Building a $6500 4-stroke mountain animal

[Kachess]

Once you secure a stock RX1 mtn, go shopping. We have Holz suspension on all five we have done, and on order for the one we are doing, but there may not be many left. Many people have had luck with M7's and can provide direction.


Decent RX1 Suspension, Holz Racing or M7, $300 -$1598.00, http://holzracingproducts.com/
Tunnel Extension and rear grab bar kit, Hartman, $242.00, http://www.hartmaninc.com/
Skis-Powder Pros, or other fat skis, Go Big Parts, $335.00, http://www.gobigparts.com/
Yuasa YTZ10S Battery, Tristate, $85.00, http://www.tristatebattery.com/product_ ... cts_id=762
Antiratchet Drivers, Whals, $160.00
Aluminum or steel Handle Bars, 4in rise, Narrow width or warmers won’t connect, alum hurts warmer performance, $19-$60.00
Headlight, auto parts store, $18.00
Breadbox –Rubbermaid, Walmart, $4.50
Belly Pan, Yamaha, $90
Extruded aluminum Polaris tunnel edges (2) req’d, $29-$60
Decent side hill bar, fabcraft, $39
Hyfax, if worn
Ice scratchers, holz or others
Boss Seat, RX1 (no rear exhaust, stock tunnel) or Skidoo ZX or rev, $200-$500

 

[sledskiing]

You are the MASTER RX1 GURU

 

[Kachess]

 

[Trxster]

Good write up man.....you have done a lot for a lot of owners. Can't wait to hook up this winter at Blewitt or one of those other places.



Rt

 

[AaronBND]

Great write-up Joel! One of the things I don't really understand is why you go with a rear suspension that costs $1600? That just seems like alot of money to me for a budget sled. That's more than 1/3 the cost of the sled if you can pick one up for between $4200-4500. Why not spend $300 on a good Polaris or Arctic Cat skid and have a "$5200 4-Stroke Mountain Animal"? Why the Holz?

Aaron

 

[Trxster]

Great write-up Joel! One of the things I don't really understand is why you go with a rear suspension that costs $1600? That just seems like alot of money to me for a budget sled. That's more than 1/3 the cost of the sled if you can pick one up for between $4200-4500. Why not spend $300 on a good Polaris or Arctic Cat skid and have a "$5200 4-Stroke Mountain Animal"? Why the Holz?

Aaron

I asked him that before too and it sounds like the Holz works so well, why risk it with something that might or might not work as well. However, I would agree that I would get the m7 skid at 1/4 the cost.

Rt

 

[AaronBND]

I asked him that before too and it sounds like the Holz works so well, why risk it with something that might or might not work as well. However, I would agree that I would get the m7 skid at 1/4 the cost.

Rt

I guess I could understand if it was for trail riding applications, but for powder? Does it really $1300 matter? I went with a different skid for mainly the weight savings and the angle of attack being much better. I would be really interested in the Polaris skid. I like the way the rails are kicked-up in the back for better manuverability!

Aaron

 

[bdm]

Part of my decision to go with the Holz was my difficulty finding an AC skid.

 

[Kachess]

Yea, it's hard to justify. When I went with it for my sled it was the promise of massive weight savings and M7 suspensions weren't an option. I went with it for my kids sled because I knew it worked. All the other guys went with it cause they wanted one "just like ours". They liked the way they climbed and handled and were afraid to try something else. They were''t really looking for a "cheap" sled, but a sled they could keep for quite awhile, add to, and turbo or super charge if they start getting whooped on. Looks like going Holz won't be an option soon, and we'll have to explore options. I don't understand why are M7 suspensions available. Wreaked sleds?

 

[bdm]

The folks at Holz told me that they will be able to make the Apex skid work in the RX-1 but that it will be a hassle.

Kachess, I have been following your efforts and trying to copy you but I am not sure about the hood. I am little worried about getting rid of the pod and am not sure I have a complete understanding of how to do it. So, I was thinking of going with the Mountain Fit Hood, retaining the stock pod and headlight to keep things simple. Do you (or anyone else) have an opinion on that approach? Does it save any real weight?

