New sled owner looking for advice on replacement parts

[Redhat]

Pardon my ignorance as this is the first snowmobile I have ever owned. I must say I am quite happy with it so far. I got a steal on a Yamaha race team test sled that I could not pass up. It has only 500 miles on it. That being said I bought it knowing there was going to be some dings and scratches. I know which parts need replacing but there are so many offerings out there I am at a loss as where I should start. Any thoughts or guidance would be greatly appreciated. I know I could hunt down factory replacements but that doesn't sound like any fun. I thought it would be a lot more fun to get forum input, install new parts and post pictures of the changes.

Here are the parts I am looking to replace.

-Front bumper.

-Hood / Nose. There are some cracks and I would like to change color. I like the white, blue, white on the 15 so was hoping for something along those lines.

-Clutch side venting. It is torn up and I fear something might get in there.

-Skid Plates.

If anyone has any suggestions I would greatly appreciate any input.

2014 Yamaha Viper RTX SE

 

[actionjack]

Photos please

 

[Redhat]

I will post some pictures when I get home from work this evening. They are on my other computer

 

[cannondale27]

What shocks are on it? XC or how was it raced?

 

[Redhat]

I am still not 100% sure of the sleds history. From what I understand it was just a test sled so it was more just track testing and nothing hardcore. As far as shocks I do have a picture of those.

 

[Redhat]

Here are a few pictures of the sled. Seems mostly stock except for the windshield and the track studs. The areas of damage are very minor and can't really be seen in these photos but they still bother me. I will post some more pictures this evening.

 

[trailtamer]

Nice looking sled ya got there. Looks pretty good to me but I under stand making it yours. Add a nice bumper, add a tunnel wrap, fix the vents and cracks, clean the clutches, maybe give it an oil change and some grease, and ride the snot out of it.

 

[FrozenTows4]

Very sharp machine. Clean the battery terminals, install a tender, and keep it plugged in. Then, it will be ready when you are. Enjoy!

 

[Nytros rule]

I like that you are a person after my own heart and you want it to look OEM mint, replace what you want to make it look mint,till cost becomes an issue.
I am not sure why you are looking for (ZOOM ZOOM or BLING) my preference is Zoom Zoom ( look stock and sound stock ) but kick #*$&@.

AND BY THE WAY WELCOME TO THE SNOMOBLE WORLD I've loved this sport since 1969, I've taken my Kids since they were house broken and I just spent a fantastic week teaching my grand daughters about the joys of snowmobiling.
I truly hope you enjoy/love this sport as much as I have/do.

 

[Nytros rule]

Now that I have been sentimental there are people on this site that can truly help you with all sorts of issues and some that are %1000 percent BS. You unfortunately have to figure that out for your self.

 

[cannondale27]

Oh Boy I will put it on the line Nytro. I cant tell you to run it as is even though I spent the first 600-1000mi almost completely stock and will never forget how happy I was to have that exact same sled and how much I enjoyed those rides 3 years and over 7000mi ago. I see it is aggressively studded. I also see you have a CA Pro sticker on it. I believe you will either need to remove the sticker and studs or get CA Pro skis. It will not turn in loose snow if you dont. Next I would have the rear shocks revalved or at least the rear rear shock. I can help you with that and it is a amazing difference. I am assuming they are stock shocks in there but I cant see them in your pics. Skidplate. Buy a factory Yamaha skidplate. I regret not doing that first thing since I damaged my sled without it. Thats it for now. Up to you to see what else you want to do. In my opinion nothing more is needed. Above all ride it every chance you can!

 

[Redhat]

Thanks to all that have responded so far. It is truly appreciated. I don't usually post to forums so being welcomed so quickly has been a great relief. As to the question of whether I am a zoom zoom or bling kind of guy lol.. I am a mix of both. For now I want to get the exterior cleaned up and looking pretty sharp and then work my way in. I am not going to be putting a turbo on or anything like that but will be doing some subtle things to improve performance to my satisfaction. I like the idea of revalving the rear shock. Not something I have done but I am pretty mechanically inclined so I'm confident it is something I could do with a little guidance. The CA Pro stickers are going away very soon. I just have not found something to replace them yet. I kind of like having something there. I will take the Yamaha skid plate in to consideration for sure. I have read a lot of mixed reviews as to its durability hence why I came to this forum. Where I live the snow is less than perfect. It is a lot of ditch, hard pack and lake riding and I imagine it is only a matter of time before I hit something I will truly regret. That being said I am looking to get something that will hold up for a little while and hopefully be a little easier to remove for maintenance. I have a couple more pictures to post with some of the dings scratches. I don't have a picture showing the damage to the front bumper. I was able to bend it back in to shape but past experiences tell me that once metal is bent it tends to be less rigid moving forward. Plus I would like something that makes it stand out a little from the rest.

This picture is the clutch side vent. The cheapest option would be to rig it up and return it pretty close to stock. The next option would be to just order the factory parts and replace it or..... My thought is since most of these upgrades and repairs are going to be gifted to me why not look at upgrading all together to maximize cooling and longevity of the vehicle.

As I don't know all of the parts off the top of my head here is the best representation I can give for this issue. The part that is cracked is the very front piece to keep the front part of the hood/ shroud from moving around. In my case it is cracked from the top left to the right bottom. best guess is it is about a 6 inch diagonal crack. To me it seems that it is about one solid jolt from cracking completely.

This last image is the plastic on the exhaust side. The best I can tell this happened because the flange where the muffler attaches was pressing against the plastic combined with the heat ended up putting a good sized melt on the back side of the plastic. It weakened it enough to where it is starting to crack from the inside out. When they put the stock exhaust back on this problem was corrected however this is the aftermath.

I am aware this stuff is all minor and I am being extremely anal but with a machine like this I can't help it. I don't want it to look like a dinged up soccer mom minivan.

 

[Nytros rule]

The frog skins are cheap and easy to replace, probably around $ 20.00 for both. The side panel, check wreckers there have been some sleds that have had serious misfortune and you may be able to get that piece cheaper.
I don't think you are being anal at all, you don;t want it looking like a mini van at all let alone dinged.

 

[cannondale27]

Also it's cheaper to replace entire panel than just factory stickers. Think about a wrap. Some really cool ones out there.