Must do PM's for new owner

[Glass Cruiser]

Hello All,
New to the site, I've scrolled through allot of the threads and am seeing allot on three things in particular and am wondering just how imperative upgrades are this year or do I run 1k miles on it this year and work on it next off season. I just picked up a 18' left over Sidewinder LTX-SE a couple weeks ago and am in the process of getting it ready for the trail. With that said I despise being broken down. Usually my wife and I are out alone which leaves the heavy lifting and trail side repairs up to me, plus I only get 3-4 weekend of riding in a years due to work so I am very conscientious about PM. Little back ground I am a trail guy, about the only thing I tinker with from stock is suspension and things that will keep me from breaking down, So a high performance clutch or different tune or high speed gear isn't for me anymore, been there done that, tired of breaking stuff. With that said here are my big concerns. Feel free to tag other threads on here.

1- Clutch rollers and spring issues, Were these addressed at all for 18' or no, I was having a hard time finding a definitive answer. If not is there a kit out there that mimics stock set up with better quality components?
2- Bearings, (jack shaft, Drive shaft, Tri hub) Should I just yank them now and install better ones to avoid the inevitable? recommended brands?
3- Gears, Again should I yank them now and install better ones or is this a 1k mile plus issue?

any other recommendations would be much appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[Byam]

Welcome to this site
1- I would replace primary spring for dalton blk/bronze. Secondary you can get good result whit cat one or i think the best one are HD rooler on TD website. Torsion 6/1 and ultimax xs825 belt. Don't spend money on YAMAHA junk belt and keep 8jp original for spare....

2-all bearings should be ok under ~~~~~5000km after that you must changed drive shaft caliper bearing and glued it. Upper chain case bearing to. The one behind drive in need to be grease every 1500/2000km or so. Its a good bearing
4th wheel kit oem is a minimum in my opinion

3 -gears are very good originally but the upper gears have a weakness. Bushing..... must replace every 10 oookm or so


Don't forget we always hear mostly bad things on forums:-/


Enjoy your new ride and we hope for a lot of

 

[TheMogulMogul]

Check out my "New Sled!" thread, I asked the same thing as you, it has a ton of good info. Check out RockerDan's build thread, tons of stuff in one place. What I personally am going to do on my 18 is:

1. Remove tri-hub rear wheels and replace with a 4 wheel kit. Options are:
   1. 4 Wheel kit from Don George dealership. - $
   2. Stealth 4 wheel kit from J&T (sabrecat). - $$
   3. Larson 4 wheel kit from Larson. - $$$
2. Remove Roll Over Valve (ROV) - Re-route oil tank breather hose to exhaust under sled. This does two things:
   1. The stock ROV is notorious for freezing shut. If it does that, the back pressure will blow the seal on your oil tank. Bad news.
   2. The stock breather routing sends the oil spume directly back in the turbo. I personally don't want filthy oil blasted back in my air intake.
3. Replace stock tunnel support shaft with heavier "RR" shaft. The stock support is flimsy and people have experienced catastrophic failures with it, destroying their tunnels.

 

[Motorhead]

Hello All,
New to the site, I've scrolled through allot of the threads and am seeing allot on three things in particular and am wondering just how imperative upgrades are this year or do I run 1k miles on it this year and work on it next off season. I just picked up a 18' left over Sidewinder LTX-SE a couple weeks ago and am in the process of getting it ready for the trail. With that said I despise being broken down. Usually my wife and I are out alone which leaves the heavy lifting and trail side repairs up to me, plus I only get 3-4 weekend of riding in a years due to work so I am very conscientious about PM. Little back ground I am a trail guy, about the only thing I tinker with from stock is suspension and things that will keep me from breaking down, So a high performance clutch or different tune or high speed gear isn't for me anymore, been there done that, tired of breaking stuff. With that said here are my big concerns. Feel free to tag other threads on here.

1- Clutch rollers and spring issues, Were these addressed at all for 18' or no, I was having a hard time finding a definitive answer. If not is there a kit out there that mimics stock set up with better quality components?
2- Bearings, (jack shaft, Drive shaft, Tri hub) Should I just yank them now and install better ones to avoid the inevitable? recommended brands?
3- Gears, Again should I yank them now and install better ones or is this a 1k mile plus issue?

any other recommendations would be much appreciated.
Thanks!

