Issues with Axys aluminum a-arms

[skibreeze]

I fall into the break an anvil with silly putty category. Years ago I started using wear bars with no carbides, with great success. I also Run Zbroz A arms on my sleds. The stock A arms are sold before my sled sees the snow.

 

[nomasittinright]

If anyone that bent a stock lower arm wants to sell the ball joint I'd be willing to buy them. Cut the arm off and send just the end

 

[LPIdaho]

If anyone that bent a stock lower arm wants to sell the ball joint I'd be willing to buy them. Cut the arm off and send just the end

Same offer. I need 2 of them

 

[FriscoProx]

There's a bunch of bearing companies making spherical bearing\bushings. Someone has to be making one that's the same size. May even find Poo's supplier. I'd take some dimensions and start calling Aurora, National, Seal Master, Pacific...

 

[B&M Fabrications]

You can buy the LOWER right from Polaris I believe, should be the same as previous models.

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk

 

[Angermangement890]

As many of you are now realizing, the upper ball joint is NOT available from Polaris for the new Axys. I discovered this in early August and have been working on a solution to the problem. I'm happy to report that I have 2 options for upper ball joints for the Axys, one that is a direct fit that requires small modification and a direct replacement.


The slight modification model is available today, $45 per ball joint
The direct replacement model will be available after thanksgiving for $50 per ball joint.

I also have 36" and 39" Z-Broz arms on hand and can ship out arms with ball joints installed.

 

[GreenState]

While I'm not on a Polaris, Alternative Impact makes a set of A arms for these sleds, and I would go that route if you're prone to breaking A-arms. It's one of the better mods I've done. There is a "sacrificial" rod end between the spindle and the lower arm. I snap several a season on my Doo, without bending the A arm or the bulkhead (S-module). I buy the cheapest rod ends I can (around $7 on Ebay), they don't usually last more than a month before I break one. I can change the rod end in 10-30 minutes on the mountain (depends if thread stub gets stuck in the arm or not) and continue on my ride. Anyway, just something to consider. Here's a link in case you've been hiding under a rock and not heard of Alternative Impact: http://www.alternativeimpact.com/polaris cro-moly a-arms.htm

I like the idea of no carbide too, I'll have to give that a shot & just run wear bars.

Before you install the rod end, take a cut-off wheel and slot the end. When it breaks off you can stick a flat head screwdriver in there and spin it out.

 

[Devilmanak]

SO. Riding with a couple of Axys sleds today, one hit a buried rock and bent the arm EXACTLY like the photos above. Both the rider and the guy that watched it agreed that it would most likely have been no damage with a Pro.
Polaris designed them to have that failure point, we were told that 6 months ago. To avoid bulkhead damage. So that being said, when you guys put stronger arms on, will it just make the situation worse?
I know of very few Pro bulkheads that took damage unless it was a horrific sled totaling crash. So why did Polaris make a bulkhead on the Axys that is so fragile that it needs super fragile arms to protect it?
Aftermarket needs to come up with bulkhead braces to protect the structure, so that real arms can be used.
Blame early riding, whatever. In McCall people hit stuff year round, there are always trees that have been cut off/broken at every height from 3 feet to up to 20 feet. Rocks that tall also. Polaris has an issue here.
(I rode the sled and think it is pretty impressive, so I am not an Axyshater.)

 

[LoudHandle]

SO. Riding with a couple of Axys sleds today, one hit a buried rock and bent the arm EXACTLY like the photos above. Both the rider and the guy that watched it agreed that it would most likely have been no damage with a Pro.
Polaris designed them to have that failure point, we were told that 6 months ago. To avoid bulkhead damage. So that being said, when you guys put stronger arms on, will it just make the situation worse?
I know of very few Pro bulkheads that took damage unless it was a horrific sled totaling crash. So why did Polaris make a bulkhead on the Axys that is so fragile that it needs super fragile arms to protect it?
Aftermarket needs to come up with bulkhead braces to protect the structure, so that real arms can be used.
Blame early riding, whatever. In McCall people hit stuff year round, there are always trees that have been cut off/broken at every height from 3 feet to up to 20 feet. Rocks that tall also. Polaris has an issue here.
(I rode the sled and think it is pretty impressive, so I am not an Axyshater.)

It remains to be proven / disproven; but I would bet the AXYS bulkhead IS every bit as stout as the Pro Bulkhead. And additional bracing is not needed / nor wanted.

IMO the Arms will prove themselves once we get some base to cover the land mines. If the arms were really as fragile as some are preaching, their would be far more reports / threads about them than the 4-5 to date. There are that many every year regardless of brand or construction used.

You ride early and make poor decisions it is going to cost you money, always has!

 

[GreenState]

So far 5 mangled arms going into the second week of November with not one person reporting a significant impact?

Anybody want to put together a list of aftermarket options?

