Should I get a Viper? Apex owner

[TonyVT]

Been riding an Attak for 10 years, RX1 before that. What should I look at as far as the Viper goes? Budget will prob keep me in a 2015. Will I need to check things on a particular sled? What are the "must do" up grades / fixes? Im a do it yourselfer! Thanks for any imput!

 

[yamaha4sea_fan24]

What's your budget??

 

[rbell14]

Chassis is awesome. I came from a Nytro and love the Viper. Sure there are upgrades you can do but from a chassis/handling perspective I only changed the skis and went with Hygear dual pressure on front shocks. I have the SE with Air shocks on my 2015. Rails on trails and handles bumps great. WAY better than the Nytro did.

 

[Wannaviper]

rbell14 pretty much nailed it; unless you buy a 2014 that came with the Arctic Cat skis, you will want to get rid of the Tuners. The Hygear dual pressure upgrade on the Float 3's works great, and is well worth it. Depending upon how many miles are on the sled you buy, you may want to consider replacing the tri-hub in the rear skid. (I think the newer ones come with replaceable bearings?) My step-son's XF-11000 blew the tri-hub at about 6,500 miles, and it was a very bad day!!!! Everyone I know who used to ride a delta box sled, loves their Viper.

 

[rbell14]

Agree - replace the tri-hub. Mine blew at 1,500 miles and the weekend was lost. Look at J&T kit or Larson Racing. Both are excellent upgrades to the tri-hub.

 

[yamadoo]

I have 15 STX DX and 13 APEX XTX. Came from 06 APEX for > 14 K miles

If you love power and acceleration APEX or Sidewinder are the way to go. If you like handling and ride then Viper is the way to go- just less $/and power than Winder.

In an ideal world I would leave in the AM with My Apex when trails are smooth and my thumb and Brain need the speed/accel, then in the afternoon I would like to come home on the beat up trails on my smoother, easier handling Viper and no longer need that corner to corner arm stretch pull/feel - still like it and wish I had it but don't need it then. In a true Ideal world I would have a SIDEWINDER and solve all my needs / desires. BUT $$$

 

[Mike P]

I would look into a Sidewinder left-over. You will miss the R-1 motor and you will spend a lot of money making the triple in the SR-Viper perform like an R-1.

 

[yamadoo]

I miss the 4 hole motor at times , but not all the time, basically the Hard acceleration. On a real long day 200-300 miles I would prefer the Viper for comfort and ride/handling.

 

[RTX]

I went from apex to viper.
I miss the apex motor on every single ride of the viper.
I enjoy the hell out of the viper suspension and chassis on every ride.
After 4 years, i finally gave up and turbocharged the viper. Hopefully i will forget the apex motor now. Lol

 

[DTJ]

I'm betting you'll forget the apex motor. Rode my viper for 3 years trying to make it more fun in the power department (clutching, can, airbox). Meanwhile I would almost cry every time I would switch with my wife and ride her 13 apex xtx. The apex is just a lot more fun if you're just looking for power. Last year I put a hurricane turbo on the viper and don't cry anymore when I ride the apex. Just my opinion, but I like the turboed viper a lot more than the apex now.

 

[VyperNation]

As the owner of an Apex, Winder, and Viper, if you have to have the acceleration of the apex, buy a winder. I love the viper for a whole host of reasons, but if that squeeze is something you need, it will take a lot of work to get the Viper there. Neither sled replaces the sound of the apex. There is just something harmonious about the apex that will likely never be replaced in my heart.

 

[SumpBuster]

As the owner of an Apex, Winder, and Viper, if you have to have the acceleration of the apex, buy a winder. I love the viper for a whole host of reasons, but if that squeeze is something you need, it will take a lot of work to get the Viper there. Neither sled replaces the sound of the apex. There is just something harmonious about the apex that will likely never be replaced in my heart.

I was going to sell my apex...when I got the sidewinder....but can't do it! Still love it. With some mods like high gear mono dual spring setup and wrp seat, curve skis, adjustable shocks up front, it ain't bad riding!! Still a blast. But I don't cringe at the g out up ahead when on the sidewinder...lol

 

[BradS]

After reading the horror stories I went with the Larson kit to get rid of the trihub....Nice piece. Skis and clutching need attention from stock. Didnt care for the floats so had cannondale revalve them and added Hygear chambers.

 

[VyperNation]

Ditto on the Larson. Can’t say enough good things about it. Have it on both sleds. It will loooong outlast the rest of the sled lol.