"New" 09 XTX Excitement and Panic

[captainhook204]

Hi All,

Just picked up a an 09 Nytro XTX with 2,700 miles. Got a reasonably good deal on it (considering the price of sleds these day). It's got a few upgrades like a slydog skis (6 inch so i'm assuming these are the trail) full barker exhaust, cold air, 1.5 track and a fuel controller. Took it for a quick spin as snow was marginal, and coming from riding ancient 2 strokes here and there this tank handled very different to say the least. No big deal, I'll get used to it I was thinking. Picked it up changed the plugs, chaincase oil, oil and filter, inspected the bearing that I could, without taking the skid out, all is well.

Fast forward a few weeks later as I'm waiting for snow in excitement, and reading everything there is to know about these sleds and I'm very concerned. Forums are littered with super poor handling, overheating, rear sag and pool rear suspension in general, the steering position......

All this without ever really going for a ride. Is it the handling really that bad? Or is it just the loud few making all the noise? Words of comfort please lol. I'm still super excited but expecting the worst due to all the things i've read. I'm not an aggressive rider (yet), 6ft 230lbs and ride mostly trails and don't want to start ordering expensive upgrades without even going for a first ride. What do you all say? Any tips for dialing in the suspension? Does everyone find what SJ did to work? Any other hints tips?

Anyway this forum is awesome and I've learned so much from it in the last few weeks. Thanks all!


p.s. saw on this forum a guy saying he was cruising and his sled died, and it was a dead battery? The sled doesn't run when the battery is shot? seems weird

 

[maim]

welcome!

factory suspension settings are generally off for the best ride for the individual rider. i would start by lossening the front shocks so the a arms are more parallel to the ground. then i would check with the front off of the ground for the proper ski bias, you want the tips of the carbides elevated with the skis off the ground. i would then check the toe in to the carbide studs with a bungee on the tips. 1/8 toe out seems to work best. i would then back off the front skid shock spring so that it was stiff to turn the spring on it and then lock it down. the rear torsions, i like setting my xtx (same skid) so that with the skid feshly greased, it sits about 50/50 with you sitting on the sled in riding position with it all on the ground.


above is my base setting for almost any sled as you can fine tune for handling more from this point.

after that ride it and decide what you want it to do better and we can guide you where to get it closer.

 

[Gone Blue]

Welcome and congrats on the Nytro! Handling and your riding style is such a personal thing I feel. I have an 08' RTX with an all stock front end that has been stretched to 144" with tipped up rail extensions. I set my sled up using information found in the Nytro FAQ section and feel it was a great start. I tweaked it a little and feel that my sled corners like its on rails and rides like a Cadillac. I bought my Nytro with 6,000 miles on it and completely rebuilt and modified it. So I set out to build the best Nytro I could. A friend had an 09' XTX and I had seen his temp light come on once in low snow. So you have two options to improve cooling if you have an issue. Adding the Nytro MTX tunnel cooler or add an additional Apex cooling fan. I chose to add the extra fan as It is way less expensive and east to install. And on hard pack you will get very little extra cooling from the tunnel cooler. The Apex fan comes on with the stock Nytro fan for more cooling capacity. BOP makes the Apex fan kit and it is a pretty slick plug and play mod. Rear sag in the skid, yeah they all do it. Just set up your suspension to your riding weight like Maim suggested and ride it! A steering shaft relocation kit will give the Nytro a more normal feel. There are lots of threads on here how to make an inexpensive DIY or you can buy a low cost one again from BOP (Barn of Parts). You will be happy with your Nytro I think after you fine tune and mod it to your liking. G.B.

 

[karl]

I'm nearly in the same boat... considering the purchase of a 2009 Nytro XTX with a 153 x 2.5 x 16 on extended tip-up rails. the sled has less than 1000km on it. the sled is priced for todays market. I traded off a 2016 Viper MTX 163 this summer for a quad because I thought the Viper was a bit of a handful. Not sure that the Nytro will be any tamer.

 

[74Nitro]

The 08's had a terrible front end, the 09's were much improved.
They aren't known to be the best handling sleds, but yes, some of the bad press is overblown. They are no procross, but not all bad.

 

[yamadoo]

Don’t regret your purchase. If you read here on 09 + the Nytro guys LOVE them especially after the ‘tune’ the suspension to their weight and style - Maim pretty much nailed what I remember of the consensus. You will enjoy the GAS and GO nature of these 4 strokes.

 

[Snowman871]

All sleds have their pros/cons. At a high level the Nytro has a great motor that will create loads of reliable torque. Biggest thing I would say is getting the suspension dialed in based on your liking and making a few common improvements listed in most signatures.

Lots of good aftermarket solutions out there to improve handling, and it's more fun to spend money there than rebuilding a 2 stoke in my opinion. Get out and ride it to formulate your own opinion.

 

[Trail Ryder]

A properly set-up Nytro XTX handles great, in my opinion. And this is coming from a "Ski-Doo" guy.

I also believe a lot of Yamaha 4-stroke owners have good luck with Ski-Doo Pilot Skis. And I have had great luck with Stud Boy Shaper Bar Skegs.

 

[captainhook204]

Thanks everyone for the input! I've spent so much time on this site it's awesome.

So after a first real trail ride I managed to keep up (just barely) with a bunch of seasoned aggressive riders on newer 2016+ plus doo and poos 800 and 850's. Had to work a lot more than they did but i didn't mind. But man was I beat after the 6 hr ride.

