Yamadog
Lifetime Member
Im so sick of hearing this 300 hp NUMBER STOCK! That is pure BS first thing you had to do was head studs. 2nd was rods alot of sled running around with rods that have stretched. Guys running around with sled leaking antifreeze and that don't even know there head gasket is out. I have seen more than 1 Suzuki motor that has blow up!
I ran mine last year at Minocqua, WI against a guy on a claimed 320 hp 1100 turbo on my 254 hp (race Gas) Viper and beat him so bad he put his 150 lb son on it to run against me and still lost. This year at St Germain at the pump gas shoot out there were 3 of them built by Bikeman there, all slammed to the ground with 3" exhaust and no mufflers claiming 360 hp on pump gas and I only lost in the 2 heats by 3 sled lengths at 660 ft to both running mine at 225 hp (pump gas) 15 viper.
snowbeast
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I had a turdoblow 1100 in 2013,first blow the chaincase,than after that was fixed in the new year of 2014 I got a pitiful 600 miles on it before the motor lost compression and failed,sled had a total of 3200 miles on it,biggest POS sled I have ever had,that motor cat had in it,was designed for a European car at 110 hp not there 180 hp and later boosted to 210-310 hp,I ran mine on map 1 at 210 hp most of the time,and you could not hold it wide open to long,or tear a belt in half and take all sorts of crap out along with it. Ya there are some guys who have overboosted that twin with luck,but they did all there homework first,and that cost thousands to get it ready for big power. This motor would get so hot in between the cylinders,as there was no room for water jackets,it had way to many hot spots,was never ment for a turbo,but this new yammie is made just for a turbo,should last for a long time.Im so sick of hearing this 300 hp NUMBER STOCK! That is pure BS first thing you had to do was head studs. 2nd was rods alot of sled running around with rods that have stretched. Guys running around with sled leaking antifreeze and that don't even know there head gasket is out. I have seen more than 1 Suzuki motor that has blow up!
You had a big turd or some very bad tuning. The new motor looks promising but I can't give up my reliable boosted Cat turbo for the first model year of the new Turbo. I know I would have regrets. I hope the new one is a reliable rocket as opposed to the usual new model hype. Not thrilled with the old chaincase design but 200 hp is pretty mild compared to what most have been running the old Cat turbo at. It just sounds like a lot for a stock OEM motor....especially from Yamaha.
ROCKERDAN
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Yep, We all watched and lived the Cat Turbo fiasco.....Mine was a 2012 and I was lucky to dump it before it had major issues, but I was so careful with that sled, never even dared to use reverse! LOL I lost a ton as I had put alot into it. But glad i did.I had a turdoblow 1100 in 2013,first blow the chaincase,than after that was fixed in the new year of 2014 I got a pitiful 600 miles on it before the motor lost compression and failed,sled had a total of 3200 miles on it,biggest POS sled I have ever had,that motor cat had in it,was designed for a European car at 110 hp not there 180 hp and later boosted to 210-310 hp,I ran mine on map 1 at 210 hp most of the time,and you could not hold it wide open to long,or tear a belt in half and take all sorts of crap out along with it. Ya there are some guys who have overboosted that twin with luck,but they did all there homework first,and that cost thousands to get it ready for big power. This motor would get so hot in between the cylinders,as there was no room for water jackets,it had way to many hot spots,was never ment for a turbo,but this new yammie is made just for a turbo,should last for a long time.
My worry with the new sled is handling, I have no doubt the yammie engineered new turbo, and chaincase upgrades along with new plastics and a solidly mounted engine without that TCL, will result in a very reliable machine. Its the handling I worry about. I realize the LE shocks(fox Qs3R) are the king of shocks, but the weight and the rear skid and the seat are things I love about my DOO, and even though my 1200 is a tad heavier then my 14 etec8..it still handles nearly identical, and Rmo eats everything I can throw at it. My area is lakes, but trails are all tight and twisty, which is why its always a tough decision to make as Ive always owned big muscle sleds, but for our trails enjoy the lighter DOOs Ive owned since 2014.
I know on lakes and big nicely groomed trails the big cat was no issue, but end of weekend mogulled up trails locally would leave me wanting to swap over to buds etec everytime....this is my worry about going back to what I think will be similar handling. Now I have heard great reviews from 2016 cat owners with qs3 shocks, also saying seat is better...so I think I need to ride one to see.
Very hard to not pull trigger on a 200hp factory warranted sled tho!
