Studding a VK Professional???

[Yamaha Sled Talk Blog]

I am wondering if anyone is considering studding their VK Pro or has any thoughts on the matter. This would require heat exchanger / exhaust protectors which are not currently available from Yamaha but could be if there was a demand.

Anyone?

Thanks
cr

 

[YETI]

I am considering this as we have a lot of ice this year. I would like to have more studs than just down the center as I have seen here in this forum.

 

[eric3793]

I purchased my '08 VK all set up with 1 1/2" Woodys studs...two per bar so there's gotta be about 144. The dealer installed one tunnel protector that seems to work well. I have nearly 1600 miles on the machine with a mix of work and play. No evidence of anything hitting under there. I did need to reattach the front of the protector when two rivets came out. I used SS 1/4" bolts with nyloc nuts which seem to be holding up well. We did some riding over the holiday & weekend. The lake was flat from the Christmas rain with enough crust to get great traction. The studs help alot on the glare ice but they are not agressive due to the 1 1/4" paddles...only 1/4" of penetration. Even though I'm an old timer I cannot stay off the throttle. My spedo said 93 at one point coming down the lake which is not bad for a utility machine!

 

[Yamaha Sled Talk Blog]

Thanks Eric, I would like to know who your dealer is so I can contact to learn more about the exchanger protector which was applied to your sled.

cheers
cr

 

[Joner]

I studded mine with a small V pattern up the middle. They don't go under the rad and use the rad as the tunnel protector. Same thing...2 per bar and 144 but I went with a 1.375 stud. No scratches in the tunnel after 2 years.

 

[eric3793]

Thanks Eric, I would like to know who your dealer is so I can contact to learn more about the exchanger protector which was applied to your sled.

cheers
cr

I bought my VK at Gary's Yamaha in Caribou, Maine. They had never studded a VK before so they admitted the one tunnel protector was a gamble. I believe they used a protector designed for another application. It is an aluminum rail with white Hyfax pre-curved for the bulkhead. They used rivets to attach it to the tunnel. Two of the front rivets came out and I drilled and through-bolted w/SS.

I agree with the previous post that studs could be installed on the right side to keep them away from the heat exchanger. After all, we are not entering SnoCross races with these beasts. All I'm interested in is traction, safety and tossing a little ice up to help the sliders out. I have ridden on very icy trails & lakes with no melted Hyfax yet. I like the idea of scratchers. I've had my old Polaris WT freeze up so bad I needed to use an axe to free up each track clip from the sliders. This has not happened yet on the VK...but I did sense that plastic odor once last weekend so I went off trail to pick up some snow.

 

[eric3793]

I just thought of what I used to install for tunnel protection...normal 3/4" UHWV plastic sometimes called ProCut. It is used for cutting boards and commercial table tops for meat cutting. 1" strips ripped on a table saw worked great on several old machines. If I had picked the track myself I would have used this material...probably just one strip.

 

[Yamaha Sled Talk Blog]

Thanks guys, good information.

cheers

cr

 

[attak 06]

Do any of you guys have any pics of the protectors? Was gonna stud my father's Professional just on one side, but a protector would be great!!

 

[Joner]

You don't need to just do one side without the tunnel protector. You can still do a v pattern up the miiddel without going under the heat exchanger. I made three templates out of one inch wide aluminum to maintain the pattern.

 

[attak 06]

Nice... Thanks for the pic!!

 

[eric3793]

I just turned 6000 miles on the '08 VK and no problems with the studs or the single protector. I should mention that the small studs are only about 1/4" above the paddle so they must be 1 1/2" picks. This works ok ice but not as well as other sleds with 1 3/4" picks on 1 1/4" paddle tracks. The dealer was probably more concerned about the heat exchanger than traction.

 

[maim]

sandy cove in noth bay aparently studded a vk pro for a lodge. do not know if they put a protector in though.

 

[Ry]

I have an '09 VK PRO and I studded it myself, I used some Woodys Gold and put 2 per bar in the centre. My dealer (Trailside Sports, Espanola Ontario)has a custom made tunnel protector but I didnt put one in. The pattern is two tight then two wide. Last year I put on 2300 kms and this year I have run almost 800kms and no scratches or contact at all. The studs are just slightly taller than the track lugs, I run 90 percent of the time on a lake and I am towing ice huts and other broken down machines etc, running through 16" of slush. Many people have told me you cant stud a VK Pro but I know and have proven you can.

 

[brad gilker]

I studded my 06 like you did with the points JUST above the lugs and no problems at all