M
MT BoonDockerBoy
Active member
At the end of last season my running boards were shot and my side panels were trashed. The chassis has 8300 mountain miles and the whole sled was pretty much falling apart. My plan was to just build a new set of running boards and side panels but I ended up doing extensive modding. The reason for building new side panels instead of buying replacements was because I wanted the footwells moved forward and the stock ones just didn't fit well. The whole build was done on under $500 and I'm pleased with how it turned out. Got it all together and didn't have spark-new stator coming today-so I haven't actually had a chance to ride it yet.
I started with building tube boards and modding the tunnel...
The more I tore into the sled I more I found that needed to be repaired...
Found an XP skid with T-Motion and also put that in.
Moved the steering forward around 8in from stock location. I cut the end cap, added a spacer then welded the end cap back one. Hit the welds with a grinder to clean it up and give it a stock appearance.
The last big mod to improve handling was moving the footwells forward. With this setup I can get my feet 14in farther forward while doing downhill U-turns and technical descents. My hypothesis is that with the steering moved forward and the running boards build farther forward, the riders weight is move quite a bit forward giving better handling characteristics. Similar to the XM.
Some other little things include....
PowderFreaks Head
Dyno Port pipe
SureFoot Running boards coating from Between the Lines Designs
Homemade Flex-edge track
Custom mesh hood/side panels
Custom Seat
and a bunch more little things....
https://scontent-b-pao.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/995875_567883223288649_559238582_n.jpg
I used a Hobart Handler 220 with spool gun and argon gas to weld with. Bent the aluminum with an old re-bar bending and used a small propane torch to heat it. Overall I have over 300hrs into this build. As my first time welding aluminum or dealing with it period I learned a lot. There are a lot of things I would do different next time. The big one being that I would build it in a way that it can be unbolted instead of cutting welds. Although I can remove the clutches and do the majority of the work on this sled without cutting any tubing it would've been better to design it in a way so that it could be removed.
I still need to build a clutch guard around the bottom of the secondary, add some traction screws, add more snaps to the mesh and stuff like that.
I also am going to narrow the front a little in the near future.
More pictures and videos coming as I finish up little things and starting riding it. I'm sure once I start riding it I'll find a lot of things to re-design ad change.
I started with building tube boards and modding the tunnel...
The more I tore into the sled I more I found that needed to be repaired...
Found an XP skid with T-Motion and also put that in.
Moved the steering forward around 8in from stock location. I cut the end cap, added a spacer then welded the end cap back one. Hit the welds with a grinder to clean it up and give it a stock appearance.
The last big mod to improve handling was moving the footwells forward. With this setup I can get my feet 14in farther forward while doing downhill U-turns and technical descents. My hypothesis is that with the steering moved forward and the running boards build farther forward, the riders weight is move quite a bit forward giving better handling characteristics. Similar to the XM.
Some other little things include....
PowderFreaks Head
Dyno Port pipe
SureFoot Running boards coating from Between the Lines Designs
Homemade Flex-edge track
Custom mesh hood/side panels
Custom Seat
and a bunch more little things....
https://scontent-b-pao.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/995875_567883223288649_559238582_n.jpg
I used a Hobart Handler 220 with spool gun and argon gas to weld with. Bent the aluminum with an old re-bar bending and used a small propane torch to heat it. Overall I have over 300hrs into this build. As my first time welding aluminum or dealing with it period I learned a lot. There are a lot of things I would do different next time. The big one being that I would build it in a way that it can be unbolted instead of cutting welds. Although I can remove the clutches and do the majority of the work on this sled without cutting any tubing it would've been better to design it in a way so that it could be removed.
I still need to build a clutch guard around the bottom of the secondary, add some traction screws, add more snaps to the mesh and stuff like that.
I also am going to narrow the front a little in the near future.
More pictures and videos coming as I finish up little things and starting riding it. I'm sure once I start riding it I'll find a lot of things to re-design ad change.
