FX Nytro ride review

Rode my sled for the first time today. Put on 26 miles in knee deep powder snow with a base on the bottom, 22 degress and sunny.

The conditions were okay for putting around on roads and the Pipeline ROW but you still had to be careful as rocks were well hidden under the powder. I was fortunate and didn't do any damage but you easily could of had you gone off trail.

POWER
My first impression of the sled's power was a bit underwhelming. That soon changed once I packed down a long straight away on the ROW and held it wide open for a couple passes. It definitly feels snappy and pulls pretty well. It is a lot like my Vector in that there is no hit, just smooth power propelling you forward. The fastest I saw on the guage was 84 mph. The conditions were not at all ideal for speed runs. Seems like it would get to the 70's and 80's pretty quick and then run out of steam. I'm sure is due to the gearing since like my dealer sled, the sled is made to be quick like a YZ and not fast on top end like an Apex. As the day progressed and my trails got more packed down ( I was the only one riding in the area) the sled felt more and more impressive. I was kind of relieved because my very first impression when breaking trail was that it felt a bit weak. I knew it wouldn't be, yet that was my impression.

SUSPENSION
I was surprised by how stiff the front end was. The sled is completely stock. I didn't change a single thing from the way I picked it up from the dealer. There were no whoops to hit or jumps to take so I couldn't work the suspension. I noticed the stiffness in the front end when riding over frozen tire ruts on one of the roads. I was happy to see that the front end was stiffer than I anticipated since more often than not, I have to install stiffer springs. The rear suspension seemed fine but I never even bottomed it out because there was nothing to hit. It seemed to transfer pretty well but with the dry snow, the sled spun the track so you couldn't get a good feel for how much it would pull the skis.

HANDLING & ERGOS
I think I was most impressed with the handling. I've only ridden a REV and handful of times and those were few and far between. Getting used to the rider forward took me a few miles. My Vector is set up with a hi-rise Boss seat and the forward steering post mod so I knew I would like an even more rider forward sled. The Nytro is nothing like my Vector. The Nytro is so comfortable and nothing gets in your way or feels out of place. I was surprised to find that I liked the stock bars since I was sure I'd want the RTX steering post so I could rotate riser and bars even more forward. I never even felt an urge to put the bars more forward so that was nice. The seat is really slim and the sled feels great either standing or sitting. I can't wait to race this new chassis because I fought my Vector in the corners and through the bumps. I was really excited when I railed around a couple high speed corners and the sled didn't try and lift the inside ski. It feels pretty stable at speed but I did notice it felt a bit twitchy when letting off the throttle and and hitting the brakes to slow down. I think it is from all the weight going forward onto the skis and with me not being used to a rider forward sled, it was more noticeable than my Vector or a traditional sled.

I was able to carve a bunch in the powder and the sled is really easy to pull over from side to side. Definitely easier than my Vector. The stock skis really suck for powder but we all know that. Next time I head up I'm going to install the 6" wide UltraFlex III's I had on my Vector.

Basically the Nytro is way better and easier to ride agressivly than the Deltabox chassis. I doubt that comes as a shock. During my ride I thought to myself how fortunate it was that I bought the new chassis for racing this year because I didn't know what I was missing out on with the rider forward. I was also happy with the side panels since I banged my knees on them a bunch and it didn't bother me since the panels are soft and tend to give. I purposly didn't wear my knee guards because I wanted to take it easy. I recall banging your knees was one of the complaints about the REV.

LIKES
The wind protection wasn't too bad. The hot grips and thumb warmer work awesome and the handguards do work. I wore thin, Fly 907 gloves and my hands stayed warm. I actually pulled a glove off while riding to see if hot air came out of the vents and it certainly does.

No ice water came spilling out from under the seat like I read about happened with the Phazer. The running boards worked pretty well although I still prefer the heat exchangers mounted underneath. I definitely had to do a bunch more kicking to clear them off then I did on my Vector. But, the holes worked fairly well at letting the snow through and my feet rarely slipped off.

The exhaust note is throaty but quiet. I like quiet sleds and after having to wear earplugs with the Hauck exhaust on my Vector, I think I'm just going to leave my exhaust stock.

One thing I didn't even think about until now was the reduction in engine braking. I didn't notice anything while riding and it didn't even come into mind. Maybe it was because of the loose deep snow or because it was my first ride of the year. Whatever it was, it was a non issue.

