F'n front number
- Thread starter KAWGRN
- Start date
The Vanamburg is cromoly steel and ties into the lower bulkihead...plus has more complete atacment to the overstructure than the stocker.... Sturdy bumper.
Also, the Polaris Ultimate front bumper has dual one-piece down tubes and is much sturdier than the stock one.
Those are the two I have experience with.
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Also, the Polaris Ultimate front bumper has dual one-piece down tubes and is much sturdier than the stock one.
Those are the two I have experience with.
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B
BallsDeep_5280
Well-known member
I like the bumper to kink and bend and give way when it hits something hard enough. It's a "crumple zone" for your sled to save the bulkhead and over structure from seeing all the force of the impact. A few hundred for a new bumper is better than a few thousand for a new bulkhead.
Vanamburg for sure
BD_5208..
I hear what you are saying...but, from experience, if you hit something hard enough with a stout bumper to break a bulkhead... you would have done the to the following items needing replacement.
$$$ pricey.
Pipe replacement,
hood replacement
nose pan replacement
Side panel replacement
That being said... a decent hit that does not break the bulkhead...most of this stuff is saved... those are pricey items.
In addition to this... once the engine gets shoved back from the impact... you have caused issues with the motor-mounts, airbox, TB boots etc...
I'm a big fan of the sturdier bumpers and the protection that they offer.
On top of that... at bulkhead half is only about $120 plus the adhesive to replace it.
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I hear what you are saying...but, from experience, if you hit something hard enough with a stout bumper to break a bulkhead... you would have done the to the following items needing replacement.
$$$ pricey.
Pipe replacement,
hood replacement
nose pan replacement
Side panel replacement
That being said... a decent hit that does not break the bulkhead...most of this stuff is saved... those are pricey items.
In addition to this... once the engine gets shoved back from the impact... you have caused issues with the motor-mounts, airbox, TB boots etc...
I'm a big fan of the sturdier bumpers and the protection that they offer.
On top of that... at bulkhead half is only about $120 plus the adhesive to replace it.
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Tri city Polaris bumper, I have had to for two years and has held up extremely well!!
O
Oregonsledder
Well-known member
I agree with BD. I have seen first hand what happens when one of the aftermarket stronger bumpers hit something hard. Bumpers need to take the impact and not the chassis.
G
geo
Well-known member
Do any of the new sleds have a bomb proof front grab bars (I think that is what they call them now)? Don't think so. The bumper concept left at about 470 lbs.
My to-do list used to include skid plate and tree chopping front bumper. I like to think I ride with a bit more finesse now lol. Maybe I just got tired of pipe and belly pan repairs, trailing or a-arms, etc lol.
Haven't done the "little bump hit" for quite awhile. My last one was a '04 rev. Expensive and embarrassing. I was drunk at the time. A beer and a couple of sips of peppermint schnapps really screws you up when you really needed water lol. Decided to ride pretty much non stop since then to protect my sled lol. My riding partners changed because of that decision too.
That said, I find the front set-up on the pro more than just adequate. Better than my last sled which REQUIRED fabbing something.
I can ride over 2" stuff and grab the traction they provide without issues. It's strong enough to lift or pull without worrying about it ripping off in your hands. Just enough room for 2 sets of hands if required. I haven't tried it yet but it seems a straight on hit is well engineered (if your going sideways your out of control lol).
Honestly, I don't do the Burant stuff unless I feel I can make it and if I didn't, and had to let the sled go, usually my biggest concern is picking up the pieces and getting the rest of the sled out lol.
So I'm pretty happy with the stock front grab bar but I know bumpers are very fashionable today. This is the opinion of a guy who has never bought collision insurance for his trucks though.
My to-do list used to include skid plate and tree chopping front bumper. I like to think I ride with a bit more finesse now lol. Maybe I just got tired of pipe and belly pan repairs, trailing or a-arms, etc lol.
Haven't done the "little bump hit" for quite awhile. My last one was a '04 rev. Expensive and embarrassing. I was drunk at the time. A beer and a couple of sips of peppermint schnapps really screws you up when you really needed water lol. Decided to ride pretty much non stop since then to protect my sled lol. My riding partners changed because of that decision too.
That said, I find the front set-up on the pro more than just adequate. Better than my last sled which REQUIRED fabbing something.
I can ride over 2" stuff and grab the traction they provide without issues. It's strong enough to lift or pull without worrying about it ripping off in your hands. Just enough room for 2 sets of hands if required. I haven't tried it yet but it seems a straight on hit is well engineered (if your going sideways your out of control lol).
Honestly, I don't do the Burant stuff unless I feel I can make it and if I didn't, and had to let the sled go, usually my biggest concern is picking up the pieces and getting the rest of the sled out lol.
So I'm pretty happy with the stock front grab bar but I know bumpers are very fashionable today. This is the opinion of a guy who has never bought collision insurance for his trucks though.
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I agree with OregonSledder...The bumper should take the impact....My addition to this this would be that the stock bulkhead is stout and can take much more force, if the bumper is designed correctly and tied in properly, than the stock one will before any chassis or component damage occurs.
I too have seen a broken bulkhead on a sled equipped with a stronger bumper... and also broken bulkheads with stock bumpers... The converse to that is that I've also seen a PRO take a hit to a tree so hard that ALL of the plastics were destroyed, motor mounts broken, pipe and muffler broken, overstructure broken, A-arm broken, and the stronger bumper completely waffled... but the chassis was fine (no broken bulkhead nor wrinkled tunnel).
