1992 Ovation 116 or 121 track, skid and drive swap options

[jboymechanic]

Hi, new to the forum and although I have been riding old Yamaha sleds for years I have rarely worked on them. I have a very clean (other than a ripped up seat) 1992 Ovation with a bad track. It is in one piece, but it has some pretty big rips and cracks, the fiberglass rods are showing in areas and many of the alignment clips have broken. I need a replacement track, but have had very little luck finding a 109" for this sled. Then I started reading about track, skid and drive replacements and thought I might give it a try.

I have read the following forums here:
https://totallyamaha.net/showthread.php/91616-Ovation-121-conversion

https://totallyamaha.net/showthread.php/63497-exciter-rear-skid-and-track-in-a-ovation

But I have found them to be a little incomplete. I have an opportunity to purchase a good used track, skid and drive axle with cogs from a first gen Phazer (116" track) and I was wondering just how involved this swap would be? Will the drive axle from the Phazer bolt right into my Ovation, or do I have to swap the drive cogs onto my original drive axle? I believe I will have to move the rear mounts for the skid, which doesn't seem to difficult, but are other serious modifications required. Any information or links to detailed build threads, videos or pictures is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[Maim]

i would swap in the drive axle, chaincase, secondary clutch and jack shaft as there is more options for the phazer components than the stock ovation stuff. what my plan is for the ss440 i am doing when i get to it.

make sure you get all the skid mounting points based in height from top of tunnel to middle of mounts and from drive axle centre to centre of skid mount bolts. swapped a phazer II skid into a polaris sprint a few years ago with a 121" track. was a bit more issues than i wanted but got it done.

 

[opsled]

Ovation and Gen 1 Phazer are very similar. All the parts Maim is talking about bolt into an Ovation. including the engine.

opsled

 

[jboymechanic]

I'm not really interested in swapping the chain case, secondary clutch and jack shaft if I don't have to. Trying to keep this as simple as possible, so hopefully no changes under the hood. This is all about keeping the sled going (while spending as little money as possible), not really about improving it. As i understand from my reading, the drive axle (just the axle, not the cogs/gears) are the same between the Ovation and Phazer (and some other Yamahas), they both use the larger, hexagonal axle (versus the smaller square axle). So in theory, the axle with cogs from a Phazer should be a direct swap.

As for the skid assembly, I'll need to measure the center to center distance from the axle shaft holes to the front skid mount hole and drill new holes accordingly. Then I could bolt in the front of the skid and swing the rear into the tunnel to see where I need to move my rear skid mounts like this guy did on his Bravo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx2UIaLaUTg

(measures front mount at about 13:50 mark, mounts skid starting at about 24:30)

Sound about right? Has anyone done this specific swap? The key is whether or not the Phazer axle and cogs are a direct fit as that avoids a lot of additional work.

 

[jboymechanic]

1992 Ovation axle PN = 8K4-W4751-01-00

1990 Phazer axle PN = 8K4-W4751-01-00 (in 1991, axle part number changes to 88F-W4751-00-00) This suggests that early Phazer axles should fit an Ovation.

 

[74Nitro]

1992 Ovation axle PN = 8K4-W4751-01-00

1990 Phazer axle PN = 8K4-W4751-01-00 (in 1991, axle part number changes to 88F-W4751-00-00) This suggests that early Phazer axles should fit an Ovation.

How'd you make out with this? I've been asked to keep an Ovation alive that needs a track. I have a new 2.52x116 track. I just need to use the right drivers which should be from a 84-89 Phazer I'm thinking.

 

[Ski-B]

These guys have rail extensions for a 121".

 

[Maim]

i would be interested in seeing better pics of this kit. from the looks of it, it will not work on the older enticers.

 

[74Nitro]

These guys have rail extensions for a 121".

Thanks, haven't decided yet if I'm going to move the suspension back or extend the rails. I have a new 116 track for it.

 

[Ski-B]

I seen a picture of a 116" installed on an Ovation and relocated stock skid. It looked really good. But be danged if i can find it again. Sorry guys.

 

[jboymechanic]

I did finally do the swap back at the end of February. I actually gave the sled away to a friend as I decided I didn't want to deal with it, but then my friend bought a Phazer skid, drive axle and track and I ended up helping him do the swap anyway. I do not know what year phazer the parts were from since I didn't buy them, but it was a 121" track and the Phazer axle with drive cogs was a simple swap (no modification) in place of the Ovation axle.

The skid, however, was not a simple bolt in. It wasn't overly difficult, just time consuming, noisy and messy with all the drilling and grinding of old rivets. Had to relocate the front and rear skid mounts, so we drilled out the rivets for the steel skid support plates that were mounted to the tunnel. In the end it all worked out, we just drove the sled around the yard and everything seemed fine (no track ratcheting, no glaring issues). We'll try it out more seriously this year (and hopefully update this thread with some helpful pictures).

 

[74Nitro]

I wrapped up my customers track swap. Had a drive axle from 86 phazer that bolted right in like jboy mentioned. I used a 116 track. I then drilled the front suspension holes back 2.75 inches, and added gusset plates. The rear tunnel brackets I removed and re-riveted on back 2.75 as well. The whole job took about six hours, the suspension needed some maintenance also.

 

[74Nitro]

One good thing about the 116 is that it won't interfere with the rear of the tunnel when compressed. But I'm not even sure if the 116 can be purchased anymore. The one I used I've had for a few years.

 

[Ski-B]

I believe so. Camo number 679-9796T.

Durasport 725 - 15" X 116" - 9796T

The precision-engineered Camoplast Track Durasport 725 - 15" X 116" - 9796T is sure to improve performance on your snowmobile.

www.cbperformanceparts.com

 

[jboymechanic]

Here are some pictures of the end results. You can see that the drive axle is stock and how far the front and rear skid mounts had to be moved. My friend that now owns the sled sent me these pictures, I've asked for one more to show how the sled actually looks with the new skid and track under it.

 

[Ski-B]

Is that a 116" swap?

 

[jboymechanic]

Is that a 116" swap?

Is was a 121" swap. Again, I didn't gather the parts but the track had the length molded right into it. It's very possible parts came from two different sleds in order to get the correct drive axle and cogs and the right track and skid. From what I've read, the 116" Phazer skid and track swap is move of a bolt in, but I cannot speak from experience there.

 

[jboymechanic]

Here are a couple pics of the sled with the new skid and track.