Skid Plate.........which one ?

[dragon12]

Picked up my M8 LE this week and bought the larger cat skid plate. It was not the easiest install but not impossible either. Some of the pre-drilled holes didn't line up with the screw holes so I had to drill some new holes. I filled in the gaps and extra holes with black RTV silicone sealant. I had to remove the airbox and hood to install the bolts in the front of the skid plate. The plate attaches with 19 torx screws and 5 bolts. If necessary it could be removed fairly easily. There are no rivets used on this plate. I like this plate because it protects the clutch. By the way, the sled looks sooooooo much better without those silly orange reflective stickers on the front.

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[Rprecision]

well..........I like the skid plate......

I like that its pretty thin too.........

I guess I may just have to order one we will see

 

[bluebear]

Dragon12, it looks like the skid plate has a lip that stick up a bit over the side panels? Any trouble removing/reinstalling them with the skid on?

Chris

 

[dragon12]

Dragon12, it looks like the skid plate has a lip that stick up a bit over the side panels? Any trouble removing/reinstalling them with the skid on?

Chris

Not at all. You can either lift a ski and slide it under or you can put your sled on dollies and slide it under from the back. It would be a 15 minute job if all the holes in the plate matched the screw holes in the sled.

I did, however, have to trim some of the bolts because they were too long. I marked and trimmed the bolt facing the primary clutch because I thought I might need the clearance to remove the belt.

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I also had to trim the side bolts so the airbox could be re-installed. They were too long and holding it too high. I was able to fit my dremel tool in there and cut the end off while it was installed so no big deal.

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I also had to replace the front center bolt as it was too short once it was drilled. It was here that I realized how much I hate it that Home Depot and Lowes forced all the good small nut and bolt hardware stores out of business. I found a hex head machine screw that would work and then once installed I painted it gloss black to match.

 

[Rprecision]

So are the bolt holes for the existing cover used, looks like they are

How much did you snag the plate for ?

Nice sled by the way

 

[bluebear]

Thanks for the explanation.

Chris.

 

[knuts82]

We took the factory plastic plate off the bottom and had a local metal shop waterjet out some copys of it in 1/8" (i think) aluminum and put that in its place. They were only like $25 each. Much better protection on the bottom of the sled and no ugly plastic plate... Hit some rocks and stumps and no damage.. plus you can polish it to a nice shine!

 

[dragon12]

So are the bolt holes for the existing cover used, looks like they are

How much did you snag the plate for ?

Nice sled by the way

You temp the plate up and mark the screws to remove (19 I think). The screws you remove are what you replace with the the new screws from the kit. I made some minor changes on the back of the clutch side. The screws were not long enough to reach the metal and I couldn't bow the plastic enough so I put the original screws back in and tapped a new hole to hold the skid plate in place. It really isn't that hard of an install.

I paid $170 for the plate which I think is retail. Not sure if retail or not, but the dealer I bought it from was pretty straight forward and fair with pricing on the sled and other parts I bought so I would think he is in line with this as well.

Thanks for the comments on the sled. I think I have climbed about 100 hills in the garage, and haven't been stuck once I can't wait for the snow so I can try it out.