Dan
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snowbeast
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Ya,it does sound great,yamaha has never been one to give out hp numbers,unlike cat who has been doing it sense my early days on my 95 800 ZRT which still had some motor issues,and clutch issues,so cat has and still does have quality issues,at least up to 2015 turbos,I still saw belt blowers,around,and I had franks new m300 jackshaft,and all the different ways to get rid of engine heat and belt heat including an electric 1100 cfm fan to cool the belt,now that worked great for a while,but even that did not keep that hot motor from warping the cylinders and losing compression,and it was set up very good for not going all out and having new TCL's and all the bells and wistles to the tune of 2,000 bucks later,glad you had a good one,most of us did not.You had a big turd or some very bad tuning. The new motor looks promising but I can't give up my reliable boosted Cat turbo for the first model year of the new Turbo. I know I would have regrets. I hope the new one is a reliable rocket as opposed to the usual new model hype. Not thrilled with the old chaincase design but 200 hp is pretty mild compared to what most have been running the old Cat turbo at. It just sounds like a lot for a stock OEM motor....especially from Yamaha.
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snowbeast
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Aint that the truth Dan,but my turbo was not the best handling sled by a lot,or the best riding either for that matter,but than I bought a 2015 ape xtx and the ride was worse compared to the turbo cat,and handling was not as good either,just plain great quality and would run and run and run all day WFO on 91 pump and same belt,heck I tried all sorts of clutch combo's and at the end of the day,the stock clutching was the best I could find for our trails,great gas milage and so good to belt,3000 miles on same belt,and when I took it off to check belt width with my verniers it was on .010 thou to .015 difference between this and new 8dn cant go wrong with that figure.Yep, We all watched and lived the Cat Turbo fiasco.....Mine was a 2012 and I was lucky to dump it before it had major issues, but I was so careful with that sled, never even dared to use reverse! LOL I lost a ton as I had put alot into it. But glad i did.
My worry with the new sled is handling, I have no doubt the yammie engineered new turbo, and chaincase upgrades along with new plastics and a solidly mounted engine without that TCL, will result in a very reliable machine. Its the handling I worry about. I realize the LE shocks(fox Qs3R) are the king of shocks, but the weight and the rear skid and the seat are things I love about my DOO, and even though my 1200 is a tad heavier then my 14 etec8..it still handles nearly identical, and Rmo eats everything I can throw at it. My area is lakes, but trails are all tight and twisty, which is why its always a tough decision to make as Ive always owned big muscle sleds, but for our trails enjoy the lighter DOOs Ive owned since 2014.
I know on lakes and big nicely groomed trails the big cat was no issue, but end of weekend mogulled up trails locally would leave me wanting to swap over to buds etec everytime....this is my worry about going back to what I think will be similar handling. Now I have heard great reviews from 2016 cat owners with qs3 shocks, also saying seat it better...so I think I need to ride one to see.
Very hard to not pull trigger on a 200hp factory warranteed sled tho!
Dan
Pstn head
TY 4 Stroke Master
You won't have any problems in the handling department or when the trails get whooped out in Muskoka at day's end, I rode a 15 Viper (in Muskoka) and it out handles and is way better in the bumps, there no chatter, or skis searching over mogals whatsoever.
Best sled EVER and I ride with guys on various other makes including Yamhas and it outperforms them all.
Best sled EVER and I ride with guys on various other makes including Yamhas and it outperforms them all.
snowbeast
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Did you have the shocks revalved,I read a lot of unhappy guys who bought the first year vipers and they said it rode to stiff.You won't have any problems in the handling department or when the trails get whooped out in Muskoka at day's end, I rode a 15 Viper (in Muskoka) and it out handles and is way better in the bumps, there no chatter, or skis searching over mogals whatsoever.
Best sled EVER and I ride with guys on various other makes including Yamhas and it outperforms them all.
kylechargerrt
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Did you have the shocks revalved,I read a lot of unhappy guys who bought the first year vipers and they said it rode to stiff.
15s were a lot softer calibrated than the 14s. My 14 was super stiff. Luckily for me that was how I liked my shocks valved for super aggressive trail riding.
snowbeast
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Have you ridden any sleds with the new fox adjustables coming on the LTX-LE?15s were a lot softer calibrated than the 14s. My 14 was super stiff. Luckily for me that was how I liked my shocks valved for super aggressive trail riding.
kylechargerrt
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I rode my dealers 16 rtx se that he put a set of the qs3 without the kashima coat and was thoroughly impressed. A lot smoother than my floats and hpgs
snowbeast
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That's good to know,thanks.I rode my dealers 16 rtx se that he put a set of the qs3 without the kashima coat and was thoroughly impressed. A lot smoother than my floats and hpgs
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