Sidewinder Year to Year Performance

[sideshowBob]

My 2019 XTX-LE rolls very well and I notice it when behind the sleds in our group I regularly have to brake to keep my distance from the sled in front of me going down hill and they are not showing brake lights.

 

[Simplespeed]

My friends '17 is faster than my '21. Really not sure why other than my '21 has always felt really tight compared to his. No parking brake needed on mine when parked on a hill. His will roll down plus another 100 yards lol.

Your situation could be from chassis, springs, and suspension set up that is the difference.. He probably has everything loose and free from alot more miles… It sounds like he is getting it the ground and your losing power thur drive train…

 

[Richard Hodgins]

I had a similar experience to @STAIN . I have a 2019 and had a 2022 for a season. The 22 was setup EXACTLY the same way as my 19, same tune, same track/studs, etc.
The 19 was always faster. I ended up selling the 22 and putting factory EPS on my 19....

 

[STAIN]

Did you ever get a chance to run them side by side or time them with radar, dragy, or timing lights or even another sled you ride with?

No. I sold the 2017 and ordered the 2022. Never owned them at the same time.

 

[KnappAttack]

My friends '17 is faster than my '21. Really not sure why other than my '21 has always felt really tight compared to his. No parking brake needed on mine when parked on a hill. His will roll down plus another 100 yards lol.

Clutching. The 17 and 18s had the better stock clutching in them.

 

[Confused]

Your situation could be from chassis, springs, and suspension set up that is the difference.. He probably has everything loose and free from alot more miles… It sounds like he is getting it the ground and your losing power thur drive train…

Current miles are not too far off. I ride more than he does. When mine was brand new it was worse. It has loosened up some but not like his.

Clutching. The 17 and 18s had the better stock clutching in them.

Makes sense, I haven't messed with mine at all. I ordered a '25 so my '21 is for sale. Will be interesting how the '25 runs with him. He's planning on going back to AC in '26 on an 858.

 

[Bigblue1]

Your situation could be from chassis, springs, and suspension set up that is the difference.. He probably has everything loose and free from alot more miles… It sounds like he is getting it the ground and your losing power thur drive train…

Loose is fast

 

[Simplespeed]

I had a similar experience to @STAIN . I have a 2019 and had a 2022 for a season. The 22 was setup EXACTLY the same way as my 19, same tune, same track/studs, etc.
The 19 was always faster. I ended up selling the 22 and putting factory EPS on my 19....

So it seems your experience was the best test to answer my original question as their was a variant from year to year to some degree. Richard did you ever swap clutches to see if that made a difference… Or swap ECU or any other parts? Same tune , same clutching?

 

[Simplespeed]

Clutching. The 17 and 18s had the better stock clutching in them.

Mike they even got better after updated Helix in 2022 I think was time frame they came along with it…

 

[KnappAttack]

Mike they even got better after updated Helix in 2022 I think was time frame they came along with it…

17-18 were the same, the change came in 2019. And the newer sleds slowed down from the 17's and 18 with that new clutching and reverse angle helix. It was supposed to limit belt blowing and belt heat.

 

[fatchance]

I would tend to agree with you on a harder than normal break in from my experience with many new sleds .. I can also state that motor’s I broke in using the progressive heat soak method also ran very well… In fact I can also state that I have never has a issue either way… The only thing I have noticed is motor’s that were broke in hard right from the start did have a small amount of additional wear in the cross hatch .. The easy broke in motors look of less wear after the breakin period around 10 hours . This did not effect performance in either case as near as I could tell.. Manufacturing tolerances, oil quality, and conditions the motor was run probably had more influence than how hard it was broke in …

Well yes, that's my opinion of the proper way to break it in. Wide open throttle runs to heat soak then let cool. Rinse and repeat.

I've known a few motorcycle racers that would build a motor and put it up on the stand and tape the throttle and walk away on the first start.
That's a bit extreme and those guys don't get mileage out of those motors but you can be sure the rings are seated properly! Lol

 

[Fleecer]

I had a similar experience to @STAIN . I have a 2019 and had a 2022 for a season. The 22 was setup EXACTLY the same way as my 19, same tune, same track/studs, etc.
The 19 was always faster. I ended up selling the 22 and putting factory EPS on my 19....

I agree with RH. Imo....the 19s are about 2-3 mph faster than the other years. The 19 SRX had different rails than other models. It sat lower to the ground, the skid was flatter, the frontend had different spindles that made it sit lower, which was conducive for speed.

Once in the 140s, the skis on my 22 dance and barely touch. Any little bump in the trail and the frontend loafs in the air, the bellypans catches wind, and it scrubs 1-3 mph. I gain it back, hit another bump, and the cycle repeats itself. My 19 SRX, with the lower frontend, would stay planted and just kept making speed. It is/was the fastest sled I ever owned.

As Knapp mentioned, the secondary setup in the 17/18 is my preference. I run that helix in all my sleds.

 

[Turboflash]

It's physics - need high cylinder pressure (i.e. Boost) to push rings against cylinder wall to break in rings. Coasting/idling engine doesn't produce high cylinder pressure.
That said, I don't run to "heat soak" level before allowing cool down. High cylinder pressure repeatedly for short bursts is best.

 

[74Nitro]

I agree with RH. Imo....the 19s are about 2-3 mph faster than the other years. The 19 SRX had different rails than other models. It sat lower to the ground, the skid was flatter, the frontend had different spindles that made it sit lower, which was conducive for speed.

Once in the 140s, the skis on my 22 dance and barely touch. Any little bump in the trail and the frontend loafs in the air, the bellypans catches wind, and it scrubs 1-3 mph. I gain it back, hit another bump, and the cycle repeats itself. My 19 SRX, with the lower frontend, would stay planted and just kept making speed. It is/was the fastest sled I ever owned.

As Knapp mentioned, the secondary setup in the 17/18 is my preference. I run that helix in all my sleds.

You're right that the SRX version was designed for more top speed with the different springs front and rear, and calibrated lower total height.
One inch track also.
I forgot about that.
There you go @Simplespeed

 

[Fleecer]

True story....
March of 2019 I was slated to take a 5 day saddlebag trip. The weather turned sour and the weatherman was calling for warm temps and rain. I cancelled my trip, but was stuck talking my vacation time.

The first day of my vacation it was raining and 40 degrees. With nothing else to do, I decided to run some tests between my two sleds. At the time, I had a 17 RTX SE and a new 19 SRX. It was raining, the railbed hadn't been groomed in days, so it looked like a washboard made of sugar and slush. Not conducive for speed, but still good enough to test/compare sleds.

Both sleds were box stock.....the way they were delivered to the dealer. During testing, the 17 RTX SE pulled 107 mph on the speedo. The SRX pulled 115 on the speedo, same place, same distance......... 8 mph faster.

I thought, "Wow, Yamaha really did their homework when upgrading the clutching for the 19 models!!". I pulled both clutches from the SRX and bolted them on the 17 RTX SE. I pulled both clutches from the RTX SE and bolted them on the SRX. I tested both again, same time, same place, same distance.

The SRX with 17 clutches still pulled 115 mph on the speedo. The 17 RTX SE with 19 SRX clutches still pulled 107mph on the speedo. Both clicked off the same speed as they had previously......yet with different clutches. At the time, I wondered, "Why is the SRX 8 mph faster?"

Years later, and after further extensive testing, I've come to the following conclusions: The 1 inch Ripsaw 1 track, which came factory on the SRX, nets an additional 6 mph over the 1.25 Ripsaw 2. The skid, frontend, and the overall design of the SRX nets an additional 2 mph gained for a total of 8 mph over the RTX.