Is the float plate worth it?

I was just wondering if the float plate really helped in the deep stuff. Does the Nytro have a hard time without one? I thought you mountain riders would have more insight on this topic. I have an xtx ordered and I'm debating about putting one of these on. I know PSG has one and also Yamaha. Is there a big difference between the two. Thanks for the help

IMO, with the stock ski's the front end has no problem with flotation. It,s generally a trenching issue with the rear. I wouldn't spend the money, plus i think they're ugly as hell.

I agree that the float plate is ugly. But the very least get a skid plate for the unit, once you see how thin the plastc belly pan is and the front heat exchanger you'll want one.

my skid plate on my Attak drove me nuts, always filling up with ice and pushing off

Regardless of Floatation help or not, like Tower said get one for protection. I got the regular "ultra" plate and while it did finally pop after filling with snow and melt/freeze it did provide protection all year long.

Daranello said:

my skid plate on my Attak drove me nuts, always filling up with ice and pushing off

Click to expand...

Get some black or clear waterproof silicone and and go around the bottom edges to seal it up. That is where is mostly fills anyways. No one can see it and that problem is gone.

-1CS

I glued a piece of styrofoam in the bottom of the skid plate before I installed it. I put it in just behind the A arm. My theory here is that it will stop snow from packing in the plate, putting pressure against the stock plate, and busting the crappy fasteners they send with the plate. I also drilled drain holes in the plate at an angle so water will drain but snow doesn't plug them. So far this has worked great for me.

I run a skinz float plate, mainly for stump bumping. At the time I installed it, I had been riding a series of 2-3ft pow days and first day I put it on and seriously thought it made a amazing difference. The first downhill turns I got were unlike anything I'd felt the days previous, full on feather ride. Could be totally psychological though. Either way, I survived some close encounters with some stumps late season with no worries.

As for it being ugly, I could care less, I like neon pink. Hopefully where I'm riding no one can tell my bad sense of fashion but my bros.


Fix for bracket bust issue. I posted a thread some time back about this.

Yep I popped one of my threaded inserts, I guess I am going to have to purchase the tool and fitting to replace

after you turbo it the front gets real light......floats real good! i think you could take the skis off......lol

This is pulled from my mileage thread last year:

Here’s the floatation plate…






The front of it is held on by clamps…not really that good in my opinion…but Yamaha’s other skid plates are the same install around the bumper, like on my phazer.




So I looked at it thinking, yeah…it will accumulate snow in the front A-arms, and it will likely build-up snow and ice between the belly pan and the skid plate itself, but the one piece design of it may not only prevent snow from coming into the engine area but it really does look like it will help in floatation when carving and in deep snow.

What’s the verdict?
The saga continues…

Yesterday I went for a 235 km (147mi) ride with Bruce. The big lakes are like cement right now but the wind protected bays and ponds are pure powder gold.

After 500 km’s of testing with the Yamaha Floatation Plate, it too receives a failing grade.

Why? Here’s why:


The damned thing fell off!!

So what’s the problem? How about the age old snow and ice buildup. Am I providing enough proof that this is a major problem with these sleds?

We were powder riding, I stopped to talk to Bruce and he pointed out that my skid plate was falling off. There was so much snow and ice build-up between the belly pan and the skid plate that it pushed the skid plate right off in a variety of ways…


On a couple of bolts, even with washers that I had installed, they punched right through the skid plate from ice buildup. On a couple of others, you know those threaded circlips I showed you? It took them right off the sled, space, bolt, circlip and all – still attached to the skid plate. In other spots, the clamps I showed you in the front? They busted clean off!!


Like come on – this is crazy! Obviously I’ll be going to get my money back and return the skid plate.



It was hanging by one clamp when we seen it, so I removed the clamp and put the skid plate on the back of the sled. I thought I could make the thing get air!

Beware of Skinz product

I purchased a SKINZ for my Nytro MTX. Wow.. what a mistake! I was really excited to try it out. It worked well the first day. The instructions that came with the plate had me cut a whole in the bottom to allow the plate to release water. I did so before putting on. We went on a tour where we were away from home for a couple of days. On the second day, it was real cold but great snow, my sled was having all sorts of problems diving in the snow. Upon inspection, the SKINZ plate had packed with ice and was separating from the bottom of the sled. It ripped the bolts out of my Nytro bottom. It was like a huge boob formed under my sled! Wow... it did not work as advertised. I contacted SKINZ and requested a refund. They have not been helpful. If you pay 100 bucks for a product, it should work. They have admitted they have problems to me in email (I am happy to post if you are curious) but will not refund my money. To me, this indicates they do not stand behind what they sell. I would be very wary of any and all SKINZ products. I recommend a strong stay away from them! go another route. Meanwhile... my sled has some damage that they should be responsible for but will not even discuss. The ice build up occured during riding. Guess if you want a product that is as reliable as ROTAX, go SKINZ.

I had a similar problem, but I busted the front brackets. Just replaced them with some U-bolts. Check my above post. I didn't cut a hole either. I want stump protection more than anything. I can just see lodging a nice stump right in the hole. I got skillz like that.