You just bought your new sled and are very proud about your purchase. You hit the trails and you decide to stop at a warming hut to take a break. You notice other snowmobilers there taking a break also and this would be a great opportunity to show off your new toy, only to find out that they are not as impressed as you are. How can this happen? It is not that they are not impressed; they?ve just seen it before. Later in the day you decide to make a pit stop at a nearby restaurant only to come back out with double vision. Out in the parking lot you notice that your sled has a twin. Same model, same year, same color. The Ski-Doo dealerships are moving the new Renegade?s out the service door as fast as they can assemble them and our new black Renegade, though visually appealing, is not going to stand out in the crowd. Even with Ski-Doo?s ?Build Your Own? concept, there is only so much you can choose from. You can change this dilemma by adding your personal touch to make your sled visually unique. We have done just that to our 2002 Ski-Doo Renegade 700 by browsing the pages of the Bombardier Direct catalog. The catalog contains hundreds of items to make your Ski-Doo a head turner. Additionally, the catalog also lists clothing, helmets, tow accessories and items for the Bombardier ATV?s. Note that the accessories in the Bombardier Direct catalog are not directly related to the new model year. There are plenty of accessories for older models such as ski's, gauges, tracks, and much more. Not all after-market manufacturers can claim great quality and a good fit, but by going through your dealers you can be assured to get both of these qualities from your original manufacturer. During this project we are going to change the looks of the Renegade on the outside as well as under the hood. If you have never really tinkered with your sled don?t worry, we will explain the installation process of the parts we installed. Hood Grills
One of the most impressive, and easy changes, are to replace the hood grills. Ski-Doo offers them in black, yellow and red. For our black Renegade we are going to choose yellow accents. As stated, this is an easy modification, just pop the hood and locate the hex screws surrounding the vents. You will also notice that some vents are accompanied by push on retaining clips. A small screwdriver will assist you in this. Now it?s time to pop out the vents and replace with your new ones. You may encounter that the holes in the vents may not match to the holes in the hood. The screws are self-tapping and easily go through the hood material. Snow Flap and Tunnel Moldings Next we decided to replace the rear tunnel moldings and snow flap. We chose the yellow items again but red and black are available also. Be sure to get the four rivets from your dealer to reinstall your snow flap. Now locate the two hex screws in the tunnel to remove each rear tunnel molding. You will need to remove four bolts that hold the rear bumper to the tunnel also. Now use a small screwdriver and pop out the four rubber plugs on the snow flap. You will need to use a 3/16 bit to drill through the rivets to remove the snow flap. This is where removing the bumper helps because it interferes with the correct angle of the drill. Be sure to remove all the rivet material and save those backing washers, you need them to reinstall! These rivets are big and I needed to use both hands on the rivet gun. Using both hands did not allow me to hold the backing washers so I used a small piece of duct tape to hold the washers in place. Having the washers directly against the backside of the tunnel is crucial to get a tight installation. Now reinstall the rubber plugsand bolt the bumper back on. Now the rear tunnel moldings can be slipped back on and the two hex screws for each molding can be replaced. Trailing Arms
Now we are making some changes but it is not a head-turner yet. What we need now is chrome. Yeah, chrome trailing arms ought to do it! This modification will take a little time but it is basically straight forward. I would also suggest using a mechanics stool to save your back and the knees of your jeans. Let's start by getting a jack under the belly pan and lift one of the skis off of the ground. Now just remove the ski from the spindle by removing the single nut and bolt. Now pop the plastic cap at the top of the spindle with a screw driver and locate the retaining clip at the top of the spindle shaft. If you do not have the proper tool to expand and remove c-clips, I found that you can get away with it by using a pair of needle nose pliers. Now loosen the nut on the spindle arm and lift it off the spindle shaft. You do not need to worry about marking the spindle arm and shaft. The splines only match two ways, stock or 180? from stock, which is how you can change the ski width without having to perform an alignment. So be sure NOT to attempt to pound the spindle arm on when re-installing! Now remove the nut and bolt from each radius rod. This will now allow you to remove the nut and bolt from the LOWER portion of the shock. We're getting pretty loose now. Raise the trailing arm and let the spindle shaft fall out if it has not already. You will now need a hex wrench to remove the bolt