Thinking of up grading to 2023 GT

[HUS457]

Hey group, I have a 15 Viper & am thinking of upgrading soon. Not sure if I'll go BRP or a left over Sidewinder ltx-gt. So; with the GT, would all the known issues still be present? ie Driveshaft bearing on the caliper side spinning, top gear & roll over valve? Don't get me wrong, none of these are a big issue and every sled will have its issues. Just for my own knowledge, were these issues addressed? Plus, anything else?

 

[DMCTurbo]

Same issues are still present. The roll over was upgraded to a heated version around 2020 I believe.

I run my 2017 with the ROV stock and never had an issue with nearly 20000 kms on my sled. I don't really understand the need to bypass them especially now that they are heated. Just my 2 cents.

 

[74Nitro]

Same issues are still present. The roll over was upgraded to a heated version around 2020 I believe.

I run my 2017 with the ROV stock and never had an issue with nearly 20000 kms on my sled. I don't really understand the need to bypass them especially now that they are heated. Just my 2 cents.

I run my ROV stock also. No issues.

 

[74Nitro]

Hey group, I have a 15 Viper & am thinking of upgrading soon. Not sure if I'll go BRP or a left over Sidewinder ltx-gt. So; with the GT, would all the known issues still be present? ie Driveshaft bearing on the caliper side spinning, top gear & roll over valve? Don't get me wrong, none of these are a big issue and every sled will have its issues. Just for my own knowledge, were these issues addressed? Plus, anything else?

The driveshafts are harder on that side now and there are options from BOP to easily upgrade that area before any wear takes place.

 

[Upstater57]

The issues are minor and have easy fixes. The durability of the sled is excellent and even lives well after guys boost them to the moon. In stock form at 200+ HP with EPS, I believe is the cruiser sled on the market. Big upgrade from a Viper.

 

[Simplespeed]

sled type should be based on type of use, amount of use, and budget.. if you ride alot of miles on long wide open trails then you want a sidewinder. If you ride the tight twisted trails you might want a much lighter 2 smoke.. If you ride off trail you might want a light long track… If I was you I would take a hard look at the catalyst as in my humble opinion I think they did a great job on that chassis and it will be sled of the year

 

[KnappAttack]

sled type should be based on type of use, amount of use, and budget.. if you ride alot of miles on long wide open trails then you want a sidewinder. If you ride the tight twisted trails you might want a much lighter 2 smoke.. If you ride off trail you might want a light long track… If I was you I would take a hard look at the catalyst as in my humble opinion I think they did a great job on that chassis and it will be sled of the year

The EPS sled is perfect for tight twisty trails, better than anything on the market IMO, even the "light two-stroke" of which there is no such thing really. Maybe you haven't seen the real weights of them lately, but light doesn't mean light steering especially with the Doos if you try and make them rail corners. If you let them push in the corners then maybe they will be OK enough for steering effort, and thats why they stick with the dual keeled skis, so they do push and steer easier, but they are far from a corner railing machines set up like this.

The Catalyst of course is going to be sled of the year, its the only new machine on the market.... It's a shoe in for it, some may like a two-stroke, but many don't want to touch a two-stroke ever again for trail use, so as its delivered now, its not even an option for many of us. I'm sure at some point it will get a four-stroke, however my fear is it will be a in house Cat twin cylinder, and we know how thats going to sound.... I think were really going to miss Yamaha's involvement and engines if Cat quits them myself.

 

[Simplespeed]

The EPS sled is perfect for tight twisty trails, better than anything on the market IMO, even the "light two-stroke" of which there is no such thing really. Maybe you haven't seen the real weights of them lately, but light doesn't mean light steering especially with the Doos if you try and make them rail corners. If you let them push in the corners then maybe they will be OK enough for steering effort, and thats why they stick with the dual keeled skis, so they do push and steer easier, but they are far from a corner railing machines set up like this.

