bmxinallday
New member
So I picked up a non running exciter a few months back for 180 bucks. At the time I knew nothing about sleds or engines but since it was broken I he'd to learn to get it fixed. So long story short I got it running and now that I'm feeling more comfortable with working on my sled I decided to check some stuff out. So first thing the top of the tunnel under the seat seams kind of weak not so bad that its all rusted and flaking off but it seems the strength has been compromised could I just run some metal on the bottom put some new sheet metal on top of the old metal and bolt it into the metal strips on the bottom. My second question may seem kind of rediculous but is it possible to change from the t.s.s. struts to a newer a arm set up. My third question is how big of a skid could it handle. Over the summer i plan on doing some mods to it including a new skid but don't jnow what size will work okay. I want something bigger than a 136 though. My fourth and final question is is it possible to add a larger gas tank and new seat from a newer yamaha or something.
meat12
New member
Ok, I will try and answer some of your questions. The tunnel: unless it has been torn up by studs, or tweaked from a wicked crash or landing, I wouldnt worry about trying to reinforce it. I guess you could add some aluminum strips to stiffen it up if you wanted but not necessary in my opinion. If you do rivet it dont bolt it.
TSS cant be swapped, you got what you got there.
Stretching it out past 136. Not sure you have enough motor there to go past 136. If you were gonna you are going to gear down so far you will have no speed up top.
Gas tank and seat, You could I guess but you are looking at some serious fabrication, creativity and probably compromise on looks. Not sure if others have done this. Hopefully others will give you some advice. Good luck exciters are alot of fun.
TSS cant be swapped, you got what you got there.
Stretching it out past 136. Not sure you have enough motor there to go past 136. If you were gonna you are going to gear down so far you will have no speed up top.
Gas tank and seat, You could I guess but you are looking at some serious fabrication, creativity and probably compromise on looks. Not sure if others have done this. Hopefully others will give you some advice. Good luck exciters are alot of fun.
bmxinallday said:
Throttle Junkie35
New member
Well, Its your sled and you can do anything you want. What year Exciter are we talking about?? I believe the 91-93 have bigger gas tanks than 87-90. I would guess that if the top of tunnel is not chewed up from throwing studs etc you wouldnt have to reinforce it at all. As far as putting a trailing arm suspension on the front, I guess you could do it but it would be alot of fab work. I have never seen it done. Would definately be cool though.
If you look in some of the old threads here guys have put SXR/SRX seats on these exciters. Im doing the same. Looks sweet.
Now, for the rear skid. Alot of guys have long tracked these exciters and seem to love them. If your in the mountains or the U.P. I think it could be a worthy mod. If your mainly a flat land rider you may want to reconsider adding all that weight. Reason being is that a stock exciter puts out about 83hp(i think) which makes it a reasonably fun sled with a decent power to weight ratio. It will top out around 90mph. Add a longer skid and track now you'll have to regear it to move that weight and maintain your peak RPM. Now your only talking 70MPH top speed.
Another thing to think about is when you add a longer skid, now the rear is way up in the air. In order to be able to even attemp to keep the sled going straight down the trail you will need to raise the front of the sled as well. You can achieve this by adding VMAX XT struts.
Just some things to think about. good luck with your project.
If you look in some of the old threads here guys have put SXR/SRX seats on these exciters. Im doing the same. Looks sweet.
Now, for the rear skid. Alot of guys have long tracked these exciters and seem to love them. If your in the mountains or the U.P. I think it could be a worthy mod. If your mainly a flat land rider you may want to reconsider adding all that weight. Reason being is that a stock exciter puts out about 83hp(i think) which makes it a reasonably fun sled with a decent power to weight ratio. It will top out around 90mph. Add a longer skid and track now you'll have to regear it to move that weight and maintain your peak RPM. Now your only talking 70MPH top speed.
Another thing to think about is when you add a longer skid, now the rear is way up in the air. In order to be able to even attemp to keep the sled going straight down the trail you will need to raise the front of the sled as well. You can achieve this by adding VMAX XT struts.
Just some things to think about. good luck with your project.
Throttle Junkie35
New member
HOLY CRAP MEAT!!! YOU BEAT ME TO IT!!!! BY SECONDS!!!meat12 said:
bmxinallday
New member
Thanks for the info good to know I don't have to do any work to the tunnel. And after searching the internet a little more I found an older exciter that someone put a trailing arm on. I almost feel like if I welded two brackets for the shock extended the tie rod and did a little more fabrication it would be possible maybe not though beacause it is a different type of suspension.
Throttle Junkie35
New member
I know of the sled you are talking about. I followed the thread on the build. Awesome sled.bmxinallday said:
There is way more work involed than you think. you would almost have to take a trailing arm bulk head and mash it together with your existing bulk head. The tie rod coming off the steering post would have to move up and down, and.......... Just a lot more than you probably have the expirience for. And Im not trying to be a jerk. Theres alot of stuff that would have to be changed and all the geometry would have to be correct to make a decent handling sled. I would love to see this done though. I would try it myself, however my projects seem complicated enough for me.... and I would like to finish what I have started at this point!!
Your probably better off improving whats allready there. Its a good starting point.
What year exciter do you have??
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bmxinallday
New member
Yea I guess I'll just leave the suspension as is. The sled is an 87 definatly older but I put a new top end in it and got it running good. Also are those the oem shocks on the exciter in your picture.
