SkiDoo Snowmobile (let the mods begin)
Well after seeing Mnkays build I decide to get one of these NewBright sleds this weekend. I've always wanted to build a good R/C sled so it looks like this skidoo is a good platform to start from.
I bought it on ebay Saturday Night, and picked it up locally Sunday. I gave it a go right away and was really impressed that it actually worked. Slow but it worked. Last night I started working on Mods around 7:30 and finished for the evening around 10:00 (finished off with a test run in the back yard) (lit by a flood light). Not bad for 3 hours of work. anyone could easily hop one of these things up.
I started by quickly gutting and disassembling it. I pulled the motor off the stock gear box and cut off the shell that was around the stick motor. I just mounted a Reedy Kryptonite 12-2 brushed motor to the box and reinstalled it. I placed a Novak Rooster under the foe fuel tank. I think that is the driest place on the sled. I installed a Hi-tech digital high torque metal gear servo via a zip tie through the belly pan. and mounted the receiver under the box under the headlight. Stuck a 3300 6 cell pack under the seat... and away we go.
Initial test run: Wow... huge improvement over stock. It will now run around 15mph in soft snow and around 20 on hardpack, And now it actually turns... and rolls sometimes lol. I'll need to work on a wider front suspension set up to improve it's cornering ability. I did notice a seizable difference in gear noise with the bigger motor. Ive checked my gear mesh several times and it looks fine. Ive run it through about 5 or 6 packs now and the gears still look good but it continues to be really loud, which leads me to believe that they will eventually give up at some point.
Plans for the sled:
This winter:
All aluminum front and rear suspension. Oil filled shocks. Custom gearbox/ drive system powered by a Novak hvmaxx brushless system. rewire the headlights and taillights to work again.
Over the summer:
.21 Nitro conversion, fabricate a aluminum tunnel/ chassis. Make molds and Vac form abs shrouds and belly pans.
Heres some pics of the sled and the 3 hour level one mod.