SnowGoer says Nytro faster then Viper

[Caveman]

You first year Viper buyers have some serious guts. I would be crapping my pants waiting for a ride on my new sled with so many questions about AC reliability and overall power. I commend each of you for the $12K Guinea Pig rides you'll be taking this year and then hopefully posting great reviews about this winter.

The rest of us spineless yellow sledders will be cheering for good things. I went for a ride on 4 different Vipers at one of the first demo's they had after the announcement last year (March in NH). As much fun as that chassis was to ride, ignoring the occasional knee banging - I couldn't get past the lack of power it seemed to have mid range to the top end. It's just wasn't there. I was tempted to ignore the "unmapped, they're not dialed in, they're only a prototype" reasoning and get one anyways, but I'll wait for the real reviews from the experts, not some magazine wags that had access to the same machines I did. Good luck and crossing my fingers these new Yamacats will keep up with our group!

 

[Nytro40th]

No worries here.

 

[09nytro]

Thanks !
I'm not worried , it's going to be a great sled .

 

[fxnytroxtx]

On demo ride I got the viper to 90 on the speedo and it felt like it had much more, and to it also felt faster then nytro(xtx)

 

[skidooslayer687]

Im not worried either, and Im sure if there is any issues at all that need to be dealt with they will be!

 

[Apex2006]

On demo ride I got the viper to 90 on the speedo and it felt like it had much more, and to it also felt faster then nytro(xtx)

Thank you!!!

 

[DeerHuntr]

I had about the same experience had the xtx I rode to 90 and it felt strong up top, stronger then my Nytro on the big end. The Nytro seemed to pull harder on the small end

 

[stingray719]

In 2008 I went to new test ride for Yamahas. I was most interested in the Phazer but after riding it I made up my mind I would NEVER have one...it rode awful. I even made the guide give me his Nytro so I wouldn't have to ride it back.

NOW......fast forward to about a year ago when I rode a rental Phazer and OMG! IT WAS GREAT! So much so that I have 3 (in addition to 2014 M8 and 2008 lightweight Nytro). One stocker for girlfriend...she loves it. One turbo Phazer and one Supercharged Phazer both for backups. Rode Turbo Phazer last year.

MY POINT? Don't be foolish like me and judge a sled by a short testride on a machine you didn't set up.

 

[Caveman]

I would agree about judging a sled from a demo ride, but better than no ride at all which I'm sure is the case for many buyers and very scary for a new Y1 model. Maybe the Vipers I rode just seemed like dogs, because after riding my Apex XTX all day before I got there, almost everything I tried after that seemed underpowered...but they're totally different sleds and not a good comparison.

With that chassis and the Yamaha motor/clutch, that Viper's going to be an awesome combination.

 

[AKrider]

I wouldn't worry, back in the spring of '02 when I test rode a pre-production REV 800 I thought it was a dog as well. The dealer who brought it told me it was very detuned.

As far as magazines go look at the most recent AMsnow that listed the Indy 600's wet weight as 609 lbs. That is 162 lbs more than the dry weight. The Indy can't carry enough fluids to weight that much more! A full 11.5 gallon tank of gas is only 69 lbs. Do they expect me to believe the other 93 pounds is coming from the oil injection tank, chain case, shock oil, antifreeze and brake fluid? Does the Indy use really heavy grease at all the lubrication points to make it weigh so much more than the dry weight?

I don't care at all for the exhaust routing on the Viper but sports car exhausts have all kinds of bends and they still make good power. If all else fails, go to your local Cat shop. My Suzuki/Cat dealer is way more into performance and racing than the local Yamaha dealers. Cat's Race Dept will get things figured out way before Yamaha. The rumor I heard is Patriot Racing who campaigned the race kitted Nytros the past two seasons isn't running again for '13-'14. I think Cat will be the best source in getting the Vipers sorted out.

 

[rvtransport]

IMO the nitro and Vector will be faster. I have been trying to figure out why the last two cat chassis have been NON efficient. I spent some time with f1000 and turbo cats in past 2 chassis and some thing is slowing these sleds down when you compare HP and weight to Yamaha sleds. Don't get me wrong the turbo is fast but should be faster with 177hp and tons of turbo TQ. I do believe this is why they are having there belt issues. I have run 280hp on turbo yamahas on the trail and have not blown belts. IMO it is not the cat clutches either. I think some of the problem may be heat but believe more that there is some clutch alignment issues where chassis is twisting under power or in bumps under hard acceleration? Ski-doo has had these same problems with xps and have had changes every year to help it but is still not perfect. It will be interesting to see how new viper performs with and with out turbo power. But on the lake it will be hard for new cats with Yamaha motor to keep up with efficient Yamaha chassis and on the ruff trail sure the cat will shine. I think cat and yam mix is a good thing but time will tell if they hold together in long run?

 

[rock doc]

It would be pretty foolish for them to release a sled that is that much slower than a nytro.

My brother in law just picked up the viper xtx. I don't think he has too much to worry about. This isn't really a first model year- the engineers have lots of data to work with and it should go pretty smooth. I would almost accuse them of being too conservative. I imagine there was some pretty healthy competition between the engineering groups. Either way, it is a brilliant move by both companies in today's economy.

 

[snox164]

IMO the nitro and Vector will be faster. I have been trying to figure out why the last two cat chassis have been NON efficient. I spent some time with f1000 and turbo cats in past 2 chassis and some thing is slowing these sleds down when you compare HP and weight to Yamaha sleds. Don't get me wrong the turbo is fast but should be faster with 177hp and tons of turbo TQ. I do believe this is why they are having there belt issues. I have run 280hp on turbo yamahas on the trail and have not blown belts. IMO it is not the cat clutches either. I think some of the problem may be heat but believe more that there is some clutch alignment issues where chassis is twisting under power or in bumps under hard acceleration? Ski-doo has had these same problems with xps and have had changes every year to help it but is still not perfect. It will be interesting to see how new viper performs with and with out turbo power. But on the lake it will be hard for new cats with Yamaha motor to keep up with efficient Yamaha chassis and on the ruff trail sure the cat will shine. I think cat and yam mix is a good thing but time will tell if they hold together in long run?

What is a "NITRO"?

 

[freelance]

IMO the nitro and Vector will be faster. I have been trying to figure out why the last two cat chassis have been NON efficient. I spent some time with f1000 and turbo cats in past 2 chassis and some thing is slowing these sleds down when you compare HP and weight to Yamaha sleds. Don't get me wrong the turbo is fast but should be faster with 177hp and tons of turbo TQ. I do believe this is why they are having there belt issues. I have run 280hp on turbo yamahas on the trail and have not blown belts. IMO it is not the cat clutches either. I think some of the problem may be heat but believe more that there is some clutch alignment issues where chassis is twisting under power or in bumps under hard acceleration? Ski-doo has had these same problems with xps and have had changes every year to help it but is still not perfect. It will be interesting to see how new viper performs with and with out turbo power. But on the lake it will be hard for new cats with Yamaha motor to keep up with efficient Yamaha chassis and on the ruff trail sure the cat will shine. I think cat and yam mix is a good thing but time will tell if they hold together in long run?

What is a "NITRO"?

It's a crossover SUV made by Dodge....LOL !!!

 

[rvtransport]

Your right it is a dodge suv. LOL. I am in car business and my mind is used to spelling nytro/nitro that way.