RIOT slider pushed off, skid bent?

[intheheartofit]

Side hit a small rock going up a hill today and it pushed off my slider from my 2020 RIOT LE kit, in it was sticking out past the back, cut it off and put it on the front to get home. Ever happen to anyone else? Are these not attached and just loose on the slide rail?

Also the skid is sitting weird, front inner bogey wheels are hitting the track lugs, with a new slider does it look like it should be straight again? I see nothing bent anywhere on the rail or skid. Looks like there's no support at the front of the skid to keep it lined up?

Thoughts? Thanks!

Just put that new rear 105 pound 10 inch spring on and wasn't joking, leaps ahead! Only thing now is my KTM 500 gearing might not be quite right compared to a 450s.

 

[teal_210]

There should be a bolt in the front that holds it in place.
Take a good look at the "H" brace in the front of the skid. I bet if you pull it out, it will be bent. It looks like you have a 2020 kit? That brace bends pretty easily. They updated it for 2021.

 

[intheheartofit]

There should be a bolt in the front that holds it in place.
Take a good look at the "H" brace in the front of the skid. I bet if you pull it out, it will be bent. It looks like you have a 2020 kit? That brace bends pretty easily. They updated it for 2021.

Ok thanks, haven't got a chance to take the rail off yet, but hopefully tomorrow. Definitely limited parts diagrams out there, I figured there'd be way more RIOT info out there than there is. That H Brace is it the main larger tubular arms? Do you know if the 2021 brace fits the 2020?

 

[teal_210]

Ok thanks, haven't got a chance to take the rail off yet, but hopefully tomorrow. Definitely limited parts diagrams out there, I figured there'd be way more RIOT info out there than there is. That H Brace is it the main larger tubular arms? Do you know if the 2021 brace fits the 2020?

It's the part that the front shock is mounted to. The 21 and newer part will bolt right in. There should be a bolt on the hyfax like in the pic.

 

[eric82930]

So what did they change on the updated h brace? I've beat the snot out of my 20 riot and it's showing some paint chipped off of the front shock mount so I'm guessing the ears are flexing a bit but everything is still straight and it's got a trillion billion hard miles on it lt. It's hopped at least a hundred logs that made hard contact.

 

[teal_210]

So what did they change on the updated h brace? I've beat the snot out of my 20 riot and it's showing some paint chipped off of the front shock mount so I'm guessing the ears are flexing a bit but everything is still straight and it's got a trillion billion hard miles on it lt. It's hopped at least a hundred logs that made hard contact.

On the 21 and newer kits, the front shock mount is tied into the cross support in-front of the shock.

 

[intheheartofit]

Looks like the main brace on mine is bent. Found others with the same issue in the RIOT trenching thread. Hopefully I can get it warrantied. I'll call Polaris today and try to work some magic ?

 

[intheheartofit]

Ok finally went on my computer and got into the RIOT parts through there. I'm pretty sure it's the torque arm that's bent not the H brace? Can anyone confirm this is likely? I can post more pictures and/or disconnect the H brace later. And dang torque arm is $788 Canadian, Ugh.

 

[intheheartofit]

Ok third look, it's that H brace, torque arm looks fine. If I didn't have young kids I'd have it apart by now!

 

[eric82930]

If nothing is cracked can you stick a pipe through it and bend it back? Steel is real forgiving. I honestly don't feel like poo made a weak product. They can always build stuff heavier but we don't want that in this sport. My old skidoos would bend the flying nun and we just stuck a long bar through the a arms and easy fix

 

[intheheartofit]

If nothing is cracked can you stick a pipe through it and bend it back? Steel is real forgiving. I honestly don't feel like poo made a weak product. They can always build stuff heavier but we don't want that in this sport. My old skidoos would bend the flying nun and we just stuck a long bar through the a arms and easy fix

Yeah decent idea, the hassle though of a weak part now weaker though and with where I go biking there's no way I would risk it again.

Also thanks Teal for the heads up on the brace, the way the torque arms were sitting totally seemed like them. Happy it's only a $300 part. Got a code for the dealer and going to try to get them to warranty it, worst case I pay.

 

[eric82930]

Ah so the bending you did from hitting something is nothing to do with the reason they updated the front shock mount. I'm trying to decide why the riot even needs that h frame instead of 3 single bars? Is it because the front spring is 4 times stiffer than an aro or yeti?
The twisting issue is obviously a riot specific problem because no other kit has the cross bars connected together like that so if they do take a hit on one side they just naturally settle and vibrate back to a neutral position as the bolts wiggle in the rails. I love the way the riot handles though so I'll take it any way I can get it.

 

[Georro]

Anecdotal since the OP diagnosed his issue to the H-brace, however the torque arm on 3 out of 4 kits in our group were warped/twisted from the factory (measured on brand new in the crate kits). Amount varied from 1/8~3/16. The handiest guy in our group (machinist, former auto-body guy) did a great job getting them perfectly straight.

There's another issue with the shaft interface at the bottom/rear of the torque arm where the fit starts to loosen up after a season or two. You can test how loose it's getting by kicking the front of your skid rails to one side, marking the track clip with a sharpie and then kicking it the other way. Brand new kits had about 1/8~1/4" of movement. Kits with one or two seasons had more like 1/2~5/8 of movement.

Our solution is to machine a shoulder on the anodized pivot shaft and sleeve it with an alloy steel bushing (press-fit) that we machine to a tight clearance with the inside of the torque arm. So far there has been noticeable improvement in the movement of the skid rails left/right and it's holding steady rather than getting worn and looser.

 

[eric82930]

All that loose flop and wiggle used to bother me but not any more since the new aro they completely removed the rear arm, sleds have purpose slop (t motion) and the moto Trax moves all over the place. Seems trivial to worry to much about it unless it's chewing through the shaft.

 

[Georro]

To each their own I guess just posting for the benefit of those who might like to take a similar approach.

 

[intheheartofit]

Looks like I'll get it warrantied, well kind of. There's a couple Polaris dealers in town, but none of them do Timbersleds. Weird, and probably be annoying in the future, but at least they had a slider I could use.

Talking to Polaris they gave me this number... 1888-588-6326 and I chatted with Dale there and told him my issue. He is sending the part from them since he looked back and saw that they had changed it quite a bit from 2020 to 2021 and I have no dealer within 7 hours. Good stuff! That number gets you to people that actually work and develop these different kits. Worth having even if you have general questions about them.

Now from my reading need to see about adding an anti stab kit... Anyone done that to there 2020?

 

[ZPLOL]

I added the rail tip wheel kit, 2885175, when working on my new to me 20 Riot over the summer. Its been months now, but I recall the instructions were not that great and it was not as bolt on as I hoped. If I recall correctly, they have you drill the original bolt holes to a bigger size but once you try and slide the provided larger bolts, it does not align exactly with the new plastic tip.

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I replaced the track in the process and I also had problems lining up the rails at the front. I managed to get it there by loosening all the bolts on the h frame an retightening them while pushing the rails. I will ride it a bit and check if its still lined up. My H frame could be bent slightly like yours.