DISLIKES
I don't care for the guage since it is small and harder to read than the one on my Vector. I think they made a mistake by not running the heat exchangers under the running boards. That was one feature I like about my old Indys and with my Vector. The stock skis suck #*$&@ and are worthless in deep snow. I wish the sled came with a 10 gal tank, the 7.5 was a mistake. I don't have any MPG info but I started my ride with about a half tank and had the fuel light come on at the end of 26 miles. My Vector's light was very conservative and I'm sure the Nytro will get good milage, however, I'd much prefer a larger tank. I guess I'll have to see what they come out with next year and what the aftermarket is doing. I really do like the slim feel of the sled so it might be one of those things where you can't have it both ways?

Oh, one wierd thing I noticed was that my left boot was soaked at the ed of the ride. My right boot also got wet but it was like something was melting was dripping onto my left foot. I also noticed the left running board was more difficult to keep clear than the right. I was thinking about it and I think because warm air comes out of the vents it also melts snow onto your feet. I'll have to keen my eye on this. Could have been that since I like to carve to my left I just accumlated way more snow on that side. Don't know for sure, but I made sure I wore the exact same riding gear I've worn for the past couple seasons and I never got wet boots on my Vector. Kinda wierd...

OVERALL
I am impressed with the sled and have no reservations or second thoughts about my purchase. You can tell the sled is lighter both when riding it and when horsing it around on the trailer. It is definitly lighter in the front end than my Vector. I notice this when having to lift the front end up & over to better line up with the ski clamp. The sled is very comfortable and reminds me of a sport quad when going around corners. I can't wait until we get more snow so I can really ride it hard and see how it feels through the bumps and in the air.

Oh yeah, trying to keep the sled under 6,000 RPM for the first 100 miles is going to be very difficult! The sled wants to rev.

Thanks for the report!!

It's hard to judge how much fuel you used if you don't start with a full tank and then refill it after ~X~ miles and takes ~Y~ gallons to top off.

Glad to see since you were one of the first to get your FX Nytro you are one of the first to give a report!!

Now go get some more miles on it!!! lol

Please pm me when you find out when the Mayor's cup is this year.

That's funny, when my fuel light came on I thought about your post of the 1/2 gals or so of unusable fuel in tank and decided to be safe and head back to the truck LOL. If the weather holds, I may head up again tomorrow to try out different skis. I'll be sure to have a full tank!

First report... COOL! I didn't notice that before. Still, I was a bit worried about being "that guy". You know, the one who couldn't wait and ends up smacking a rock early in the season. I like to laugh at "those guys".

holy man i dont think i could ever type that much nice write up

oh and you lucky no snow here

It'll get stronger still. By the end of my second ride (around 70 mile mark) my MTX was really coming alive. I do agree the gas mileage isn't very good. I don't see going any further than 45 miles on WFO day. Trail riders I think will see much higher, higher than 14. My MTX got 12.5 mpg on it's first ride but it wasn't a strenuous ride.

I'm going to be taking my first ride on my FX Nytro (standard) tomarrow. Thanks a lot for posting this info, and maybe I'll come up with some thoughts or questions also.

Will

What a great write up!! It is actually depressing to read it because we are still AT LEAST 1 month away from riding.

I am glad to see someone posted that we should get at least 14 mpg on the trail (Est 105-110 miles per tank). I know my REV would only get to 100 miles if I was carrying the jerry can full of gas.

Like someone else said..thanks for taking the time to write up a 'real world' report with legitimate pro's and con's.

I thought it might be interesting to comment on my ride report almost 5 years later as I still have my Nytro and just rode it yesterday.

DEPENDABILITY
I've got about 3600 miles on it now, which isn't a lot, but over 700 of those miles were from cross country races, and the rest from lots of practice and ditch banging. The sled has held up very well. I never experienced a DNF in any race and the motor still runs perfect. I've never blown a belt or had the electrical issues I've read about on TY. I've also only had to replace the hyfax once.

PROBLEMS
My lower ball joints became sloppy in the first 400 miles. I replaced them with some greasable units my dealer made up. They have held up well. The a-arm bushings were loose and I replaced them with oil lite bushings my dealer made on his lathe. They are still tight with no slop and have around 2600 miles on them.

One issue I've had is bashing in the side panel on the clutch side which allowed snow to pack the clutches and make the belt slip. This happened due to snow pressure from deep whoops pushing the panel into the clutch causing the clutch to knock a hole in it.

