First impression of 08 RTX, compared to my 08 XP

[skidooman383]

Well a couple of days ago I just purchased a brand new 2008 Nytro from my local dealer. The sled is a blue RTX. I also have a 2008 SkiDoo XP 800R X in a short track. First off these two sleds are very different as they should be one is a high horse power 2 stroke compared to the 4 stroke. Over the last few years I have owned a different sled almost every year. I had a 2007 Rev 600SDI, and this year I just sold a 2008 Arctic Cat Sno Pro Racer that I trail converted.

Here is my observations of the Nytro. At first look this sled is as good a looking as any sled on the market today. I love the color scheme and love the lines. My XP is also very nice and it would be a coin toss if I had to pick which looks best. Yesterday when I got home from the dealer with the Nytro I took the sled into the garage and took all of the panels off. This Nytro is pretty darn well compacted under the hood. It does look like Yamaha took the extra step to keep everything nice and clean looking. This is my first Yamaha that I have owned and I was not to impressed with the secondary clutch. I like a nice easy clutch to tune to be able to adjust belt deflection. Yamaha must have one of the worst set ups for adjusting belt deflection. The easiest system I have seen is on the Team Industries TSS clutches.

But anyways while I had it in the garage I installed my C&A XP skis with 9 inch shaper bars. I adjusted the front floats to 65 lbs. I did not adjust anything on the rear suspension yet as I wanted to ride it so that I know what it will do at the stock setting.

So this mourning I started the sled up and headed out. The trails are in great shape and for the most part were very flat. Right away I noticed some extreme inside ski lift. In the middle of the corner the inside ski popped up a good foot to foot and a half. This is some thing I will have to really work on. I did not open the sled up as I'm taking it easy on break in but I must say this motor has a ton of torque, all through the power band. As I got more miles on the sled I found that I like to drive this Nytro very similar to the way I drive my XP and old Revs. If you shift your body weight in and push your inside knee towards the inside A arm the sled really responds well. The handling can only get better once I start working on the suspension. This Nytro is also great if your a driver that likes a locked in feeling. The XP is a sled that you really can't get locked in on compared to the older Revs. The sitting to standing is very comfortable and is a tad easier on this sled compared to my XP. The only sled that had a better sitting to standing feel was the new Sno Pro Racer that I just sold. I was told that the sled felt very heavy however to me it really wasn't an issue. If you ride this sled more aggressive and really lean into the corners I found the weight wasn't an issue at all. I even found a few Forrest roads that have not been groomed and had good 2+ foot bumps. In the bigger stuff this sled even felt more at home. I can only imagine what this will be like when I get the suspension dialed in.

Now as for some of the small things on this sled. I wasn't to impressed with the the hand warmers. To me they seem real weak. At full blast they were comfortable but it also was about 15 degrees out. I don't think they will be that great when it gets colder. As for the gauge, well the extras that I have on my XP such as top speed, top RPM, large digital tach readout, 2 trips meters, hour meter, compass, and temp are awesome. The Nytro is functional and works good it just doesn't have all the bells and whistles that would be nice. Now as for throttle pull it is really nice on the Nytro compared to the XP which is about 4 times harder of a pull. Now granted on the XP you have carbs compared to the EFI on the Nytro. As for gas mileage it seems pretty good if it comes close to my XP I will be a happy camper. My XP averages about 18 to 18.5 per gallon.

I do wish Yamaha would go with a fully clipped track, along with internal and external drives. Also I wish Yamaha would put on a little bit more of an aggressive break on the sled. My last complaint of the day is that there just is bit to much engine break on the sled for me. When I get off the gas I would like it to coast a little better then it does.

But overall this seems like it is going to be an awesome sled. This Nytro isn't going to have the top end power like my XP but for normal trail riding that is corner to corner this has more then enough power.

 

[yukon yamaha]

AWSOME POST... that had to be the best side by side comparison of two machines i have read yet!
i hope you get your suspension dialed in and you have a great year of riding!
cheers

 

[Unluckydiablo]

Great write up, well done.

 

[Nikolai]

Great post, but don't take it easy on the motor. Rings will seat better if you run it harder. They are great sleds and extremely reliable.

 

[LJ 452]

What did you think of the Sno Pro Racer, any thoughts, problems? Was it the current racer or an older chasis?

 

[apex yooper]

I'm impressed that an 800 with carbs gets 18.5 mpg. That's great.

 

[Kråkan]

The shocks will NOT be good no matter how you set them up. I got Öhlins in the rear and revalved floats. Revalving is in my opinion a MUST! makes the sled handle ALOT better and feels smoother. My rear shocks are revalved as well but not as god as the öhlins.

 

[skidooman383]

What did you think of the Sno Pro Racer, any thoughts, problems? Was it the current racer or an older chasis?

