Detailed Hyfax Fix

[Grimm]

I've found that the Skidoo ones are just right for me...they are only 5 mm larger in diameter than Yammies. Polaris' wheels are just a bit larger, by how much I'm not sure.

 

[triumph54]

I bought the Yamaha marginal snow wheel kit, think it was $60.. It worked to dramatically reduce the wear on my hyfax, which was all toward the rear, 1 foot in front of rear axle.. Installed in 1/2 hour. End of story.

 

[mach9]

I did the full mod.
135mm wheels all round and then some marginals up front.

Alone this mod is good for one reason.
Doo bearings are more robust and take more abuse.

 

[fiddlersgreen]

I just put a set of marginals on and no problems after that. Just put them at the arch of the skid.
This is on a MTX. 1600 on the slides since and no wear noticable.

 

[greenmachine93]

has anyone ever had any problem with rails cracking or bending?
how many miles r on since you put this system on?
what type of riding do you do mainly?
thanks

 

[nitris223]

This is a old post and new wheels have come out since this posting. Kimpex I believe now makes a 135mm wheel that looks very similar to the spoke Yamaha wheels. No more need to run Polaris or Doo wheels unless you get them at a good price. I installed them as soon as I picked my sled up in 2012. Just did the outer wheels on my 162 MTX and never did the inside skid wheels. I think I added 6 wheels on mine and 4 wheels on the wife's 153. Did it that way just to see if there was any difference in wear. Some guys said I would get uneven wear and it has not happened. I ride some groomed trails to get to the off trail areas and in 1500 miles I don't see any noticeable wear. Some people don't like kimpex but I have seen no problems with them and I am not easy on them by any means. I am 250 lb dressed.
Any other brand of sled I have owned with new sliders installed I could not rotated the idlers with the sled on the floor. Yamaha with new sliders and I could rotate the idlers until after the first ride. Now with the larger wheels , it is the same as the other brands. I have not cracked or bent a rail as of yet. 2.5 mm is not going to stress the rails any more then a stock wheel. It's when you hit something is what causes the damage to the rails. Rubber track, rubber on the wheels that soften the blow. Now a big stump or rock or something and now wheel will be safe.

 

[greenmachine93]

how do i get around the spring mounted on the front outside idler wheels and and also the on the pto side, inside the front wheel there is a plastic piece maybe its, on both sides too?
should i use the skidoo mounts for those front 4 wheels?
im putting 2 extra toward the back with skidoo mounts how far should it go from the rear wheel?
is it easy too do it in the sled or should i pull the suspension out?
if you have pics that would be great too.

i just hate to pull everything off one night and think "oh shoot this wont work out so well." lol
thanks

 

[nitris223]

That plastic piece that holds your spring in place is a guide. It slides off when you remove the wheel. You may have to use the Yamaha mount. So long as the Doo wheel has the same inside diameter bearing as the Yamaha bearing it will go on . I fortunately have a metal lathe and I made my own mounts so this would not be a problem if I had the same suspension. Mine is a pro air suspension and I have no torsion springs on my sled.

As for the front wheel in the suspension I went to Fastenal and ordered a longer bolt and used the existing bolt hole for the front suspension arm. I did not drill any new holes , I may have enlarged a hole . I used what was already drilled in the suspension rails. I didn't want to chance making the rails weaker . There are holes that will work , they just might need to be drilled out a little larger. I did all mine in the sled , but I only did the outside wheels. It is easier to work on the skid outside of the sled but not really necessary. You could just drop the rear to bolts in the suspension and let it hang down for some more room.
The only issue I can see to remove the suspension is if you want to put a wheel where there is a bolt used for the suspension arms, then you would to take that bolt out and get a longer one. If the tension is off the torsion spring it will help a lot also.

I have no install pics but I have a side view of my wife's sled with just 4 wheels done. If you snap a good side view of your rails I could point you in the right direction of which holes to use. Also put a picture of the kimpex wheel . Dennis Kirk should carry them in the states.

What size skid is it any way.
In 1500 miles I have seen no need to do the inner wheels.

 

[nitris223]

I would get you better close up pics but our sleds are in a storage rack covered and it would take me a week or more to clear out all the summer stuff just to get to them.

 

[porkchop]

Excell's 6 wheel kit & Dupont sliders, no worries for a lot of miles yet.

 

[nitris223]

Just putting the wheels on will prolong the hyfax. DuPont sliders will probably last the life of the sled now. I have just the larger wheels and white sliders I had to get from Yamaha because aftermarket were not long enough for the 162. Put graphite sliders on the wife's 153. Couple of bucks more then the plain sliders. I either run graphite or white sliders. The colored one do not last as long. White is pure virgin UHMW plastic, the dye they use for color weakens the colored ones.

 

[greenmachine93]

does it work to only replace the 2 outside wheels? and skip the 2 inside one? or is that goin to be weaker and wear different? the inside seem like a bit more of a pain to get at. just tryin to figure out what i want first before orderin

 

[nitris223]

I didn't replace the inside wheels and I had the skid out after 1500 miles and did a anti stab kit. I seen no uneven wear what so ever. It is to short of a distance between the outside and inside wheels to make the track clips run at a angle. You have 1 1/4 " wide sliders and wheels about 2" either side of the sliders not leaving much room to flex in between. On top of the fiberglass piece that is molded into the track which the clips wrap around. When you break it all down it will make more sense. Now if you have poor snow conditions or ride on bare ice then something is bound to happen but it won't be the wheels fault. I am always looking for fresh snow 90% of the time anyway. If I feel the trail is light on snow or it has been a long high speed run , I will drag my feet for a few seconds to shoot some snow into the track. I run a 2.25" track on a groomed trail and have no more problems since the wheel change. Common sense will play a big part. Some guys keep me busy all winter because they have no common sense.

I had a guy melt a sled down because he was riding on ice and stopped for a chat with some guys and left the sled running until it stalled. It looked like aluminum paste in the bottom end. His excuse was , it's liquid cooled it should have been fine. He is the kind of guy that if the sled starts after sitting for a year it must be good. Then blame you later for the engine rebuild you did 4000 mile ago.

 

[Mooseman]

I only did the ones that are not part of the suspension (Doo wheels at the time) and my slides have lasted several seasons and 8000Km. Also have low snow wheels up front.

I just want to mention that the Kimpex wheels are the same price as the Excels with one major difference (apart from looking like the Yammy wheels), Kimpex has cheap chinese bearings whereas Excels have NTN. The bearings felt so cheap and loose that I replaced them before installing them.

 

[nitris223]

My kimpex wheels came with a brand name bearing but off hand I couldn't tell you the name but I know they were a brand name. Doesn't matter what bearings I buy , I will always pop one seal and give them a little extra grease. Even NTN bearings are cheap with their grease. Some guys will fill them full which is no good, just a half pump per bearing is enough extra.