beat up from link the one mount is.

So I cut some new tabs to weld to mounts but these are 3/16” rather than the 1/8” or 14ga that was on there.

The link took a beating too. I’m gonna have to replace it.

I ordered a few OEM links but I’m gonna try some rod ends first. I’ll have a few replacement links with me on sled along with bolts but I’m gonna see if these will hold up.

The bolts are button head bolts m8x35mm but are 12.9 vs the 8.8 hardness rating that I used and broke. I went with button head because A) the factory ones are B) the regular bolt put some good gouges in my lower plastics. We are gonna see if these rod ends will hold up or if they fail. I’ll be sure to report back.

Also before I left I wanted to put some new wear bars on my sons sled so it’s that much closer to being ready when we go up next time. Still need to put his skid back together and install it before he can ride it. Push comes to shove, he rides my dads SXR again. But I noticed the metal skis on this 1990 Arctic Cat Jag AFS are rusted and split. Well, #*$&@!! I had to pull them off and bring them home for repair or replacement. New skis are $140 each. Plastic skis are $260 pair but I paid $100 for this sled so I’m just gonna repair what we have.
Removed wear bar. And I say wear bar because there are no carbides on these bars. Then cut out the bad section.

Used a piece of 14ga steel and cut to shape and tacked in.

Welded it completely and then ground it down. Still need to clean it up a little more and then I’ll blast them before paint.

Second ski I thought was the better one but it wasn’t. Previous owner welded a patch on so I had to cut that off first and then cut out bad part of ski. They patched right over the rusty ski! Some more tweeking to do but it’s almost complete.

I’ll show finished product when it’s done.

In the meantime, I splurged again. My buddy told me about a sweetheart deal on a Harley that I couldn’t pass up. I already have a Fatboy but my wife wanted me to get a streetglide last year but I didn’t find one I wanted. This bike is a ‘13 Ultra Classic Limited 110th anniversary with 13k miles. It’s black, what I really didn’t want, but I spent a lot of time on my buddy’s Ultra this past summer and the wife loves it so I pulled the trigger. All I can say, it’s a nice bike, but I need a bigger garage.

I already removed the lower fairings, I hate them because my big feet get caught on em.

I ordered a new inner cowling to put a double din head unit in so I can have touch screen with navigation. They came out that way in 14 but they also added liquid cooled heads and radiator is in lower fairings so it can’t be removed. This being a 13, it’s easy to add a new stereo.

New extended bags on their way, and so is fender extensions with lights to get rid of rear light bar and have lights between fender and bags. Bike already has V&H exhaust system and tuner. Sounds great!! Just something to eat more of my money!!

 

[Snowbound98]

I thought I already mentioned this but I guess I didn’t. The quick disconnect sway bar link broke on the first trip up. The ball stud that it attaches to is what broke. I was turning around on a road and heard it pop. I got off sled and seen it hangin so I removed it before I lost it completely.
When we got back to the house, I removed the ball mounts and put an OEM link on. I didn’t have the OEM mounting bolts but I did find some M8 bolts that worked. Or so I thought they would.

the next trip up is when the bolt broke and link beat on the mounting tab. I was going to upgrade to 10mm bolts and rod ends but I’ve seen broken sway bars so I decided to stay with the 8mm links and hardware so they would be the weak link instead of the sway bar itself. That is why the regular bolt was rubbing on my lower plastic.

 

[PeeWee86]

I thought I already mentioned this but I guess I didn’t. The quick disconnect sway bar link broke on the first trip up. The ball stud that it attaches to is what broke. I was turning around on a road and heard it pop. I got off sled and seen it hangin so I removed it before I lost it completely.
When we got back to the house, I removed the ball mounts and put an OEM link on. I didn’t have the OEM mounting bolts but I did find some M8 bolts that worked. Or so I thought they would.
View attachment 152842
View attachment 152843

the next trip up is when the bolt broke and link beat on the mounting tab. I was going to upgrade to 10mm bolts and rod ends but I’ve seen broken sway bars so I decided to stay with the 8mm links and hardware so they would be the weak link instead of the sway bar itself. That is why the regular bolt was rubbing on my lower plastic.

