FASTRAX ::PROJECT PRO RMK:: LOTS OF PHOTOS!!

[FTXMOTORSPORTS]

Since there are a few unknowns with the new Pro RMK and the shops turbo 800 Dragon has been sold we've decided to jump in and get a head start on our own version of a Pro RMK.

We started by purchasing a Rush from Minnesota and with the help of a couple SW friends it is now in the shop and torn down.

This first post is mainly teardown stuff but there are some good pics of the chassis to checkout and if you've ridden and looked at the new Pro Rmks you'll see some of the differences between these chassis.

• We intend to end up with a 162-174ish 2.5" track and are still pondering on the skidframe.
  
• We will be building a carbon fiber tunnel/running board set up for it and plan to use 163 RMK coolers.
  
• We have also already begun development of some unique carbon fiber body parts to address a few of the issues we already see.

Along the way, we will detail the way we look at curing track clearance and approach angle issues and mod motor mounting issues in the hopes that some of what we learn can be applied to the 2011 RMK as well.

We plan to sell the 600 that came in this sled and install an '08-'10 vintage CFI 700 or 800 along with a turbo while the techies sort out the new electronics in the 2011s!

There will be a bunch of hurdles to cross along the way as usual and we'll do our best to keep you in the loop of what we are thinking.

The donor sled: a slightly used Rush purchased from a friendly cross country racer in Minnesota

Mag side view after partial tear-down:

Pto side view after partial teardown:

Front view after partial teardown:

Another layer of bodywork gone now...you can really begin to see how much room is really in one of these bulkheads. I'm impressed with the cleanliness of the bulkhead assembly, the triangulation is smartly done and I can see that the components of the modular bulkhead would be very easy to replace if necessary.

Good thing all of this is going in the swap-meet...man what a hideous conglomeration!

Well, we've just removed 80 lbs from our project (yes, 80 lbs right on the money as you see it!)

If any of you have torn down an IQ RMK, this shot should tell you how much further down the motor is mounted in the Pro chassis!

OK, now we are getting some where! harness and bars have been removed

Motors out (and for sale or trade!) and you can really see how much room there is to work with. The layout is nice and simple...

Now, honestly at this point we could just build a new cooler, tail section and just put 'er back together but we don't work that way...gotta make it cooler than that!

Here's one of the big hurdles with this(Rush) chassis: with a 1.25" track and 8t 2.86 drivers we only have 1.25" of clearance! well that will just have to be addressed now won't it? Drop and roll here we come!

Lots of triangulation goodness going on here:

Not to sure how well this motor mounting arrangement will handle 200 or more h.p....I think we'll be addressing that as well in this build.

Here are the rest of the motor mounts:

Here is another area significantly different than the Pro RMK chassis. The Rush has a more traditional rider/steering location so we'll be looking into adapting the RMK parts onto this sled as they become available.

Pile-o-parts...just what we need, more stuff to trip over through the summer!

We'll be pulling the tunnel off next and development of the new tunnel will begin...we'll keep you posted as things move along!​

 

[Snow Duck]

thanks

Hey, thanks for posting this and it looks to be a long fun project for you...looking forward to seeing as it comes together...

 

[jskattum606]

This looks like a great build. Cant wait to see what you guys come up with. Have you guys delt with CF tunnels before? I am very interested in them and how they hold up for a guy. Thanks for sharing

 

[FTXMOTORSPORTS]

Got a few more minutes this week to finish teardown-loving how easy this design is to work on-approx 230 degrees from the mapp torch to release the glue and a handfull of rivets and bolts to remove then the whole works slid apart.

here's the other side-by the way...did not have to remove any self piercing rivets to pull the tunnel-nice to not have to deal with those miserable things!

Awwww, what a cute little tunnel...my feet are almost as long as the boards!

Next step...we need to create room for a big track by re locating the drive system-looks like we'll be in for a workout. This design uses a flange cast into the chaincase and it becomes a major part of the structure on the mag side...looks like a little creative engineering will be in order!

We're still waiting on coolers to begin the tunnel and hope to see them this week so we can continue.

Curt

 

[Spaarky]

This build is going to be tighter than a frogs butt...

I would bet it will be the sickest sled built this year... definetely in the top 5.

We will be building a carbon fiber tunnel/running board set up for it and plan to use 163 RMK coolers

Does this mean we might have CF running board/side panel that is compatible to the RAW chasis???

Curt, whats your take on the motor mounts? Looks a lot like the Cat set up, and I have seen a lot of them tore up. Are the RMKs set up that way too?

 

[FTXMOTORSPORTS]

Yep, it looks like we'll be able to make a simple cutting jig change and use these tunnel sides/boards on both the Pro RMK and the IQ RMK.

How many of you guys have had issues with snow coming through the footrest and onto the clutch? How about anyone having problems with snow not passing through the footwell and packing into it instead? any complaints either way?

I'm worried about the motor mounting for sure-its actually most similar to a Doo Rev and the mounts are very soft-torque stops will help but I have other plans. I'm working with Brad to get a billet motor plate built since he's done the rev plates already and my plan is to add 2 more mounts in addition to extra torque stops. The RMKs are the same design. Hopefully we'll be able to find some slightly firmer mounts as well.

