R
roni87
Well-known member
Here is my take on beefing up the front motor mounts on my '06 755.
Started by using two pieces of 1/4 x 2.5 inch flat steel to sturdy and eliminate the holes on the stock front motor plate.
These add quite a bit of weight but I shouldn't have any cracking issue that others have been having where the steering cut out is.
Then i sourced some half inch thick rubber from an old conveyor belt and used a 2'' hole saw to cut 4 circles out of it. It takes a long time and pretty much smoked my way through the rubber belting, but the rubber seems very sturdy and should hold the engine nice and snug.
By using the stock mount plate as a template it is easy to c clamp the steel plates to the mount and use a drill to get the holes lined up exactly on both plates...and while the steel plate is clamped down, center the old motor mount in the stock location and use the drill to get the new motor mount holes dead on.
Since the design i chose will include a half inch donut of rubber on each side of the motor mount...I needed to cut a spacer so the motor mount bolt would only squish the rubber down so much. I used a normal half inch outside diameter pipe so that the 3/8" bolt would slide through the inside of the pipe and stick through each side of the motor mount a little less than half inch.
Then i installed the rubber pieces over each end of the steel pipe...using dish soap really helps slide them over the ends of the pipe!
I used 1/2" fender washers that are the same diameter as the rubber pieces i cut as my spacers and shims for the motor to push on the rubber donuts.
It took two 1/2" washers to get me to about the height of the stock motor mount. If you pick thru a bunch of washers you will notice a varying range of thickness...I used the thickest ones i could find for strength.
The stock washer went on the bottom.
Now I just have to grind out the void for the steering clearance.
Some minor mods might need to be made to the bulkhead for proper clearance where the new mounts stick below the mounting plate. If all works well this should be a cheap alternative to aftermarket mounts and perform way better than the stock mounts. Belts weren't lasting too long last winter.
Started by using two pieces of 1/4 x 2.5 inch flat steel to sturdy and eliminate the holes on the stock front motor plate.
These add quite a bit of weight but I shouldn't have any cracking issue that others have been having where the steering cut out is.
Then i sourced some half inch thick rubber from an old conveyor belt and used a 2'' hole saw to cut 4 circles out of it. It takes a long time and pretty much smoked my way through the rubber belting, but the rubber seems very sturdy and should hold the engine nice and snug.
By using the stock mount plate as a template it is easy to c clamp the steel plates to the mount and use a drill to get the holes lined up exactly on both plates...and while the steel plate is clamped down, center the old motor mount in the stock location and use the drill to get the new motor mount holes dead on.
Since the design i chose will include a half inch donut of rubber on each side of the motor mount...I needed to cut a spacer so the motor mount bolt would only squish the rubber down so much. I used a normal half inch outside diameter pipe so that the 3/8" bolt would slide through the inside of the pipe and stick through each side of the motor mount a little less than half inch.
Then i installed the rubber pieces over each end of the steel pipe...using dish soap really helps slide them over the ends of the pipe!
I used 1/2" fender washers that are the same diameter as the rubber pieces i cut as my spacers and shims for the motor to push on the rubber donuts.
It took two 1/2" washers to get me to about the height of the stock motor mount. If you pick thru a bunch of washers you will notice a varying range of thickness...I used the thickest ones i could find for strength.
The stock washer went on the bottom.
Now I just have to grind out the void for the steering clearance.
Some minor mods might need to be made to the bulkhead for proper clearance where the new mounts stick below the mounting plate. If all works well this should be a cheap alternative to aftermarket mounts and perform way better than the stock mounts. Belts weren't lasting too long last winter.
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but on rips across the field do let you know that the mounts are still there. I had to take the mag side mounting bolts loose to fix the recoil rope and they were all still tight when I removed them. I didn't reinstall the bottom 2 recoil screws this time so when the handle comes off again it will be easier to remove. Have had it wide open for only about 5 seconds at a time so alot more testing is en route but the snow is so far away. 
