X Metal pole

[hangtime]

I'm installing my X Metal pole and the steering cable does not fit into the hole for it to go through .I took the end thingy off of it but it still does not fit through or do I have to disconnect it from the nozzle or something .

Are the pole bolts supposed to go in so tight ????

Why doesn't the breather tube fit into the pole itself ,it's stupid to have dual breather and the hose stops 6 inches above the hull .I thought the whole idea was for it to go up into the pole so it can still get air until the pole is under water .Expalin this to me please .

Does everyone else's have pits or real small divots in the paint at the bottom of the pole .

My expectations were so high and so far I'm really not pleased at all :banghead:

Any and all tips you could give a brother would really help ,the installation instructions on X Metal are vague to say the least .

 

[beachedflunkey]

You'll need to drill/dremel out the steering cable hole just a bit.

Mush the breather hoses into kind of egg shapes. I tied a rope to the "top" and pulled from the top of the pole before installing on the mount. I also used Windex and had someone pushing from the bottom. My breather hoses come down about 4in or so below the mount.

Yes there will be pits at the weld lines. I believe this is common with aluminum.

Make sure you crank the poop out of the pole pivot bolts, red loctite them, and let the pole sit upright for 24hrs as instructed. Yeah, the pivot bolts were pita's too. I banged them in with a phillips screwdriver and hammer.

It was a lot of work setting it up but I am extremely happy with mine.

 

[T-bone]

Any and all tips you could give a brother would really help ,the installation instructions on X Metal are vague to say the least .

instructions? what are those................i just got a couple of boxes of parts.

 

[njfl]

I recently did mine and there are a couple of things that you may need to do.

Because the pole is powdercoated, I had to sand the inside of the through bolt holes and the UMI steering system mount hole (the 3/4" hole at the top of the pole). Likewise, as beachjunkey said, you can use a dremel to clean up the powdercoat on the steering cable hole.

For the tubes, you should attach a long, stiff wire to the top of the tubes and pull from the top of the pole. Windex is a good suggestion. Additionally, I used a hair dryer to soften the tubes.

On the final tightening of the pivot bolts, use red locktite and ram them down tight and let them sit for a day or so to cure and you should be good to go. It took me a while to get used to the tight, fixed position pole, but now I can never go back and it opened my riding style up to a new dimension.

Good luck.

 

[Matt_E]

For the steering cable...make sure the barrel is not on the cable. (I am sure that's not your problem, though)

The hole is a bit too small for the cable due to powdercoating. Take a file or even a small knife and take the paint off the inside edge of the hole - then it'll fit.
Yes, the pole bolts are a tight fit - that's what you want, otherwise the bushings would wear out quickly.

 

[hangtime]

Thanks guys .I will do what was suggested .
Pat actually e-mailed me as well offering assistance .

I had to step away from it last night because my garage was about 110 degrees and I was losing my patience :banghead:

I'm going back at it right now :shooter3:

 

[hangtime]

I got it done with a little help from the trusty dremel tool but it was more than just take off the powder coating inside the hole .

There was a rather large chunk of metal just inside the hole that i had to use a file bit to grind away .Obviously a production flaw but I got it done .:biggthumpup:
The toughest part was getting the breathers into the pole but since I cut them down about 6 inches shorter last night while I was frustrated. They dont go as far up the pole as I'd like but good enough as they say .

It looks to me like if you just drilled and tapped 2 holes for where the stock chinpad bolts would go than you could just use that instead of paying another $150 for a chinpad .I like my stock custom turfed one .

I'm happy with it now but just a few hints would have made it easier to begin with .
I guess I should have called Pat to start with :banghead:

 

[D Slicker]

I love my X-metal and didnt have any problems with the install. I do wish he made a duel breather pole bracket for the SX-R.