SideWinder LTX-LE Project

[yamadoo]

Reviewing your Vx1rs is what got me thinking then that led to looking just for 'fun' and guess who finds a local Apex XTX with only 1111 miles- as I drove it into the truck. It is a fun and expensive hobby but I like you love to think of it ALL the time. I tell my wife I get 365 days of fun a year and actually get to ride them some in the winter!!

 

[Riceburner]

What's the old saying......."Too much power is just enough".

Actually, I found once I got Old(er) that too much power can actually be too much power. : (
My Apex XTX is capable of 321 hp according to Ulmer , but i find that too much.
I run it at 240, 260 hp or 280 hp depending on the day. [AEM Tru Boost Controller]
New Sidewinder LTX 50th ordered. I'm likely going to go with a 250 hp ish tune.

 

[yamadoo]

Actually, I found once I got Old(er) that too much power can actually be too much power. : (
My Apex XTX is capable of 321 hp according to Ulmer , but i find that too much.
I run it at 240, 260 hp or 280 hp depending on the day. [AEM Tru Boost Controller]
New Sidewinder LTX 50th ordered. I'm likely going to go with a 250 hp ish tune.

I kind of know what you mean but in a non boosted way.

When I am on my Viper I am frequently trying to GO FASTER because the chassis is great but short on power.
My memory of my APEX and hope for the new to me APEX XTX is I will be back to riding easier cause I know I have more power and can go faster, but don't need too. The older I get the more I just like to Know I can don't have to prove it.
I know it is even more so with Boost, I got a chance to ride AGMANS winder with ' extra' and it was great- trying hard NOT to be in need of that much POWER.

Yamadoo

 

[VX1R]

Both of you guys (Riceburner and yamadoo) have brought up some great points about how horsepower and how the sled chassis effects your comfort level when riding. I've been riding Apex based sleds for the last 10 years with some suspension mods and have been very happy with the results. I've been very comfortable keeping up with riding buds on some of the latest and greatest 2 strokers. But it took 10 years for Yamaha to finally convince me to try something new with the SideWinder.

This sled does everything my Apex does only quicker, quieter, smoother, and.......you get the picture. I really like the powerband and overall handling of the SideWinder. You can just tool along on the tight and twisty trails in a nice and easy manner, pick up the pace when the trail straightens out and gets gets bombed out, and really put the spurs to it when you get to the lakes.

I love my Apex based sleds for what they are but the SideWinder seems to cover all of the bases that the Apex does and then some. So far the power of this sled has kept me happy but it's nice to know that there are so many power options available for this motor if I ever feel the need for more speed.

 

[VX1R]

Reviewing your Vx1rs is what got me thinking then that led to looking just for 'fun' and guess who finds a local Apex XTX with only 1111 miles- as I drove it into the truck. It is a fun and expensive hobby but I like you love to think of it ALL the time. I tell my wife I get 365 days of fun a year and actually get to ride them some in the winter!!

That's a great find yamadoo. It looks like you've already got a pretty nice stable of Yamaha sleds and this new addition to your stable will only increase your cylinder index. Only 1111 miles on that sled.... Wow! Great find.

 

[Mike P]

I thought that I'd post up some pictures and descriptions of my SideWinder LTX-LE project that I've been working on the last few months.

I ordered the sled last March from Pat's Motorsports in Greenland, MI. I live in Minnesota but do most of my riding in the Keweenaw area of the U.P. of MI and Pat's is located right in the heart of the best snowbelt in the western U.P. along with having the local trail run right through their property. I'm a firm believer in establishing a good relationship with whatever dealer is close to you or close to your riding area. Even though I live 300 miles from Pat's their long standing relationship with Yamaha and location to where I ride was a no brainer for me when I decided to order a new sled. Kip McIntyre the owner is a passionate snowmobiler himself, and runs a first class dealership which is well known for it's outstanding service department. His shop is also a TY Preferred Vendor.

After picking up the sled in November I started to make some changes to the sled to transform the stock LTX-LE into my version of the ultimate fast trail SideWinder by improving the already great stock suspension. I also wanted to make sure the sled's ergos would best fit my riding style. And lastly I wanted to change the stock looks of the sled into something more unique.

The first things to change were some of the white and red suspension components to gloss black for a cleaner and more aggressive look. I hooked up with Race Coatings in Forest Lake, MN that is owned by Clinton Houle and his shop did a great job on the spindles, a-arms, and skid rails. While powder coated parts aren't exactly the sexiest mods to a sled having the parts done by a professional shop like Race Coatings is worth the long term durability. The finished products turned out to be outstanding without any chipping off this season.

I should mention that I was able to source a new set of Z-Broz 45" wide stance a-arms to increase the ski stance and improve the handling. These a-arms are both stronger and lighter than the stock a-arms. Z-Broz no longer makes these wider a-arms due to lack of interest in the wider stance. They don't come with a sway bar mount, but with my new shock/spring set up the sway bar is not needed and the handling is awesome without the sway bar. I've been super impressed with the added cornering stability and flat cornering with this set up.

Z-Broz a-arms/steering tie rods along with the stock spindles/skid rails before powder coat:
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Parts fully powder coated and ready to install back in sled:
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While assembling the rear skid I installed some Dupont hyfax along with a J&T 4 wheel axle kit, both for durability and a Racewerx Quick Adjust coupler block for easy and quick weight transfer adjustments. I also swapped out the stock Ripsaw 2 1.25" lug track with a Ripsaw 2 1.5" lug track for a little added traction since I don't run studs. The Racewerx coupler block was a great mod as it can be adjusted for more weight transfer than the stock set up that results in less ski pressure for lighter steering effort than the stock set up. I also really liked the additional traction that the 1.5" lug track provides in all conditions.

