Test Drove a Viper Today

[yamaha1973]

If you spring order a Nytro you can get the super charger for 1800 plus install... Makes that sled attractive to me!

 

[ruffrider]

Test drove a Viper RTX SE & an LTX SE today. I was in the 2nd group out, the trail was fresh.

The RTX darted & the rear fishtaled. The LTX darted but then pushed w/the slightest amount of throttle. Darting & pushing can be resolved w/better carbides & proper setup although, I couldn't see how to adjust weight transfer on the rear skid - maybe you can't??. I could lift the ski in the turn easier than I can on my 1200 Renegade. Clutch engagement was lackluster but the backshift was great. The throttle response was not as crisp & instant as it is on Nytros & Apexes. The sleds are big. The seat's taller than an Apex & they're just as long. The ergos are fine, the fit, finish & 'feel' of the sled is Arctic Cat all the way. The most remarkable thing about the Vipers is how unremarkable they are. They didn't do anything poorly per say, they just didn't excel at anything either. Underwhelming is how I'd describe the sleds. Then for giggles I jumped on a Doo 1200. The clutch engagement & throttle response was better & the front end wasn't nervous like the Viper. The Viper is nice but it's merely average. The Apex remains an excellent sled & is a better trail sled IMO.

I think Yamaha dropped the ball by partnering w/Cat. Yam obviously couldn't afford to develop their own new chassis but the Viper seems to be too much of a compromise. On the upside, the Viper made me realize my Doo 1200 Renegade is the best handling sled in this class, & I am (or was) a Yamaha guy.

Ride on!

Very interesting. Assuming you went to the NH Snodeo, I demo'd the same group of sleds that you did. I have a 1200 GSX SE right now and when I got back on it after demo'ing the Viper it felt like a tank...steered heavier and was much more sluggish than the Viper. I am not crazy about the reliability issues with the Viper, so I wouldn't buy one right now even if I had the money. However, assuming equal reliability, the Vipers I tried were far superior compared to my 1200.

The comment insinuating I didn't attend is perhaps the most idiotic post I've seen. I enjoyed the laugh, though.
But from one snowmobiler to another, put Stud Boy 6" Shapers on the center, Doo 4" on the outside, full or near-full preload on your center shock. That'll get rid of the 'tank' feel, will eliminate darting & will corner well w/out pulling your arms out. Shimming the skis also works well if you don't want to run that much carbide. If your clutch isn't snappier than the Viper's, it needs servicing.
Cheers

I didn't mean it that way. I just found it funny that we have very different opinions, respectfully. I actually have that same carbide setup. I like the Shaper bars and have been using them for a while. I'm going to try to play with the suspension more this weekend even though the center shock is already set fairly stiff. I never thought it steered like a tank before this weekend because its light years ahead of my Nytro, but compared to all the new sleds I tried it was noticeable.

And I had to have the primary replaced on mine a couple weeks ago. Thankfully the great dealer where I was riding replaced it with the eDrive in a couple hours. Its a huge improvement.

 

[RTX Meirda]

If you spring order a Nytro you can get the super charger for 1800 plus install... Makes that sled attractive to me!

Thats interesting! Where did you hear that?

 

[yamaha1973]

If you spring order a Nytro you can get the super charger for 1800 plus install... Makes that sled attractive to me!

Thats interesting! Where did you hear that?

Its part of the power surge here in the states, not sure about Canada

 

[RTX Meirda]

If you spring order a Nytro you can get the super charger for 1800 plus install... Makes that sled attractive to me!

Thats interesting! Where did you hear that?

Its part of the power surge here in the states, not sure about Canada

Just had a look at states site. Says $1500! On the bottom the Nytro MTX is listed. Not sure this is for the Viper. Cant be any kits ready yet?

 

[Riceburner]

Not for the Viper.

As he said above. "Nytro"

 

[RTX Meirda]

Not for the Viper.

As he said above. "Nytro"

oops!

 

[Bpatch50]

Nytro

If you spring order a Nytro you can get the super charger for 1800 plus install... Makes that sled attractive to me!

That is tempting! So for under $11,500 OTD you can have a supercharged Nytro with a factory warranty. That doesn't include installation...no idea how much that's costs.

 

[Bpatch50]

Re: Nytro

If you spring order a Nytro you can get the super charger for 1800 plus install... Makes that sled attractive to me!

That is tempting! So for under $11,500 OTD you can have a supercharged Nytro with a factory warranty. That doesn't include installation...no idea how much that's costs.

Sorry, my math was wrong. Looks like it would be about $10,865 plus supercharger installation. Same price D&D is selling the viper for. So I guess it's power vs chassis...interesting

 

[meklke]

Hard to believe these sleds were not ready for the big showing & the test rides!

Not a good sign that Yamaha has a good handle on whats going on!!!

Its going to be a long year I'm guessing...