Hello All,
New to the site, I've scrolled through allot of the threads and am seeing allot on three things in particular and am wondering just how imperative upgrades are this year or do I run 1k miles on it this year and work on it next off season. I just picked up a 18' left over Sidewinder LTX-SE a couple weeks ago and am in the process of getting it ready for the trail. With that said I despise being broken down. Usually my wife and I are out alone which leaves the heavy lifting and trail side repairs up to me, plus I only get 3-4 weekend of riding in a years due to work so I am very conscientious about PM. Little back ground I am a trail guy, about the only thing I tinker with from stock is suspension and things that will keep me from breaking down, So a high performance clutch or different tune or high speed gear isn't for me anymore, been there done that, tired of breaking stuff. With that said here are my big concerns. Feel free to tag other threads on here.

1- Clutch rollers and spring issues, Were these addressed at all for 18' or no, I was having a hard time finding a definitive answer. If not is there a kit out there that mimics stock set up with better quality components?
2- Bearings, (jack shaft, Drive shaft, Tri hub) Should I just yank them now and install better ones to avoid the inevitable? recommended brands?
3- Gears, Again should I yank them now and install better ones or is this a 1k mile plus issue?

any other recommendations would be much appreciated.
Thanks!

Left over, so brand new with 0 miles!

Shall try and keep it simple whereas you have not even tried it out yet.

When I purchased my new 2017 LTX- LE, these are what I needed right away to enjoy my sled.

1. Mirrors
2. Warmer/ taller windshield, your model has a taller one then mine had.
3.Ski scratchers to prevent overheating on hard packed trail days.
4. Ski change or adding Snow Trackers to yourTuner skis.
5. Some kind of traction products and rear protector.
6. Change out secondary rollers as soon as they flat spot.

Or just ride it and see what you think, but be careful because in stock form the handling is dangerous in some conditions if not all!!



I said I would keep it simple so there you have it.
Make sure to check chain case after 500 miles and for that you must address the hard to maintain turbo exhaust bolts.

 

[TheMogulMogul]

Motorhead is right, totally forgot to mention the turbo exhaust bolts (will freeze in almost immediately so nickel anti-seize them) and replacing the "Tuner" skis OEM on Yamaha (the Catwinder has decent skis) with Pilot 6.9s or Curves...

 

[SumpBuster]

Hello All,
New to the site, I've scrolled through allot of the threads and am seeing allot on three things in particular and am wondering just how imperative upgrades are this year or do I run 1k miles on it this year and work on it next off season. I just picked up a 18' left over Sidewinder LTX-SE a couple weeks ago and am in the process of getting it ready for the trail. With that said I despise being broken down. Usually my wife and I are out alone which leaves the heavy lifting and trail side repairs up to me, plus I only get 3-4 weekend of riding in a years due to work so I am very conscientious about PM. Little back ground I am a trail guy, about the only thing I tinker with from stock is suspension and things that will keep me from breaking down, So a high performance clutch or different tune or high speed gear isn't for me anymore, been there done that, tired of breaking stuff. With that said here are my big concerns. Feel free to tag other threads on here.

1- Clutch rollers and spring issues, Were these addressed at all for 18' or no, I was having a hard time finding a definitive answer. If not is there a kit out there that mimics stock set up with better quality components?
2- Bearings, (jack shaft, Drive shaft, Tri hub) Should I just yank them now and install better ones to avoid the inevitable? recommended brands?
3- Gears, Again should I yank them now and install better ones or is this a 1k mile plus issue?

any other recommendations would be much appreciated.
Thanks!

They don't like snow! Bring a winch!
Lol...actually, love it...18 se. No issues except only 66% of turbo bolts included with sled...check it.