Curt

 

[X2Freeride]

Wow its really neat to see the whole thing all stripped down and taken apart.

 

[FTXMOTORSPORTS]

Well, still don't have my coolers but have finally recieved word that they will be here in a couple days. Meanwhile, I spent a bunch of head scratchin' time on the drop and roll.

The stock Pro case would require an elaborate billet or cast relocation ring to retain the oem mounting design(and strength) along with a replacement bulkhead side with relocated mounting bosses. Along with all of that comes several templates and lots of cutting.
I looked at using the IQ RMK case since it's 5/8" longer to begin with and would only require about a 5/8-3/4" roll to create the room we need. The problem is that we would have to build a very custom billet cover to support the bearing and outboard brake assembly used on the Pro chassis along with custom relocation brackets for the caliper in addition to a fairly elaborate drop and roll kit that would require some machined parts of its own....sounds expensive to me. So, I had a nice chat with Robbie from Avid yesterday and he has agreed to produce an extended case/cover for us. The cost will be roughly the same but the end result will be far less work for the installer and the install will be cleaner. At the moment it looks like we'll do a 1" down and 1" back driveshaft relocation which will accomodate even a 3" track properly. My case should be in his hands tomorrow and I'll show the results as soon as I have the new case.

curt

 

[Spaarky]

Holy crap after readin all that... if those little Post Its were on my sled, they would say "WTF were you thinking when you started this project?" and "Buy a gun to shoot myself"

 

[sledstew]

AWESOME CURT , LOOKS LIKE YOUR CRUISIN RIGHT ALONG ON HER.

 

[FTXMOTORSPORTS]

Holy crap after readin all that... if those little Post Its were on my sled, they would say "WTF were you thinking when you started this project?" and "Buy a gun to shoot myself"

Which is exactly why I'm posting all of this-so all of you guys can see what kind of effort really goes into figuring this stuff out and turning it into a product. Days and sometimes weeks of time(not to mention coin) go into developing a single product and I thought it would be cool for everyone to see that sometimes there are bad ideas and resulting failures along the way to finding the best compromise for the end product. I think this will be an eye opener for a lot of people and hopefully a little insight into the way we think things out!

Curt

 

[FTXMOTORSPORTS]

AWESOME CURT , LOOKS LIKE YOUR CRUISIN RIGHT ALONG ON HER.

Yeah Buddy! Does she look a little different than the last time you saw her?

 

[Snow Duck]

very nice

Lookin great Curt keep the pics coming, nice build

 

[AK800VE]

Awesome Curt, glad to see you got this project under way. Cant wait to see the out come and to see what new products arrive from this project!!

BTW this is Nick from anchorage, Hopefully when I get some free time I can get that letter writen and send ya a copy

 

[polaris dude]

Cool project! The only thing is why would you want to have to do all this fab work when you could wait 5 or 6 months for someone to roll their new pro-rmk and just use that?

 

[FTXMOTORSPORTS]

Cool project! The only thing is why would you want to have to do all this fab work when you could wait 5 or 6 months for someone to roll their new pro-rmk and just use that?

Because we are one of the shops that build drop and roll kits! This gives us a good head start instead of waiting for an RMK.

 

[JohnnyH]

Which is exactly why I'm posting all of this-so all of you guys can see what kind of effort really goes into figuring this stuff out and turning it into a product. Days and sometimes weeks of time(not to mention coin) go into developing a single product and I thought it would be cool for everyone to see that sometimes there are bad ideas and resulting failures along the way to finding the best compromise for the end product. I think this will be an eye opener for a lot of people and hopefully a little insight into the way we think things out!

Curt

Thanks for the this thread and all of the in depth photos and break down of what you are doing.
Keep it coming

 

[FTXMOTORSPORTS]

Had another chat with Robbie this morning he has recieved my case and it turns out that there has been a change to the caliper design between the Rush and Pro RMK-bolt spacing is narrower on the RMK caliper and the caliper ears on the chaincase sit further outboard on the RMK-neither of these items will hinder our build since we plan to include mounting ears on the billet case for both calipers if possible. Everything else is identical so far and we are moving forward with that end of this project!

We also recieved our cooler extrusions on Friday(thank you Allen!) so we are back at getting the tunnel sides designed-we laid up some crude fiberglass panels over the weekend and will be mocking them up and getting the kick shape and running board dimensions ironed out in the next couple days-then we'll finalize a mold and pop a nice set out in fiberglass to double check fit and finish. After we are satisfied with that, we'll lay up a set in carbon fiber and install them. Then its on to designing the running board traction plates/skid brackets.
Progress pics soon!

Curt

 

[Spaarky]

we laid up some crude fiberglass panels over the weekend and will be mocking them up and getting the kick shape and running board dimensions ironed out in the next couple days

Holy crap Curt... its May, its time for snowcones and lawn chairs on the weekend, not working. Well I guess there is spring riding, your go fast boats, and off road toys too. Your gonna be burned out by the time your 30.

I am not much of one to talk, I worked all weekend too.

Glad things are workin out... looking good!!!!!!!!

 

[FTXMOTORSPORTS]

Outlaw, I passed 30 a while ago! and it seems like the older I get, the harder I work!

Aaaaaaah yes, lawn chair and a beer.......such happy but faint memories