His and Hers-- Polaris 120 Mountain Sled Build

[H1Pilot]

COST TO BUILD

And we gotta know what it takes to get one to that point. $$

COST TO BUILD 1 SLED

It cost me a new sled for starters. Rather than buying myself a new sled, I am keeping the '07 Summit and spent the money on the kids sleds. Totally worth it

$800.....Robin EH17 Motor w/stage II kit and milled head
$525.....98" Track
$254.....C&A Pro Skis w/mounts and wear bars
$130.....Rear coil-over shock (Honda crf50 aftermarket repalcement)
$106.....Dominator Clutch
$100.....121" Polaris Extra 10 Rails USED
$94......Gripper Seat Fabric and Foam
$58......Extrovert Drivers 5-tooth
$55......Hot Grips heated grips
$50......4" handle bar riser
$50......Steel and Aluminum for fab work
$45......Rear Tunnel extension, center section
$30......Quick Change Sprocket Hub
$24......35 Space Chain (cart racing chain)
$22......rear sprocket
$17......Chain Tensioner, sprocket style
$9........Bicycle brake handle

Looks like $2400 in parts, not counting the sled or labor or tools required to make this happen. It's seems crazy, especially knowing that the next sleds I will build for them, 340-380's, will cost less to build and be much more capable.

 

[Scott]

That's awesome. Thank you.

 

[Escmanaze]

Lucky Kids

I'm not saying my Dad never did anything for me but seriously I hope those kids realize what went in to that on their behalf.

 

[volcano buster]

Where did you source your gripper seat fabric? My 340 is about due for some attention.

 

[H1Pilot]

Gripper seat vinyl

I got the Gripper seat vinyl at my local fabric store...Lyles Fabrics. The lady had no idea what I was talking about, so I asked to see a sample book. I can't remember if it was in the marine grade book or what, but I found it and the lady was shocked. It cost $33/yard but I only needed 1/2 yard for 2 seats. I had to buy 1 yard minimum, so that's what I did. I also bought the foam from the same place.

 

[H1Pilot]

I'm not saying my Dad never did anything for me but seriously I hope those kids realize what went in to that on their behalf.

They may not know it today, but they will later in life. The greater purpose of all this work is so I can spend more time with my kids. I don't want my kids to be a product of primetime television and people magazine. This is important stuff. I've decided to double-down on character building and family strengthening activities. Every day, not just once in a while. I refuse to wake up 10 years from today and say "I should've spent more time with my kids". Have you seen most of the kids coming out of High School lately? God help us. Pop culture is the new religion. Oh crap...here I go...

In all seriousness, my kids are what drive me. I am fortunate enough to be able to afford to build these sleds so my kids can enjoy a sport that I have enjoyed for so many years. If I couldn't afford it, we would probably be doing extreme downhill sledding! I will always push my kids to be more than they think they are, in a positive way.

I use this quote from Henry Ford on them often; "Whether or not you think you can or think you can't, either way you are right"

At their current ages, I have considerable influence on what they believe they can do, so it might be better said; "Whether or not I think you can or think you can't, either way I am right".

 

[H1Pilot]

Carbon Fiber Rear Bumpers

I picked up a couple of used Polaris Pro carbon fiber rear bumpers from a snowest forum member last week. I cut them down with a fine tooth coping saw to the proper width and they turned out great.

 

[Scott]

That is sweet!!!

 

[69charged]

looks awesome bud!! turned out great. i know what you mean about the cost. guys have asked me many times to build them one but i am into mine for about 5000. and that doesn't include the sled price!!
anyway, had to comment and tell you a job well done. i know my boy loves his.
clarence

 

[allied1]

Nice job! What a great project to do for your kids. Enjoy.

 

[H1Pilot]

Nice sled...I can see $1000 worth of shocks on that thing, am I right? I didn't spend any real money on shocks yet. Time will tell if i need to.

 

[69charged]

pretty darn close. crappy thing is now he is grown out of it almost so i put a 6" riser on, and all new cables. but, my saving grace is that i have 2 more up and coming. my other son is 6 and has his own as well, just not as fast. and a 2 year old daughter who i cant seem to get off of it!!!
clarence

 

[H1Pilot]

2 Test Runs...more adjustments

I have had the sleds out for 2 test runs. The first run revealed a serious gearing issue. I was geared 2.85/1 by mistake...I failed to count the clutch gear teeth prior to install and had no idea I was geared that high. The clutches got smoking hot and didn't work well at all.

I regeared to 3.3/1 and loosened the tracks even more. This made a big improvement, but the clutches were still getting very hot due to gearing and possible drag in the track. When the suspension compresses, the track gets tighter and creates more drag. I am also running the larger extrovert drivers which gears it up, so I need to compensate for that. The sleds were cruising at 21-24 on the groomed trail and were not wide open throttle. I took them up a ravine on a single track trail which was fun. The suspension seem to work fine, I just need to increase the shock dampening a bit.

I am adding bogie wheels near the curve of the rails, loosening the track more and regearing to 3.6/1. I am headed to McCall tomorrow and will be able to test the setup down there and make adjustments to get them dialed in just right.

 

[Clarke673]

how does the rear suspension work? it seems as though the rear shock is angled a bit to far to the point where it may not be very efficient.

 

[H1Pilot]

McCall Test

The suspension works good. The shock is there to dampen the pogo action and the coil spring on it is simply to assist the main suspension torsion spring which is located on the stock torque arm due to the exented rail length/leverage. Both the spring preload and dampening are adjustable. I actually need to increase my spring pressure on the front torsion spring to compensate for rider sag. I am surpised how smooth the sleds ride and how they soak up the bumps.


The sleds worked great in McCall. I still think I have some drag in the track, but they blasted everywhere we took them. At 3.6/1 gearing, the sleds topped out at 21mph which was just fine since we were cruising up mountain trails and boondocking.

I'll post some pics when I can and maybe some video if I can figure out how to do that.

 

[Escmanaze]

Patience

Alright I'm anxiously waiting for some sweet video of these things. If you're taking them up through the trees like that, I have to imagine they are at least fairly capable.

 

[H1Pilot]

Red Dragon

 

[Racer220]

More please!! ^^^^ That thing looks like it moves along real nice.

 

[H1Pilot]

McCall boondocking

We took several of the same cutacross routes I use when on our big boy rides and the kids handled them pretty well.

 

[rmk8hundo]

AWESOME!!!! Im gonna be starting on one soon!!! thanks for posting all the info and ideas!