frankjohansen
Newbie
we are allready long into the season and i think the progres on this site s... 
!!Ive longed about uppdates off 
air19, VKbnorth and to you other guys that have this nice machine. Im almost here every day for uppdates but very few uppdates are in ..Have you all lost intrest or have you skipped brand 
???So get the creativity going and do some writing and share your pros and cons.Hows the season been treating you,and off course the viking, and picture are never wrong.Imo Eps is comming shortly and the efi motor from the venture is comming to, and i hope some dietting to the frame and motor comes too and 1,5" inch lugg will be perfeckt, other thing wil be regulating handlebar up and down like the ac m series 
.Sorry for my bad writting, but ill think youd understand. 
!!Ive longed about uppdates off air19, VKbnorth and to you other guys that have this nice machine. Im almost here every day for uppdates but very few uppdates are in ..Have you all lost intrest or have you skipped brand ???So get the creativity going and do some writing and share your pros and cons.Hows the season been treating you,and off course the viking, and picture are never wrong.Imo Eps is comming shortly and the efi motor from the venture is comming to, and i hope some dietting to the frame and motor comes too and 1,5" inch lugg will be perfeckt, other thing wil be regulating handlebar up and down like the ac m series .Sorry for my bad writting, but ill think youd understand. VKbcnorth
Extreme
It's time to put our VK Pro away for the summer here and I imagine it's the same elsewhere, so there will be few messages on this forum until next October.
I agree with your wish list except for the dieting to reduce weight - lower weight would be nice but when I look closely at the VK Pro I cannot see ways to reduce the weight without reducing the strength. And the VK Pro has to be strong and reliable to groom trails or pull one-ton sledges.
Maybe other owners can suggest parts of the VK Pro where weight can be reduced. I could remove the seats, the rear rack, the windshield and go to a carbon fibre hood but would it still be a VK Pro?
I agree with your wish list except for the dieting to reduce weight - lower weight would be nice but when I look closely at the VK Pro I cannot see ways to reduce the weight without reducing the strength. And the VK Pro has to be strong and reliable to groom trails or pull one-ton sledges.
Maybe other owners can suggest parts of the VK Pro where weight can be reduced. I could remove the seats, the rear rack, the windshield and go to a carbon fibre hood but would it still be a VK Pro?
air19
Pro
I'm done for the year also. I brought my VK in for it's year end maintenance the second week in March. The only thing I added this year was a temp guage so I can more closely monitor it.
Otherwise I had another good year grooming with my VK - no problems from start to finish.
I like your suggestions, just not sure when Yamaha will do an update. In the mean time Ski-Doo continues to make changes to their WT and SWT, and now Arctic Cat has made a version of the Bearcat for grooming.
I'm not switching brands. I hope to get another couple years out of my VK. I know it's limitations well and I can work around them. And it's strengths for grooming are a big improvement over the 2 stroke SWT I had for many years.
With the snow leaving Vermont, it's time to get back to a thousand projects I need to do on our tree farm and our ski trails before the next winter rolls around.
Otherwise I had another good year grooming with my VK - no problems from start to finish.
I like your suggestions, just not sure when Yamaha will do an update. In the mean time Ski-Doo continues to make changes to their WT and SWT, and now Arctic Cat has made a version of the Bearcat for grooming.
I'm not switching brands. I hope to get another couple years out of my VK. I know it's limitations well and I can work around them. And it's strengths for grooming are a big improvement over the 2 stroke SWT I had for many years.
With the snow leaving Vermont, it's time to get back to a thousand projects I need to do on our tree farm and our ski trails before the next winter rolls around.
vk540
Newbie
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2008
- Messages
- 13
This was my first year with a VK Pro, using it strickly for grooming with a 4x8 mogal master. It is one heck of a pulling machine and a quaility piece of equipment.
What i'd like to see done is widen the front ski stance so it is more stable, or at least offer a kit as an option. I struggle constantly to keep the rubber side down given the steep and off camber terrain here in Southern Vermont. This is clearly my number one complaint while grooming. They say the new Bearcat is very stable, why can't the Vk Pro be the same?
Keep the low range transmission as grooming in high range seems to work it harder, having the low range option is a perfect match for the drag i pull.
Anything to make it light would be great, it simply weighs so much that there is basically no man hadling it. This is my second major complaint. A small motor could be an option, 120 horse is more than enough with the low gearing, maybe like 85 horse. Not sure where else yamaha could shave major weight.
Also exit the exhaust out the rear of the sled, mine makes for pounding the slush and frozen snow out with a rubber mallet a bad job after a 8 hour grooming run as it does not come inside to melt off. This would be my third major complaint.
If yamaha would improve on these 3 items i think the sled would be a home run even though it is expensive, quality. longjevity and dependability dont come cheap.
What i'd like to see done is widen the front ski stance so it is more stable, or at least offer a kit as an option. I struggle constantly to keep the rubber side down given the steep and off camber terrain here in Southern Vermont. This is clearly my number one complaint while grooming. They say the new Bearcat is very stable, why can't the Vk Pro be the same?
Keep the low range transmission as grooming in high range seems to work it harder, having the low range option is a perfect match for the drag i pull.
