Studroes144
TY 4 Stroke God
I'll agree in one sense of that that the cats more than likely are setup better. Did some field/trail testing today. Had my ltx se, a friend came with a base model ltx and I took my buddies xf7000 which is identical to the ltx se. Mine by far rode the worst. The 7000 had better weight transfer and was a little more plush but still pretty stiff. The base ltx rode like you were sitting on a pillow. Seems to me the base models are setup pretty well but the se models are struggling. The guy with the base ltx claimed that the springs in mine and his were the same but I don't know that for a fact. I do know that my front floats are gonna be for sale and I'm going to go with some type of coil over front shock as I feel that will help a lot with ride quality.
Studroes144 said:
That is correct. The LTX, LTX SE, RTX, RTX SE all share the same springs but different shocks.... though other springs are available. Cat does the same with the LXR vs SnoPro. In older chassis back in the day, Cat used different springs in the LXR vs Snopro along with different shocks which probably gave you a better setup as opposed to only a shock difference.
If there is a difference between the 7000 and Viper shocks, all somebody needs to do it go to the respective parts diagrams for the shocks and look at the valving stacks.
Studroes144
TY 4 Stroke God
So is it both the front and rear skid shocks that are different on the base model vs se? Is there any real difference about them other than how they are valved or is the actual shock different?
Studroes144 said:
I would guess both shocks are different but you would have to check the diagrams. They are different on the 7000's. Even if it is the same shock body with different valving it will show a different part number. There is a break down of the shocks and you can compare every valve shim and piece if you want to see the differences. I wouldn't be surprised if the Cat's and Vipers had the same shocks with different part numbers and appearance.... but with reports of different riding characteristics, maybe Yamaha and cat did their own valving. Then again two of the identical sleds can ride a little different based on little tweaks in setup. Looking at the stacks inside the shocks would be a strong indication of any difference. XF7000 137" snopro compared to LTX SE for difference in brands or LTX SE vs LTX between the two Yamaha's
Studroes144
TY 4 Stroke God
From riding my viper and then jumping on the xf7000 the cat has a more plush ride and the sled just seems to have a little more personality than the viper. The viper is faster in the field by a long shot but on the trail I could ride the 7000 faster just because of how much better the rear suspension was working. The base ltx was hands down way better than both the viper and 7000 tho
Thumper1
Extreme
i cant remember reading anywhere if the shocks were going to be valved diff than the AC. i would say the ltx se has the sno pro valving. the xf7000 lxr was pretty plush at the dealership that i saw. sno pros barely moved too.
Studroes144
TY 4 Stroke God
The one I was riding was a snopro. The rear suspension still seems stiff on the cat but the way I'm understanding it is the springs in the cat,ltx se and ltx are all the same. Must be a valving issue. However some people with the ltx se are say theirs are too soft.
Interesting....I got curious myself and looked at the parts diagrams. You can look at the cats shocks and see every shim inside it under the shock absorber chart, but when you go to the Yamaha diagrams,unless I missed it, they don't have one! It just shows the shock and external parts but no internal parts diagrams. 
As far as the ride on the SE vs base model. I'm not surprised. The SE is like the Cat Snopro. Every year guys complain that it is too stiff while trail riding and they probably should have gone with the base models. The suspension is made for the rough and bigger bumps while the base or cat LXR models are for the typical trail rider. It doesn't mean they couldn't valve them better to suit the more average rider but they haven't been doing that well lately. They did have the snopro valved well on some older models which kept more trail riders happy. I find the LXR too soft and Snopros too stiff with the factory valving. I always revalve the stiffer shocks to work a bit better and not so harsh or at least fix the poor valving and I'm usually happy. I don't think Cat or Yamaha spent much time on correct valving. It has been said that the boys at FOX shake their heads at the stock valving Cat uses in their shocks. The good thing in all of this is....at least revalving is cheap though it sucks that it often needs to be done on some new sleds for a great ride. Some of the other brands do a better job in the stock shock department.
As far as the ride on the SE vs base model. I'm not surprised. The SE is like the Cat Snopro. Every year guys complain that it is too stiff while trail riding and they probably should have gone with the base models. The suspension is made for the rough and bigger bumps while the base or cat LXR models are for the typical trail rider. It doesn't mean they couldn't valve them better to suit the more average rider but they haven't been doing that well lately. They did have the snopro valved well on some older models which kept more trail riders happy. I find the LXR too soft and Snopros too stiff with the factory valving. I always revalve the stiffer shocks to work a bit better and not so harsh or at least fix the poor valving and I'm usually happy. I don't think Cat or Yamaha spent much time on correct valving. It has been said that the boys at FOX shake their heads at the stock valving Cat uses in their shocks. The good thing in all of this is....at least revalving is cheap though it sucks that it often needs to be done on some new sleds for a great ride. Some of the other brands do a better job in the stock shock department.
Studroes144
TY 4 Stroke God
Well it's good to know that more than likely it's just shock valving. I know there are a decent amount of reputable guys out there that do it and have a fast turn around time. My biggest issue is being without the sled for 5 days or so. It's one of those things that I definitely want done but for as short as the season is I don't want to be without a sled when my buddies call and want to go riding. Hopefully by later in the season there will be more suspension guys that have a real good feel for how these shocks need to be setup so that it makes it a quick simple fix. I'm not looking for much more out of my sled other that softer compression and a little slower rebound. The sled does handle very well but it's not to it's full potential as of now
Thumper1
Extreme
Quick and fast would be to buy a Lxr shock for $170
sk-rx1
TY 4 Stroke Guru
Same issue not wanting to tie the sled up. I have a local place that I thought might be able to change mine to the specs for the LXR or std Viper. But I guess if Yamaha does not reveal the specs I can't do that to the Viper specs. The total lack of reliable info on this sled is pretty frustrating.
Thumper1
Extreme
Good suspension guys can pull it apart, look at and put in a revalve and that will get you in the ballpark
ess
Veteran
I haven't researched yet but I believe A/C uses ACT/FOX. Yamaha's are RydeFX. Valving won't be compatible.
The valving is exactly the same in the ac 7000 sp and viper Rtx look at page 1 of this thread I have the shimstack measurements there.
ess
Veteran
thanks for verifying, saved me some timecannondale27 said:
