snowcaine
VIP Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2019
- Messages
- 307
- Location
- Indiana
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- USA
- Snowmobile
- 20 Sidewinder
21 ZR 9000
23 SRX
Can anyone who has ridden both these sleds opine on the performance and handling differences between the two? My dad is looking at a ‘20 SR Viper because he thinks it will be plenty and he’ll keep up with me just fine. I’m trying to tell him he probably won’t. He’s 56 and rides hard and fast corner to corner. I think he’ll be disappointed if he gets the Viper, but I would like to hear from you knowledgeable guys who have ridden both so I can better convince him to get the Winder. Thanks.
WinterWolf
TY 4 Stroke Master
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2017
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- 1,102
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- 56
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- Connecticut
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- USA
- Snowmobile
- "2018 Yamaha Sidewinder RTX LE 50th Anniversary Edition"
Viper won’t do more than 85-90 mph on top end. It’s slow compared to a Winder. A buddy of mine bought a Viper 4 years ago, when I literally went by him on the RR Bed in N. Maine with my Apex, 30 mph faster than he was going...(and he was pinned and could only get 83 mph out of it), he up and traded his Viper in for a new Apex the next day.
The Winder is superior in every way in the engine performance department. If he’s an aggressive rider as you say...he’ll be disappointed with the Viper. Tell him to rethink getting the Viper. Sidewinder all the way for him imo.
The Winder is superior in every way in the engine performance department. If he’s an aggressive rider as you say...he’ll be disappointed with the Viper. Tell him to rethink getting the Viper. Sidewinder all the way for him imo.
Rode a Viper for one winter. Best top end was 95 and it was such bs. Did thunder products clutch and it made a big difference on the trails and got to that speed quick. If he wants more than that then stay away. Otherwise, it will hold its own on the trails unless there is a long straight.
Joseph Levandoski
Expert
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- Oct 19, 2016
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- 258
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- 29
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- Ellington, CT
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- USA
- Snowmobile
- 2019 Yamaha Sidewinder X-TX LE 141
It depends on where you ride. If you're in an area where you can really stretch the legs of your SideWinder, then there is no chance of a Viper keeping up with you. On the flip side, if you're riding in an area where you're barely able to get above 75 MPH, a Viper will keep up (though he may be working hard to do so).
When I had my 2014 Viper XTX, I could easily keep up with the "hypersleds" until about 65 MPH on the sweeping logging roads of northern Maine. As soon as we got onto the railroad beds, I stood no chance - as soon as they were out front, I was eating snowdust for miles until they got out of sight.
When I had my 2014 Viper XTX, I could easily keep up with the "hypersleds" until about 65 MPH on the sweeping logging roads of northern Maine. As soon as we got onto the railroad beds, I stood no chance - as soon as they were out front, I was eating snowdust for miles until they got out of sight.
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zrfam
Newbie
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2016
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- 6
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- 59
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- s.w. michigan
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- USA
- Snowmobile
- cat crosstreck 7000
i bought 1 thinking same thing it will be fast enough . great tight trails and suck's long rr grades same age as your dad i will be getting new sled next year ,
vmxrdr
Extreme
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2012
- Messages
- 80
Sidewinder all the way, even discounting outright performance my favourite thing is the effortless relaxed way a turbo sidewinder can go 70 or 80 or more mph on big open trails, no other sled I have ridden comes close. One Quebec or New Brunswick tour on their two lane snow freeways would make you a believer.
