Team Fast 136" M20 - 2011+ Apex XTX (Version 2.0)

[Redbeard]

I just received a message from Viper Dave regarding the M20 in his Apex...

He was going over the sled, getting it ready for this weekend, when he noticed the left, front arm mounting bolt was missing completely! It DID NOT break off inside the cross-shaft! Instead, it backed out completely and fell off somewhere on the trail?? We rode 1,300 miles last week and have no idea how long the bolt had been missing, as the sled still rode and handled well!

Upon inspection, Dave noticed that the right, front arm bolt is all that was holding the front arm in place!! That bolt was starting to wallow-out the tunnel, but it held! It boggles my mind at how that one bolt took all the abuse for who knows how long?? There was no other apparent damage to the front arm or the rest of the skid.

I've always made my own tunnel support plates out of 11 or 12 gauge material. Dave's sled was no exception! I feel that his right side tunnel would have ripped out had the thicker plates not been there. The outer plate I made took some damage, but it held! Easily replaced!

I made a new right side outer plate for Dave, and one for the left side as well, which I completed this evening. In doing so, I decided to increase the thickness of the plate to 1/4" for severe duty on the trail! All that's left now is a little powder coat, bolt 'em on and the sled will be back in service!

Cheers!

 

[MrSled]

I just received a message from Viper Dave regarding the M20 in his Apex...

He was going over the sled, getting it ready for this weekend, when he noticed the left, front arm mounting bolt was missing completely! It DID NOT break off inside the cross-shaft! Instead, it backed out completely and fell off somewhere on the trail?? We rode 1,300 miles last week and have no idea how long the bolt had been missing, as the sled still rode and handled well!

Upon inspection, Dave noticed that the right, front arm bolt is all that was holding the front arm in place!! That bolt was starting to wallow-out the tunnel, but it held! It boggles my mind at how that one bolt took all the abuse for who knows how long?? There was no other apparent damage to the front arm or the rest of the skid.

Ever since my first M20 installation, I've always made my own tunnel support plates out of 11 or 12 gauge material. I make them for the inside and outside of the tunnel. Dave's sled was no exception! I feel that his right side tunnel would have ripped out had the thicker plates not been there. The outer plate I made took a little damage, but it held!

I made a new right side outer plate for Dave, and one for the left side as well, which I completed this evening. In doing so, I decided to increase the thickness of the plate to 1/4" for severe duty on the trail! All that's left now is a little powder coat, bolt 'em on and the sled will be back in service!

Cheers!

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I have seen this many many times. Loc-tite. M10, M20 and the Expert X use to toss bolts all the time.

 

[Redbeard]

Loc-tite...

Yep! All bolts in his his suspension had loctite and were torqued. These particular bolts from Fast already had the patch of blue Loctite on them. It wasn't enough though, as something obviously gave. That was a first for me in 5 years of using these skids. I'm starting to wonder if the grease got away over the miles and caused the front arm to bind on the cross shaft, twisting the bolt loose?

I inspected my other buddy's Apex and mine. All is tight and in tact.

 

[MrSled]

Yep! All bolts in his his suspension had loctite and were torqued. It wasn't enough though, as something obviously gave. That was a first for me in 5 years of using these skids. I'm starting to wonder if the grease got away over the miles and caused the front arm to bind on the cross shaft, twisting the bolt loose?

I inspected my other buddy's Apex and mine. All is tight and in tact.

Its Dave.. hes bad luck ..LOL I hit them hard with the impact and dont even loc-tite them any more.. just go by feel. Works great for me.

 

[Redbeard]

I'm just glad the situation wasn't worse! It could have been worse for the sled or more importantly...Dave!

Hour repair, tops!

 

[Redbeard]

Good to go!

 

[Redbeard]

We just completed a week of riding the western UP. The snow and trails were excellent! There were 7 of us, including Viper_Dave and Yamadoo. This was the first time we've ever rented a house. Great group! All I can say is, I'm going to have a hard time ever staying in a motel again. It was nice going back to a warm house every evening. There were two bathrooms/showers, and we all had our own bed. We cooked breakfast every morning, and everyone chipped in and did their part. It could not have been better. We even met up with VX1R and Journeyman one day. They led the way and took us through some areas I had never seen. Good guys!

There were four M20 equipped sleds in our group. Not a single issue with any of them in the 900 or so miles we logged. Definitely a trip to remember!

Here's a few pics:

 

[MrSled]

I feel sad Glad you all had a great time..

 

[DGZRT]

That’s is an awesome bunch of Apex’s !! Sounds like it was a great time !

 

[Viper_Dave]

I'll tell you right now, trail #3 on Wednesday afternoon was as rough as I've ever seen it. EVERY dollar this setup cost was worth it for just this scenario. 55-60 mph and the bumps just disappear! For MILES! Thanks again Joe for EVERYTHING ! I personally rode almost 1200 miles and 5 straight days with no discomfort other than my lousy knees. My riding career will be stretched longer because of this suspension.

 

[Redbeard]

I'll tell you right now, trail #3 on Wednesday afternoon was as rough as I've ever seen it. EVERY dollar this setup cost was worth it for just this scenario. 55-60 mph and the bumps just disappear! For MILES! Thanks again Joe for EVERYTHING ! I personally rode almost 1200 miles and 5 straight days with no discomfort other than my lousy knees. My riding career will be stretched longer because of this suspension.

Absolutely, Dave! I will always maintain that an M20 is the most effective upgrade I've ever made to a snowmobile. I still can't say enough good about them. I'm glad you feel the same.

 

[northern srx]

Just a thought, could the front arm mounting bolt and existing frame bolt be drilled and safety wired to eliminate the problem?

 

[Redbeard]

Just a thought, could the front arm mounting bolt and existing frame bolt be drilled and safety wired to eliminate the problem?

I think any bolt in this type of application could be safety wired. However, I think the above mentioned missing bolt was due to the grease getting away. The skid was brand new and everything was tight. Couple that with a 1,100+ mile bagger trip, and things got quite dry. I believe the front arm simply loosened the bolt and backed it out. Even if the bolt was safety wired; something had to give in that scenario. The bolt head would have eventually broken off, or the front arm would have broke...I think.

 

[northern srx]

Curious, on the front shaft, do they machine any grooves across the shaft to allow grease to fill in and provide extra lubricant? I'm still saving my nickles and dimes to get a M20!

 

[Redbeard]

Curious, on the front shaft, do they machine any grooves across the shaft to allow grease to fill in and provide extra lubricant? I'm still saving my nickles and dimes to get a M20!

No, there are no machined grooves.

Here is a spare shaft I have laying around. It's beefy @ 30mm in diameter! There are different lengths available for different applications, but this particular shaft is 390mm long.