Mohawk Ski’s- 2017 Viper XTX

[17 Viper XTX]

I want to purchase new ski’s for my Viper and have read a lot of threads on all the most common brands. C&A, Curves etc...
I have decided on SLP Mohawk ski’s. Before I take the plunge and order them I am looking for some first hand experience on the following.

Compared to stock tuner 3 ski’s:
How are they for darting?
Steering effort?
Flotation off trail?

Thanks in advance!

 

[TPAY243]

Just get a set of Cat skis and run the Cat staggered carbide or woodys slimjims and your sled will perform as good or better than the skis you listed and will cost you less than half as much.

 

[17 Viper XTX]

Just get a set of Cat skis and run the Cat staggered carbide or woodys slimjims and your sled will perform as good or better than the skis you listed and will cost you less than half as much.

Have you used the Mohawk ski’s? I am aware that the Cat ski’s is an option. But looking for first hand experience on the Mohawk. Main reason for the choice is flotation. I do a lot of off trail riding.

 

[Wannaviper]

I have Mohawks on my two XTX’s, and love them. The off trail flotation is outstanding, and they do not push in the corners on the trail. The downside is that they require some steering effort. I just got Bill Mohr’s spring installed but have not had a chance to ride it yet. Hopefully it will lighten up the front end as advertised. I originally had Bergstrom triple point carbides,but just swapped to SLP carbides with keels, and it has virtually no darting.

I had the Cat skis on my 2014 XTX (came standard on 2014) and they’re decent trail skis, especially with Snow Trackers, but there’s no comparison off trail. The Mohawks are a great match for the XTX.

 

[17 Viper XTX]

Awesome feed back Wannaviper, Thank you!
To get a better perspective of the steering effort. How would you compare them to the original tuners. I do not find the tuners hard to steer whatsoever. Takes a little effort when going slow and turning but that’s to be expected.

 

[blueironranger]

I have the Powder Pros which are very similar to the Mohawks. Every review I seen said they were very heavy steering but to my surprise they actually have less steering effort than the stock cat skis that came on my 14'. Off trail, no contest, far out performs the stock cat skis. I was originally going to get the Mohawks but came across a few smoking deals on the powder pros, 375$ for White bottoms, loops, mounts, and 6" SLP carbides. Another plus the SLP ski has, which the don't really advertise, is the mounts have 2 sets of holes which allow you to adjust the feel of the ski. Forward for less steering effort at the cost of less stability (darting/twitchy) or Back for more stability at the cost of extra steering effort. Mohawks are a newer, more refined, version of the Powder pro which have a bit better trail manners with slightly less steering effort and still great off trail capability.......... and traction bumps, for when things get really nasty off trail.

 

[Wannaviper]

Awesome feed back Wannaviper, Thank you!
To get a better perspective of the steering effort. How would you compare them to the original tuners. I do not find the tuners hard to steer whatsoever. Takes a little effort when going slow and turning but that’s to be expected.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, I never rode with the original Tuners on my XTX, so I can't compare. Steering effort is pretty subjective, and depends upon how your sled is set up. I have just added the heavier front skid spring in hopes of lightening steering effort, but I have ridden the sled for two years as is, and love it. As an example, first thing in the morning on a hard packed fresh groomed trail, you have to muscle the steering, because it is making a groove in "concrete", but as soon as the snow loosens up some from traffic, the effort is drastically reduced. One of the nice things about the XTX is the uncoupled suspension and how the front end lifts in response to the throttle; steering effort is definitely reduced when the skis are unweighted.

 

[17 Viper XTX]

Unfortunately, or fortunately, I never rode with the original Tuners on my XTX, so I can't compare. Steering effort is pretty subjective, and depends upon how your sled is set up. I have just added the heavier front skid spring in hopes of lightening steering effort, but I have ridden the sled for two years as is, and love it. As an example, first thing in the morning on a hard packed fresh groomed trail, you have to muscle the steering, because it is making a groove in "concrete", but as soon as the snow loosens up some from traffic, the effort is drastically reduced. One of the nice things about the XTX is the uncoupled suspension and how the front end lifts in response to the throttle; steering effort is definitely reduced when the skis are unweighted.