Anything to make it light would be great, it simply weighs so much that there is basically no man hadling it. This is my second major complaint. A small motor could be an option, 120 horse is more than enough with the low gearing, maybe like 85 horse. Not sure where else yamaha could shave major weight.
Also exit the exhaust out the rear of the sled, mine makes for pounding the slush and frozen snow out with a rubber mallet a bad job after a 8 hour grooming run as it does not come inside to melt off. This would be my third major complaint.
If yamaha would improve on these 3 items i think the sled would be a home run even though it is expensive, quality. longjevity and dependability dont come cheap.
VKbcnorth
Extreme
From what I could find, the AC Z1 XT has a ski stance of 40 - 44 inches. The VK Pro is 40.2 inches and the BRP Expedition SE 4-stroke is a 38 - 40 inch stance. Of course a wider stance is a disadvantage for carving in soft powder but good for flat hard trails. Looks as if the AC Z1 XT is 750 pounds weight, the BRP is 710 dry and of course the VK is about 783 dry. The VK and the BRP have low gear but the AC has only one gear forward. All three use similar size tracks.
waynes
Veteran
specs for my 2011 brp expeditionxu le 1200 state a dry weight of 666 lbs.
the difference in handling on this sled compared to the vk pro is like night and day. I owned 2 vk pros with 20,000 km seat time.
Not here to bash the sled, they are great sled, probably the best heavy hauler out there. The expedition is a much more fun sled to drive especially off trail.
the difference in handling on this sled compared to the vk pro is like night and day. I owned 2 vk pros with 20,000 km seat time.
Not here to bash the sled, they are great sled, probably the best heavy hauler out there. The expedition is a much more fun sled to drive especially off trail.
VKbcnorth
Extreme
According to the BRP web page the 600 is 657 # and the 1200 is 710#.
http://en-ca.ski-doo.com/showroom/exped ... tails.aspx
http://en-ca.ski-doo.com/showroom/exped ... tails.aspx
waynes
Veteran
As i stated in my post my sled is the expedition LE 1200 which according to the specs is 663 lbs> 3 lbs lighter then I quoted.
When you order the SE you get winch, cargo box, extra bumper, skid plate and tilt steering and also the extra weight.
I did add the bumper, skid plate, and tilt steering so my sled is probably 15 lbs heavier then spec.
They have an SE spring only order on all sleds
When you order the SE you get winch, cargo box, extra bumper, skid plate and tilt steering and also the extra weight.
I did add the bumper, skid plate, and tilt steering so my sled is probably 15 lbs heavier then spec.
They have an SE spring only order on all sleds
VKbcnorth
Extreme
The weight of your sled is impressive. 120 pounds lighter than the VK Pro and almost 100 pounds lighter than the AC.
Where do they cut the weight? Can you tell?
Is it strong enough to do heavy pulling?
Where do they cut the weight? Can you tell?
Is it strong enough to do heavy pulling?
VKbcnorth
Extreme
Oh my!!
What happens to the passenger?
What happens to the passenger?
kotzebue
Newbie
silly...
I installed a radio box on the back of mine. Can't see the wires at all - connected to the battery leads.
Pretty silly, but it actually comes in really handy for storing stuff. I like the underseat storage, but I can store WAY more in the back and still have use of the cargo area underneath.
I mostly use mine for hunting and travelling to different villages above the arctic circle in Alaska.
I'm interested in improving the steering. It's just too heavy and hard to control for my wife to ride it. Any suggestions? I'm thinking of buying the Simmons skies, just wanted to hear some feedback first.
I have changed the spark plugs, haven't had to do any other maintenance yet. It's a 2009 with about 1800 miles on it. I love it, I just can't stand when it gets stuck in gear! Revving it up just a bit usually fixes the issue...but it's still an annoyance.
EFI would be so nice for 2012...
I'm on a deployment in Kosovo now w/ the AF, but I'm looking forward to next season!
I installed a radio box on the back of mine. Can't see the wires at all - connected to the battery leads.
Pretty silly, but it actually comes in really handy for storing stuff. I like the underseat storage, but I can store WAY more in the back and still have use of the cargo area underneath.
I mostly use mine for hunting and travelling to different villages above the arctic circle in Alaska.
I'm interested in improving the steering. It's just too heavy and hard to control for my wife to ride it. Any suggestions? I'm thinking of buying the Simmons skies, just wanted to hear some feedback first.
I have changed the spark plugs, haven't had to do any other maintenance yet. It's a 2009 with about 1800 miles on it. I love it, I just can't stand when it gets stuck in gear! Revving it up just a bit usually fixes the issue...but it's still an annoyance.
EFI would be so nice for 2012...
I'm on a deployment in Kosovo now w/ the AF, but I'm looking forward to next season!
Attachments
waynes
Veteran
VKbcnorth said:
not sure what you mean by heavy hauling, but I have hauled loads with this sled as easily as I would have with the vk pro. I haul firewood as well as supplys to my camp which can only be reached by snowmobile during the winter months. Not sure where they cut the weight, but the sled feels a lot lighter up front. As I stated in my earlier post this sled is a much more fun sled to drive. I will attempt to go places with this sled that I would avoid altogether with the vk pro> <My biggest single complaint with the vk was how front heavy it was other then that it was a pretty good sled for what I do. If this sleds proves to be reliable it is a much better sled for my type of riding, only time will tell that.