To give the sled some added bite on the front to match the increased traction in the rear along with making sure the sled goes where you point it I installed a set of SLP Mohawk skis. These skis are a perfect match for the rider forward ProCross chassis and once you've got the suspension dialed in for the aggressive skis you've got a sled that will handle and steer regardless of the snow conditions with very light steering effort. With a wider width than the stock skis the Mohawk skis will also keep the front end of the sled on top in deep snow instead of plowing through the snow with the stock skis.
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I sold the stock Fox QSR3-R shocks to a fellow TY member (Hi Russ!) and replaced them with a full set of Custom Axis shocks from HyGear Suspension. Ross Benson and his crew did an outstanding job of building these shocks. HyGear custom builds the shocks for your weight so they come delivered set up for you instead of a general rider weight range. The wide range of adjustments on these shocks is great for fine tuning for conditions and the ride is just awesome. I was able to dial in these shocks with very little fine tuning and they offer a very plush ride when things get rough without any signs of fading.
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After I got the front/rear suspensions put back together and installed it was time to bring the sled to the Racewerx shop for them to design a bumper for the new SideWinder front clip. Doug Matejcek, the owner of Racewerx is a former Yamaha race mechanic on the Yamaha SnoCross team when Yamaha still had a factory effort in professional SnoCross. He is a true artist and perfectionist when it comes to designing his products and is the only one in the industry who makes laser cut aluminum bumpers instead of tubular bumpers. I found out first hand just how much time and effort it takes to design a bumper for a new platform. I've currently got a pre-production bumper on the sled and the production bumpers will be available for next season. The new Racewerx design has nicely designed hand holds on both sides that easily allow both hands to lift the front of the sled compared to the stock narrow bumper. It also does a nice job of keeping the snow from building up on the intercooler. I really like the overall design and additional protection.
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I wanted to give the sled a unique, clean, and aggressive look so I once again hooked up with Robb Kaiser from Blown Concepts to work with on the sled. I've worked with Robb over the years on many sleds from my VX7R custom Viper, SRX, VX1R's and SnoScoot's. He has a unique gift to come up with a look that is clean and tasteful and not in your face. As with the time it took RaceWerx to design their bumper, this new SideWinder platform has a whole new body design with a lot more angles on the hood and side panels than found on the Viper models. I've got a whole new appreciation for the work involved in designing a graphics package on a whole new platform like the SideWinder after working with Robb on this project. There's a lot of template work to make everything come together on this new platform. Here's a few pics of the before and after look:
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I wanted to make sure that the sled fit me and keep me in control so I contacted RoxSpeed FX. I've got their height adjustable handlebar risers that are super easy to adjust, along with their running board grip strips that really keep my feet locked in place and their Design Your Own Flex Tech Handguards to keep my hands warm and protected. I also replaced the stock plastic handlebar pad with a fully padded Rox pad. Their number plate is a great place to install a trail sticker instead of the windshield:
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To complete the package I contacted Allen Ulmer from Ulmer Racing to get his latest clutch kit for the SideWinder. I've known Allen for many years and his SW clutch kit came perfectly dialed in for the sled. I was looking for a nice low engagement speed and Allen set me up with an optional primary spring that has worked out perfect for the sled. The lower engagement speed actually gives a better launch without breaking loose the track, but when you put the spurs to her it just gets up and goes. I had a limited amount of time testing a Thunder Products 33-35 reverse angle helix last week and from the short amount of time that I had the helix installed it seemed to give a noticeable boost in the low to mid range acceleration.

One final touch was to get rid of the the red color on the rear panel of the seat using some spray on black dye to give the seat a better flow with the graphics of the sled.

This sled is an absolute thrill to drive and the ride and handling has exceeded all of my expectations. The sled rails through the corners with zero ski lift or body roll and rips through every imaginable trail condition with confidence that I have never experienced before.

I'd like to give a big thanks to Tom aka MrSled and TY for this site. I was able to save a lot of time getting the sled set up by reading other SW owners postings on what works and any potential problems to watch for.

Here's a few pictures of the sled on the snow:

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Happy trails and thanks for looking!
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Love what your doing. I have an SR Viper RTX with the same shock package, MPI kit, JT 4-wheel kit and more. I was wondering why no studs. With my 129 track and the turbo, in some cases its safer to stud up. I put Tuner skis on without ever trying the original ski, big mistake. Put the original single keel and wider, Arctic Cat ski with Cobra carbides from Quali-Pieces, huge difference. Really love the color of your Winder.

 

[VX1R]

Love what your doing. I have an SR Viper RTX with the same shock package, MPI kit, JT 4-wheel kit and more. I was wondering why no studs. Really love the color of your Winder.

Thanks for the comments Mike P. I'm happy with the color scheme of the sled. I wanted to stick with the Yamaha heritage colors of red,white, and black and still retain a clean factory look. These Custom Axis shocks are the real deal.

I don't run studs for the simple reasons that we usually ride in good snow conditions and I'm used to riding without studs and adjust my riding style to the conditions, and don't overdrive the conditions. Once I got acclimated to riding without studs and having the sled set up properly my fun factor increased. I love backing into a corner and breaking loose the track and power sliding through the corner. The 1.5" lug Ripsaw 2 track is a perfect match for this sled and my riding style.

 

[Cutepoolman]

Beautiful set up VX...Just darn beautiful. Now did you ever received and installed the front Bumper from Racewerx ?? I see them in the Yamaha catalogue but when i contacted my dealer they say none available for the SW ....only good for the Apex.....