Throttle Junkie35
New member
You should read some of the old threads on here and go to ExciterSX.com and see some of the mods other guys have done. There's alot of cool mods guys have done and most dont require a ton of cash. Also dont be afraid to ask any questions. There are alot of good/knowlagable people on this site.bmxinallday said:
Yeah those are stock shocks on my sled. I just painted them silver. I think it looks cool on the black hood. I had a red 92 exciter and the silver didnt look as cool on the shocks so they went back to red.
got-wood
New member
You have not disclosed your intentions with this sled but I am guessing with wanting a longer track you're looking for better deep snow flotation and traction for backcountry type riding. If that is the case the strut has a MUCH cleaner pan that any automotive type suspensions which is why the Exciters were excellent boondockers in their day. If you are serious about a trailing arm set-up, get yourself a 2000 Mountain Max and you have many issues solved right there with a sweet, reliable, more fuel efficient 700 triple! The Exciters are what they are, enjoy it for that or move on up is my suggestion. You'll save yourself a whole lot of grief and money!
bmxinallday
New member
Yea I'll definately check out those sites. The shocks look really nice on that sled might have to copy you.Throttle Junkie35 said:
bmxinallday
New member
Yea I'm really just trying to do some mods to make it capable of riding in the fresh ungroomed powder. Nothing supecrazy. And the trailing arms really aren't a huge desire for me I just thought it would be kind of cool. I'll probably try to get some inexpensive mods done over the summer and get a newer sled at the end of next yeargot-wood said:
Vmax540
VIP Member
bmxinallday
New member
Really nice sled.Vmax540 said:
how hard was it to widen. Also how big of a difference is it in the powder obvoiusly better than stock but how much is it capable of taking on.
Throttle Junkie35
New member
Go for it!! One easy thing to get an exciter up on the snow is the addition of a 1" track. I wouldnt go any bigger. It makes it more fun in the soft stuff.bmxinallday said:
bmxinallday
New member
What would be the disadvantage in something slightly larger like a 1.5Throttle Junkie35 said:
Throttle Junkie35
New member
First, you may have to go with smaller drivers for clearance in the tunnel. Then you have to re-gear your chain case to accomadate the smaller drivers. Along with that comes probably clutching changes that will be needed. The biggest thing is the addition of rotating weight and the turbulance in the tunnel due to a taller lug track. Which robs horsepower. Exciters in stock form are only about 83hp (i believe) and adding any weight will signifcantly reduce usable horspower. A heavy track is probably the most power robbing yet nesesary (in some instances) part of a sled.bmxinallday said:
Sounds like your pretty ambitious with this project. Weigh the pros and cons of each mod to see what will work best for you. Good luck with it and post pics when you start.
bmxinallday
New member
Makes sense and yea I'll make sure to post some pics.Throttle Junkie35 said:
Vmax540
VIP Member
bmxinallday said:Really nice sled.
If you ride off trail or deep snow I would not go wide kit.
Widening How-To
I have added wide kits to Phazers, Exciters, and V-maxs and firmly believe this is the single biggest improvement to stability, ride, handling, reduced ski lift, and not to mention they look awesome! I've found the 40" ski stance to be a good all around width for trail riding and trailering. For Phazers, Yamaha had rubber fillers on the 40” widened 96 -98 Phazer II’s to fill in the gap between the panel and strut holder.
1- You need to remove the hood, side panels and skis. Then lower the front of the belly pan by drilling out the rivets (to weld underneath of frame cuts).
2- Scribe horizontal lines around cross member to insure you get the strut holders realigned also, write down some point to point measurements for reference. Note the center to center distance of the top of strut holders and the bottom of struts and you will see the top distance is ~ ½ “narrower.
3- Only cut and weld one side at a time to allow for comparison for alignment.
4- Cut a straight line as close to the Inside of frame as possible and away from strut holder this allows more frame left on strut holder and allows better realignment when inserting extensions.
5- I drill (4) 3/8" holes around C.M. only (not) extensions to allow spot welding thru the C.M. into the extension along, with the welds around the cut.
6- Take a Dremmel or file and chamfer the inside of the cut frame and outside of extension pipe to allow extension pipe to be driven into the frame. Also, there is a seam on the inside of frame that should be smoothed out.
7- Lay sled on its side and use a block of wood to drive extension pipe into frame with a mallet or sledge. Yes, it’s tight…. But, I try to get at least 3” or more inside the frame.
8- Measure the (cut off) remaining strut holder frame then add the amount you want to widen and then cut off extension pipe. Align the strut holder and tap onto the extension pipe.
9 -Tack both sides on then use a straight edge on strut top’s, sides and bottom’s to help alignment. Check all scribe marks, angles, and measurements before completely welding. Note that you can pull the alignment off if you weld too much on one side at once and not the other.
10 - After welding completely around, take a piece of original frame and slit it lengthwise, pry it open and install it around the extension pipe to double the strength and weld in place.
11- On the V-max 540 I found it necessary to grind out and extend the opening approximately 1” back on the right side of the sled where the tie rod goes thru the bulkhead and out to the strut arm.
12-You can either buy longer tie rods or cut and extend your originals. I have all the materials to add a wide kit for $45.00 plus shipping!
Good luck any question let me know. Chuck S. cccsche@gmail.co 814-226-1595, 7-2 eastern or 814-354-2687 evenings and weekends.