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Edge rear skid set up advise 96 Indy 500

11K views 31 replies 8 participants last post by  92Indy500EFISP  
#1 ·
Well its been a few years since I have been here.

I have a 96 Indy 500 carb that is pounding my butt on the trails in northern Mi. I am going to put an Edge suspension into this sled (http://www.jbshocks.com/edgemount.JPG) to handle the stutter bumps. I already purchased a used edge skid my question is about shocks. I like the Fox shocks and need advise on what to put in are all fox shocks created equal or are there some specific to the edge? I know I need the proper length shocks like 12in for the front arm and so forth who can offer any advise here?

Below is the intended recipient

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#2 ·
Here is a pic of the Edge skid I am going to put into the above sled. You experts please chime in on this one as I would like to start assembly soon. My biggest question is shock choice for right now. Later i will need to know your opinions on any mods to the front suspension. I believe it will need to be raised a little suggestions here also welcome.

Bear in mind when you respond that the shocks in the picture are not being used and yes I know some wheels are missing, they will be replaced.

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#3 ·
I put a m10 out of a edge x. In my 98 xc700 and I had to drill new holes in my tunnel. The shock I believe as long as the length is correct and it bolts up it should be fine. Fox don't make a bad shock. And there cheap to rebuild. For the front end there are a lot of options on longer shocks. And even different skis and spindels to make your sled sit higher I have a few sets of front shocks laying around. I got a set for extra 10 and extra 12
 
#4 ·
Polarismandan is correct. I just took you an edge rear suspension out of an 95 indy 500 and you do have to re-drill the holes in the tunnel. I believe they make templates for the holes. And I know that the holes need to be drilled farther forward than the stock holes. Fox shocks would also be easier to find for the rear skid and the front suspensionin my opinion and probably cheaper if bought used. But reguardles, you need to make sure the holes you drill are in the right spots, or the suspension will be offset wrong and cause problems. Good luck.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the input guys

Today I bought a front arm Fox Shock and spring 13 in eye to eye from an arctic cat zrt, the shock in the edge skid is 12 in eye to eye. This shock will bolt right in nice and tight. Do you think the extra 1in in length will present a problem?

I am thinking I can reduce the spring preload to shorten the shock to fit the geometry of the skid but will the extra inch in length present any problems?

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Now the final piece, the rear skid shock in the pic below is what I plan to use, the red labeled Fox PS shock to complete my edge skid build along with some wheels and other missing bolts. This skid is being delivered by the seller this weekend and he dosent know what that front skid shock is and I am dying to find out if its a stock hydraulic shock or a Fox?

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#6 ·
I did the edge skid swap on my XCR last year. It was out of a 05' XC 700 (anniversary) and had the PS2 or maybe PS3 shock. It works great! That's about all I can say. I don't know the line up of shocks from FOX but that one in mine is awesome. You can check out my build thread that I made for some pics and info on it. The skid was totally stock if you wanted to check out other specs.
Good luck, it will sure be a sweet ride after that. but its a bit of work!
 
#8 ·
In the search box type in. "XCR 800 edge suspension project "

It should be the first one that pops up. It's by boody 1981 started Dec 4 2010
 
#9 ·
boody1981 said:
In the search box type in. "XCR 800 edge suspension project "

It should be the first one that pops up. It's by boody 1981 started Dec 4 2010
Thank You very much!!! That is a very helpful thread I like pics and it came out very good.

Here is the link for anybody following this thread

http://www.snowmobilefanatics.com/forum/topic/119085-xcr-800-edge-suspension-projectdone
 
#10 ·
I have a new found liking for the fox PS2-3. the PS shocks have basically two chambers that hold oil. This is why you get the 1-2 inch sag in the skid when you sit on the sled. I found out that you can put wide rubber bands around the wholes that let the oil flow between the two bodies and it more or less acts like a reservoir shock. the fluid on the out side cavity keeps the internal oil cool. also helps stiffen up the shock a little.
just my .02
 
#11 ·
Call Jerry at (http://www.jbshocks.com). I talked to him and had him set up shocks for my X-10/Edge swap. Very nice to talk to with straight forward advise.
 
#12 ·
Thanks to All for the help.

Today I will be building up the edge skid with all the parts I have collected. When its together correctly and if everything fits right (arctic cat front skid fox shock) I will then disassemble, clean, paint and lube it up. Then put it back together so it looks good and will resist corrosion.

Keep an eye on this thread because I will posting pictures in an effort to help you guys advise me and to help others thinking of the doing this kind of skid update.
 
#13 ·
Saturday 2-16-2013 I started the Edge skid rebuild.

Although the skid looked to be mostly there I had to replace some missing parts from a donor skid and that's when it became apparent that corrosion had frozen up the front arm bearings. It was a big job to just to get the front arm out (heat, pounding, swearing) but I got the bearings (bushings) free and found there was no lubrication just rust.

