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Talk me into a Viper or 7000 cat

RobWarrior

TY 4 Stroke Junkie
Joined
Oct 4, 2008
Messages
545
Location
Western Ma
Country
USA
Snowmobile
09 FX NYTRO RTX
Seeing some great deals on 2016 leftovers, reading all the negative posts and issues with starters etc. would like to take advantage of the great pricing but a little nervous, I'm keeping my Nytro because I want that 100% Yamaha.
How do they truly compare? Engine performance? Drivetrain Cat and Yamaha vs Nytro, chassis dependability?
Outside the starter going on my nytro the sled has been bulletproof and only made changes to it based on this site, rode it 20 mile and bought the relocate kit!
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Rob
 

Well have a 2015 Viper with 13000 miles selling this week already bought a 2017. Been a great snowmobile I would look for a Yamaha with the 5 year warranty then no worries. I also have off a 2009 Nytro
 
Well have a 2015 Viper with 13000 miles selling this week already bought a 2017. Been a great snowmobile I would look for a Yamaha with the 5 year warranty then no worries. I also have off a 2009 Nytro
No issues? Performance?
 
They are good to about 80 then not much left. No issues with the starter or starting. I mostly ride the UP of Michigan a great snowmobile for it
 
In my family we are currently running two of these sleds and so far our experience has been positive. My Dad has a ‘14 Arctic Cat XF 7000 137” and I have a ‘16 Yamaha SRViper MTX 141”. I think he has about 3,500 miles on his and I have 1,500 on mine. We haven’t had any issues with either. He is still running the original flash on his ECU and it has always been fine except for a hot start issue once. I updated mine to the latest since it came out with the flash that was most known to cause kickback. Overall they have been good sleds. They handle well and ride nice. They are a little on the more difficult side to service with poor ideas like no drain plug in the chain case and requiring removing the shift actuator to add fluid, but I just have my dealer mess with that when I have it serviced.

My Dad’s sled will run up to around 85 MPH stock at 5,000 ft. Mine will run about 75 MPH stock, however mine is basically a Yamaha version of a Cat High Country so it has a 2.25” track and lower gearing. It’s designed for torque down low to get through deep snow.

They are not perfect, but as a former FX Nytro owner I can honestly say the overall sled is a good machine with a few issues here and there. They ride and handle much better then a Nytro. It’s hard to explain the difference, but the ride feels so much more refined on the Viper vs the Nytro. I prefer that to a sled that needs to be pretty much rebuilt from the ground up to get it to ride and handle right.
 
A lot of the “misperceptions” about Nytro vs Viper performance comes from the fact the Viper speedometer is almost dead on compared to the “dream meter” on the Nytro. A Viper running 90mph would be showing 96-97 on the Nytro. Numbers on a screen do a great job of fooling your mind! Both with clutch kit perform very closely, until a bunch of corners come up.
 
Came off an '09 Nytro, this sled handles waaaay better. It's been amazing the difference in suspension as I ride a 2015 RTX SE. Motor feels like it has less pull but my track isn't studded either. I don't miss my Nytro based on chassis alone. I have 5,000 miles on it and have had no hot start issues and no starter kick back issues. On hard pack I've seen 96 MPH and pulls hard to 80MPH.
 
A lot of the “misperceptions” about Nytro vs Viper performance comes from the fact the Viper speedometer is almost dead on compared to the “dream meter” on the Nytro. A Viper running 90mph would be showing 96-97 on the Nytro. Numbers on a screen do a great job of fooling your mind! Both with clutch kit perform very closely, until a bunch of corners come up.
Thanks for the reply, I can't even see my Speedo but am getting 94-96 on my GPS, with that said I don't care about top end. It's good to here a lot of you not having problems.
 
RobWarrior, I had a 40th Ann. Nytro RTX for 5 seasons. I threw money at it in mods trying to get that thing to handle better, extended the track to 136" and I never got what I wanted. I never did the relocate, and maybe that's what I was missing, but when I seriously started to consider spending a ton of money on a custom front end to change the geometry I decided it was just too much! The only thing that I liked about it consistently was the motor and the wheelies. I bought a '14 XF 7000 and never looked back. This is the chassis for me. A lot of guys on here can't stand that it's a partnership sled but I don't care. It's the best of both worlds with the best motor in the business and the best handling chassis I've owned. I put a 4th wheel kit, scratchers, and modded the airbox on it. I LOVE the '14 Cat skis. I did put coil Fox shocks on the front, but just because a deal came up. Buy one! If you don't think it'll be fast enough, buy a Sidewinder. I havent had to touch my Cat clutches by the way...
 
No issues at all. Starts cold, starts hot, rides better than any other sled I have been on. Came off a Ski-Doo Adrenaline 600 and can say that this sled rides better for me by far. I'm a big guy, 6'4 and 235 in gear so the extra weight doesn't bother me a bit. I will say the Viper is picky when it comes to setup. New 87 was the best I could get. After break in and a lot of work I am seeing 102 - 104 consistently. I like aggressive trail riding and usually keep it between 35 and 65 MPH and that is where the Viper shines. The skis are crap, I switched to Arctic Cat skis and they made a huge difference. The tuners tend to push then bite without warning. At 2,100 miles I have had zero problems that weren't a result of what I did to it.
 
Another thing you have to consider is no matter the model if you spend too much time on these forums you’ll be paranoid about everything breaking. Every Yamaha I have purchased (‘05 Rage, ‘12 Nytro XTX, ‘16 Viper) I almost regretted after reading about “all the issues” on the forum and yet I was pretty pleased with my purchase. Out of the 3 Yamahas I have owned the Viper has been my favorite.
 
I have never ridden a Nytro, but I had a Vector LTX that I loved, until I rode my first Viper. We now have three Vipers in my trailer, two XTX's and an LTX-DX, a 2014, 2015 & 2016. The 2014 has over 8K, and has been trouble free. My 2015 has about 4K and the 2016 has just over 3K, and other than a couple of minor issues, again, trouble free. I know it is not pure Yamaha, but the Viper was an answer to my dreams, a Yamaha 4-stroke engine in a chassis that it deserves.
 
The Viper is the best sled I've ever owned. Does it have some minor problems here or there, it sure does! It's never left me stranded though. All brands have issues. Lots of smiles and miles at the end of the day riding a viper. No regets here And I've got a bunch of Viper riding buddies that would probably give you the same answer.
 
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I have a 2014 LTX with a ton of mods i might be selling. Dont need 2 sleds anymore......
 
Had a 02 mxz 700 fast sled but rough ride.
09 renegade 800 fast sled comfortable ride. But notorious engine problems and had to buy the reinforcements from grip n rip. a arms tend to bend mounts during a impact.
2015 viper ltx dx...no issues so far best sled I've ever owned. Reflashed once by dealer prior to purchase.
Ergos are almost perfect.
Excellent acceleration thru the twisters.
Stays planted and goes.
Only complaint so far is the stock skis in loose conditions or fluffy pow pow.
And weak tri hubs.
Basically stock with a can,4th wheel kit, and osp 2ndary adjuster.
No issues with blown belts that i see on here a lot? Buy the yamaha over the cat 7000.
Better warranty and clutches seem to be better than cats.
94 mph stock with can on radar run with 1500 miles.
Thats all i need!
 
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