Yamaha has given me no choice.... I'm going with SkiDoo!

wow we just got back from a ride and it was just under 140 kms and every skidoo blew a belt except for a rev mod (go figure the mod sled doesnt blow a blet) and the new polaris also kicked #*$&@ and ran great. :Rockon:
 
rock doc said:
Please keep us posted. It would be nice to get an unbiased comparison.

I think all the sleds have their faults. Oddly enough the most reliable sled for me was a 1998 polaris 600 xlt. It is still running today with 15,000 miles. Only replaced the head gasket at 8000kms and a water pump. It sold me on buying sleds at the end of their production cycle (that was oneof the last years for the xlt).

I violated this rule when I bought my 06 APEX GT. It required a fair amount of TLC. Most of these gremlins were worked out by the 08 model. So my preference would be to see Yamaha put some effort into improving the durability of the chasis and maybe looking at some innovation in the clutch system that takes better advantage of the wide 4-stroke power band and high revs. For some reason it drives me crazy to see such a beautiful powerplant attached to a drive system that does not allow it to rev freely like it was designd to.

People forget there has been way more R&D done on the motor than any other snowmobile motor out there. This motor is proven. I know cause I own the two wheel version too which is why I made the jump to the APEX in the 1st place. They could turbo it but the drive train as it exists today just isn't up to it in the long run. The guys I see running turbo sleds are not your average riders. There tend to be very mechanically inclined and spend a lot of time wrenching. Labour of love I suppose...

Just my 2 cents :hide:
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You got lucky then. We had one of these in our stable and it was a big POS.
 
Re: Agreed!!

GotJuice said:
niko said:
I think the new pro rmk 800 will do very well once it out, just wait and see :)
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>>>
I couldn't agree more....if they can just get the damn engines to hold together for 3000+ miles they will be AWESOME sleds....I'm waiting to see CAT put the 800 in the race chassis...that will be an awesome machine and I think in another year it will happen...by then we will know how dependable the Polaris will be.
Skidoo will continue to put out time bombs....if you get a good one it'll last a few thousand miles, if not you'll keep getting new ones until a decent one lasts.
Yamaha.....well they'll continue to chant "the best" , "cutting edge" and have the heaviest, least aggressive machines on the market!! History repeats it's self and they've never changed...bottom line is what matters....not mountain sleds.
I too will be jumping ship next year and if Polaris offered a 4 year warranty. I'll be with them.....if not it will be Cat. Love the Apex engine but I'm getting no younger and it's still WAY to heavy in anything other then powder. ;):D
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Once they get their production line up and running in Mexico they should be rock solid!! LOL!!
 
In all honesty though Yamaha does need more than a Nytro for the mountain segment. Offering a turbo or supercharger through their dealer network isn't the real answer either. So you go spend over $10K on a new machine then expect to fork down another $5K to get it up to the others? Either Yamaha has to come with a factory turbo Mt. sled or give us a lightweight two stroke direct fuel injected model. I'd love to see a 700 triple w/ DI pumping out around 150-160 HP for this market. Yamaha has been the only one to accomplish making a real lightweight L/C triple in the past anyways. Yes the Cats were to a point but not really in the motor. It was their thinly built chassis that made them light.
 
triple just are not light with 3 pipes hanging off them and 3 into 1 wont make power. Thats the reason nobody is making triples any more ~ old school/drag racer.
 
bottlerocket said:
triple just are not light with 3 pipes hanging off them and 3 into 1 wont make power. Thats the reason nobody is making triples any more ~ old school/drag racer.
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My Viper obviously must makes good power. I just ran heads up and slightly pulled my buddies Attak yesterday. I have beat every 800 twin I have ever run and I have ran many of them alot....not the 800 etec though. I have stayed with 900 ZRs and even 1000 twin Mach's on the lakes. When the temps get down around 10 deg. my stock Viper flys. I know some peoples Vipers don't run like mine but I must have a good one and I have the clutches dialed. Everyone I ride with just shakes their heads. I currently have over 8200 miles on it and have never blown a belt. That being said I believe more could be had with this engine doing what I mentioned. Yamaha figured this 3 into one system out like no one else did. It has the pto cylinder staggered down in compression compared to the middle and the mag to offset the tuned charge in the pipe.
 
You just made my point and i thank you. None of your competive comparsions were about handling or trailability ~ old school drag racer!
 
bottlerocket said:
You just made my point and i thank you. None of your competive comparsions were about handling or trailability ~ old school drag racer!
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I didn't say to put this engine in a Viper chassis.........I realize that skid is history.
 
Mad Russian - thanks for the heads up :-) that's the way they go hahahaha

Would you please add your location in your userprofile, it's on top of the side. It's a site requirement that you do so :-)

rxrider
TY Management Team
 
I will admit I switched from an 07 apex rtx to a '10 ski doo mxz x 800 and I am regretting it on pure maintenance. Every 500 miles I have to clean the clutches because they are so dirty that I lose power. I have cracked a reed already and my power valves need to be looked at to make sure they arent dirty all the time. I have 2000 miles on it and I have to work on it all the time just to maintain power. I never did anything to my yamaha, I just road the crap out of it. I will be switching back soon. When all the ski doo people were telling me how great ski doo was they never mentioned the maintenance until I had problems. They go o yeah you didn't know you had to clean the clutches. Beware to all of those that are switching.
 
Real world info, thanks for contributing.
 
Ok Guys and Gals!

I'm back with an update on my much frowned-upon switch to SkiDoo (2011 Summit X 163" Etec 800)!

As of this moment, I have 550 miles of trouble-free mountain riding, mostly in deep powder (Northern Colo is having a GREAT snow year!). No burnt belts (still on the original). The sled is 100% stock. The new Etec ROCKS! No smell, no smoke, little noise, easy starts, and strong smooth, almost four-strokeish, power.

No matter what level of rider you are (novice to expert), this sled makes you better as soon as you throw a leg over the seat and pull the cord. Light, Agile, and Powerful, yet Forgiving and very easy to ride. I will NEVER be able to ride this sled to it's maximum potential, this sled will always be better than I am as a rider, in STOCK trim.

And just for reference, I rode my moddified Apex last week to give it some love because it's been sitting in the trailer all by itself so far this season, and I COULD NOT ride it anymore. I have gotten so used to being able to flick the SkiDoo around and go wherever I want, that now I could not adjust back to my Apex. It's still a great sled, but not compared to the SkiDoo, especially in the moutains in deep snow.

I know some people have some problems with SkiDoo products, but everyone needs to understand these are VERY high performance machines and need regular maintainance. If you want a turn the key and go, rock-solid, low maintainance machine, buy a Yamaha. If you want cutting-edge, easy to ride, climb to the top high performance sled, get a new Etec. Just flat-out a GREAT machine! If anyone disagrees, I challange ANYONE to come out to Colorado and ride their Apex/Nytro with me in the steep and deep through the tight trees, I'll even give you a head start! ;)!
 
Maybe we could ride here in Norway in the steep in concrete hard snow, drifts all over the place..... LOL probably not. In my conditions..... it's all about power and durability.... but I'm a flatlander our mountains are no higher than 3400 ft :-)

BTW thanks for your findings :-)
 
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