Depends on how the hit takes place.
My point is that a "Sacrificial Bumper" also includes the sacrificial bodywork, pipe and other parts.
I've seen sheered off aftermarket a-arms of all brands with no broken bulkhead or studs... and sheered off stock arms with studs ripped out of the now broken casting... depends on the hit....as well as the converse of those two scenarios.
The stock bumper will not take much of an impact before you are digging deep into your pocket for replacement parts not related to the chassis.
All that being said... I would still gusset the tunnel, (and bond the chaincase on a 2011 to help there as well).
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I too have seen a broken bulkhead on a sled equipped with a stronger bumper... and also broken bulkheads with stock bumpers... The converse to that is that I've also seen a PRO take a hit to a tree so hard that ALL of the plastics were destroyed, motor mounts broken, pipe and muffler broken, overstructure broken, A-arm broken, and the stronger bumper completely waffled... but the chassis was fine (no broken bulkhead nor wrinkled tunnel).
Depends on how the hit takes place.
My point is that a "Sacrificial Bumper" also includes the sacrificial bodywork, pipe and other parts.
I've seen sheered off aftermarket a-arms of all brands with no broken bulkhead or studs... and sheered off stock arms with studs ripped out of the now broken casting... depends on the hit....as well as the converse of those two scenarios.
The stock bumper will not take much of an impact before you are digging deep into your pocket for replacement parts not related to the chassis.
All that being said... I would still gusset the tunnel, (and bond the chaincase on a 2011 to help there as well).
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I like good stout tie-in points... ones that distribute the impact the best.
Regardless of what absorbs the impact.... SOMETHING does.
A design that ties in solidly to the front-overstructure mounting bolts (not just the bumper mount tabs) and into the lower chassis mounting points makes sense, IMO.
The Skinz Dan Adams front bumper... also stout
Polaris Ultimate front bumper... more protection than stock... but with a bit of "crumple zone" that some above may prefer.
Vanamburg... more complete upper mount and more solid lower.
The one on the Diamond-S lower
I like the the cross brace (bar that runs side-to-side) on the BM Fab unit and the stronger upper mounting point. I've not seen any photos of the lower position.
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Regardless of what absorbs the impact.... SOMETHING does.
A design that ties in solidly to the front-overstructure mounting bolts (not just the bumper mount tabs) and into the lower chassis mounting points makes sense, IMO.
The Skinz Dan Adams front bumper... also stout
Polaris Ultimate front bumper... more protection than stock... but with a bit of "crumple zone" that some above may prefer.
Vanamburg... more complete upper mount and more solid lower.
The one on the Diamond-S lower
I like the the cross brace (bar that runs side-to-side) on the BM Fab unit and the stronger upper mounting point. I've not seen any photos of the lower position.
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The first bumper I tried was the Polaris Extreme bumper. It was total garbage. I "tapped" a tree so lightly it didn't even dent the aluminum but it twisted the bumper and cracked the hood/ bellypan/side panel because there is no support and they are super thin wall tubing. Then Skinz came out with the Nxt Level bumper and I thought I'd try it because it had more bracing. Turns out, the lower bars just rivet to the plastic belly pan anyway. I didn't get that far though, because the holes were so far from lining up that I put it back in the box and sent it back to them.
The aftermarket bumpers look good, but from my experience, there just isn't enough metal on the front of the sled to support a "tree chopping" bumper.
The aftermarket bumpers look good, but from my experience, there just isn't enough metal on the front of the sled to support a "tree chopping" bumper.
With over 3 million posts per day I'm impressed that you have time to do any snowmobiling.
I'd like to see a bumper that was combo of the best features of all the bumpers...
The cross tube of the B&M, the lower tubes and where it bolts to the bulkhead of the Diamond-S, the shape of the VE bumper and the dual upper mounting points... with the overall look of the Polaris Ultimate bumper with its lower external lower legs and how it also has a piece that supports the front nose pan with the center bolt into the plastic.
IMO... that would connect many points to distribute load and act as a sub-frame that made the castings actually stronger.
When the first TCP bumper came out for the IQ sleds... there were a lot of critics that said that they were concerned about chassis damage.. It mounted to very secure points and a lot of people hit a lot of things hard with those bumpers without issues... and with protected sleds. The TCP IQ bumper, the way it was built, acted like a sub-frame that enhanced the strength of the bulkhead...
The COBE/FTX IQ bumper did this as well, but the benefit is that it worked with the stock plastics. Stout and distributed the load well... to say the least.
COBE IQ bumper
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The cross tube of the B&M, the lower tubes and where it bolts to the bulkhead of the Diamond-S, the shape of the VE bumper and the dual upper mounting points... with the overall look of the Polaris Ultimate bumper with its lower external lower legs and how it also has a piece that supports the front nose pan with the center bolt into the plastic.
IMO... that would connect many points to distribute load and act as a sub-frame that made the castings actually stronger.
When the first TCP bumper came out for the IQ sleds... there were a lot of critics that said that they were concerned about chassis damage.. It mounted to very secure points and a lot of people hit a lot of things hard with those bumpers without issues... and with protected sleds. The TCP IQ bumper, the way it was built, acted like a sub-frame that enhanced the strength of the bulkhead...
The COBE/FTX IQ bumper did this as well, but the benefit is that it worked with the stock plastics. Stout and distributed the load well... to say the least.
COBE IQ bumper
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