Real World 1500 Mile Low Down of new Ski Doo XR-S 900 Turbo vs. SideWinder

[marc001]

I don't like working on sleds and cars anymore Ken. That's why I buy new and get rid of them when the warranty runs out. My Vette only has 1200 miles on it right now and by the time the warranty is up I'll probably order a C8 because the bugs should be fixed by then.

Its funny you say that you dont like working on sleds but yet you bought a couple of Doo's. All I can say is keep the wrenches handy.

 

[KnappAttack]

Its funny you say that you dont like working on sleds but yet you bought a couple of Doo's. All I can say is keep the wrenches handy.

He has a Doo four-stroke, not a two-stroke.

If you’ve ever owned a Doo four-stroke you’d know they are extremely reliable and the most fun to ride of all the four strokes ever built. I rode 1200s and to this day say they were the best and funnest four-strokes I’ve ever owned. They never failed to impress me.

Im just waiting for them to bring a bit more power and a better front end before I return.

 

[Crossfire12]

Skidoo 800 Etec, two strokes are bad, I have two skidoo faithful friends one on his third motor and the other on two. Four strokes is the way to go, They just don’t listen!!!

 

[Fast]

Me too. Their front end flat out sucks next to the cat and Polaris. And hope they fix the rear suspension to keep the front end down too when they doo decide to bring out a powerful engine.

Thats funny about the front end , all the reviews said it's the best thing since sliced bread also been hearing they won't last if tuned over 200hp, twt

 

[Fast]

I haven't stopped doing things. I'm as active as ever it's just the things I do have changed over the years. I used to love wrenching on my sleds. I would go over my sleds and make sure everything was perfect. I always wanted my sleds to look and perform as good as possible. Spending hours in the shop with my friends working on our sleds was something I loved.

Now unfortunately I hate working on my sleds. I do however love riding them. That's why I think I no longer own my Winder. Back in the day when I loved working on them I would have killed to own a sled like that. The rewards for all the wrenching are over the roof. Like many have stated the performance , ride and handling of the Winder are absolutely awesome but it comes at a price. That price is you have to be willing to spend lots of time making sure things are what they should be. A big part of this is the way Cat has engineered the chassis and the other part is there are no other sleds on the market that have this type of power. The big power especially for guys with a tune can wreak havoc on all components and the failure rate will increase with power.

Back in the day I wouldn't have wanted to own anything but a Winder but things change and what we want in a sled changes also. I don't regret owning a Winder one bit and I still will be helping my nephew maintain it and if I can take it for a spin every now and then that's just the icing on the cake.

OHH Boy, its gonna be a long summer

 

[ClutchMaster]

Complete front end tear down for the old girl.
I will say not only does the front end handle well but it’s also very stout! At a little over 6.5k miles the A-arm bushings and ball joints are in very good shape. The only parts I’m going to replace are the sway bar links and bushings, but they aren’t really terribly worn. It’s actually the first snowmobile front end I’ve seen with hardened steel pins and bronze bushings instead of plastic bushings.

I doubt the knuckle heads at Broken Rings & Pistons (BRP)have engineered their front ends this well. The only improvement I can see are some grease fittings, so I’ll be adding those.

These are the only pivots that had any play to them.

 

[Mototown]

This helmet is a must have if u prebooked 20 SRX lol

 

[74Nitro]

Complete front end tear down for the old girl.
I will say not only does the front end handle well but it’s also very stout! At a little over 6.5k miles the A-arm bushings and ball joints are in very good shape. The only parts I’m going to replace are the sway bar links and bushings, but they aren’t really terribly worn. It’s actually the first snowmobile front end I’ve seen with hardened steel pins and bronze bushings instead of plastic bushings.

I doubt the knuckle heads at Broken Rings & Pistons (BRP)have engineered their front ends this well. The only improvement I can see are some grease fittings, so I’ll be adding those.

View attachment 148525 View attachment 148526
These are the only pivots that had any play to them.

Nice. Good to know.
If this was a Nytro, Vector or Apex, there would be plenty of bushings needed.

 

[XP123]

Thats funny about the front end , all the reviews said it's the best thing since sliced bread also been hearing they won't last if tuned over 200hp, twt

The front suspension on my Sidewinder was by far the best front suspension I have ever had in a sled. I think it's the reason the Winder is such a great handling sled even though it's heavy.

 

[Doowithblue]

I find that my 18 LE kicked back at me through the bars a little over a bumpy corner even on 1. The high speed needed to be corrected. Stiffer low speed and softer high speed compression helps. Had lots of feedback from a few riders that ran cains quest with positive results. Otherwise the front end seems to work as good or better than any other brand imo. Although this chassis is growing long in the tooth (2012) be interesting to try the new 2020 with the taller spindles and flatter a arms.

 

[Rtbo]

I find that my 18 LE kicked back at me through the bars a little over a bumpy corner even on 1. The high speed needed to be corrected. Stiffer low speed and softer high speed compression helps. Had lots of feedback from a few riders that ran cains quest with positive results. Otherwise the front end seems to work as good or better than any other brand imo. Although this chassis is growing long in the tooth (2012) be interesting to try the new 2020 with the taller spindles and flatter a arms.

I agree with the stiffer low speed and softer high speed, especially weighing 310. I’m going to install the dsc controllers in the rear suspension this summer, hopefully that will get it where I want it.

 

[ClutchMaster]

I find that my 18 LE kicked back at me through the bars a little over a bumpy corner even on 1. The high speed needed to be corrected. Stiffer low speed and softer high speed compression helps. Had lots of feedback from a few riders that ran cains quest with positive results. Otherwise the front end seems to work as good or better than any other brand imo. Although this chassis is growing long in the tooth (2012) be interesting to try the new 2020 with the taller spindles and flatter a arms.

I’ve never owned a sled that I didn’t revalve the shocks on.

As far as being “Long in the Tooth” front end, I don’t subscribe to that It must be changed/upgraded every few years to be better.
Manufacturers are pressing themselves harder to make changes to everything nowadays in order to sell you something that’s the “latest and greatest” that shits for Yuppies.
IMO a set of custom valved shocks will go much further to improve your snowmobiling experience.

 

[Fast]

The front suspension on my Sidewinder was by far the best front suspension I have ever had in a sled. I think it's the reason the Winder is such a great handling sled even though it's heavy.

X2 i been hearing the 2020 front end is even better

 

[ClutchMaster]

X2 i been hearing the 2020 front end is even better

Hummmm?
From who?

 

[ClutchMaster]

X2 i been hearing the 2020 front end is even better

If I had a quarter for every time I heard some small tweak on a snowmobile suspension made big improvements I could retire.
I’m betting it’s not even noticeable to your average rider. It’s a selling point for salesman, there’s one born every minute.
I’ll wait till I ride one, if it’s noticeable then I will be surprised.