ISSUE: darting. Riding out on fresh snow no issues whatsoever, but on the return trip once a bunch of sleds packed down the trails the darting was pretty bad. I have slydog trail skis (6in) with shapers bars. I checked when I got home and appear to have 3/8ths TOE IN. I know everyone suggests toe out for most set ups, but I've read here that most guys with sly dogs prefer toe in. Is there a general consensus? My problem is that it's so cold here and I don't live in the country where I can just change the toe and test it immediately. People running sly dogs what do you recommend?

Additionally will dialing the rear torsions to M from current H have an impact to the handling characteristics? was fine on trails but going fast on lake runs with bigger drifts I was taking a pounding. (i'm a bigger guy 225ish plus gear).

Thanks all!

 

[maim]

try setting the toe to square. i drove with my rx toed in for a ty ride and it was all over the place. guy behind me was shaking his head over seeing me bounce all over the seat to keep it on the trail.

as to the rear torsions, check where you are on the transfer block with you sitting on the sled. if at about 50/50, try the clicker adj on the rear main shock and see if it gets better or worse. if it does not click, you are in need of a shock service. if not at 50/50, turn up the spring until it is. my 11 has same skid and it rides way better than a proaction i was forced to ride in the same conditions. leave it full of snow to check if you can as it is more rare to have no snow in the sled.

 

[Yamadog]

Thanks everyone for the input! I've spent so much time on this site it's awesome.

So after a first real trail ride I managed to keep up (just barely) with a bunch of seasoned aggressive riders on newer 2016+ plus doo and poos 800 and 850's. Had to work a lot more than they did but i didn't mind. But man was I beat after the 6 hr ride.

ISSUE: darting. Riding out on fresh snow no issues whatsoever, but on the return trip once a bunch of sleds packed down the trails the darting was pretty bad. I have slydog trail skis (6in) with shapers bars. I checked when I got home and appear to have 3/8ths TOE IN. I know everyone suggests toe out for most set ups, but I've read here that most guys with sly dogs prefer toe in. Is there a general consensus? My problem is that it's so cold here and I don't live in the country where I can just change the toe and test it immediately. People running sly dogs what do you recommend?

Additionally will dialing the rear torsions to M from current H have an impact to the handling characteristics? was fine on trails but going fast on lake runs with bigger drifts I was taking a pounding. (i'm a bigger guy 225ish plus gear).

Thanks all!

Well captain hook consider yourself seasoned if you rode with a wild bunch and stayed in the same zip code. The Nytro is a completely different sled than anything I have ever ridden. after years on built RX-1's & Apex (too many to count) I rode a boosted Nytro and crapped my pants. it was twitchy and always wanted the back end to come around under deceleration even though it was heavily studded. The front hunted all over the place but my buddy thought it was normal. He had slydogs on it also. I checked it and it was toe'd in almost 1/2". I went back to zero and then we went out on the toe to 1/4" and it tamed it (the front end). It's been a long time so I don't remember what bars he had on it but they do make a major diff. I know it's a hassle but 2 mins with 2 wrenches in the bag and try starting at 0.

Those sleds are a bit nose heavy and get way more forward bite than a flat sitting RX or Apex so the bigger the skags the more you will have to wrestle it.

 

[captainhook204]

Well captain hook consider yourself seasoned if you rode with a wild bunch and stayed in the same zip code. The Nytro is a completely different sled than anything I have ever ridden. after years on built RX-1's & Apex (too many to count) I rode a boosted Nytro and crapped my pants. it was twitchy and always wanted the back end to come around under deceleration even though it was heavily studded. The front hunted all over the place but my buddy thought it was normal. He had slydogs on it also. I checked it and it was toe'd in almost 1/2". I went back to zero and then we went out on the toe to 1/4" and it tamed it (the front end). It's been a long time so I don't remember what bars he had on it but they do make a major diff. I know it's a hassle but 2 mins with 2 wrenches in the bag and try starting at 0.

Those sleds are a bit nose heavy and get way more forward bite than a flat sitting RX or Apex so the bigger the skags the more you will have to wrestle it.

Well I might have left a detail or two out. Such as going off the trail and into the twigs once but hey that counts as seasoning doesn't it?? Put an ever so slight crack in my hood (highly irritating), but you live and learn. Anyone in Manitoba have a white hood for sale lol?


Another question, how much play is normal at the ski/spindle bushing? Can it wiggle ever so slightly or does it have to be firmly attached to the spindle with no play at all. I have a little bit of play so want to know what's normal. It is an older sled (09) but only 2,700 miles, not sure if time or miles are a bushing's enemy (or both).


Anyway thanks for the tips guys, will start at 0 toe and keep you all posted. (if anyone cares)

 

[207ditchbang]

I have the same sled with 16k on her. Way different than the old zrt and srx but I'm already a big fan. Still learning about them.

 

[Snowman871]

Some amount of toe out is typically the best common practice unless you're running something like snow trackers where they specifically reccomend running things parallel.

 

[cannondale27]

Well I might have left a detail or two out. Such as going off the trail and into the twigs once but hey that counts as seasoning doesn't it?? Put an ever so slight crack in my hood (highly irritating), but you live and learn. Anyone in Manitoba have a white hood for sale lol?


Another question, how much play is normal at the ski/spindle bushing? Can it wiggle ever so slightly or does it have to be firmly attached to the spindle with no play at all. I have a little bit of play so want to know what's normal. It is an older sled (09) but only 2,700 miles, not sure if time or miles are a bushing's enemy (or both).


Anyway thanks for the tips guys, will start at 0 toe and keep you all posted. (if anyone cares)

Yamaha gives a spec for the amount of play up and down at spindle Hiem. I believe its 1/16in with front off the ground. The Hiems last about two seasons at best and are about $70 each. Held in with a clip and can be put in using a long bolt and sockets if you want to leave arm on.