from the trailing arm where it pivots. Notice that there is a rod that inserts into a sliding bushing on the inside of the trailing arm. Just pull the trailing arm outward slightly to free from this rod. Now you should have the trailing arm removed the sled. You will need to take some parts from the old trailing arm and install them on the new chrome trailing arm since they do not come with it. On the end of the trailing arm where the spindle goes through, you will need to remove the plastic bushings from the top and bottom and re-install into the chrome trailing arm. Next, you need to convince the rubber bushing at the rear of the trailing arm to come out. I used a small phillips screw driver and some patience to get it out and installed on the chrome unit. There also a plastic bushing that slides on the inside of the old trailing arm that needs to be taken. Be sure grease the slide area before putting the bushing back in. You will also need to remove the lube zert from the old trailing arm and install it in the chrome unit. Now you just need to re-install in the reverse order. When finished, be sure to lube those zerts in the spindle! Skid Plate
Because this sled will spend some time out west in the Yellowstone area we thought we would add some protection by installing a skid plate. We thought that there was enough yellow so the black skid plate was chosen though amethyst, blue, red and yellow are available. It will be helpful to have a buddy with you when installing the skid plate but you can manage on your own. The skid plate attaches with six 3/16 rivets or you may choose to use nuts and bolts. Since I installed this alone, I chose the rivets. I began by placing the skid plate under the belly pan and holding it with one hand. You can 'feel' how the skid plate is properly placed because of the how ribs of the skid plate meet the smaller ribs of the belly pan. Now using a 3/16 drill bit, drill two holes in the front of the skid plate where it meets the belly pan under the front bumper. Now lift the hood. Insert a 3/16 rivet into your rivet gun, position the skid plate, push the rivet into one of the holes you just drilled. With your other hand, hold a backing washer to the rivet under the hood and crimp the rivet. Repeat for the other hole you drilled. Now roll the sled onto it's side. You need to drill four more holes at the bottom of the skid plate. You can see the 'drill dents' where you will need to drill. Before drilling, be sure the skid plate is pressed firmly against the chassis. Now just install the rivets and you are done. Fuel/Temperature Gauge
I've always wondered why Ski-Doo does not automatically install the fuel and temperature gauges in a top of the line sled such as the Renegade. I have always considered these gauges as a standard. Since they were not there, we decided to install them. Installing the gauges is a relatively simple task. Installing the fuel gauge sending unit on the other hand is a little more involved. I will start with the installing the sending unit. Begin by siphoning the gas from the tank. Next, remove the seat by locating and removing the two nuts in the storage compartment in the seat. Then just lift the rear of the seat slightly and pull rearward. Carefull, you need to disconnect the wires for the brake light. Now it's time to remove the gas tank. Start by removing the gas cap. Now grab a big pair of channel locks to remove the large plastic nut that screws around filler neck of the gas tank. Now you will need a torx bit to remove the two screws that secure the top oval plate covering the gas tank. Now remove the two nuts at the rear of the tank that secures it to the chassis. You now should be able to loosen the tank backwards a little so that you can get to the fuel line at the lower, front of the tank. Pliers is all that is needed to remove the line. Remove the ventilation hose also that is located at the front of the tank. You should now be able separate the tank from the chassis. Drain any remaining gas from the tank. You will notice on the top of the tank where the sending unit is to be installed. You will need a hole saw to cut the hole. When using the hole saw or drilling the required holes, place some grease on the bit or hole saw. This will help catch any plastic debris. When drilling or using the hole saw, go slowly. This will help the grease catch the plastic debris. When the cutting and drilling is complete be sure to rinse out the tank to remove any possible debris. You do not want any possible debris to reach the carbs. Now for the tricky part. You need to install the aluminum backing plate for the sending unit inside the hole you cut. The backing plate has a slit that allows you to maneuver the plate inside the hole. Also note that the plate studs only fit one way through the drill holes. You will need a little patience for this task but just work slowly. Now install the sending unit and tighten the nuts to specifications. Now just install the tank using the above mentioned instructions in reverse. Connect the sending unit wires to the connector located on the chassis. At this time do not install the seat. Now we need to install the fuel gauge in the dash. The temperature gauge will install the same