 

[edge_kw]

Kachess - do you have a part number for the "glass pack" you are using? And is it really a glasspack or is it a resonator? I've had a muffler shop trying to find a 3" diameter one, but they can't come up with one. If you could provide the part number or the application it's for, I'd appreciate it.

thanks,
Kevin

 

[Kachess]

On the hood, I thought of a mountain fit hood, but the hood is pretty light already (and durable, my kids mountain fit hood on his old 800 doo didn't stand up to rolling out of a hole). It's the pod and plastic that adds weight (almost 5lbs, well above the sled's C.G.). Remove the pod and the hood feels like nothing. Plus, of the five used RX1's we've bought only one had intact plastic around the pod. Roll it once and it's toast. That's not acceptable for mountain riding. I got rid of the pod before I moved the steering forward, but moving the steering forward gives you a great place to mount the gauge. On rider forward we remove the pod and plastic, detach the light/gauge cable from the hood and route it along the left side of the sled and fish it between the steering and gas tank to behind the steering hole in the tank shroud. We are doing the mod on No. 6 this week so I'll take some photos.

The "glass pack" or whatever they are called comes from our local muffler shop. The guy seems to make every weldment slightly different. The last two had a 2in inlet and outlet instead of 1.75in. Slightly more rumbling note (my son grabbed one of the pipes for the "cool" effect) but seem to work identically. My son is taking the "y" pipe for No. 6 to the muffler guy tomorrow so we'll find a manufacturer and part number for the muffler. The welded pipe is no featherweight, but its lighter than my Excell was, not as loud, and works well.

 

[Abc]

What are you airbox mod with the rubbermaid stuff??

Martin

 

[Kachess]

I wrote up some instructions on our airbox mod and I'll cut and paste them here. First, I gotta admit it's ugly. But it saves 4lbs (of weight up top), costs $4.50, provides crankcase vacuum, allows easy access to oil filter, doesn't affect carburation, and works fine with our undertunnel exhaust. I think you might have to relocate the battery to the nose to fit it, or at least have a short battery. We buy them at Walmart, four at a time.

Rubbermaid Airbod Mod Instructions


NOTE: Rubbermaid box must be at room temp while drilling/cutting or it may crack!

Remove stock airbox and disassemble

Remove stock rubber boots from airbox (squeeze them and pull them out)

Mark lines ¼ inch down and1/4 inch in from end on back of Rubbermaid box to locate carb boot holes. Hole pattern must be close to top and end for box to fit.

Using stock airbox as template trace carb boot holes onto back of Rubbermaid box

Measure to center of carb boot hole pattern and mark box at bottom where box inlet boot goes

Trace stock airbox inlet boot hole onto Rubbermaid box at very bottom of rounded section of box

Cut carb holes with an adjustable hole saw and intake boot hole with adjustable hole saw and/or saber saw with metal bit to connect holes.

Mark crankcase vent hole and locate aprox at shown and drill with a 7/8in wood spade bit

Cut inner portion of intake boot as shown (knife or saw), insert boots into rubbermaid box

Take breather hose from inside stock box and install it onto engine breather outlet

Cut three little tabs from straight edge of airbox screen with scissors and bend other edge with pliers as shown

Insert foam and screen into box taking care to bend them as shown. It needs the screens/foam to run right.

Install the airbox, tighten securely, insert crank vent hose and slip wire clamp on inside. Push hoses/wires out of the way on the left side. It’ll fit.


Install a snow shield over intake. The old rubber engine flap cut down works well.

 

[Abc]

Thanks Kachess,
But at the end the sled still breath is air from the small stock curved to the front black rubber part...In fact you just loose some box volume and weight but no Cfm`s gain for the engine from the mod. After seeing this mod and your text, I think that I will add another curved rubber part to add some air to the stock box and relocate the battery to ease filter change.

Martin