It’s usually bigger and has more adjustability. The rear arm suspension, as its name implies, supports the rear arm. The front arm suspension is usually the smaller one and it’s connected to the front arm. Snowmobiles typically feature two suspensions. Moreover, some sleds don’t feature any torsion springs at all, as they come only with shocks. Some skids have torsion springs and one shock, while others have two shocks beside the springs. The skid usually features shocks and springs depending on their design. You can find these suspensions on the front arms as well as on the skid. Just like cars and motorcycles, snowmobiles also feature suspensions. This helps improve traction and towing capacity. On the other hand, utility sleds usually have larger and heavier skid frames. Racing snowmobiles feature lighter skids that do a good job at fast speeds and in tight corners. The weight of the skid is also important as it affects the abilities of the sled. They keep the arms away if they go too deep. You can also find some rubber bumpers mounted on the rails. These small parts help to transform the main parts like the rails, the arms, and the suspensions into one assembly. These are the key points where the skid and the chassis are mounted together.īesides the arms, the skid also contains many smaller metal parts like skid braces, bushings, and so on. The ends of the arms are connected to the tunnel. But sleds have tracks instead of rear wheels of course! They do a similar job as the swing arms on a motorcycles. The arms on a snowmobile skid have virtually one purpose, they connect the rails and the suspensions with the chassis. The rail suspension system commonly used today was invented by Arctic Cat in 1966.
It’s good to know that vintage sleds featured another type of suspension system, known as a “bogie wheel suspension.” These old sleds surprisingly ran on small bogie wheels, which were mounted inside the track. These slippery plastic strips completely cover the rails to save them from wear and tear. To protect the rails, snowmobile skids have plastic protectors, known as sliders or hyfax. This is because the rails are made of aluminum, and the track would quickly wear them out. To be more precise, the track doesn’t slide directly on the rails. The main advantage of this rail suspension system is to make the track slide on the rails smoothly. Mountain sleds have longer rails as they feature long tracks, while trail sleds come with shorter rails. The skid rails come in many different sizes and shapes depending on the type of sled. The most important parts of any snowmobile skids are the rails. Let’s drill into the details and take a closer look at all parts of the skid! Rails