 

[PeeWee86]

I purchased the same SP1 sway bar quick disconnect as you did and mine lasted less than 50 miles. It broke in the same place as yours did. The word needs to get out to all of our TY brothers that this product is a good idea but not quite ready for prime time in its current design.

 

[Snowbound98]

Wow You're doing a great job on the rebuild. I like the ingenuity on the sway bar addition, those tube clamps will be bombproof. I like the idea of the QD links also but wont the sway bar be slopping around when its not hooked up.
You wouldn't happen to have any measurements on the fuse box relocate bracket.

I must have missed this comment. Sorry about that. I’m scrolling thru this today to see if I have anything new to add and came across your comment and question. I’m sure you probably have the info you need on the bracket by now and if you don’t, I don’t have any good news for you. I don’t remember the measurements off hand and my sled is up north but all I did was measure the spacing on the bolts on the support brace above the clutch and added about 1/2” on each side. Then figured out distance below them bolt holes and did the same distance above to my bend. Made the upper part a lot longer only because I wasn’t sure where I was gonna mount the fuse box and I made sure it stuck out towards side panel father than the fuse panel just to protect it if the belt was to come apart and get thru the factory shield. After it was bent and mounting holes drilled I mounted it and set fuse box on it to get good placement so wires weren’t stretched tight and marked holes then drilled. I used the factory bolts I took out of support brace to mount the fuse box to new bracket with new nylock nuts and bought slightly longer bolts for mounting to support brace. I’d be lying if I told you what length they were, I don’t remember I’ve bought so many different size 8mm, 6mm and 5mm bolts during the work I did on the sled.
As far as the QD sway bar link, it doesn’t flop around because you only use the QD on one side so it’s still attached to other side, they just aren’t tied together just like not having a sway bar installed.
I hope this helps more than it confuses and again, I apologize for not seeing your comment when you posted it. Thanks for checking out my thread on this machine. I’m going to be updating soon with some more stuff that’s been done and getting done. Take care, be safe and stay healthy.

 

[Snowbound98]

To bring this up to date real quick, I think I left off when I was fixing my son’s skis on his 440 AC Jag. They came out really nice and performed as new. Said he could steer a lot better with the new wear bars but wished he was still riding the SXR. Lol.

I also rebuilt his entire skid with new bushings, bearings and all new hardware. Simplest skid ever. I even threw on new hyfaxes. The bearings I removed the seals and packed them with Amsoil grease before installing. I couldn’t source new springs or shock so I just reused them but cranked on the springs because this thing has little to no suspension. But I figure, I started out on a ‘76 Arctic Cat Puma so he’s riding a Cadillac compared to what I had.

The sway bar links on mine.

I picked up a set of rail stiffening plates and so far put the rear plates on.

I wanted to put the front plates on but it would have required me to remove crossshaft and there was still snow on the ground so I figured that will have to wait. I need to modify front plate also because I’m installing overload springs but it’s gonna take some fab work to make it happen. The overload are designed to slip down over the rail and will need the slot opened up longer to make it work with this 153”. I don’t want to widen the slot because it would be a lot less meat on the sides and probably break. With the addition of a plate on outside of rail, it would need to be slotted more on outside. Just seemed like a recipe for disaster. So I’m gonna make my own plate for around the overload spring and it’ll have to be cut out around the spring. It’s in the works and I’ll share when I get there.

That weekend was another good one. New sway bar end links proved to hold up. And I tried to break them. But I did find an issue with the Apex. It’s got 2 tunnel protectors that run down the inside of the tunnel and they are suspended from the tunnel. 2 of the 3 brackets were broke and it was riding on the track. So we had to pull it out and do a quick bush fix to it until we can get the parts ordered.
Just riveted some aluminum from my factory skid plate to piece the brackets together. It worked.

The following weekend I went up with my wife and actually got her to ride her own sled instead of riding with me. So much better. I told her if she keeps up I’ll even take her off the “anchor” list. Lol. My brother came up that Friday night so it was us 3 all weekend.