I was going to stay out of this but here goes.
I rode the Viper XTX and the RTX in Duluth on Friday (3/1/13) they did not have a LTX 137" there. I am 6'2" 145 Lbs and have 9000 miles on a 08 Apex GT. I ride mostly WI trails.
I enjoyed the sitting position on this sled very much, higher than the Nitro and slightly higher than my wife’s GSX Doo. The seat was nice, overall firm, with a cushy 1" or 2" on the top.
Power was adequate for corner to corner trail riding. I saw 88 mph on about 1/4 mile straight on rough snow. This is NOT an Apex motor so I do not expect Apex power.
The gauge was difficult to see but usable, I still prefer the Apex/Vecter gauge set.
I too heard about the need for mapping and you could tell they were running fat. They provided no time to ask questions after the ride, no time to open the panels to see the guts or to try and adjust the suspension. The sleds were not dialed in at all from a motor or suspension stand point. Over all I was disappointed more with the lack of professionalism with the staff then with the sled. They really underestimated the knowledge of the test riders and the importance of satisfying the customer on their first ride on this machine. Duluth really needed a LTX and not two XTX’s
If they would have had one sled on a stand with a technician there to help explain all of pluses of this new ride it would have gone a long way with this rider. Got a cool hat Not enough new excitement for me to switch next year but I will be watching very closely.

 

[Nytroxtxmi]

I haven't rode the new viper but do own an xtx which I don't think handles as bad as everyone says once you get the suspension tuned in it handles great and I haven't replaced nothing suspension wise. Its not gonna handle like a srx has much more travel. But. Anyways back to what I was going to say I work on sleds everyday all makes and models and there's a reason I ride Yamaha and it frightens me they are using ac frames I don't believe that they could make it 20,000 miles like the nytro and it is still going I may add. the AC's I don't feel will hold up I have seen many with low miles 3,000 or so that are ready for scrap. After working on sleds many years I don't think Ill be buying a viper till I can see it and look at quality under the hood.

 

[greekman133]

also was at te test ride in duluth

so my impressions of the new vipers as stated they had the rtx and 2 xtx,s one with 6" carbites and one with stock I managed to ride the xtx 6" and the rtx along with the apex they had there

A little about me I just got a new 2012 hold over xtx with the backcountry 1.75 track standard skiis have put 1k miles since christmas and have just started to work on dialing in the suspension.

that said -- I thought the xtx viper handled very well it cornered superior to my xtx verry little inside ski lift if any and I tryed to produce it

it did dart on the trails but they were in poor shape and beaten so probably would have done better with good trails

the seat was taller feeling (mabe a little to tall feeling?) than the nytro and wider in the back, I found it comforable but likre the nytro seat a bit better

seating position and leg position in this area the viper is awsome have you ever felt sitting on a nytro if I could just shove my feet a few more inches forward in the foot wells it would be so perfect?.... well this viper has the few inches soooooooo niceeeeeeeeee.........

bar heat was typical ac they had the 2 settings off lo and hi or if you preferr off smolder and deepfry this is one place ac does much better than yamaha hands down

ride quality was superb but so is the nytro

guages ummmmmmm..... still trying to decide if I like the new gages I'm sure I would get used to them and they had good info just not sure on this???

power seemed just under the nytro and im sure this could be the result of remapping but have to report what I saw/felt and power was definitly a bit down from the nytro

I dont have much to say about the rtx becouse I did not like it as wll as the xtx (truth be told no where near as much)

I have to agree with an earlier post it was great that they got the sleds out for the public to see but the people running it had few answers for all the good and pointed questions being asked however we were allowed to pull off pannels and look over the sleds as much as we wanted so that was nice

all in all I enjoyed the expirence and longevity issues asside it is a great sled.

if i were able to have one or the other same price I would probably become a test pilot on the new viper, but for the steal I got the nytro this season its a no brainer the nytro wins and with money left over to do a few enhancements to bring the nytro to close to the handling of the viper and I must say it the more I ride the nytro the better I like it!

 

[yox185]

Just got back from Old Forge after test riding the Viper, here's my impression. I rode the XTX, the LTX, and the LTX SE. All three sleds steered with about one third the effort my Nytro takes. All three took the bumps better than my Nytro. The LTX SE suspension was incredible. I searched out every possible bump to hit and hardly felt any of them. Cornering excellent, even with the granular snow conditions. Seating position perfect for standing or sitting. The sleds sound very good, throaty and with the up front exhaust you can hear it. Now for the bad, power was not there. Nytro motor with carbed Vector response. We were all told what everyone else has stated " they're not dialed in yet". And I actually believe it. I rode four different Vipers and they were all different. One of them was close to my Nytro, the other three not so much. Overall I'd say say, if it stays together, it's going to be a nice sled. I'll be watching next year, and when the bugs are gone 2015 could be the year.

 

[canadianhunter]

yox185 I would also be interested in your impresion of the plain Viper LTX.
Thanks

 

[Bpatch50]

Xtx

How was the Xtx compared to the Ltx?