New 2016 Viper 162 LE

[Viper!33]

Good day all, I recently brought home a 2016 viper 162 for a fenominal price, living in upstate ny I ride mostly groomed trails. I was contemplating changing the track to a 141 mtx setup. First question is is it possible with the correct track and 141 mtx rails? Next question would be what are my used 100 mile parts ie rails and 3in powerclaw worth? I would also be interested in widening the front end to a trail setup on the 2015 version. Would anyone be interested in trading a arms and spindles? And would I need longer shocks to make this work?

 

[Mtnviper]

Yes you can change to 141" rails and track no problem. The rear skid arms are the same and the difference between the 141", 153" and 162" rails is the length behind where the rear arm attaches to the rail.
Your going to want to use rails from the same year though (2016) as the rail shape and mounting point has changed from year to year.

Not sure how much the 3" powerclaw is worth, but it is highly desirable for mountain riders. Rarely do you see one for sale used because all most no one takes one off unless it's damaged!!

One thing to consider if you go with a 141" is the length of your tunnel. Since it's a 162" it might look a bit odd with a 141" under it. If you go with a 153" it probably wouldn't be as noticeable, or you could always swap out the rear tunnel half and bumper with a 141" unit.

For the front you will need longer shocks to go with the wider A arms as well. You may be able to find someone is looking to upgrade their 2014-15 sled to the 2016 and newer mountain front end though.

 

[Viper!33]

Yes you can change to 141" rails and track no problem. The rear skid arms are the same and the difference between the 141", 153" and 162" rails is the length behind where the rear arm attaches to the rail.
Your going to want to use rails from the same year though (2016) as the rail shape and mounting point has changed from year to year.

Not sure how much the 3" powerclaw is worth, but it is highly desirable for mountain riders. Rarely do you see one for sale used because all most no one takes one off unless it's damaged!!

One thing to consider if you go with a 141" is the length of your tunnel. Since it's a 162" it might look a bit odd with a 141" under it. If you go with a 153" it probably wouldn't be as noticeable, or you could always swap out the rear tunnel half and bumper with a 141" unit.

For the front you will need longer shocks to go with the wider A arms as well. You may be able to find someone is looking to upgrade their 2014-15 sled to the 2016 and newer mountain front end though.

Yes you can change to 141" rails and track no problem. The rear skid arms are the same and the difference between the 141", 153" and 162" rails is the length behind where the rear arm attaches to the rail.
Your going to want to use rails from the same year though (2016) as the rail shape and mounting point has changed from year to year.

Not sure how much the 3" powerclaw is worth, but it is highly desirable for mountain riders. Rarely do you see one for sale used because all most no one takes one off unless it's damaged!!

One thing to consider if you go with a 141" is the length of your tunnel. Since it's a 162" it might look a bit odd with a 141" under it. If you go with a 153" it probably wouldn't be as noticeable, or you could always swap out the rear tunnel half and bumper with a 141" unit.

For the front you will need longer shocks to go with the wider A arms as well. You may be able to find someone is looking to upgrade their 2014-15 sled to the 2016 and newer mountain front end though.

I really appreciate your input it was a consideration of an odd looking long tunnel and would like others input on this point as well. And to clarify on the front shocks I have the float 3 evols with the le model. Can they be leghthened? And again what would be a fair asking price because if I have to use longer shocks with that front end I would prefer coil over resi shocks.

 

[Mtnviper]

They can be lengthened, however I'm not sure if it would be cost effective to do so. Perhaps Cannondale27 will chime in though, he does shock work and could probably give you an idea on the value and how much it would cost to lengthen your existing shocks.

 

[yamahaguy]

I did the same swap going the other way from a 141 to a 153. Both my sled and the donor sled were 2015s. I can tell you for sure the front arm on the skid were different as well as the front sock length. If you're swapping out the entire skid with shock you'll be fine but if you're just buying new parts make sure you do your homework on part numbers. I've done the front end swap also and that's pretty easy lots of people wanting to go narrower or go wider So it's just a matter of swapping parts With the right person.

 

[Mtnviper]

I did the same swap going the other way from a 141 to a 153. Both my sled and the donor sled were 2015s. I can tell you for sure the front arm on the skid were different as well as the front sock length. If you're swapping out the entire skid with shock you'll be fine but if you're just buying new parts make sure you do your homework on part numbers. I've done the front end swap also and that's pretty easy lots of people wanting to go narrower or go wider So it's just a matter of swapping parts With the right person.

Good point about the front skid shock length and front arm, I had forgotten about that.
I did the same thing back in the fall of 2013 on my 14 7000, went from a 141" to 153". The 141" front skid shock was 3/4" longer and the mounting angle for the front shock on the front arm is different. (likely due to the difference in shock length)
I ended up using the 141" shock and arm on 153" rails without issues, but I think the key is to use them as a matching set.

