M7 A-arms

[M7kid]

Ok I ride a '06 M7, killer sled, and twice now I have barely tagged rocks and it has utterly destroyed my upper and lower A-arms, shock, bolts, bushings, ect... Is it just better to forget about the factory parts and go to an aftermarket front end? I know the Cat parts are engineered to fail before the bulk head receives damage, but they are so weak, it's a joke and damn expensive! Just wondering what other have experienced and suggest.

Thanks

 

[McustoM]

I like my fastlane arms they are supposed to be stronger and lighter than stock, but I havent taken any big hits to them yet. Barkbuster from timbersled kit looks pretty strong.

 

[mtn_extreme]

I have an 05 m7 that has tagged a few rock and came out shining, haven't replaced an a arm yet. You sure your not taking a harder hit than you think............or your just one unlucky s**..............

 

[Nate]

I have an 05 m7 that has tagged a few rock and came out shining, haven't replaced an a arm yet. You sure your not taking a harder hit than you think............or your just one unlucky s**..............

What us young riders call "old guys" you guys call talented

You tever try carving back up a hill you just climbed??? With boost thats a little difficult I did a whole set of A-arms from trial and error trying that move on 10lbs. Shot across the whole hill side and found all sorts of unique things under the snow

 

[DusterB]

I like the stock aarms because the bend first - not the bulkhead. Sure the chromoly ones are cool and stong but a bend bulkhead is not worth the extra $700 on ft end bling. IMO. JC Sports on here gave me a great deal on a set of upper and lower.

 

[JoeySlushr]

i think ur taking harder hits than u think ive had four cat sleds now over the last 8 years and ive bent 2 pairs of a-arms now one set was a stump sticking out of a corner in wisconsin and the other was from a gaurd rail on wyoming and ive beat on mine pretty hard so far

 

[Vern]

this is my third season on my 06 m7 and ive takin some pretty good hits on the arms and im still on the original set. i always thought they seemed pretty strong, i know ive been over the bars a few times from sudden stoppage but no bent arms..........yet.

 

[toyhunter]

I am on your side with this mine has gone out twice this year and already has a bent up a arm and it was not going fast or hard into the object, but i am going to try the barkbusters and give it a shot

 

[rcr1978]

I think it all depends how the object was wacked, I've bent my share also sometimes it did not feel like much and others I have hit hard. I useally adjust the stearing to straiten the skis out if they are just tweeked a little and wait untill I bend them good before I replace. Also I think I stick with the stockers to save the bulk head.

 

[ditch banger]

I am on your side with this mine has gone out twice this year and already has a bent up a arm and it was not going fast or hard into the object, but i am going to try the barkbusters and give it a shot

I have bark busters on my m10 and they are rock solid. I have hit stumps and logs with these and they are as straight as the day i got them

 

[Ihntdux]

I go through about a set or two of both unppers and lowers each year but I ride hard and dont hold much back. If your moving pretty good you will tweek them for sure if you hit a rock or stump but as long as they are not bent way out of wack they are still rideable.

 

[Have2rider]

I go through about a set or two of both unppers and lowers each year but I ride hard and dont hold much back. If your moving pretty good you will tweek them for sure if you hit a rock or stump but as long as they are not bent way out of wack they are still rideable.

Same here this will be the third year I bent a arms in December and rode the rest of the season. Now I only put on about 600 miles per year but I can handle one set of a arms a year compared to a bulk head. I have thought about the aftermarket ones but just keep putting stock on because one set of factory is cheaper than two aftermarket sets.

This year I think I may have tweaked a shock too, I will definitly price out a whole new front end with air shocks first.

To the point, mine have all been hard hits, stump, rock, 10" tree. Given its always been December, two in the snowies and one in the rabbit ears these may not have been problems in late Jan, except the 10" tree, I needed 20 more feet of snow before I was going to plow that one over.

 

[Polar Express]

ive been pretty surprised how my stock arms have held up.... but I bet its more in 'how' you/we hit something, than 'how hard'... my .02

 

[bigrodney]

I have never replaced mine in the 4000 miles but "m8inthemountain" replaced one recently. He said he hit a lava rock hard.

 

[McustoM]

I had my left lower fail while going 45 down the trail about a mile after hitting an ice boulder. I didnt want to have that happen again so I went with aftermarket, plus it came with the bolts that I needed to replace and the bushings.

 

[searchandrescue]

I keep a set in the trailer. It's crazy how much people will pay for them up on the hill.

 

[M7kid]

Thanks for all the input. The hit i took last year was pretty good, but not to hard. I hit the rock on the bottom of my ski and I was suprised that it caused the A arm to snap. I will probably just stick with the AC parts so i don't screw up the bulkhead since it's likly i will break them again.

 

[Unknown]

You ever bent a rim or taco'd one!!