When The Sled Comes Out Of The Crate
by Scott A. Sumner
www.slednews.com
It is quite an experience to watch a snowmobile put together at your dealership right out of the box. It is about a 2 hour job and can help you learn a lot about the machine. Brent Richards is a mechanic at Smith’s RV Centre in Thunder Bay and was about to show me what he does to put together a 2009 Arctic Cat F8 LXR.
The first step is decrated it which involved using a drill to unscrew the box screws. These crates are keep in decent shape then and can be used again at the factory. Once the sled is out of the box you put the shocks and skis on and bolt up the rear suspension. You go
through the whole list of things you adjust which are numerous to achieve a good performance result on the snow.
Next the sled was lifted up on a hoist, the rear springs put on, loaded up and the track tension adjusted. You check all the fluids, clutch alignments and offset. You check the clutches out and adjust the belt deflection. When you fill up the sled with gas you do a 100
to 1 premix for your first tank.
Next it is checking the brake operation, all the lights, safety switches and install the windshield and battery. There is a premeasure battery fluid and you have to absorb the battery acid for about a hour and then you charge it according to the instructions and install it.
Next you start the sled up and check operations, adjust the track, get it up to temperature, bleed the cooling system and from there that is about it. It takes up to about 2 1/2 hours typically unless you run into issues that require adjustment or warranty items.
The person should ride the sled for 200 miles and for the first tank of gas you mix the gas to 100 to 1. For the first 50 miles don’t go over 1/2 throttle to break the belt in. It is a good idea to ride 200 miles and then bring the sled back and go through a check up to
watch alignments etc. Here theh dealer will check everything and if there are any warranties items fix them.Special thanks to Jason and his team at Smith’s RV for allowing to watch this sled come out of the box.