I've not had the hyfax issues guys complain about and my idler wheel bearings have done okay. I repacked them with grease two seasons ago. I've also not had my oil tank crack (I always check to make sure my mounting bolts are tight) nor have I tweaked my subframe, but then again, I've not hit anything and ride the sled in good snow conditions. I did cartwheel the sled once into some wind drifts and that twisted the a-arms a little but I was able to bend them back using a big pry bar as nothing had been creased and the mounts were not bent either. It is disconcerting to see how much the a-arms flex!

I replaced the stock rear shocks with those of an RTX and had them rebuilt/revalved along with those on the front. I was able to get a Yamaha racing reinforced front torque arm so I never broke the stock one. I was priding myself on not bending a-arms or spindles but I discovered that is due to two things: one I ride smooth, but the main reason is the bump steer and lack of high speed stability has caused me to go slower than the competition so I'm not as hard on my equipment. That's NOT a good thing for racing.

The lack of high speed stability was really apparent this season. I got to ride a Polaris Rush Pro-R 600 and could not believe how stable and in control that sled felt at high speed through rough terrain. My Nytro does not compare... period.

ERGOS
I installed an OFT steering post relocator and WRP Seat and they made a huge difference in the ergos. By last season my stock seat was getting sacked out and I noticed it was more difficult to go from sitting to standing than it should have been. The taller seat makes it more comfortable and easier to stand up and the relocator makes it easier and more natural to steer the sled, plus it allows you an easier time to get your weight forward for cornering as you don't fight the weird angle of the bars.

The handwarmers don't work that great when it is cold and the hand guard brackets break way too easily when you roll the sled in deep snow.

FUEL ECONOMY
If you ride hard,fast or in deep snow, the stock tank is not big enough in my opinion. The 7.4 gallon tank is only good for 100 miles and that's pushing it. The 10 gallon Trail Tank is a must have, especially now that most of the 2-strokes come with 12 gal tanks and are tuned to provide better MPG than was the case back in '07 when the Nytro came out. I've routinely gotten between 14-16 for play riding and 13 for racing, all depending on snow conditions.

RIDE & HANDLING
I've got my sled to handle better than stock but its a compromise. Lower the front end for better cornering and you lose travel for the big bumps and holes. Raise the front end for rough conditions and the sled feels more top heavy in the corners and wants to lift the inside ski but isn't predictable about doing so. You can also lower the rear skid which helps improve handing and stability but takes away from the ride quality. It's really frustrating because the other brands of 600's don't require such compromises to deliver predictable handling and a good ride.


SUMMARY
Overall I still really like the sled but in my opinion, the front end is holding it back. Between the bump steer and twitchy high speed handling it just doesn't compare to a Polaris Rush 600 Pro-R. On paper, the revised front end geometry (FXG2) that came out in '09 should have cured the issues but I see lots of the same complaints about the handling of the '09 -'11 so it doesn't appear the changes were enough. I've not been willing to spend over $1000 on the parts to find out for myself. The rear suspension design doesn't seem to have the same amount of travel as the other 600cc sleds. That is probably due to the need to tighten the limiters to get the Nytro to handle which takes away travel. In any case, I was very impressed with the Pro-R and the Sno-Pro 600 I got to try back in March. To bad they were two strokes because I really love the Nytro motor. I love that the Nytro will run on cheap gas, makes great power and doesn't make you worry about the engine burning down or letting go when holding it to the bar across a lake or down a river.

Thanks for posting this. I've had some of the same impressions as you've had, and the engine reliability was the reason for looking to Yamaha.

I ride 100% of the time in the mountains here (Bighorns, WY) with trails being the necessary evil to get to the meadows. Looks like you're in the Valdez area, the photos from your other post look like Thompson pass.

Glad you found it useful and the reliability of the 4-stroke motor is why I switched to Yamaha from Ski-doo. In one of our riding areas I often hold it wide open for about 5 minutes straight making the climb onto the glacier to get to the top.

I think someone offers a protector for the oil tank since it can get damaged during rollovers. The side panels are super flexible and don't offer any protection. You might also look at getting an old Float skidplate. They protect the clutch side and really do help to increase the floatation of the front of the sled. Despite what they claim, you can mount the float skid plate to your stock front grab bar. It doesn't look nearly as bad and tucks up nicely so you don't have the snow scoop action going on.

Good eye, my pictures were at Thompson Pass.