09 Style Rear Bumper Mod Questions

[HiWaYman92]

I have been pondering which 09 style bumper mod to make. Bottom line, I want the benefits of the mod, but want to spend as little as possible. I have seen were a couple guys have cut the running board section off, but left most of the side panel of the tail section, cut off the handles off of the stock 08 style bumper, leaving the stock tail light and snow flap, and adding the cat gussets and rear bumper. (I hope that made sense!) I have heard that the 09 cat gussets don't fit in the 08 running board edges, but I have also heard that if you bend them open a bit they will fit... can you guys post your pictures, advice, and prices of the parts you had to install? Thanks guys!

 

[89sandman]

if your looking to go as cheap as you can, just buy the billet kickups from bdx and mod the rest. the stock ac ones sure do look flimsy and cheap...

 

[YooperScott]

I went with cat bumper, taillight/flap, and gussets. Cut/modified stock rear tunnel and running boards. Also straightened and remounted stock cooler. I have no problems, looks factory AC and the cheapest way you are going to get it done and have a factory look.

 

[mtnclimber]

I bought the new tunnel section/bumper/snowflap/taillight/gussets/cooler all from cat. I originally planned on cutting the 08 tunnel, but decided it'd just be easier to do the whole extension. It went together flawlessly. The gussets fit perfect in the 08 rail edges ( they're the same as the 09's). The only modifying to them is that you have to bend them straight after you drill the rivets out, then cut them the length you need. With 09 cooler it saves a ton of work. THe only problem is that the coolant tubes in the tunnel are a little shorter on the 08's. To remidy this, just go to o'reilly, or your local auto parts store and ask them to look for a hose in your diameter with 2 90 degree bends plus 4-5 inches. Should only take them a few minutes. Cut them off at the length you need and put it together. I would recomend putting the cooler on before the tunnel extension. It's a pain to get the hoses/clamps on with the tunnel extension in place. I forgot to mention, if you do modify your stock extension, i would def put the endcap off the 09 on. It finishes/stregthens the tunnel....unless your still using your stock 08 bumper/light.

 

[mtnclimber]

Hope it helped

 

[chris587]

Make what you want.
Aluminum - $40
Cat Gussets - $15 They fit in 08 rails
LED Light - $30
Rivits - $20
Snowflap - $5
- $$$

 

[WyoBoy1000]

Make what you want.
Aluminum - $40
Cat Gussets - $15 They fit in 08 rails
LED Light - $30
Rivits - $20
Snowflap - $5
- $$$

This is a nice cheap way of doing it, But I can't tell how much you added to the tunnel sides and how far up you went. with the PC the flap is pointless.

 

[chris587]

We did the whole rear tunnel. With the PC, any snow flap is worthless

Here is some more that might show it better..

 

[HiWaYman92]

Nice!

We did the whole rear tunnel. With the PC, any snow flap is worthless

Here is some more that might show it better..

Make me one! That looks really nice. Unfortunately, I don't have a shop right now... so I need to do it without welding and bending...

 

[WyoBoy1000]

not sure still, but it looks like if you took a hit from landing in a wheelie it would break like the bdx do without the inside gusset. Which result in cooler breakage and big problems.

 

[chris587]

I've got quite a bit of ride time on it and no problems yet. It can't be any worse than the stock 08 tail when you land on it

 

[WyoBoy1000]

have you seen the broken ones from the bdx bumper, breaks right at the gusset and breaks coolant lines causing big trouble. there fix was to fish plate the inside of the tunnel.

 

[chris587]

No i haven't seen that. I'm not sayin that it might not get bent, but it is definately stronger than stock.

 

[Lambert454]

not sure still, but it looks like if you took a hit from landing in a wheelie it would break like the bdx do without the inside gusset. Which result in cooler breakage and big problems.

Thats exactly why I just cut the stock one (2007,2008). That way the cooler is still protected, Or you can buy a flat cooler.

Lambert

 

[M8 Rider]

Rear Bumper/Tunnel Upgrade

On my 2008 M8 I had the rear tunnel replaced with the 09/10 unit. It really improved the looks of my sled. But by the time you buy all the parts from Arctic Cat it is a little pricey. WAO has done a couple of conversions that didn't cost so much. He trimmed down the tunnel and cut off the rear bumper. He opted to use the Black Diamond Extreme foot pegs and they were worth the price paid. He used a 09/10 Arctic Cat 163 rear bumper to complete the project. It looks really good and works well when done and it doesn't cost alot.

 

[WyoBoy1000]

No i haven't seen that. I'm not sayin that it might not get bent, but it is definately stronger than stock.

I just can't see what exactly you did. How much you added.

 

[HiWaYman92]

Can I take off the plastic 08 bumper, add the 09 tunnel end cap, put on the 09 bumper and gussets, cut off the ends of the running boards, but leave the full thickness sides of the tail section without tapering it up toward the back? This would cover up the stock cooler, and add strenghth I think. Has anyone done this? PICS!

 

[YooperScott]

Don't think that would work so good. First there is a section of aluminum "missing" when you take the stock plastic bumper off on the sides. Also adding the end plate without moving the stock cooler might be hard because the aluminum was not straight across from my memory plus some of the mounting from the cooler is there.

The easiest and cheapest way to do the upgrade while maintaining a stock look is to just buy the cat parts (gussets, bumper, LED light and flap, end plate), cut the stock tunnel, and straighten and remount the cooler (my sled is an M8 not sure if the 1k cooler is different?). Mine looks the same as an '09 and the total cost was not much more than just the foot peg things from BDX. The cooler is soft aluminum and can easily be bent straight with no issues as many have done. I think it took me a few hours and somewhere around $160 to mod my '08 with all the cat parts.

Here is a link to a ton of different ways people have done it with lots of pictures.

http://www.snowestonline.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91798

 

[boone]

I have been pondering which 09 style bumper mod to make. Bottom line, I want the benefits of the mod, but want to spend as little as possible. I have seen were a couple guys have cut the running board section off, but left most of the side panel of the tail section, cut off the handles off of the stock 08 style bumper, leaving the stock tail light and snow flap, and adding the cat gussets and rear bumper. (I hope that made sense!) I have heard that the 09 cat gussets don't fit in the 08 running board edges, but I have also heard that if you bend them open a bit they will fit... can you guys post your pictures, advice, and prices of the parts you had to install? Thanks guys!

That is exactly what I did. All I bought was the Cat bumper, gussets and edge rolls. I put an additional strap of aluminum on the inside of the tunnel on each side in the space between the back of the running board and the front of the bumper to help stiffen it up.

Boone

 

[W A O]

Rear tunnel mod

Boone thats the way that I did mine and a friends, But I used the BDX foot rests. I feel that if you leave as much of the sides of the tunnelas you can you keep as much of the streanth as you can. As far as steanth,that bummper pulled a 40-50lb sled hooked on to the back of it 28 miles on not so smooth trails in and back to a lodge last week, Not a problem. And yes a gusset on the inside does help, BDX comes with one

BDX foot pegs $120.00
AC 162 bummper $36.00 ?
2 hours of your time
cheep fix that looks great and you like (priceless)

sorry no pics, not smart enough to post them but looks just like boones but the BDX pegs.
I love this mod foot peg is right there for you when you step back, cant live with out it now