KnappAttack said:
You know I was going to say some thing to rightarm, but I figured it might be best to just stay quiet this time.
Don't look for Doo to add a diamond drive anytime. This was the biggest mistake Cat ever made. I can't believe they continue with it. Cat seems to have the same problem as Yamaha, ballooning up the weight every year since the Firecat. They did use the RER from Doo.
Ski-Doo certainly had shaft issues in 08, but got it corrected for 09. Same with their failing 08 warmers. The guys that own the first year 4tec four-stroke are very very happy. As they should be. It's an excellent, lightweight, reliable machine. Only issue I've seen is the reverse issue. They seem to have the fix for it now.
As for the Yamaha's, I think I am right close on all of it. We'll see in a month.
I believe Cat is locked into (I heard) a 5 year deal for the diamond drive...
Yamaha can get the weight down... It's how much money do we want to spend for them to do it... Also, DOO's 1200 is not as well balanced as the Yamaha's. Every person I've talked to says you can feel the weight in the front end of it. You don't feel that in a Yamaha. They are well balanced when you ride them.
I also hear there sno-x sleds are very close to the other 600's in weight...
I really hope that they have a new motor for the Apex and not the 4 cylinder.. I like it , but it's just too heavy... We'll see what happens..
On another note... I was a DOO guy for 20+ years with my RECV 800 being the last.... Without even talking about their motors, this is what I can tell you... For years ski-doo could not valve a suspension if there life depended on it. They were always very stiff... There handling was never any better. But they had fast sleds and fairly dependable, which always kept me there... But, I had to get the shocks all revalved because they were out to lunch on the way they worked, just like the Yamahas... There skis were all junk and now they just keep getting sued for coping other designs.... Yamaha needs to do a couple of things to keep everyone happy.
Talking about a trail cruiser here (Apex replacement), this is what they need to do... Fix the hyfax burning issues... Overheating issues, meaning making sure they have the appropiate number of heat exchangers, so we don't have to buy any... Handwarmers, well that's a no brainer and I assume it will be fixed for this new design... Idler wheels, which I believe they fixed now.... Buy or pay for after market skis, since they obviously have been over designed and every design has been patended... LISTEN TO THEIR SHOCK SPECIALIST'S (OHLINS) and use their shock valving recomendations and not their own... I was told by someone at OHLINS, that when they first released the Apex, they had Ohlins had a valving recomedation and at the 11th hr, Yamaha said no we are going to run this instead. I mean they are the best in the business, I believe they no more than Yamaha.
Bump the hp to 170+ and I believe you will have a winner, enough for satisfy alot of people and you get the best motor in the business...
They also need to put the Nytro FX motor in the new Apex chasiss to cover that hp category.. The Vector just does not do the job..
Crossover sled with a real track (cobra) and sled that floats on powder.. (less approach angle in the suspension.)
Updated.... All sleds with with the FX NytroHP and up should get the cobra track. The ripsaw just does not get it done in softer snow conditions and the cobra is just as good on hard ground.. Ice is always a different story..
