kawasaki lakota winch mount

coolzzy · #1 (**permalink**) 05-24-2011, 08:27 PM

Got my Promark Trail series 2500lbs winch installed today. Had to dremel out a notch in the front plastic to get one of the mounting bolts into the winch. I'm a little dissapointed, their "atv specific" mounting plate puts the winch mounted too far out of the opening to trim and install the Polaris front cover. The plate itself sticks out beyond the lip of the winch hole area. Is this normal? Just seems like it won't be as protected being that far forward. It puts the winch rollers sticking out a little beyond the Polaris Deluxe bumper I put on yesterday. So I can't bump into anyone without them hitting the winch first. Also, this winch is mounted to the plate with just 2 bolts? Seems like there should be 4, but maybe 2500lbs can be done with just 2 bolts.... There are 4 bolts to the frame for the plate itself, but only 2 go through the plate to the winch (winch only has 2 holes in it under the drum for mounting).

Also, I could not use the factory wiring. The contactor that came with the promark was a sealed unit and prewired so I mounted it to the frontside of the rear trunk under the seat. Ran the pre-connected wires up along the frame and into the winch and headlight pod. Was easy enough, just doesn't look as pretty when you remove the seat you can see the new wires. I guess the good thing about having the winch out a little bit more is if I put a plow on it, the cable will not rub on the deluxe bumper like I've seen on similiar setups.

Anyone here run a promark on their 05+ polaris? I'll see about posting a pic tomorrow when the sun comes out and I install my rack extenders. Looking meaner by the day!

pathfinder · #2 (**permalink**) 05-24-2011, 08:50 PM

Would like to see a pic of the winch sticking out that far. I just can't picture it. That doesn't seem right to me, are you sure the mounting plate is installed correctly? My warn winch with a KFI mount doesn't come close to sticking out past the brushguard.

I would definitely install two more bolts in the winch. Find out what size and length they are and buy them at the local hardware store. Could potentially be too much stress on those two bolts. Why take the chance?
CIMG6577.jpg

coolzzy · #3 (**permalink**) 05-24-2011, 09:18 PM

Winch only has 2 bolt holes, its a standard 3.10" 2 bolt mounting pattern. Just verified on their website. The issue is their mounting plate. I just looked at the KFI mounting plate and they are not even close. The KFI (and I believe the stock one) have the winch bolting to the rear of the plate (with the bolts going through the winch towards the rear of the bike into the mounting plate. The Promark plate is L shaped and the winch mounts to the flat part, with the bolts going through the winch and straight down towards the ground. It all checks out, just a little different I guess. Looking straight down at the bike from above, you can see the winch and spool, its that far out. I'm thinking of seeing if they will take it back (though it took me 5 hours to install so I'm not looking forward to tearing it all apart again). I can buy the KFI mount, which also accepts a 3.10" 2 bolt pattern and would pull the winch back in the housing again. Picture will come tomorrow.

pathfinder · #4 (**permalink**) 05-24-2011, 09:31 PM

I guess Promark's engineers figure the two bolts are strong enough to handle the stress. If the "L" bracket mounts to the same point on the frame as the KFI's bracket it still should not stick out that far (see attached photo). Even though my winch bolts from the back and yours bolts from the bottom, the winches are virtually the same size in diameter. Maybe they drilled the mounting holes for the winch too far forward. Any way to fabricate the bracket to get the winch to sit back farther? Drill some new mounting holes and cut the front of the bracket????
CIMG6464.jpg

pathfinder · #5 (**permalink**) 05-24-2011, 09:37 PM

Just looked at the Promark atv winch mounting plate. It does not look like it bolts to the frame in the same place as the KFI. That's just by looking at the mounting plate online. I could be wrong.

pathfinder · #6 (**permalink**) 05-24-2011, 09:42 PM

Sorry, I was looking at the wrong mounting plate. Yes, it does look like it bolts to the same place as the KFI.

cwlongshot · #7 (**permalink**) 05-25-2011, 04:01 AM

Morning,
Late night huh... Lol

I too would like to see pics. On my 07 everything tucks in nicely. I did not put it on so don't know the mfg of the plate. But the winch is a Gorilla.

I would not worry about the bolts. When I put July first winch on a truck I was amazed. 12000# and held in place with four 3/8 bolts?!?!?!?! The mounting bolts for the plate where six 1/2" grade eights. What gives?? I have since mounted four winches on full sized trucks and jeeps. ALL with the same four 3/8 bolts. Still dosen't seem correct. But comparing it to the ATV winches will be just fine.

When I mounted the winch on my wife's Trail Boss I was forced to mount it almost completely infront of the machine. I'm talking most of the winch infront of the bumper. Now I did make my own mount by modifying another one. But there wasn't allot to work with. I could have gotten really trick and put it inside but the fairleed should be close to winch drum. Ontbis machine there was not slot of rigid steel just light tubing. So I mounted it in four places then made up two 1/4x1" straps running back to a structurally strong part of the frame for good measure. Later on I saw two factory mounts guys posted of the same machine. There's where a bit lower than mine. But stuck out and did not tie into the frame. The bolted to the extention. IMHO That was not structurally sound for a important piece of safety equipment like a winch.

Looking forward to your pics

CW

coolzzy · #8 (**permalink**) 05-25-2011, 04:06 PM

Here are a few pictures of the winch installed. Winch works as it should, pulled the bike up my driveway today without much fuss. Just wondering if its worth the trouble of disassembling and returning it?

antoniodef · #9 (**permalink**) 05-25-2011, 04:30 PM

Never seen one like that. It would really be out there is you didn't have a brush guard. If it all works like it should, there shouldn't be a problem though. Couldn't you just switch brackets without having to disassemble everything if you wanted?

coolzzy · #10 (**permalink**) 05-25-2011, 05:08 PM

Nope, the bracket is bolted to the winch so I'd have to remove the front rack/box and bumper and headlight plastic. Now that I've done it, i could probably tear it down pretty quickly at this point. But if anyone is considering a promark winch plate for their sportsman, think twice. Go for the EFI one, it is compatible with promark/Gorilla winches and cost the same ($50 with free shipping). I just figured since I was ordering their winch, why not get the complete package with winch mount from the same manufacturer, they say it is "atv specific", ha! Live and learn I guess. I sent them a polite nastygram today (if there is such a thing) informing them of my experience. Their return policy is such that since I have installed it I cannot return it, so I'm stuck with it. Don't know if I wanna drop another $50 for another winch mount. Had I known originally, I could have gotten a better winch!