XTX ride review

[msg]

 

[Easy Rider]

I've got 300 miles on my XTX and am getting it set up the way I like it. Pulls like a bear, getting the handling and ride dialed in, seems like it's going to be a fun sled.

The 2 new XP 800R's that I rode with on Christmas day are not very impressed that the little Nytro was destroying them.....

 

[justinator]

 

[Swiss Sledder]

Very nice review. Balanced and factual. Thanks for the contribution.

Regarding reverse, sometimes it helps to just wiggle your butt on the seat and make the sled move a little to get the reverse to engage rather than pulling forward. Not sure why but this method seems to work.

 

[jds1000]

I also love the 4 stroke engines. It's amazing how the Doo faithful are embracing the 1200 after years of bashing 4 strokes. I love My Apex engine except for the sound at cruising speeds. My Wife thinks her Nytro engine is the most responsive she has ever had. I also think My new 1200 has an awesome engine and if it's anywhere near as reliable as our Yamaha engines then Doo has a huge winner. Yamaha got Me into the 4 strokes and I don't think I could ever go back to an oil burner again! I think if Yamaha can make thier sleds ride and handle like a Doo and Doo can make thier sleds as reliable as a Yamaha then there would be no reason to buy a Cat or a Poo!

 

[Boot]

Very nice write up.

I'm much like you I'm coming off a lifetime of riding Polaris and spent the last 6 season on a Pro-X. My only complaint thus far is getting the XTX to corner/rail. My Pro-X was a slot car and took a corner like nothing I have ever ridden.

I know the XTX will not corner like my 121 Pro-X did, and I'm not complaining. I'm just eager to see more and more XTX owners posting, so together we get get our XTX's set up to handle as well as they can be expected to.

Ditto on the Power!

 

[PS2003]

Thought I would chime in. Great topic. I have 225 miles on my XTX with Curve ski's. I have been riding yammie 4 strokes since 04 and must say I absolutely love them and could not go to a 2 stroke. Nothing against them just am so comfortable with the 4 strokes. This XTX is absolutely awesome and keeps getting better with every ride I take. My suspension is slightly stiffer in the front but box stock in the rear and I have found that when I handle the fun flipper properly it corners on rails. The suspension and ride are absolutely lightyears ahead of the RX1 I previously rode. I just love this thing and look forward to every mile I can put on it.

 

[Blue 4's Rule]

Really good review! Seems very honest and to the point! We're heading up north to my brother-in-laws cabin on New Years Day and staying up there for 4 days. These will be the very first miles I put on my XTX! I can't wait to try it!

 

[stewartb]

I'm new here and appreciate what I've read so far. I thought I'd add my thoughts about my two new Nytro XTXs. My experience in the past 20 years has been with Polaris, Yamaha, and SkiDoo sleds. I had a REV Renegade 600 in '04 and didn't care for it. I replaced it with a Pro-X 600 and stretched it to 136" with a 1 3/4" track and then a 1 1/4" Ice Ripper. I love the Pro-X skid. But, the advantages of weight forward are real and it was time. Polaris had nothing I wanted and SkiDoo's XP platform is too fragile. I'm back on Yamaha. Now you have an idea of my recent past, so here's what I think of the XTX.

Out of the crate the ride is awful in the bumps. It's like riding a pogo stick. Your butt gets slapped by the seat and the front end goes everywhere with no regard to the rider inputs. I went to the garage and dialed up the compression settings on all three adjustable shocks (two fronts and the rear/rear). I ramped up the spring s in the back as well. And most important, I think, was to suck up the limiter a notch, and it may need two. The ride is acceptable now but there's no way in hell I can keep up with the REVs or even my old Pro-X. I have some Simmons Gen-2 skis on the way and will almost certainly change at least the skid's shocks to get some rebound control and compression control on the front shock. The motor is adequate but isn't a fire breather. The sled carves great in the snow. Both my lower Yamaha stickers are long gone (White cowl). When I hear test riders comment on the heavy front end I think they're mistaking the poor rear end's effect on the front as being nose heavy. If you can calm the rear down the front works quite well. I NEED SOME OHLINS!!!! I think this may be the most comfortable sled to stand up on that I've ever tried. Without question it's the easiest to transition from sitting to standing.

