Zap Zap!

-670cc/420cc engine mounting plate (1/4") tacked on.
-Cutting scrap metal for spindle-to-tie rod lever. (1/2").
-Measuring from center of rear axle to each front spindle to find proper "Ackermann" angle for above steering component.
-Making tie rods. Parts from McMaster-Carr.com
-Rack and pinion to supply force to tie-rods from steering wheel.

On a side note, I get alot of my metals from "Online-Metals." Cool website and they have a wearhouse in North Seattle with a local pickup option. Saves huge shipping fees.

Nice!

Keep the updates coming please!

With the CVT transmission you really need to think on your brakes because once you get out of the throttle engine braking is gone. It looks like you went with a live rear axle and to drive the second axle you could have simply added a chain drive. I do not know what world the one poster lives in but the sleds I have seen my neighbor has new sleds opposed to my old ones have a shjfter to go into reverse. Running an engine in reverse works fine for steam but for internal combustion in reverse the ignition would be way retarded plus pull starts and electric starter bendix drives only work one way.

There used to be a group of us on Yahoo Groups called Machine Builders. Last time I checked the archives were still there.

Myself I like simple belt tensioners and a manual transmission but my tractors are not built for speed

In older sleds at least, it was super common to have the motor just shut off and start in reverse to move backwards. They were two strokes of course.
That's not theory about what you or anyone else thinks would work, it's how they were actually built, and it was very common for a lot of years.

Is still common. Look up Ski Doo R.E.R. My 2022 ski doo has this, as has every 2 stroke sled I've owned, which is quite a few.

So I guess I live in the real world

Yea, I axed the double axle ides, too much going on, and I want this finished before summer. For braking Im planning on 1, maybe 2 disc breaks on the rear axle. Nothing up front. I should have the tie-rods done tonight, pics to come. Also, I built in way too steep of an angle for the front shocks, I have a third set on the was y to help beefen it up. Front end sags, but the rear is great.

As far as Reverse, ill eventually get that in, but is not a top priority. The ghetto way that I know of is to put a flywheel on the axle, rig up a starter, and when you flip the switch it just totates the axle backwards.

It is so easy to tell that you guys take your sleds to the shop instead of working on it yourself. If you actually worked on a sled you would understand the timing being retarded. It may limp backwards at best running in reverse and that will not work for his application.

Here is that link for finding how to build something instead of doing things the hard way.

http://machinebuildersnetwork.com

I believe this is the wrong place to have this discussion... however, I DO work in my sleds, and as such i know that ski doo engines with the RER feature have 2 sets of ignition pick ups, one for forward, one for reverse. That said rpm is limited for safety by the ecu.

Obviously this would not work on a 4 stroke.

However all of this is moot because that's not the route the O.P. has chosen. I just don't appreciate being made to be the fool, when I am not.

If you would like to continue this discussion, start a new thread or P.M. me.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Well said.

And don't worry, the only one being made the fool is the guy wanting to argue about something that has existed for many years, without doing his research first. You can lead a horse to water...

Got the little levers welded on that attach to the spindle at one end, and bolt hole at the other (1/2") for the tie rod bolt. Guesets to come, and tie rods are ready, the parts just need to be welded together. I got sone sort of flu, so taking it easy for the night.

That looks really cool, keep the good work and hope you feel better soon.

Thanks!

Got the tie rods welded up. Basically just DOM tube with a LH nut welded on one end, and a RH bolt welded on the other. Pretty happy with how it turned out. Easy to adjust, and I seem to have measured it good enough. I also welded on some support brackets from the spindle to the lever that the tie rod bolts to.

I got a third shock in for the front, there will be one on each side, mounted from the top of the upper A-arm. I made the two inner shocks too steep, they work, but dont support quite enough weight. Instead of re-doing it, I have a sturdy enough frame ill just put these on to help.

I'm concerned that steering knuckle arrangement is going to be too weak, and it also looks like some messed up steering geometry with that spindle sticking out so far.

I don't think your method of just welding that spindle to the knuckle is going to last. In fact I'd bet money that you'll lose a front wheel from a failure at that spot, sooner rather than later. It really needs a stronger arrangement than that, but also having it stick out that far just makes it even more prone to failure, and will be very prone to bump steer.