 

[LoudHandle]

So far 5 mangled arms going into the second week of November with not one person reporting a significant impact?

Anybody want to put together a list of aftermarket options?

It is already done in another thread: but the normal options are;

Verified AXYS Options:
ALTernative Impact
Z-Broz
K-Mod

Possible (unverified) AXYS Options
TimberSled
Skins
?

 

[Jaynelson]

So far 5 mangled arms going into the second week of November with not one person reporting a significant impact?

It's like this every year. I have seen Yamahas with tunnels bent quite dramatically where the person "barely hit anything." Standard ops on sleds. People feel bad when they rack up a brand new unit and look to split up the blame.

Interestingly...I've never heard a dirt rider blame the manufacturer when they have a spill and put a rock through the cases...bent/broken sled parts are no different...but everyone feels they should be. No other vehicle can take a dead stop impact from a rock (or other solid obstacle) unscathed either.

 

[Indy_500]

It remains to be proven / disproven; but I would bet the AXYS bulkhead IS every bit as stout as the Pro Bulkhead. And additional bracing is not needed / nor wanted.

IMO the Arms will prove themselves once we get some base to cover the land mines. If the arms were really as fragile as some are preaching, their would be far more reports / threads about them than the 4-5 to date. There are that many every year regardless of brand or construction used.

You ride early and make poor decisions it is going to cost you money, always has!

X2 bulkhead design is really not that different from the pro. I think we were spoiled with the glued arms. Yes there were some glue issues early on but I can think of at least a half dozen trees I smoked where I knew I had to have bent an arm. They're still straight as an arrow.

 

[snowmobiler]

im thinking about doing a 24 hour a arm vending machine.

 

[Angermangement890]

im thinking about doing a 24 hour a arm vending machine.

Ha!! I already have that, its a website with online store...

 

[jhurkot]

I put zbros arms on the side I bent. Still running stock aluminums on my clutch side. Cranked a stubby little tree today on the aluminum side and went over the bars. I thought for sure they would be toast but still straight.

 

[Devilmanak]

It remains to be proven / disproven; but I would bet the AXYS bulkhead IS every bit as stout as the Pro Bulkhead. And additional bracing is not needed / nor wanted.

IMO the Arms will prove themselves once we get some base to cover the land mines. If the arms were really as fragile as some are preaching, their would be far more reports / threads about them than the 4-5 to date. There are that many every year regardless of brand or construction used.

You ride early and make poor decisions it is going to cost you money, always has!

I would hope the bulk it stout, but why build a failsafe like this into the arm? (It WAS build to fail, I had info 6 months ago about the arm, pictures and info.)

 

[LoudHandle]

I would hope the bulk it stout, but why build a failsafe like this into the arm? (It WAS build to fail, I had info 6 months ago about the arm, pictures and info.)

Why did / does Skidoo make their S&M modules so fragile that looking at the sled wrong bends them?

Engineers have been engineering crumple Zones into products for about 30 years now to save the occupant/s and other more expensive parts of the vehicle. This should be looked at no differently.

Everyone who has bent one has hit / ran over something that was not snow or ice, regardless of how hard or soft the "HIT" was. Are the engineers supposed to assume the owner will be riding the sled in the summer time in a rock quarry to get the Finite Element Analysis models up to your standards? Your Skidoos sure aren't by any stretch of the imagination.

"IF" the MY '16 Forged Aluminum A-Arms bend when ridden on snow and ice as intended, Polaris will modify the MY '17 arm to fix their oversight or miscalculation of the forces placed on the part. IMO that will prove to not be necessary.

***Note*** If you are a Bumper / A-arm logger you may want to embrace aftermarket A-arms. As would you ditch bangers / logging road riders in early / late season with carbides instead of wear bars.

If you ride smart, with a decent base and adequate snow coverage the stock arms will serve you well. IMO / FWIW

 

[Sheetmetalfab]

Axys aluminum a-arms

I would hope the bulk it stout, but why build a failsafe like this into the arm? (It WAS build to fail, I had info 6 months ago about the arm, pictures and info.)

The arm bending absorbs alot of the impact just like crumple zones on a car.

This could keep folks from eating the bars as hard.

Plus poo can sell lots of a arms that way.

I'm going to find out how strong the bulkhead is.

State farm has my back.



I'm Running alternative impact A arms that i had him custom make with thicker tubing and 3/4" hiem joints instead of his standard 5/8".

Anyone looking to get a strong version of the alternative impact can order the same thing.

It was a minor upcharge.



I had issues with his standard strength arms being not strong enough on the pro chassis.

The axys zbroz arms have no fail point other than the arms.

Niether does the kmod.

I hit stuff and have no desire to end my day because of it.

Replacing ball joints is super easy on the hill.

Carrying spare a arms is not.



Anvil < sandbox

 

[XFIRE800]

Selling my zbroz 39" if anyone is interested.