I had a local upholsterer trim the seat and recover it.

Ordered and Installed NIB "used skis (Pilot 5.7) with loops and carbides. Cut down the rubber bushing using a fein tool. Installed. Hated the full windshield and could not find any in the "low" profile. Cut down an old rev windshield and used the rev popup fasteners. In a roll it down the hill situation, I think it will compress or pop off. Added a pair of Rox riser from an old sled of mine. Ordered and installed the Powermadd mountain strap and flexible foam hand guards. Tried to reuse the Summit X bars, but could not get the throttle block over the bend. Went back to the stock bars. Subject to change…

Decals removed: hot water power wash, Googone on a drill buffing applicator, alcohol wipe.
Extend wires (brake, heaters) from bars to harness.
Corked bars.
Reinstalled an (tested) old pair of Summit grip heaters.
Longer brake line (RSI) installed.
Many hours rubbing plastic (panels, gas tank, all rubber parts) with 303 Aerospace Protectant and CarGuys Plastic Restorer. Both of these products really do work.
Some Aluminum polished (Tried Bio-Kleen Aluminum Cleaner > leaves a white splotchy mess) Bio-Kleen Metal Polish works wonders.

Installed 2 side cowling rubber straps. Riveted from outside. Never going to happen like factory without removing the whole track and skid. Cut down the cowling at the footwell similar to the rev mod. Easier to get foot out of well and kick.

 

Running Board Mods:

added stiffeners, modified running board existing holes, ¾ in running board dimple die (holes are now 1in)

 

Cut down and installed Rev skid plate: Installed with the "Thong Bar" (TY @stevetundra)

Installed Grips

Cleaned up wiring

Finished double diode and a resistor and installed into tail light wiring.

Old foam air filter is very sun damaged. Cleaned with dawn dish soap and cut a leg off my daughters black ballet tights. Soaked foam in 303 Aerospace Protectant. Soaked tights "tube" in 303 fabric guard (DWR - Durable water repellent). When I get a new foam filter, I will reuse the "tube".

Used some open cell foam from work to make inserts for the front mesh screen and the 2 large side screen areas. (subject to change)

ASAP:

Purchase and install new air intake filter for the main airbox (brp part number: 508000409)

Cover metal screens with pet screen

Battery was replaced with a conventional SLA/AGM "used" one from my summit when upgraded it to a LithiumIon Iron (LiFePO4) battery. Conventional SLA/AGM battery weighs 15lbs, LiFePO4 weighs 4lbs) Will probably add a LithiumIon Iron battery ($135)

Future:

Found a beater 2008 Tundra with wider A Arms, Speedometer, Black hood, blown 550f motor: Cost: $300 + 100 miles

Neils Power Pipes (5th from top left in skidoo)

Port Track - ??

Clutch kit

Source, order and then cut down the BRP shock spacers ?(brp# 505722213)?

OR: BiteHarder Polyurethane Suspension Tuning Rings

Don't want to stiffen the front end to much. May consider moving the skid shock back to compensate and take weight off skis.

Possible projects later this summer depending on cost and time.

Wider A arms from the 2008 Tundra

Ryde FX 9200 shocks (if i can find used or rebuilt)

Holtzman Engineering: Automatic Temperature and Altitude Carburetor Compensator

Neils Power Pipes: SkiDoo-300f-FreeStyle-Single-Pipe

-------------------------

Thanks to all the people that post knowledge and videos.

Hacksaw, TundraManDan, Swish and H1Pilot (at snowwest) have given me some great ideas. Without your posts, I never would have gotten into this project.

I hope that my kid appreciates the work I've put into this. High country still has snow for a few weeks.

-------------------------

Gonna need a bigger trailer.

Yes I have done the math. Trailer rated at 2000lbs, Axel rated at 3500lbs. Wet weight of sleds:1624lbs. Add covers, gear, etc and I'm still below the 2000lbs trailer rating.

 

Riding behind Aspen (Ajax) mtn on Richmond Ridge, (elevation: 11,500 ft, temp: 55F) . The sled just felt "boggy" . Would not turn the track on an incline and was generally a dog. I'm going to lossen the track a bit and see if that helps. Any questions, comments, help appreciated.

 

too much track for that little engine.gear it way down

 

Hey Brendon

Glad that protector tube worked out.

Is that the elevation you will be riding at most the time? Probably do need to gear it down some if that's the case. At 1,000' and a 146x16x1.75 track, I reduced the drivers 10% and went with a 48 tooth sprocket. At that elevation I am pretty happy, but TMD and others at higher elevation have reduced the drivers a lot more, but with a bigger track then what you have. I am guessing a little different use too as well?

Sounds like you are already on the carb. At that elevation and temp, you are probably losing some there.

What year is it? I know the clutching on the 06 needs help right out of the box.

I can't see the pictures. Really want to see the running boards as I will be modding them this spring.

I will be doing a pipe as well. If I do Neil's maybe we can get a better price on 2 of em?

