Is the Ulmer anti rub kit a "Must Do"?

[MXD]

Do all of the Apexes rub or has it just been some of them? Is it relative to track tension?

 

[ROCKERDAN]

they ALL RUB...for MOST of us this is just INSURANCE that our tracks wont get gouged out....as this happend to a very few amount of people....

IMO,for 25 bucks this is cheap insurance....this is just another example of POOR design on yammies part..just like the heaters.....I dont know why they dont adress these things.

I rode all last season without ulmers shock kit,and was fine....i still added it this season though.

just another one of those things to make the sled more trouble free.

Dan

 

[rafikie]

I wasn't going to both with the kit to be honest. Then while preping my sled for a ride the end of this week I found that the top of my shock had actually been rubbing on the track. Looking at it when the shock was installed you couldn't tell but after I pulled the shock to adjust the clip position it was easily noticable. I know have an order in for the kit $25 plus the cost of overnight shipping $$$$$$ which I'm sure will out wieght the cost of the parts. All because I thought I was ok and didn't need it. Do yourself a favor and order it today. If nothing else you'll have the reassurance that your not possibly damaging your track or shock body

 

[ROCKERDAN]

yes it will show rub marks on shock....mine was out this summer and it is worn...very typical of yammie mono...normally it wont hurt anything but in some extreme cases guys has it goug there tracks.....once again,for 25 bucks you cant go wrong with this simple kit.

 

[ReX]

I put over 9,000 km on my 06 skid (the 05 skid was replaced) and I just looked at the shock carefully on the weekend.

After over 9,000 km it is worn a little, but nowhere near wearing through nor anywhere near causing any problems. The track also doesn't have any real signs of wear or problems from touching the shock in the same number of miles. I ran 144 studs, including studs right down the center. Also when I compared the shock clearance on my 05 RX-1 (with the 06 skid) to the 3 06 Apex I ride with, my shock/track clearance was by far the least (mine was just about touching when theirs all had 1/4" to 3/8" of clearance). The only thing I did that could possibly have helped reduce the wear is I installed a 4th wheel kit.

In my experience, I can't see the wear causing any problems over the life of the sled - as long as everything is kept in good shape (no broken pivot arms, no structurally damaged tracks, etc.).

IMO, the kit is optional but I have no experience with the kit.

 

[blue er]

i had some small rub marks on my apex , but the track was way out of adjustment but for 25 bux it's cheap insurance and took all of 25 minutes to install

 

[06RTXTASY]

I installed it on mine when I removed the shock for a re-valve and spring job. There were definitely rubbing marks on the track. Got it off a member here for 30.00 shipped which is what ulmer charges for the kit. Its definately worth the insurance.

 

[badlarry]

Somethiing about the bearings is bothering me. What if they fail or freeze up??? won't that do more damage to my track???? What about skate board wheels or in line skate wheels on the right bolt????? any thoughts????????

Larry

 

[xcsp]

Ulmer Rub Kit

I had the 4th wheel kit on my Apex since new, still had signs of contact of the shock with the track.

Track tension has been brought up, but no definate answer there. Studs or no studs, the track can rub on the shock.

Badlarry, shouldn't be a problem as there will be snow in the skid to keep things slippery enough. Wouldn't hurt to check the bearings for free rotation when checking other items, such as track tension/alignment.

 

[06RTXTASY]

Re: Ulmer Rub Kit

I had the 4th wheel kit on my Apex since new, still had signs of contact of the shock with the track.

Track tension has been brought up, but no definate answer there. Studs or no studs, the track can rub on the shock.

Badlarry, shouldn't be a problem as there will be snow in the skid to keep things slippery enough. Wouldn't hurt to check the bearings for free rotation when checking other items, such as track tension/alignment.

The 4th wheel kit doesn't effect the track rubbing the shock. There is a seperate kit that bolts right where the stock bolt goes through the shock mount. On the outsides of the mount the bearings go.

Badlarry. To answer you question about the bearings freezing they shouldn't . If that were the case your bogeys would freeze too. Plus the bearing at least offer a more rounded area for the track to hit if it were too vs. hitting the shock mount flanges and shock head.

 

[ReX]

Re: Ulmer Rub Kit

I had the 4th wheel kit on my Apex since new, still had signs of contact of the shock with the track.

Track tension has been brought up, but no definate answer there. Studs or no studs, the track can rub on the shock.

Badlarry, shouldn't be a problem as there will be snow in the skid to keep things slippery enough. Wouldn't hurt to check the bearings for free rotation when checking other items, such as track tension/alignment.

The 4th wheel kit doesn't effect the track rubbing the shock. There is a seperate kit that bolts right where the stock bolt goes through the shock mount. On the outsides of the mount the bearings go.

Badlarry. To answer you question about the bearings freezing they shouldn't . If that were the case your bogeys would freeze too. Plus the bearing at least offer a more rounded area for the track to hit if it were too vs. hitting the shock mount flanges and shock head.

I wouldn't say the 4th wheel kit can't effect the amount the track rubs the shock. The reason the track rubs is under hard acceleration the track is under lots of tension along the top 1/2 of the track. This tries to pull it into contact with the shock.

Without a 4th wheel kit the track also gets pulled in where the wheel is missing. The combination of flexing inwards around the rear axle and flexing inwards around the upper idlers could potentially allow for greater contact as well as more uneven stretching of the track.

Idler wheel bearings seize up all the time (at least mine do). I don't see any reason these would be relieved of potential corrosion. Its a good idea to regularly check all of the idler bearings to make sure they spin freely.

 

[tsiceman]

my track had a mark all the way around from rubbing the shock. With a total of 6tenths of a mile on the odo( I had to try it in the grass just once!!).

 

[welterracer]

as long as you dont run studs in the middle you dont really need the anti rub kit..

the kit was more for us guys who had already installed studs down the middle where they then come in contact with the shock eyelet..

 

[170plus]

i would say if your studded ,you better have this kit on there,i run a studded track for about 30miles just doing radar runs and dragging on the lake and mine was chewed up from the studs,i only had studs close enough in the center of the track on about 8 ribs and it did damage

 

[BIG BLACK WARRIOR]

welterracer, I disagree with you about not having studs in the middle does not cause the shock or track to wear. This fall I traded my 2005 RX=1 for a 2007 Rage GT. I did not have studs in the middle. When I went to take my fat boy spring off the mono shock so I could put it on my Rage shock, I noticed the top of the shock was almost worn all the way through to the eyelet. Only about 1/8" and it would be worn all the way through. My track also had connsiderable wear in the middle. I noticed on my 2007 Rage GT, Yamaha got smart and added two small hyfax lile slidders on each side of the shock for the track to ride on, so the top of the shock will not wear through.