Something else to keep in mind is that Cat/Yamaha raised the front arm attachment point at the rail in 2016 on the 153"/162" rails. If you look at the 2016 and latter mountain rail, you can see that it is taller where the front arm attaches and I'm not sure if they did that for the 141" skid.

 

[Viper!33]

Thank you for all the replies, so far I have checked the online parts fiche and it appears the front and rear arm are identical part numbers in the 141 and 162 in 2016, could there still be a possibility of a change in shock length even though the arms are the same? Also interested to see if anyone else has any opinions on how the shorter track will look under the 162 tunnel. If anyone out there could possibly measure from their seat to the back of the tunnel it would give me a good idea on how much longer the 162 truly is in that aspect.

 

[blueironranger]

Might consider 153 too, there are a few "trail friendly" tracks available. 153 x 1.75" backcountry and the 154" x 1.6 Ice cobra (need to swap to 2.86 drivers for the ice cobra)

 

[Viper!33]

It was a consideration but if I'm going shorter I'm going shorter...I think. For the money I think 153 vs 162 is a marginal gain, I could also take a cutting tool to the track and cut it down to 1.5

 

[Viper!33]

It was a consideration but if I'm going shorter I'm going shorter...I think. For the money I think 153 vs 162 is a marginal gain, I could also take a cutting tool to the track and cut it down to 1.5

Thanks again for the input it was thought of especially after this weekend looking at a friend riding a 136 cat all worn out and feeling like I was on cadaillac on that long track.

 

[PeeWee86]

You only got a great deal on the sled if you don’t have dump a ton of money back in to it. I would keep the track and cut the lugs down to 2”or 1.75”. You can always take more lug height off later if you feel the need. Cutting down lugs can be done quite easily. Check out this video:

I had a 1.75” Backcountry X track on mine this year and I love it. I didn’t even get around to installing ice scratchers and I had no problems trail riding.

Worst case scenario is that you’ve taken a couple hundred dollars out of the resale value of the track if you decide in the future that you have to go down to the 141” length.

At lower elevations and with a shorter lug track the stock MTX gearing is way too low. If you keep the 7 tooth drive sprockets I would recommend a switch to a shorter chain and a 41 tooth bottom gear. This is the same gearing that comes in the XTX but the smaller diameter drive sprockets (7 instead of 8) will give you a lower overall ratio. The MTX’s are known for their heavy steering. To address this issue many people on here will recommend that you change out the weak stock 110# center shock spring. I weight 155 plus gear so I went with the Zbroz 145# spring. Most heavier riders go with the 160# spring. This is a low cost change that makes a big difference.

What changes have you made for low elevation clutching? If your dealer did it, the Yamaha recommended set up doesn’t backshift very well. I have a low elevation Viper MTX clutch setup that works well and is low cost. Let me know if you want more info.

 

[murdered141]

Check your pm, i have spindles, a-arms and coil over shocks of my 15 ltx, trade+$$

 

[Viper!33]

I knew the lugs could be easily cut, but I am thinking the 141 track will corner better than the 162 and I would have some resale value being the 162 track is like new. I am lucky in the aspect of the heavy steering, I have a float 3 evol for my center spring so for the second ride I just bumped up the pressure there and everyone was correct it is a night and day difference. You are also correct on the clutching and gearing it is way too low. I was planning on changing out the gear ratio when I did the track change because I would have to open up the chaincase anyway. Seems the LTX would be close as it runs a 141 track, have not looked into how the 7 tooth driver would effect it. I am defiantly open to suggestions on the gearing. I don't think the dealer did anything to the clutch at all....

 

[murdered141]

You have the same gearing as a rtx/ltx trail sled 24/50 but 7 tooth drivers, rtx/ltx has 9 tooth, xtx has 8 tooth, i will have a 137 skid and an ice cobra 1.6" track plus 9 tooth drivers to match.

I knew the lugs could be easily cut, but I am thinking the 141 track will corner better than the 162 and I would have some resale value being the 162 track is like new. I am lucky in the aspect of the heavy steering, I have a float 3 evol for my center spring so for the second ride I just bumped up the pressure there and everyone was correct it is a night and day difference. You are also correct on the clutching and gearing it is way too low. I was planning on changing out the gear ratio when I did the track change because I would have to open up the chaincase anyway. Seems the LTX would be close as it runs a 141 track, have not looked into how the 7 tooth driver would effect it. I am defiantly open to suggestions on the gearing. I don't think the dealer did anything to the clutch at all....

 

[Viper!33]

By the parts diagram looks like stock gearing in my mtx is 21/49