08 and 09 summit XP skid relocate update (affordable)

ARMYSLEDER · Sep 22, 2011

All of us early XP owners know about the sag and rear geometry not being as good as we all expected which was fixed and updated on the 2010 and up XP's. I had my skid relocated and figured I would attach a picture and explain what it does.

So the first thing I noticed was the aproach angle had changed for a more tapered approach to help get on top the snow better. So then I hopped on the sled and as many of you know im not the smallest guy in the world so when I would get on my sled before it would sag a little more then usual. Now it didnt sag hardly at all. What do you gain by relocating the skid? You get a better aproach angle, A lot less sag, Geometry that works, a better riding sled and the best part about it only takes a hour of labor to do it.

For anyone who wants this done or questions contact Mike at Bott Yamaha Ski Doo at (208) 522-1700

cabinman · Sep 22, 2011

is it just the hole moved down an inch? or is there other brackets that mount up?

ARMYSLEDER · Sep 22, 2011

cabinman said:
is it just the hole moved down an inch? or is there other brackets that mount up?

Thats a good question and I forgot to mention they use the bracket on the inside and notch it to fit and move it down then remount. Nothing that cant be set back to stock settings if you dont like it not that you wont.

PJ-Hunter · Sep 22, 2011

Pretty easy mod. I installed some drop brackets on the rear and then lowered the front. Made one heck of a difference.

WyoPro · Sep 22, 2011

Interesting that you move it down. This would decrease ski pressure and give you more of a wheelie effect...Limiter straps?

ARMYSLEDER · Sep 22, 2011

WyoPro said:
Interesting that you move it down. This would decrease ski pressure and give you more of a wheelie effect...Limiter straps?

NO it went down and back and then you gotta adjust limiter straps and shock but thats easy work. By doing that you make it work right like its suppose too and when I say make it work right I mean make it get on top of the snow. Mike at Bott Yamaha Ski Doo is famous for this and has got alot of Skidoos out there with this mod and no complaints.

swrev · Sep 23, 2011

ARMYSLEDER said:
Thats a good question and I forgot to mention they use the bracket on the inside and notch it to fit and move it down then remount. Nothing that cant be set back to stock settings if you dont like it not that you wont.

I'll have to look at my sled tonite to see if it's possible, but I'ver heard of people just flipping over the inside bracket. Is this what they are doing instead of moving the bracket down? Either way thanks for sharing. You are also using the shorter front shock (08 and 09), correct? Have you tried this mod w/ the rear arm relocation bracket? Trying to make my turbo feel lighter for boondocking but still keep the ski's within a couple of feet of the ground.

jacmmaxwell · Sep 23, 2011

Thanks for the right up and giving your experience. I've been debating this mod VS the 10 shock upgrade. This should provide nearly the same setup, not the same but the basic idea is to reduce ski pressure and take weight off the rear springs in the skid.

From the reading I've seen, this is pretty easy to do by flipping the backing plate that is located inside the tunnel and then drilling new holes. But it sounds like you notched the bracket to slide it back a bit too.... any idea how much? Looks like very little set back.

I've seen a pretty good shot of info on how to do it but not much on the end result or a follow up after more than one ride.

redbull660 · Oct 3, 2011

exactly how far did you move it down, also how far back. Doesnt look like much. Did this mod make it easier to pull on its side, side hill. Im doing this mod on my wifes 09.

taylorbok · Oct 3, 2011

this will steepen the attack angle, not great for keeping the front of the sled down, in my mind it will also increase ski pressure wont it?

which might balance out the wheelie effect, i dunno just thinking (kinda makes my head hurt)

snopro11 · Oct 3, 2011

Will a 14'' center shock fit the 08-09s?

summit154 · Oct 4, 2011

Can we get more specific details on how to do this? I definately want to do this to my '08 154"

ARMYSLEDER · Oct 4, 2011

taylorbok said:
this will steepen the attack angle, not great for keeping the front of the sled down, in my mind it will also increase ski pressure wont it?

which might balance out the wheelie effect, i dunno just thinking (kinda makes my head hurt)

No it did not steepen my approach it decreased the approach. I thought the same thing at first. I will try get pictures tommorow of stock vs. mine to show.