 

[Glass Cruiser]

Check out my "New Sled!" thread, I asked the same thing as you, it has a ton of good info. Check out RockerDan's build thread, tons of stuff in one place. What I personally am going to do on my 18 is:

1. Remove tri-hub rear wheels and replace with a 4 wheel kit. Options are:
   1. 4 Wheel kit from Don George dealership. - $
   2. Stealth 4 wheel kit from J&T (sabrecat). - $$
   3. Larson 4 wheel kit from Larson. - $$$
2. Remove Roll Over Valve (ROV) - Re-route oil tank breather hose to exhaust under sled. This does two things:
   1. The stock ROV is notorious for freezing shut. If it does that, the back pressure will blow the seal on your oil tank. Bad news.
   2. The stock breather routing sends the oil spume directly back in the turbo. I personally don't want filthy oil blasted back in my air intake.
3. Replace stock tunnel support shaft with heavier "RR" shaft. The stock support is flimsy and people have experienced catastrophic failures with it, destroying their tunnels.

Thanks guys, this is great stuff. Gonna order up the pilots. Themogulmogul 2 questions where is the ROV located and any downs sides to removing? Also the RR support shaft, where is that located? Thanks.

 

[TheMogulMogul]

Look for RockerDan, his signature has his build thread, and it is all there.

 

[stevewithOCD]

WELCOME MrCruiser!

Step 1: Get an Avatar. It's hard to judge who you are. Look at mine. YEP..............i'm crazy............about ridin'
Step 2: Skis or SnoTrackers
Step 3: Secondary rollers
Step 4: Get yourself some coffee & read up on TY. Keep the door open so your wife doesn't think your addicted to porn
Step 5: If you need to know how to do something, look up ROCKERDAN's build thread. You'll need a Big Gulp filled with coffee
Step 6: RIDE!!! Judge for yourself. In 1000 miles the motor won't even be broken in yet

P.S. I: If we gave Dan a nickel for every time we say "look up Dan's build thread" he'd have like............$4.35. Or $37.95 Canadian
P.S. II: Do they still make Big Gulps?

 

[JayM]

I picked up a new left over 17 R-TX SE a couple weeks ago, 0km, this is what I'm doing but maybe a bit too much I just don't want issues. I will out a post together once I start doing these, For now it's just been a lot of ordering parts and waiting lol:

-Yamaha heated visor plug
-Yamaha knee pads
-TD Powertrail Tune
-TD Superquiet Exhaust
-DIY CAI with a K&N
-TD/Dalton Clutch weights
-TD/Dalton Primary Spring with glide washers
-Thunder Products Primary and secondary rollers
-Check alignment on clutches
-TD 4th Wheel kit (replaces the whole tri-axle
-Slydog Trail skis with 9" shaper bars
-135 x 1.575 Woody's Mega Bite Studs with Yamaha tunnel protectors
-BOP belly pan protector
-Powermadd Sentinal hand guards with mirrors
-3M wrap on the black plastic on the console to prevent scratches from keys etc
-Ultimax Belt and keep stock as spare
-Setup suspension based on posts here and adjust from there
-make right lower panel removable like ROCKERDAN did
-remove ROV as ROCKERDAN did

Needless to say I'm anxious for snow!!

 

[stevewithOCD]

Jesus J!
I think you just scared our Newbie!
You have to treat Newbie's like a stray kitten. Slow & easy. Maybe some milk. And OREO's!

 

[SAB1]

You seem to have some of your wilder days behind you. I would do the 4th wheel kit, maybe a new helix and spring and the pilots are a cheaper option than curves. I know several guys riding stock sleds that did the forth wheel kit and stock everything else with over 3,000 trouble free miles last season and yes they stayed with stock skis with no issues cruising millinocket at 70-80 mph. All a function of what you want to spend. I'd get on it and ride it before I blew a lot of dough. Rivnuts on lower panel if your doing your own maintenance

 

[rnusr01]

Jesus J!
I think you just scared our Newbie!
You have to treat Newbie's like a stray kitten. Slow & easy. Maybe some milk. And OREO's!

Steve, have you considered counseling?

 

[DGZRT]

For Good and Cheap PM parts look at BOP ( Barn of Parts ) website and look under the Sidewinder section . He has fixes for most of the problems and supports the site !!

 

[JayM]

Jesus J!
I think you just scared our Newbie!
You have to treat Newbie's like a stray kitten. Slow & easy. Maybe some milk. And OREO's!

I might of went a little crazy but I don't want to be stuck 8hrs north of home for a weekend of riding and someone happens. (It might happen anyways but if there's something that's a common issue I will change it now).