I am putting a 144" polaris Extra Light skid in my 03 Mt Viper. The skid was free and totaly rebuilt. The polaris skid is 8.5 inches longer and way lighter than the yammy 144" skid. its almost a strait bolt in. I used the stock front mounting holes and I made new rear drop brackets and it fits real nice. Now its tunnel extention fab time. I plan on a 159" track. Has anyone done this mod and what did or didn't you like about it.
A couple of bucks
VIP Member
You've got my attention. What's the approximate weight difference between the two of them?
About 700 pounds�� And the Polaris skid actually works and gets up on the snow. Did a couple of them with Holz coil over kits in them.
My guess is 40-50 pound difference. The approach angle is a huge improvement so far. I will get a total weight difference and approach angle when the track is in.
curious as to how the poo skid can be 8.5" longer than the yammy skid if they are both 144 skids? if i read that right, you confused me.
skids about 30lbs of weight savings over stock viper, yours being stripped from the normally existing bogies and cross shafts must make it a "lite" skid. from what i see, you probably shaved another 5 to 7 pounds, bonus. be sure and run ice scratchers or you will be sorry.
i have done several skid transplants and the best advice i can give you is dont over do the drop brackets. closely emulate the donor sled and give yourself some alternate mounting provisional holes. 1/2" increments both fore and aft as well as up and down keeping in the suspension cycle arc. you will like that skid after a bit of fine tuning, if needed.
what did you use to shim out the polaris shafts to fit your tunnel? always looking for new ideas. usually poo skids are about 1/2" narrower than the yamaha skids.
skids about 30lbs of weight savings over stock viper, yours being stripped from the normally existing bogies and cross shafts must make it a "lite" skid. from what i see, you probably shaved another 5 to 7 pounds, bonus. be sure and run ice scratchers or you will be sorry.
i have done several skid transplants and the best advice i can give you is dont over do the drop brackets. closely emulate the donor sled and give yourself some alternate mounting provisional holes. 1/2" increments both fore and aft as well as up and down keeping in the suspension cycle arc. you will like that skid after a bit of fine tuning, if needed.
what did you use to shim out the polaris shafts to fit your tunnel? always looking for new ideas. usually poo skids are about 1/2" narrower than the yamaha skids.
The 144" polaris skid mounts 4 inches closer to the drivers in the polaris tunnel then the Viper tunnel. Im copying a sled that I have had a bit of time on and its night and day over the stock set up.
according to my notes and endeavors, both those skids(yam and poo) should mount at around 9" back from the driveshaft to the front scissor mount. that being said, if yours went 4" forward, the rail tips would most likely hit the drivers.
not trying to start a debate or anything, more so trying to help, but something isnt adding up in your equation. you have what appears to be a polaris gen II skid from a 99 to around 06ish rmk. the 144 was the baseline for that skid and chassis, but there were options for 156 as well as a 159 over the 144 in subsequent years. based on your picture, you may very well have the longer skid, just an observation. sometimes polaris forgot to badge the longer skid and those skids were regular interchanges for polaris owners seeking more length. up till about 06 or 07(the dragon intro), many poo owners were opting for aftermarket skids like ez rides or holtz, as well as others.
long story short, be sure what you have. in my opinion, thats not a 144 skid.
not trying to start a debate or anything, more so trying to help, but something isnt adding up in your equation. you have what appears to be a polaris gen II skid from a 99 to around 06ish rmk. the 144 was the baseline for that skid and chassis, but there were options for 156 as well as a 159 over the 144 in subsequent years. based on your picture, you may very well have the longer skid, just an observation. sometimes polaris forgot to badge the longer skid and those skids were regular interchanges for polaris owners seeking more length. up till about 06 or 07(the dragon intro), many poo owners were opting for aftermarket skids like ez rides or holtz, as well as others.
long story short, be sure what you have. in my opinion, thats not a 144 skid.
I do under stand what you are saying so no worries. You can help me figure this out LOL!!! this is my first swap. The poo skid is 5" from my drivers in the Viper. I have the donor poo sled in the shop so I put the skid in it and it sits 5" from the drivers also. the poo skid is 64" long and the Viper is 56" long. how do they both use the same track? I had the poo track in my viper last year to replace the old 144" and held on to the poo skid to put in my viper. I know this isn't adding up so Im really scratching my head now.
Backwoods M Max
New member
If it's an extra light I'm not really sure what it originally came from. The rmk should have had the extra 10 which in practice is a 9.5" travel skid vs the 11.5" travel skid. Based on the height of the skid rails to mounting points the skid is physically shorter than that the pro action. Think of the track and suspension as a parallelogram. When the space between the 2 parallel surfaces is shorter the length point to point will be longer.
without looking it up on power sports network I can't say when the rmk became a 144 for its shortest length but I have a 99 sks and that yeah the rmk and sks were a 136 with xtra 10.
without looking it up on power sports network I can't say when the rmk became a 144 for its shortest length but I have a 99 sks and that yeah the rmk and sks were a 136 with xtra 10.
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The poo skid is from a 04 vertical edge RMK 800.
SRXtreme
New member
Looking at how far the skid extends beyond your stock tunnel. I would say that is probably a 151 skid...........SRXtreme
i think i have a 151 edge skid laying around out of a 2000 rmk. it has rail extensions for a 159, but for the most part we can compare rail lengths if i can dig it out.
in the meantime, i would confirm what track you actually have. if the windows are all open, count them and multiply by 2.52 to come up with your length. if the windows arent open, count the every third closed window like it was open and use the same multiplier.
144=57 windows
151=60 windows
159=63 windows
your tunnel almost looks altered in the pic, could be the stripped paint. pictures of the oem skid may help if your unfamiliar with your sleds history. could be someone added extensions to fit a 151. i know for fact you can 151 a 144 viper without adding an extension. you just occasionally suck up the snowflap.
in the meantime, i would confirm what track you actually have. if the windows are all open, count them and multiply by 2.52 to come up with your length. if the windows arent open, count the every third closed window like it was open and use the same multiplier.
144=57 windows
151=60 windows
159=63 windows
your tunnel almost looks altered in the pic, could be the stripped paint. pictures of the oem skid may help if your unfamiliar with your sleds history. could be someone added extensions to fit a 151. i know for fact you can 151 a 144 viper without adding an extension. you just occasionally suck up the snowflap.
Ok got to work on the sled a little this weekend and first task was to double check what skid I have and it is a 151". Should of clued in when its 8.5" longer then stock. So my total cercumfrance around all Idlers and the drivers with the rear idlers all the way in is 160.5" with 3.5" of adjustment back. Thanks for every ones 2cents. I will post pics when I get the track in. Anyone have custom tunnel extension pics.
hurricanez1990
New member
Are you selling your old skid? was thinking of a skid swap in my SRV . Any advise on what skid to use would be appreciated