So its a good thing I got in there and fixed that. The rear arm scissor was in good condition but the rods that lay next to the shock were also frozen with rust at the top end. So in the end I had to disassemble the entire skid and found some more broken bolts in one of the rail mounts for the front shock lower mount. What a pain ... that one is going to be, broke off flush with the end of the shaft and I cant get the other side to budge. So my only option is to repair it in place or risk breaking the bolt off the other end and have two broken bolts to drill and tap.

I am not restoring this skid to like new, just rebuild it with donor parts, clean and paint. So I got some paint on the front arm and polished one of the frame rails.

Here are some pics of the work so far.

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#14 ·
Monday 2-18-13

I got the front arm and all related parts reassembled and lubed and now its starting to look like a working skid. The rear arm scissor has been painted and will be assembled next. Stay tuned....

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#15 ·
Remember to put the plastic shield over the spring on the front shock. Helps keep moisture, dirt, etc. off the shaft and out of the seals.
 
#16 ·
tnmemr said:
Remember to put the plastic shield over the spring on the front shock. Helps keep moisture, dirt, etc. off the shaft and out of the seals.
Thanks tnmemr

Now I gotta take it apart again, I was admiring the new Arctic Cat ZRT front Fox Shock and totally forgot to install the spring shield.
 
#17 ·
Looks real nice! Too bad it's so much work.........before the work. haha. By the way, your indy 500 looks mint! I had a 97 and 98 love those black hoods with the low windshield.
 
#18 ·
FYI: On my 2nd Edge install, I moved the mounting holes back (toward rear of the sled) 2" each to achieve a shallower attack angle for the track. This also improved handling for me.
 
#19 ·
Why would you want to put a 13" Arctic Cat shock in there instead of the correct shock that came with the skid?
 
#20 ·
Rubi said:
Why would you want to put a 13" Arctic Cat shock in there instead of the correct shock that came with the skid?
Good question, the original shock measured 12 1/4 in and the shock you see in the pic above is 13" and its a fox the oem shock was a black hydraulic unit. Earlier in this thread I asked if all fox shocks are created equal or are some specific to the edge skid and the answer was basically all fox shocks are going to work if its the correct length. So based on that info why not? So that's what I did and remember this is a cheap build the gathering of parts (ebay and craiglist) and refurbish them to work for my driving style. Which is hard and fast trail twisties and over the stutter bumps that build up on the long straight a ways where I like to slow down and not get my butt beat to death.


tnmemr said:
FYI: On my 2nd Edge install, I moved the mounting holes back (toward rear of the sled) 2" each to achieve a shallower attack angle for the track. This also improved handling for me.
I plan on using the measurements from http://www.jbshocks.com/edgemount.JPG website are you saying you moved your skid 2" back from these or did you engineer your own mounting locations? I like to run the trails in northern Mi and don' need to be able to run in deep snow.

I think I like your thinking, shallower track angle and improved handling please elaborate on the mounting locations measurements please.
 
#21 ·
Rubi said:
Why would you want to put a 13" Arctic Cat shock in there instead of the correct shock that came with the skid?
Hi Rubi

Here is a pic of the front shock that was on the used skid I bought, both (front and rear) where hydraulic shocks regular black painted shocks. The length was 12.25 and the donor Fox shock just happened to be from an Arctic Cat and at 13in my thought was it will work.

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#22 ·
10-4, I thought you were taking the existing Fox shock out of the skid that had Position Sensitives in it. I didn't see you had nonrebuildables in there.
 
#23 ·
Rubi said:
10-4, I thought you were taking the existing Fox shock out of the skid that had Position Sensitives in it. I didn't see you had nonrebuildables in there.
Yeah the Fox Position Sensitive shock will go in the rear and the front has the fox from an arctic cat skid. Super cold here today so I stayed in the house. I plan on finishing the build by this weekend. I will get some updated pics up as soon as I get it finished.

Then... I have to fit it to the sled.
 
#24 ·
92Indy500EFISP said:
I plan on using the measurements from http://www.jbshocks.com/edgemount.JPG website are you saying you moved your skid 2" back from these or did you engineer your own mounting locations? I like to run the trails in northern Mi and don' need to be able to run in deep snow.

I think I like your thinking, shallower track angle and improved handling please elaborate on the mounting locations measurements please.
I added 2" to the dimensions from the drive shaft to the front torque arm mounting holes. This was for a 121" with extensions to 136".
 
#25 ·
Ok gentleman I need some help my donor fox shock for the rear of the skid frame is to short. What is the correct length of the edge rear arm shock? Also do any of you have a decent used fox shock that you want to sell?

Here is a pic of my problem

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#26 ·
2-21-13

Well I got out my tape measure and found out the shock I have measures 14.5 in and fits an extra 10 just fine. This is an Edge skid I am rebuilding so this isn't going to work.

The tape measure suggests I need a 17.5 to 18 in shock. I found one on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/400247509402?ssPageName=STRK: This looks like the right one and the right length about 18in. What do you guys think? Buy It Now? Suggestions?

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