Thanks again! Ordering the MoHawks today

 

[Carla 123]

Awesome feed back Wannaviper, Thank you!
To get a better perspective of the steering effort. How would you compare them to the original tuners. I do not find the tuners hard to steer whatsoever. Takes a little effort when going slow and turning but that’s to be expected.

Until the trail loosens up and you come into a corner and those tuners push you into the boonies.

 

[Wannaviper]

Until the trail loosens up and you come into a corner and those tuners push you into the boonies.

The Tuners are simply a terrible ski for the Pro Cross chassis. That having been said, I kept them on my Sidewinder LTX, but only with a set of Snow Trackers before it ever hit the trail. The Trackers use the Tuners as a base for mounting their Tracker runners which do all the work. I am very happy with the Tracker/Tuners combination on my LTX, but putting Tuners on a cross over sled like the XTX just makes no sense at all. As bad as stock Tuners are on the trail, off trail they have no flotation and seriously limit the XTX's off trail capabilities. One of my many hopes for Yamaha in 2020 is that they finally realize that switching from the AC skis to Tuners on the Pro Cross was a huge mistake. If Yamaha wants to be in the ski manufacturing business, great, then they need to design and build a ski that actually works with the sled chassis that they are selling as "Yamaha" snowmobiles.

 

[17 Viper XTX]

The Tuners are simply a terrible ski for the Pro Cross chassis. That having been said, I kept them on my Sidewinder LTX, but only with a set of Snow Trackers before it ever hit the trail. The Trackers use the Tuners as a base for mounting their Tracker runners which do all the work. I am very happy with the Tracker/Tuners combination on my LTX, but putting Tuners on a cross over sled like the XTX just makes no sense at all. As bad as stock Tuners are on the trail, off trail they have no flotation and seriously limit the XTX's off trail capabilities. One of my many hopes for Yamaha in 2020 is that they finally realize that switching from the AC skis to Tuners on the Pro Cross was a huge mistake. If Yamaha wants to be in the ski manufacturing business, great, then they need to design and build a ski that actually works with the sled chassis that they are selling as "Yamaha" snowmobiles.

I could not agree more. I was out a couple nights ago after getting a fresh 35cm of snow and man the front end just dives into the snow if you slow down at all. Even at speed it plows through it more then staying on top. I know these are front heavy with the 4-stroke but I knew it had to be better than this. Which got me thinking of how to resolve it. Lightening the front end easily is not really an option but getting skis with much better flotation is. Should have them early next week and very excited to try them out!

Was with a buddy who rides a Polaris Assult 850. I know they are very light in comparison and definitely better in the powder than a Viper but I also noticed that the skis on his sled were substantially wider. Then had a aaahhhaaa moment! Lol

 

[17 Viper XTX]

Update on the new Mohawk ski’s I ordered. They are now installed. Got out for a very short ride tonight. First impression is WOW! They corner great! In normal loose snow no push at all and they rail in the corners. Very little darting as well.
Went off trail briefly and the flotation is outstanding. Even at slow speeds the skis really stay on top. So far I’m very impressed.
I knew this chassis could turn and corner well, just needed the right ski’s.
I’ll report back more when I put more miles on them.

Thanks for everyone’s input on this thread!

 

[17 Viper XTX]

Update on the new Mohawk ski’s I ordered. They are now installed. Got out for a very short ride tonight. First impression is WOW! They corner great! In normal loose snow no push at all and they rail in the corners. Very little darting as well.
Went off trail briefly and the flotation is outstanding. Even at slow speeds the skis really stay on top. So far I’m very impressed.
I knew this chassis could turn and corner well, just needed the right ski’s.
I’ll report back more when I put more miles on them.

Thanks for everyone’s input on this thread!

I have since put apx 500km on these ski’s. They are amazing. It’s like I bought a new sled. No joke. I now have lots of confidence going into a turn and off trail the flotation is excellent.
Highly recommend!