ARMYSLEDER · Oct 4, 2011

summit154 said:
Can we get more specific details on how to do this? I definately want to do this to my '08 154"

Call Mike at Bott Yamaha Skidoo (208)-522-1700 he can send you what you need to do it.

jacmmaxwell · Oct 4, 2011

Well, Armysleders first post finaly got to me.

So I went down to the garage and in about 15 mins here is what I got.

Here is how the bracket looks from the inside of the tunnel with no mods.

And here is that piece out of the tunnel, oriented just as it would sit in the tunnel.

This is the best setup I found. There is a whole in the tunnel to use as a starter point ( look at the above pic, it's just left of the skid bolt whole ), this also would allow me to return the skid to the stock location without any further work if I did not like it.

This ends up at 3/4" drop and 1/4 set back. All you would do it use this plate as your template, drill some three wholes then reinstall the bracket inside the tunnel, and bolt the ski back in.

Hey army , when you get a minute, can you compair my measurements to what yours is ?

If this is the same mod, it will end up costing about $1.50 to do ( 8 rivets ). For that price why not try it?

jacmmaxwell · Oct 4, 2011

Never mind,

You want to flip the bracket so the part that used to face the skid will face the tunnel. Then you will need to make a small notch in the upper left hand corner to clear one for the hardened rivets. Allows the skid to be put back to stock without any other mods, and does not require you to drill any wholes besides the one for the skid bolt.

I mounted it to take the picture but will also ensure the whole gets drilled correctly. Then I'll drill the rivets out and mount is inside the tunnel.

This is too easy... Thanks ARMYSLEDER.

utah_sledder · Oct 4, 2011

Not so fast!

I am not trying to be a d-bag here but this really doesn't work.

Before you all go run out and drill holes in your tunnels you might want to talk to a few of the guys that have tried this. It does NOT make your sled feel like a 2010 by any shape or form. Yes it is cheap...but it does not fix the problem. I tried this on my '09 and ended up bending the shock mounting shaft. It doesn't help the suspension transfer like the upgrade kits do. Sure it lowers the skid, but it also makes it so the shock can now bottom out (which is how the shaft got bent). It also does not help the sled carve. It honestly made my sled feel like it wanted to go in a straight line and not carve. There is a lot more to making a sled transfer than just moving the suspension down an inch. If it were that easy and really fixed the problem why would ski-doo add an entirely new shock and new rails to their 2010 sleds when they could just drill a new hole and move the mount down an inch? It makes the sled feel goofy. I finally went with an upgrade kit and it completely fixed my problem.

Any of the kits out there work great. Doo's (only available for 154's), Xtreme Air Vents, Tom's etc.

Just my opinion and experience. I have a Tom's on one sled and an Xtreme on the other. Both work awesome!

summit154 · Oct 5, 2011

Thank you for the pictures! Pictures are worth a thousand words. Does anyone else have any input on this mod? Anyone else done this to their sled? Pros and Cons? Seems like a good mod for next to nothing for cost!

jacmmaxwell · Oct 5, 2011

No one said it made it like a 2010, it does do the same basic task and that is to lighten ski pressure.

If you bent your shock shaft then there were other problems in your skid, the arm should still hit the rubber stops before bending the shaft. I've heard of folks moving the bottom shock shaft forward 1" to move the rails down and decrease ski pressure but ended up with a bent shock shaft because now the stops on the rails can't reach the arm when you bottom out the skid.

Not to mention, that if I don't like it... I'll just bolt it back into the top whole.

summit154 · Oct 5, 2011

I think I am going to have to give this one a try. Hoping to get my sled out of storage this week. You hit the nail right on the head. Really nothing to lose because you can always put it right back! Have you liked the way it rides a lot better?

08 and 09 summit XP skid relocate update (affordable)

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