Re: Tow Hitch
ColoMtnMan said:
Please tell me where I can get one of those tow hitches? I have been down to my Yamaha Dealer and they don't show those in their books. Any help would greatly be appreciated in getting one of those hitches.
Thanks,
CJ
See if they can get you this Part Number:
Rear Tow Bumper
Tow Bumper features durable powder-painted steel
construction. Uses either pin hitch or hook hitch.
Fits ‘08 FX Nytro, ‘08 FX Nytro RTX, ‘08 FX Nytro MTX
SMA-8GL41-HT-CH . . . . . . . . $122.95
Ride Updates & Techy Installs
Myself, Nate, Brian and Ray went riding a few days ago...
View of one of our ice roads...
Temps were dropping and I'm still workin on the action shots with my camera...
I have the first manufacturers defect on my MTX...what's missing here?
Don't know when the Hi-Beam button came off, but it's gone...and I'm not the only one who's Hi-Beam button has fallen off!
Now, let the techy stuff begin!!
During the ride pictures above, we were playin in some powder and the front of my Nytro filled with snow and my steering froze, just like the Phazer last year, just like my Rev the year before, and the Rev before that. Sigh....I guess that's another manufacturers defect, i've been bitching about it for some time - snowmobiles and not being able to keep the snow out of the cab. At least this time it happened gradually and I didn't bend any tie rods or rip any steering boots - never the less - it was a good excuse to do some work. I've been ordering accessories like crazy, and a few came in, so it was time to get to work.
Here's how things looked when I started...check out the gap between the belly pan and the motor. The snow built up so much and expanded when it turned to ice, what a mess!!
Here's an updated mileage shot from yesterday...
Look at the ice - boy, if I could have my hands into the engineering of a sled to eliminate gaps and cracks. Our area is the worst for this problem, the snow is very granular and gets into every spot possible...
Don't look now...
That nice little vent to help circulate air around the oil reservoir? Well, it is a disaster...expanded the panel so much that it popped it out of place!
Look at the ice accumulation on the panel next to the above pictured vent...
So while the sled was unthawing (Courtesy of Alex's garage AGAIN - thanks buddy!)...
Powermadd Handguards - install step 1: Move the control blocks/throttle assembly away from the grips enough to fit the Handguard Mounts into place...
Some adjusting and boom...
Now, what's this for???
It's a plate.. that requires some assembly. This is part of the Yamaha Fuel Caddy system for the sides of the machine at the back. Why they didn't come assembled in the bag, I dunno - but you gotta bolt the tray together and bolt it into the bag...
The fuel can has a strap that you install around it to hold in place...
So what IS a good thing, is that there's some existing holes that this fuel system uses in the tunnel...but you've got to drill a few anyway...
Very easy mounting...
Le Masterpiece...
Repeat for the other side...each fuel can holds 5 liters, so that's 10 extra now...
Speaking of fuel...I walked into Force One the other day and they had another accessory for me - I've yet to find out who's behind it? The dealer? Yamaha? Tour Buddy & Yamaha? Dunno...but someone sent it up for me free of charge...which is awesome....so let the install begin...
Remove the side panels beneath the seat...
Then remove the seat...all very easy with visible bolts...
Locate the vent line for the main tank and cut it in half...
Install the connectors...
Run the new line from the connectors...
Down along side of the sled...
I gotta say, last year with all the complaining about the Phazer's 'OPEN' tunnel...someone came up with boxing the hole around the exhaust on their own to seal the heat/snow into the track area...now that Yamaha did exactly that this year - I wonder who has the patent??
Neatly tie off the lines, following the brake light cable...
Out the back...
Plug the lines into the Tour Buddy and BOOM! Done!
I had the remove the rack and re-install it, but it all fits, which is awesome!! So the 10 liters from the fuel caddies, plus the 12.6 liters from the tour buddy, brings it up to a grand total of 50.6 litres of on board fuel...add to that the 20 litres I can fit in the rack still, and that's over 70 liters total or a spare tank and a half of gas! Now that's RANGE!!
It looks bulky, but not as bad as on the short tracked Nytro's, and I'd rather it take up space beside the exhaust rather than more of the rear tunnel. I like the space for a bag or more fuel.
Is it going to melt? I hope not, but their instructions were clear and easy (thanks Tour Buddy) although I am concerned about the location of the fuel lines that connect into the Tour Buddy tank. There's nothing stopping the exhaust heat off the muffler from melting them. Should I assume this has all been tested already? I will keep an eye on the fuel lines, but if it melts and I don't notice, there's gonna be a lot of fuel being spun into my track and unless I smell it in time there might be some fire pictures in the near future! Maybe just wrapping the lines in heat tape would help?
So, rack is on, Tour Buddy is on, gotta put that tail light back in - perfect spot for it, on the hitch...
I extended the wiring by a foot or so and re-connected things...
So, tail light done! And it works!! Next? Scratchers (long overdue)
Using existing holes in the rail, I'll be experimenting with this location, hoping that it isn't too far towards the rear of the track...installed just behind the front idlers...
I drilled too low and had to make a new hole so there was more pressure applied to the scratcher when in use...
Installed on both sides and done.
Next? Messing with the suspension for all the fuel back there, and lightening up the steering a bit. I'll be messing with all the settings over the next few weeks to dial it in the way I like it. For now I started with the most weight transfer out back with the hardest setting on the rear springs...
Went with the stiffest setting up front (track shock) as well...
While I was greasing the suspension and doing the regular maintenance stuff, I stumbled on this...
Those drivers look a little melted or something...and considering my sliders are fine...I don't know if there's some excessive wear going on here but I will have to keep an eye on it, specifically the external part of the driver...
Now, with all the snow getting into the engine, it was time to seal some stuff off, like useless holes that serve no purpose...in this case I used a hot glue gun instead of silicone so that I could use the sled sooner...
I'm still waiting on the new front bumper and floatation skid plate, so I removed the broken bumper I had and sealed up the holes in the nose cone...
Upon inspection of the A-Arm that hit the tree, and the same side that connected with a rock, I can't find any broken welds or bent parts...and the handling is no different, so other than the shock tower being closer to an A-Arm on one side versus the other, I think all is well.
The nasty oil reservoir vent? Now prefiltered...
Underneath the newly dried and ice free belly pan, you can see the 'drain' holes for water to escape, but I think more granular snow gets into those holes than water that gets out!
Either way I left it alone for now. Moving onto the hood, when it is installed, there's gaps around the headlight assembly that allow a lot of snow into the steering area, so once again I used weather stripping like on my old Rev...
On the hood itself, I installed some tape over the set of vents under the headlight and prefiltered the intake for the radiator...
Just hot glue and prefilter...easy as pie.
I also removed the screens and prefiltered them on the sides of the panels...
And that's it for now!! She's ready to ride!!
First test ride (although not very long) proved successfull.
While doing on these upgrades I put some miles on the Phazer, it was lonely.
I had the ECU update done but am still waiting on the decompression system update. The ECU update appears to have the engine idling higher, for longer, on cold start-up. The Phazer will be undergoing some accessory installs as well soon as soon as all parts are in.
Happy Holidays!!
YK