Does anyone know whether the RTX shocks will fit the XTX skid? If I'm not mistaken the RTX has compression and rebound on both skid shocks?

Don't take this report wrong. I'm not baling on the sled. I'm not going to paint a rosy picture like the magazine writers are doing, either. The sled has promise, but it isn't ready to be crowned as king of anything. I'll keep tweaking it until I'm satisfied.

 

[justinator]

I'm new here and appreciate what I've read so far. I thought I'd add my thoughts about my two new Nytro XTXs. My experience in the past 20 years has been with Polaris, Yamaha, and SkiDoo sleds. I had a REV Renegade 600 in '04 and didn't care for it. I replaced it with a Pro-X 600 and stretched it to 136" with a 1 3/4" track and then a 1 1/4" Ice Ripper. I love the Pro-X skid. But, the advantages of weight forward are real and it was time. Polaris had nothing I wanted and SkiDoo's XP platform is too fragile. I'm back on Yamaha. Now you have an idea of my recent past, so here's what I think of the XTX.

Out of the crate the ride is awful in the bumps. It's like riding a pogo stick. Your butt gets slapped by the seat and the front end goes everywhere with no regard to the rider inputs. I went to the garage and dialed up the compression settings on all three adjustable shocks (two fronts and the rear/rear). I ramped up the spring s in the back as well. And most important, I think, was to suck up the limiter a notch, and it may need two. The ride is acceptable now but there's no way in hell I can keep up with the REVs or even my old Pro-X. I have some Simmons Gen-2 skis on the way and will almost certainly change at least the skid's shocks to get some rebound control and compression control on the front shock. The motor is adequate but isn't a fire breather. The sled carves great in the snow. Both my lower Yamaha stickers are long gone (White cowl). When I hear test riders comment on the heavy front end I think they're mistaking the poor rear end's effect on the front as being nose heavy. If you can calm the rear down the front works quite well. I NEED SOME OHLINS!!!! I think this may be the most comfortable sled to stand up on that I've ever tried. Without question it's the easiest to transition from sitting to standing.

Does anyone know whether the RTX shocks will fit the XTX skid? If I'm not mistaken the RTX has compression and rebound on both skid shocks?

Don't take this report wrong. I'm not baling on the sled. I'm not going to paint a rosy picture like the magazine writers are doing, either. The sled has promise, but it isn't ready to be crowned as king of anything. I'll keep tweaking it until I'm satisfied.

How much do you weigh?? Just curious cuz I'm 190 geared up and on stock settings which have been my favorite so far this sled is straight as an arrow over ther bumps. Where its pointed it will go, sucks everything up. I grew a hatred for the trail groomer thi year

 

[stewartb]

225. This ain't my first rabbit hunt. This sled has some serious weaknesses. Like I said, I'll continue trying to reel them in. To be fair it also has some strengths.

If you like to pound bumps for fun you're not on the best sled for the mission. I'm just trying to find some acceptable middle ground with mine. Acceptable is all I can hope for. After all, middle ground is what the XTX is designed for, and what I bought it for. I'm not quite there yet. I don't expect it to be a contender in the big bump category, but I won't be happy with hind tit, either.

 

[loudelectronics]

I love my XTX more and more every time I ride it. I have 350 miles on mine so far. Very easy to get this sled on its side. With my minimal experiance on a sled I can keep up on the trails with the vets I ride with and can sometimes lead the pack. I feel the skis are holding me back as the softer snow on the trails tends to make them push a bit. I have to dial the suspension in a bit in the rear I think. I am bottoming on some down hills a couple times a ride. So far in the whoops I get a different response then what is post above. My sled rides through the whoops very straight with out much input. In the deep snow the front end likes to sink on me if I do not have my weight in the back, mostly rider error I think but wider skis may help. It seems very responsive in the deep as all you need to do is shift your weight from side to side and it goes where your weight is.

