My 1993 Polaris XLT was purchased two seasons ago from my brother. I have put about 2600 miles on it since then. It started life as an XLT Special short track. Somewhere along the way it inherited a SKS suspension and 1 1/2" by 133.5" paddle track. The previous owner (before my brother) also narrowed the front end to a weird 37" ski stance.
I subsequently changed it back to 38" when I bent the front end a bit :-)
As you can see in this photo and my other snowmobile page, I live in a great area 15 miles south of Talkeetna, Alaska at the base of the Talkeetna Mountains.
After most of this season riding my ITS (ouch!!) suspension and getting my fat butt stuck. I determined two things. First, I needed more suspension travel. Second, I needed more track. Since an M-10 MTN. suspension was out of the $$$ range, I decided on putting in a 2001 RMK rear end with a 2" x 144" paddle track. My Polaris dealer, Hatcher Pass Polaris, sells the combination at a reasonable price around $1200 dollars.
Then a couple problems reared their ugly heads. The older Indys would only allow a 1 1/2" track with 8 tooth drivers. I wanted 9 tooth drivers and a 2" track. This problem called for a rolled chaincase. I researched a few options, including Tison Performance's chaincase, but decided on the cheap, but tried and true method of using templates to change the position of the chaincase.
The other problem was the really long tunnel extension required to cover the track. I didn't think an extension would support the fuel I need to haul. I now needed a new tunnel. Chris Fadden of Bent Wrench Performance to the rescue. He supplied the chaincase templates, tunnel and chaincase guard for $350.00 (please contact Chris for current pricing!!). Chris's price was just right. I only had to do a little fitting to make the tunnel fit, which was really easy to do with a jig saw.
The first part of the project was to remove the old tunnel and tub. Click here for Part 1 of the ongoing construction of the first TMX.