 

None of the pics work

 

Pics updated. Figured out how to use dropbox pictures. Photobucket is garbage, deleted my account there, as I only opened it to share pictures here. Dropbox tutorial in another thread in General forum.

Home is west elks / central Colorado river basin = 6100ft. Most riding done from 7500ft to 12500ft. Temps range from -5 to 55. Dealer geared down the bottom gear when changing the track. I probably need to test more at 7500 to 9500 as most trail and boondocking done there. 9000 to 12500 is to access snowboard / ski. Basically trail ride to where we can use my sled or the ExpSpt600ace to shuttle for lines.

@stevetundra: We should defiantly get some pricing from NPP on a dual order. Happy to "loan" out my 3/4 inch running board die. You pay ship to / from and your welcome to use. I found the running board stiffeners on eBay for $45. I then traced the larger cutouts from the stiffeners onto the sled and cut using a Dremel tool cutoff wheel and carbide grinder bits. Filed to a clean finish. I did cut off all the vertical teeth in the stiffener area. Accidentally cut the teeth off the section just behind the stiffeners. Not a huge deal as the dimples give plenty of traction. (I'm still finding aluminum in the garage) I purchased a few bags of different sized AVEX rivets from amazon and my local dealer. I think the stiffeners were probably overkill, but I really wanted a few large holes. After dimpling and installing the stiffeners, the boards are defiantly more rigid. The sled is a 2008. I'm going to talk to my dealer about what jets he might have me try in it. TundraManDan probably has some good ideas on this as well.

@Skof: Not sure what gearing Kyle did (Rifle Performance Motors). Kyle has been a pleasure to work with. He does his best for me at reasonable prices and always lets me lead with wants and desires, but will then tell me his best / honest opinion. I'm going to check with him and have a talk about where I should go from where it is now.

 

That's a great looking restoration , since you say this is a kids sled you may want to consider this kit , picked it up by mistake . Has all the new hardware and instructions as well .

http://www.dootalk.com/forums/topic/1481585-orange-rf-rev-skid-plate/?hl=%2Bskid+%2Bplate#entry21179770

 

@tommc56: SteveTundra sent me a used steel bar (TMD calls it the "thong bar") he had laying around. I then used the Rev skid plate cut down to fit the RF front end. I'll add the pics above later today.

 

Hey Brenden

The sled looks good. Nice job on the running boards too, and thanks for the offer on the Dimple Die. I was actually looking at those online and will let you know. I like the stiffeners too. Still figuring out what I want to do. I would like to taper them back a ways to help with high centering so to speak. But there are issues with the structural reinforcements for the mounting plates for the longer Tundra skid's mounting bolts. I also want to lower the skid some which makes that even more critical…… you have a link for those stiffeners?

Looks like Neil won't give a price break on pipes. Says that it isn't any less work for him until you get to 8-10 pipes so he can get the sheet metal laser cut. Aaen is cheaper, but then you need to either send him the sled, or tack and weld the pipe to fit yourself. One thing is for sure, unless you don't put a can on it, it doesn't look like you will save any weight. Though Neil will make the pipe out of 20 gage if you want which might save a couple of pounds, but won't be as durable. He normally uses 18 gage. Also, it seems like if a guy was to put a pipe on it, it is best to do some porting and head work and match that to the pipe. Depending on who you talk to, engine work and a pipe will give you anywhere from 5 to 12 hp….

 

@stevetundra . I found a used pair of "tunnel reinforcements for rev-rf" on ebay. I sent you a link to a guy that has them on the ebay canada site, but is really in NY.

BRP part# 861804200

As I was on a budget, most parts were sourced "used". Purchased on ebay, facebook marketplace, craigslist, or forum classifieds. I had amazing luck that when I needed a part, it was readily available in these markets. Hand guards, RSI Brake cable and a few other parts were new from amazon, leaders, etc. Still other parts were donors from the other 2 sleds as I upgraded them. Still looking for shocks that work, but may wait till I look over the beat tundra to see what parts I can glean off it.

I'm going to work on the clutching this summer as I think that this is where I can gain some performance on the budget. A new pipe would be 3/4 the cost I put into the sled and new track. Not sure that is a winning proposal. Will probably purchases and install the Holtzman Engineering: Automatic Temperature and Altitude Carburetor Compensator ($265ish) due to riding elevation differences. Would love more info from TundraManDan as I believe he has done more clutch and carb work on his sleds for these elevations.

 

brendodendo; your Freestyle came out nice.

TMD, b550, stevetundra and others have posted quite a few threads in this forum, pertaining to Freestyle/Tundra boondocking/mountain/deep snow mods.

A search in this forum might yield tons of good info.

 

Riding behind Aspen (Ajax) mtn on Richmond Ridge, (elevation: 11,500 ft, temp: 55F) . The sled just felt "boggy" . Would not turn the track on an incline and was generally a dog. I'm going to lossen the track a bit and see if that helps. Any questions, comments, help appreciated.