Well let me tell you. If Cat doesn't come out with a consumer version of the Racer chassis in 2010 they have marbles for a brain. The sled was extremely comfortable sitting and standing. A buddy of mine has a brand new 2009 Sno Pro racer that he has trail converted and there are huge changes from the 2008 to this years 2009. The 2009 Sno Pro Racer has a brand new motor that I would expect to be production this year. The 2008 Racer's motor was based off the current F6 motor. However the 2009 is new from the case up, the ports are larger and the cylinder has a new design to help with cooling. I haven't seen any true numbers but Cat claims 10 hp on this years motor.

Now as for my racer I did everything possible to trail convert it. I had new clutching, gears, tank, speedo kit, and a the little things you would want. The sled was fun to drive as long as you were on the gas. The sled did not like to go slow. Stock sno cross clutching has an engagement of 5,500 RPM and hits like a freight train. I did clutching on mine and tamed it down. My sled engaged at 4,000 RPM but I found that I had a hesitation at 6,500 RPM. The hesitation was some thing that I couldn't fix unless I was running 100+ octane. Which defeats the purpose of trail converting.

But the Sno Pro Racer Chassis it self is awesome. It is super light and very easy to control. Parts of it to me seem to be cheap. An example is how the pyramid of the frame is held together. The entire strength of the sled is held by one bolt just below the handlebars. It works but again just seems cheap and that it would not have good durability for years. Also the air intake on the sled is a joke. To remove the front nose cone you have to remove both upper A arms. The front nose cone on the sled now also would never hold up for boon docking. Branches and brush would rip the front nose cone screens. But there is a reason Cat is dominating in Sno Cross. Right now it is the best Sno Cross sled. But again Sno Cross doesn't prove that a sled is junk or good on the trails. If it did Yamaha and Doo wouldn't sell anything.

If you do see a consumer Racer from Cat I would expect a new nose cone, a front bumper that is functional, and new headlights so that you can actually see something. If they do come out with a consumer version I would suggest you take it for a demo ride. It is very different from anything else out right now. It's worth a ride, some may not like it but others will love it.

Here is a pic of the sled I just sold. Mine had headlights I just had headlight covers installed.

 

[kinger]

Great post as I am thinking of going nytro or XP myself.

Since I cant have both if you had to pick one for trail riding, ditchbanging, not being last across a lake, and overall maint, service etc what would you pick?

 

[Deadman]

kinda hard to compare a Doo suspension to a Yami, they're just not in the same league.

 

[skidooman383]

Great post as I am thinking of going nytro or XP myself.

Since I cant have both if you had to pick one for trail riding, ditchbanging, not being last across a lake, and overall maint, service etc what would you pick?

If your strictly looking at trail riding and ditch banging, the Nytro may be better for you. However I would seriously consider taking both for a test drive. I don't know what type of XP you would be looking at but the 600 Etech Doo has been as good as it can get so far. There are rumors that 2010 the 800R is going to be Etech.

SkiDoo has fixed most of the issues with the 09 so the XP is about as good as its going to get. The main complaints people had about the 08 such as mine is stiff seat foam, rough on the stutter bumps, issues with the gauges, belt wear. Well for 09 the gauge issues were addressed what many issues with the gauges were was the magnets coming loose behind the buttons. There is new softer seat foam on the 09 Doos, the rear arm on the rear suspension was redesigned to be much better in stutter bumps, and they have new clutching and belt to fix the belt issues they were having. Also all 09 Doos have new driveshafts and I have yet to hear about one failure this year. Mine is currently at the dealer getting my shaft changed due to the recall.

As for the Yamaha well I'm sure your aware that the 08 Nytro has issues mostly with the sub frame. The 09 has new front end so that wouldn't be an issue for me.

Both are a winner however the Nytro is by far the smoothest motor your going to drive and it has a ton of torque and is almost as fast as my 800R up to about 80 MPH. I still think the Doo does handle better due to the weight but if the Yamaha is set up properly it will be pretty close. If you do any type of off trail riding that is when you will really notice the difference in weight. As for maintance my 800R has been really good. I have not had belt wear issues like others I do think the clutches on the Doo are much easier to tune compared to Yamaha. But if you want a sled that you can just start and drive the Yamaha is the sled for you. I just wish Yamaha could do something about the ice build up in the tunnel. Maybe 2010 they will do something.

But again if you can drive both. I like things on both sleds so if I had to pick just one It would be my 800R, simply because I do alot of off trail riding, the XP floats oh so good in deep snow.

 

[1st yamaha]

I just got back from the U.P. rode 600mi. with a 09 XP 800r did lots of testing with the two, in a drag race I would jump out on him 3 or 4 sled links (torque) and he couldn't reel me in. At a 20mph roll It was the same thing I would jump him and he couldn't get back around me. At 60mph roll about dead even. I weigh 170 he's 190. Both sleds are stock clutching and gearing. The 09 XP has 3400mi. My 08 RTX has 4000mi. Both are very fun to ride.