The Catalyst of course is going to be sled of the year, its the only new machine on the market.... It's a shoe in for it, some may like a two-stroke, but many don't want to touch a two-stroke ever again for trail use, so as its delivered now, its not even an option for many of us. I'm sure at some point it will get a four-stroke, however my fear is it will be a in house Cat twin cylinder, and we know how thats going to sound.... I think were really going to miss Yamaha's involvement and engines if Cat quits them myself.

You make valid points Mike and Power steering is a great option for Sidewinder as it takes less effort to steer it and for many its the answer to longer rides with less fatigue if you want to add the cost of it to your purchase price…. My comment on low snow conditions and tight trails that a lighter 2 smoke is the better option is purely base on my experience on the latest designed sleds with improved motors and testing that I have done… I will comment further when I get time . We got 24” of snow yesterday so its time to ride …..

 

[GR8BBQ]

In terms of reliability, all makes will have issues. I would rather own a Yamaha with all its issues because we have a huge wealth of knowledge and experience here that we can count on. It's a case of the Devil you know vs the Devil you don't know.

 

[HUS457]

Thanks guys. All good points. Looks like between 50-70lbs of real world weight between the GT & a MXZ /Renegade 850.

 

[HUS457]

Are you guys with the eps running the stock Stryke Ski? Anyone put snow trackers or different carbides on? How does the stock set up corner? Majority of my riding will be trail. I much prefer leaning into a corner then beating down new snow through a chopping. Powder isn't a common thing where I'm at. When we do see powder its a foot or 2 and usually hard within a day or 2.

 

[KnappAttack]

Are you guys with the eps running the stock Stryke Ski? Anyone put snow trackers or different carbides on? How does the stock set up corner? Majority of my riding will be trail. I much prefer leaning into a corner then beating down new snow through a chopping. Powder isn't a common thing where I'm at. When we do see powder its a foot or 2 and usually hard within a day or 2.

I haven't ridden one mile yet this season, but have my 5.7 Doo single keel race skis ready to go on with Aggressive Snowtrackers. I doubt we'll get any snow to ride, and if we do let's face it, the trails wont get groomed if we do, but I fully intend on using them with great success like I have on every machine I've had. EPS shouldn't change how they handle or react one bit, other than to steer easier yet over a non EPS sled.

I rode 60 miles on the stock setup last spring, and the stock stuff reacted just like I thought it would, pushing and darting some just like I remember the stock Cat skis doing with the stock cat offset carbide on the old 1100 turbo. Not as bad as a true dually, but not a whole lot better for pushing. Good enough to run in low snow conditions, but wouldn't want to put on a ton of miles on them in good groomed epic trails.

 

[HUS457]

I haven't ridden one mile yet this season, but have my 5.7 Doo single keel race skis ready to go on with Aggressive Snowtrackers. I doubt we'll get any snow to ride, and if we do let's face it, the trails wont get groomed if we do, but I fully intend on using them with great success like I have on every machine I've had. EPS shouldn't change how they handle or react one bit, other than to steer easier yet over a non EPS sled.

I rode 60 miles on the stock setup last spring, and the stock stuff reacted just like I thought it would, pushing and darting some just like I remember the stock Cat skis doing with the stock cat offset carbide on the old 1100 turbo. Not as bad as a true dually, but not a whole lot better for pushing. Good enough to run in low snow conditions, but wouldn't want to put on a ton of miles on them in good groomed epic trails.

Tx, I think I read in a previous thread you like the 5.7's.

 

[earthling]

I see guys running C&A and other aggressive skis with a lot of carbide. The EPS is allowing them to run a setup that would be very hard turning on an non EPS sled.

 

[marc001]

I have a 22 S-TX GT that I put the aggressive snow trackers on and they work great. Only put about 400 miles on them so far but no darting and they corner great. My front strap is in last hole and I tightened up my front skid shock spring, only thing I noticed was night time riding my light shines a lot higher so I need to adjust that (snow trackers raise front of sled higher than than normal ski carbides). My riding style is mostly rails to trails so I'm very happy with no more darting! I also have to run 1/4 mile down a paved road (not much shoulder) to get to the trail so I will see how well it holds up to pavement.