my buddy has a 98 mach 1 and both his metal cowl hinges snapped.i looked at my 800 twin and they are now plastic.just wondering if anyone else had this happen as his both broke within a short time of each other.

Yup, a bud has a 98 FIII 700 and bothe of his hinges cracked right through last season. He welded them up and they recently cracked again. He had to weld them up before we went riding this past weekend (sled has around 4600 miles on it). I have a 98 Mach Z and while we were out riding the topic came up so we had a look at mine and sure enough one of mine (exhaust side) was cracked about a 1/4 of the way through. By the time the ride was done the crack was 3/4's of the way through.

my buds 98 mach 1 had the same problem. both hinges snapped and $50 dollars for the new hinge bar (cause they dont sell them seperate) and a few black rivets and now he's good to go. by the way. machs fly good but nosedive cause the motors too heavy http://www.snowmobileworld-s2.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

I had a98 and it too broke the hinges. i think they changed them for 99. I also broke the front arm of the rear suspension, and that also was upgraded to an improved design. POS in my eyes.

I had the same prob with my 98 F-III, i replaced the bracket 3 times before finally just bought a new bracket, and before installing it welded some strips of metal on the outside of the hinges. *never had them brake after that, and with a bit of grinding and some paint, it looks like it came from the factory that way.