That Saturday was warm, close to 40° and she wanted to go to Wausau for some shopping so my brother and I got some time to go out for some off trail riding. We hit some logging trails and with the warm weather and untraveled trails, there were places that we almost didn’t make it out of. He ended up in one such place and we had to dig him out. The track dig down to nothing but sticks and branches and couldn’t get any traction at all. We were sweating and tired by the time we got the sled out. Doesn’t look like much but I broke thru with one leg and it took my entire leg before I hit ground. The wet heavy snow didn’t help us at all.

Thankfully I had a collapsible shovel in my tunnel bag. I told him, “you got stuck, you go get it and start digging.”

After he got out I had him step off the other side of the trail to see how deep it was compared to what he was in. It still had to be 2 foot.

I still have yet to get these Ski Don’t decals off my trailer. But I figured it’ll be easier this summer with the sun shining and heat gun then I can buff the trailer and get some much needed interior panels and lighting changed.

 

[Clyder6R]

looks great, i probably need to update my thread as well haha

 

[cannondale27]

Great thread and nice work on sled! Loved the story of your Dad. You had a great year!

 

[Snowbound98]

@Thunder Products - I’m finally ready to get my clutching done. I ran out of time before and just ran it stock but I can’t do that again this year. Couple questions for you. I’m ordering the BV-48 kit, how do I put my sled info and weight in so it can be set up before I get it? Is the midnight blue secondary spring a good idea while I’m going in? How about the clutch pivot pins, should I also be replacing these? I want to do anything that’s gonna be an improvement while I’m there. So right now I’m looking at BV-48, 911 cover, secondary spring and pivot pins. Should I also add the shift rollers? I usually have a local guy do my clutching but this year I’m gonna do it myself. Is there an advantage to ordering thru this site or just from TP website? Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Thunder Products]

@Thunder Products - I’m finally ready to get my clutching done. I ran out of time before and just ran it stock but I can’t do that again this year. Couple questions for you. I’m ordering the BV-48 kit, how do I put my sled info and weight in so it can be set up before I get it? Is the midnight blue secondary spring a good idea while I’m going in? How about the clutch pivot pins, should I also be replacing these? I want to do anything that’s gonna be an improvement while I’m there. So right now I’m looking at BV-48, 911 cover, secondary spring and pivot pins. Should I also add the shift rollers? I usually have a local guy do my clutching but this year I’m gonna do it myself. Is there an advantage to ordering thru this site or just from TP website? Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hi Snowbound98,

The Big V48 kit comes with the midnight blue secondary spring for naturally aspirated Vipers. You can private message me here or there is a special note section where to put your rider info. Either way, this will help with the setup so you will be setup right away.

Rollers depend on if there is a lot of wear on your bushings (depends on miles). Tap on your rollers with your finger and if there is any slop, the bushings are probably wore and could use replacing.

The pivot pins depend on wear also, but those are really hardened so they usually don't go bad unless the bushing totally is gone and wears into the pivot pin.

You can order thru us on phone or thru the site.

 

[Snowbound98]

Rail stiffener plates are finally on. I had to slightly open the holes in new plates due to powder coat because hardware didn’t want to go in.

Next issue was with the 1/4 J-hooks that I installed to hold up my ice scratchers and keep them off my skid plate. My scratchers are thicker than the ones on my brothers sled and were bending the J-hooks I put on. So I ended up drilling and tapping to a 5/16” and installed new J-hooks with a tall nut on outside and locknut on the inside, just as I had with my 1/4” hooks. This should hold better.

While I was cleaning sled I noticed the sand and small rocks that built up between the tunnel and bumper rail that runs down the side. I tried using a blow gun to get the debris out but no luck. It was wedged in. So I ended up putting a piece of tape on screwdriver.

Wedged it between rail and tunnel and pried on it slightly to open the gap and the blow gun was able to blow all the debris out of the channel. Had to work it down as I went but I got it clean.

After I had it cleaned out and cleaned sled, I decided to run a bead of black weatherstripping adhesive down along that seam to keep this from happening again.

 

[cannondale27]

This thread is awesome!