I weigh 180 so this is a difference maybe.

I really like the motor on this thing. Very responsive compared to the two strokes I am used to driving.

My biggest beef with the machine is the ice biuld up in the tunnel. At the end of the day you can really feel the extra weight.

 

[170plus]

my first ride out was about 75 miles,have 100 in all now,started playing with shocks and found from the factory set up the lower adjustment on the front shocks was all the way hard and the top was 4 from all the way soft,i left the top alone and set the bottom to mid way,noticed a big difference after that,will have to try more adjustments for sure to dial it in,havent touched the back except to set the back springs to full soft,didnt notice a real bad ski lift so i havent touched the limiter straps yet,tried the mountain skis,worked well but put the stock skis back on to see the difference ,also put a softer spring in the primary clutch because i hate the herky jerky of the hi engagement rpm,stock was blue-silver-blue,i installed a blue-pink-blue,i did the same thing on my 06 apex with great results,by far this is the most comfortable sled ive owned,

 

[backstop]

I came form a life time of Doo and I have to say that this sled does not corner even close to my old SDI. This being said this is the only thing the XTX doesn't do. I was pretty worried before I had my 1st chance to pull the trigger that I would not like this sled becasue in my mind it had alot to live up too. Well after 300 miles every time I get back on I love this sled more & more. I will never go back to a 2 stroke again & that is no slight to the 2 strokers because they are great sleds as well. But no oil, no smoke, quick warm ups & tons of 0 - 90 fun factor this has my attention.

Now for my opinion on the good & the challenges

The Good
- The motor (nothing but power)
- The fun factor
- It jumps, lands, tracks great & in my 300 mile experience it handles the bumps with ease.
- I have Curve skis and have experienced almost no darting, knowing that all sleds will dart a fraction I mean we are sledding guys.
- I can't believe how fast this sled warms up & stays warm even after breaking for lunch
- Rider position is second to none this tops the Rev or the XP no question about it. I can stand up on this machine with no effort or fatigue at all.
- With the medium windshield & side deflecors this sled is pretty warm & I have been out on -28 celcius with a wind chill making things rather chilly at -37 celcius
- Running boards are large & have tons of grip, no build up here at all
- I have not experienced the revers issue everytime I have used it..it works perfectly so far!

The Challenges
- Handling needs improvement & there are a few adjustments I will make after 500 miles. Either I will bring the limiter strap down or adjust the weight transfer rods in the rear or both not sure yet
- Hand warmers could be improved I would rate them luke warm
- Ice build up in the tunnel is a rather annoying issue however this will not break me down on the sled. I am just knocking the ice off after each ride to keep a handle on it. NEEDS A SOLUTION THOUGH!

Overall

I am extremely happy & impressed with my first Yamaha. I know that over the next month or two solutions to these challenges above will come and hopefully we will all learn and benefit from them. Let it snow boys LET IT SNOW!!

 

[millstreet]

225. This ain't my first rabbit hunt. This sled has some serious weaknesses. Like I said, I'll continue trying to reel them in. To be fair it also has some strengths.

If you like to pound bumps for fun you're not on the best sled for the mission. I'm just trying to find some acceptable middle ground with mine. Acceptable is all I can hope for. After all, middle ground is what the XTX is designed for, and what I bought it for. I'm not quite there yet. I don't expect it to be a contender in the big bump category, but I won't be happy with hind tit, either.

Since the purpose of this thread is to review the stenghts/weaknesses of the XTX, it might be helpful to establish a sled or sleds for benchmarks?

Not trying to start a pi**ing match here. Just looking for objective evaluations of XTX strenghts/weaknesses vs comparible REV/Dragon etc.

So what is the bump sled we're shooting for? (if that is your mission) and more importantly, what aspect of it is better?