Hi Brenden,

You have done a beautiful job on that Freestyle! Per your PM here are my suggestions.

EDITED - Steve reminded me that your Tundra is an 08. The belt and secondary CVT clutch kit only apply to the 06. I crossed out what only applies to the 06 Freestyle and Tundra.

I would take testing the following first.

- Jetting - probably a 35 main for the 8000 to 11,500 feet. Unless your elevations vary greatly, I don't think that the Altitude and Temperature Compensator will help a whole lot. I don't notice much difference between my 94 and 06, if any. The 94 does not have the ATAC. I think it does help some and also with gas mileage but I'm not sure it is worth the cost.

- Belt - The stock belt will sap a lot of power since it wears extremely fast so I would get the LMX1095 and adjust the primary sheaves so they are right together (easy to do) and the belt is as high as it will go. Then never adjust again - just change belts. The 08 has a great belt.

- Get a 48T sprocket and new chain for the chain case. It will not affect the top end much. 3 teeth on the bottom is about like 1 tooth on the top. However, you can't go smaller on top. Just follow the instructions I have posted but be sure you do not get the sprocket on backwards because if you do it will create heat and may cause a fire. In any case, watch the battery in any case for melting from the exhaust and possible hood damage - I made a heat shield but be careful where you direct the heat - I am lucky to have the metal battery holder and not the plastic one.

- Take out one set of weights in the primary clutch - follow the manual carefully and mark the position of everything. You don't have to pull the clutch, just the cover (or a dealer can). If running at a littler higher rpm throughout the range is annoying then switch it back. Not hard at all but has to be precise.

Those are the 4 things I would try first -- proper jetting, belt, gearing, and primary clutch adjustment

If that does not do the trick then,

- CV tech kit but you don't need the belt. It is a good belt but the LMX is better in my opinion because being slightly narrower it allows a higher clutch engagement speed. It is the same width as a new stock belt. I think I had a post where you could get the spring from Polaris parts.

- a different primary spring (a little hotter but I don't think you want the one I have for a kid - takes getting used to). The stock primary spring engages as such a low rpm that it is hard to get the track turning when stuck. The spring I use engages the clutch at a higher rpm and thus turns the track easier from a standing start but it would feel jumpy to an inexperienced rider. It might take some experimenting. A couple of people have replaced the primary clutch spring on the 08 but they had a dealer do it and don't know what spring was used. The primary clutch is almost the same as the 06 primary except for a sheave difference to allow for the wider belt. You could start with trying the spring I used on the 06. But ideally you would figure out what spring you have and go for one a little stiffer on the engagement and perhaps the higher end too.

I don't think you need to change drive sprockets - at least not until you try everything else. However, that would be the only alternative for lower gearing yet. A 49T bottom sprocket fits mine but barely so I only recommend the 48.

Dan

 

Dan
I think his sled is an 08. Will the belt and clutch mods you recommend work for his sled?

Brenden
Thanks for the link to the stiffeners. You got me thinking, so I went out and stood on my Tundra. Definitely flexy. Now it bugs me….. If I'm not careful, I will be adding more weight than taking away…..
If you do end up going as far as reducing the driver size, I definitely recommend going with extrovert drivers so you can loosen the track up without it skipping.

 

Dan
I think his sled is an 08. Will the belt and clutch mods you recommend work for his sled?

Brenden
Thanks for the link to the stiffeners. You got me thinking, so I went out and stood on my Tundra. Definitely flexy. Now it bugs me….. If I'm not careful, I will be adding more weight than taking away…..
If you do end up going as far as reducing the driver size, I definitely recommend going with extrovert drivers so you can loosen the track up without it skipping.

Thanks Steve - I edited my post. Because Brenden had asked me about the CVTech kit I was thinking 06. The belt and 2ndary clutch mods will not work on the 08. The 08 has an excellent secondary clutch, about the same primary clutch except compensation for the wider belt, and the belt is excellent. BRP did fix some of their 06 errors.

Dan

 

TY again to Steve and Dan. This is the information that I needed to move forward with this sled. Sorry I have not been able to reply for a few days. Busy last week with work. I have a sled neck neighbor that said he is willing to show me how to work on the clutch. Pretty confident in my carburetor abilities, so I will work on that first and test.

Steve, I'm almost sure I added a few grams of weight with the stiffeners that I did not remove with the dimpling, but I'm pretty sure that it was only a few grams. The dimples definitely add some rigidity on their own.

Went for another ride Sunday. Blake's confidence level is climbing. He told me that he blew past his comfort level, and that a new comfort level was attained.

 

Sit down on that seat kiddo.

 

It is time for the "Orange Monster" to find a new home. The kiddo has been riding a buddies 2008 Summit 550fx136 this season. Just found a 2012 Summit 600etecx154 for about the same as my selling price. The exterior is in rough shape, but the mechanicals are excellent. Asking $4200. Will be posted in Colorado Craigslist: Western Slope and High Rockies as well as Facebook marketplace. I'm in the Roaring Fork Valley.