so I will just cover the fuel gauge. Lift the hood and locate the two screws that secure the plastic cover beneath the gauges. In the kit there is a template that you will need to cut out with scissors. Place the template on the dash to guide you where to initiate the cut with the 2" hole saw. Take your time here, you get one attempt. Now it is as simple as mounting the gauge from the top of the dash and securing it with the supplied backing plate, bracket, and nuts. It is easy enough to determine which connector goes to the gauge. The connectors are unique in shape so there should be no problems connecting correctly. Now replace the plastic backing plate for the gauges. Ski-Doo recommends that you fill the tank to one quarter. This is to check for leaks at the sending unit. Now start up the sled and make sure the fuel gauge works and indicates that there is one quarter of a tank. The fuel gauge rises slowly so wait about 30 seconds. If the gauge reads properly, fill the tank completely and start the sled again and check the gauge. the gauge should be reading properly. If so, re-install the seat and be sure to re-connect the brake light. This task took me about two hours to complete. Windshield Bag
To complete the outside of our Renegade we added Ski-Doo?s best selling ZX windshield bag to hold keys, wallet or whatever you do not want in your pockets. This easily mounts with Velcro so you can take the bag with you and it fits perfectly in the dash. Tip: I have used the windshield bag previously on a 2001 MXZ and found it to be helpful if you replace the velcro strip that attaches to the dash with one that is 2-3 inches longer. The original would tend to peel up from the dash after repeated removal. The longer velcro strip allows you to place your finger under the bag and hold the velcro when removing the bag. Chrome Chain Case Cover
Opening the hood of our new Renegade shows the mighty Rotax engine. The polished aluminum everywhere looks good but we can do better. Let's add some chrome! We are going to start off
under the hood by changing out the chain case cover. Begin by removing as much
oil as you can. I used a universal plastic suction pump. When removing the cover
some oil will spill into the belly pan so this helps to eliminate some of the
mess. Now you will want to disconnect the exhaust silencer rubber mount from the
chain case cover. First remove the the springs from the pipe to the silencer.
Now use a large screwdriver and some muscle to get the rubber mount off. Now
just remove the bolts surrounding the chain case cover and remove it. Get a rag
and clean up the oil mess in the belly pan. You will need to remove the rubber
gasket from the aluminum cover and place it in the chrome cover. Reinstall in
reverse order and fill with chain case oil. Chrome Cylinder Head & Belt Guard
Changing the chain case cover over to chrome starts to brighten up the engine but why stop here, let's keep going! Now it's time to change the cylinder head cover and belt guard to add some chrome to the left side. Let's begin with the cylinder head cover. First, use a suction pump and remove as much anti-freeze from the reservoir bottle as possible. This will lower the coolant level in the cylinder head so you will not spill into the cylinder or crankcase. Now remove the spark plugs. Next remove the thermostat housing. Be carefull not to damage the gasket. Now just remove the cylinder head bolts. I suggest that you place them off the side in a manner that you can place them back in their original positions. Now just remove the cover. You will need to remove the rubber gasket from the aluminum cover and install it into the chrome cover. Before re-installing the bolts, grease the flange area under the bolt head. This will insure that the bolts will be torqued correctly. Click on the torque sequence image to the right and print it off. Notice how it is laid out. There is the exhaust side (EXH) and the intake/carb side (INT). And there is the PTO side (clutch) and the magneto side (MAG). Be sure to follow the sequence properly! Start by tightening to 10 ft/lbs then again at 21 ft/lbs. Now just re-install the thermostat housing, spark plugs, and re-fill the coolant reservoir. Now on to replace the belt guard. Grab a drill and a 3/16 drill bit. Remove the belt guard from their retaining clips. Notice the tabs at the ends of the guard. These need to be removed and then re-installed in the chrome belt guard. Use the 3/16 drill bit and drill out the rivets in one of the tabs. Be sure to do one at a time. This will help make sure you re-install the tabs on the correct side. If you remove both and not take notice which end they come from, this job will take longer than expected. Now basically just pop rivet the tabs to the new chrome cover and re-install. This really is a simple swap of parts and really brightens up the area. Just look at the before and after photos to the right! Stainless Steel Brake Line
