Team Fast 136" M20 - 2011+ Apex XTX (Version 1.0)

[smoothride]

Your profile and your pic added up all the sleds are still there.lol

 

[Redbeard]

Local hydraulic shop made all the air lines.

Time to bench test everything before it goes in the sled.

 

[yamahatd]

Impressive. I wish I the resources and talent. Nice work as always. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts after the first ride.

 

[Redbeard]

Harvest is complete!

I spent a few hours this morning making a a bracket to secure the airline that goes through the tunnel to the shock. Instead of using a #4 JIC bulkhead fitting, I welded a 1/8" hydraulic pipe coupling to a plate that bolts inside the tunnel. There is a second plate with a small pipe and rubber grommet to protect the hose connection. This is probably over-built, but I worry about small things like this (spinning track, ice chunks, etc).

Next is the handlebar switch. I'll hopefully have that done this weekend sometime.

 

[Redbeard]

I ended up taking the whole day off, so I worked on mounting the power switch.

The switch mounts to an existing thread boss underneath the hi/lo headlight button. This is where a choke lever would be mounted on a carb sled, but since there's no carbs, I thought it was a good location for the power switch.

I hand cut away some plastic so the switch would sit flush and I found a metric screw to hold everything in place.

Next step is to build a wiring harness and powder coat the parts.

 

[smoothride]

Harvest is complete!

I spent a few hours this morning making a a bracket to secure the airline that goes through the tunnel to the shock. Instead of using a #4 JIC bulkhead fitting, I welded a 1/8" hydraulic pipe coupling to a plate that bolts inside the tunnel. There is a second plate with a small pipe and rubber grommet to protect the hose connection. This is probably over-built, but I worry about small things like this (spinning track, ice chunks, etc).

Next is the handlebar switch. I'll hopefully have that done this weekend sometime.

Just remember that line gets built up with ice around it. And it will pull down on it.

 

[Redbeard]

Just remember that line gets built up with ice around it. And it will pull down on it.

That's been one of my worries all along.

Have you had any trouble with ice breaking the line loose on your sled? There is not a lot of distance between the rubber grommet and the clamp, maybe 6".

 

[smoothride]

No I have not broken one yet. Mine has the team fast clamp at the tunnel. I have tested this suspension past the the limits tho.

 

[Redbeard]

Wiring harness for the air pump and dump solenoid is finished. Wires for the switch run with the stock handlebar wiring and can be unhooked with a junction plug. I'm wiring straight to the battery (with fuse) for now. Plans are in order to power the pump / dump from the key through a relay. Time is running out, so this will work for now.

Female 4 pin - handlebar switch
Female 2 pin - solenoid
Male 2 pin - pump
Male 1 pin - battery +
Ring terminal - ground

I also installed the extra wheel kit that Fast sells. Thank you again Yamahatd for taking the time to look up that part number.

 

[yamahatd]

Looking good! Keep up the great work and updates.

The additional wheels are a key add on.

Firing mine up today and putting it on the trailer, only to bring in the wife's into the shop for the pre-season.

 

[Redbeard]

The system is now fully operational. The dump solenoid works too good; barely touch the switch and it dumps 10 psi right now! That's too much, so I robbed a bleed valve from my anhydrous ammonia applicator as a means to regulate the rate of dump. It's basically a needle and seat that I can adjust with a small tee handle. I placed the valve just above the left foot well. If the solenoid ever sticks open, I can reach down and close the valve without removing the hood and side panels.

Here are a few more pics of the wire harness installed. The (bridge) bracket that supports the headlight pod is removed, so you get a better view of everything.

I'm still waiting on the new throttle cable.

 

[Redbeard]

I removed the U bolt clamp that holds the air line to the rear swing arm and noticed the line looked damaged. Problem is; when the U bolt is tightened to where it won't move around, it pinches the line and I'm worried it will fail.

I tig welded a small clamp that fastens to the swing arm with a hose clamp. It's made out of 5/8" washers, 3/4" square tube and an old hot dog roaster...LOL! When it's tight, it squeezes a piece of 3/8" fuel hose around the air line and holds it firm without smashing. The hose is now secure with rubber on rubber vs. metal on metal.

 

[smoothride]

I never had a problem with the old clamp for air line. Now just remember that the limiter strap is going to move over and be rubbing that clamp you put there so you mite what to go back to the old one.

 

[Redbeard]

I never had a problem with the old clamp for air line. Now just remember that the limiter strap is going to move over and be rubbing that clamp you put there so you mite what to go back to the old one.

Thanks for the concern Smoothride. The clamp I made is in the exact same spot as the U bolt Fast supplied. Hopefully the limiter strap will not be an issue.

The supplied U bolt pinches the air line when it's tight enough to not move on the swing arm. The clamp I made squeezes a rubber hose around the airline without pinching it.

 

[MrSled]

You sure do some nice work... very impressed. Great job and doing things right!!