This next modification does not really add any appeal to under the hood, but it is in the Bombardier Direct catalog, and it dramatically effects brake response. I have never really experienced some claims that the Ski-Doo brake lever has a spongy feel. After this modification there is no way anyone can make that claim. The brake lever is definitely a lot firmer than the standard rubber brake hose. The reason is that there is almost zero expansion of the stainless steel brake line. The standard brake line can expand and allows the brake lever to squeeze closer to the grip. What you need to start this project is a phillips screwdriver, 3/8" wrench, 12" piece of vacuum hose, and a jar. You should also pick up a can of correct brake fluid. The 2002 Renegade requires DOT 4 as do most new sleds. First, we need to remove the brake fluid from the system. Do so by placing the 3/8" wrench on the relief valve located on the top of the brake housing. Then push the vacuum hose on the fitting and place the other end of hose in a jar. Now remember this sequence...open, squeeze, close, release. Open the release valve with the wrench a quarter turn, squeeze the brake lever and hold, close the release valve with the wrench, and release the brake lever. Perform this sequence until no fluid is extracted from the brake cylinder. I suggest to place a shop towel under the brake housing to catch any fluid that comes out of the brake line. Now take a 5/16" wrench and loosen the brake line from the brake housing. Do the same with the brake line at the master cylinder located on the handle bars. When removing the line, take notice how it was threaded through the all the cables and wiring underneath the handle bars. This does not have to be exact when replacing, just make sure it does not bind or have any extreme bends in the line when replacing. Now that you have the line replaced, unscrew the cover on the master cylinder and fill with DOT 4 brake fluid. Remember open, squeeze, close, and release? This is how you will fill and bleed the brake line. Make sure you keep enough fluid in the master cylinder so that you are not sucking in air or you are defeating the purpose. Be sure to get enough brake fluid through, but you will notice that the brake lever will be tight when you have the release valve closed. Now you are done! Take note that the brake lever resists going towards the handle bars much more than before. Take care when setting the parking brake, you do not want to break the locking lever. This is a great mod and you will really notice the difference when braking. B&B Eliminator Silencer
Ski-Doo's Catalog lists cool looking chrome covers for the exhaust pipe and silencer. Unfortunately, the 700 and 800 models have been redesigned for 2002 and the covers have not been updated at the time of this article. If you have a 500 or 600 model, the covers are immediately available for you. So we opted for Martin Barkey's B&B Stainless Steel 'Quiet' Eliminator silencer to round out the under hood modifications. Begin by removing the springs located at the front of the pipe and where the pipe meets the silencer. There are two nuts that are located under the pipe that secure a bracket from the silencer to the frame. Remove these. Now with a little muscle, separate the pipe and silencer. When lifting the silencer out, notice that there is a bracket that fits into a rubber mount that needs to be slid out. Now it is time to install the B&B Eliminator. This will go in much easier than it was to remove the original silencer because of it's smaller size. Before installing, apply Permatex 700? gasket compound to the silencer to seal against the pipe. Now just fit the silencer onto the mounting bolts making sure the the pipe exits out the bottom of the belly pan. Attach the pipe to the silencer and re-install the retaining springs. You now need to loosen the hose clamp located where the pipe attaches to the silencer. There is a supplied bracket that needs to be fitted back onto the rubber mount and slid under the hose clamp to keep the pipe from moving around. Tighten everything down and make sure that the silencer is not in contact with the chain case cover. You now have removed unwanted pounds and added some performance as well as freed up some room. We chose the 'quiet' silencer but MBRP offers a louder version that is smaller in size and has greater performance gains. Silencers are available for Arctic Cat, Polaris, Ski-Doo and Yamaha. You can contact Martin Barkey Racing Products at 1-888-636-RACE or via their Website at www.mbrp.com. Cover It Up?
Though it is a shame to cover up our Renegade, when being towed to it?s next destination, Ski-Doo?s Ultra Cover will be providing protection against the elements and road debris. The Ultra Cover provides the best protection for your Ski-Doo and additionally covers the skis.
We have now finished personalizing our Renegade and it looks hot! We changed a lot of parts but there is so much more available in the Bombardier Direct catalog. Stop by and get your catalog at your local Ski-Doo dealer or browse the catalog online at www.BombardierDirect.com or at the Ski-Doo Website at www.ski-doo.com. Browse through the catalog, personalize your Ski-Doo, and HAVE FUN! The next time I walk out of a restaurant and see that the Renegade has a twin again, I will add the yellow rewind handle and a ?please do not copy? decal. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/OffRoadDotCom
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