Yamaha Poll: What Skis are you running on your Sidewinder?

[Dicker from JP]

FYI- put an order in for a Curves ski package on Sunday. Called me back on Monday and told me no Yamaha blue available. All the skis were made in an off colour blue that do not match Yamaha blue. They are offering them at a discounted price thou. In the mean time I will be shopping around. Grateful for the ski info here. Thanks

 

[Fredastair]

FYI- put an order in for a Curves ski package on Sunday. Called me back on Monday and told me no Yamaha blue available. All the skis were made in an off colour blue that do not match Yamaha blue. They are offering them at a discounted price thou. In the mean time I will be shopping around. Grateful for the ski info here. Thanks

Bought a pair of the blue curves at snowmobile show in Toronto and the color is very nice match IMO.[emoji41]

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[yam1669]

FYI- put an order in for a Curves ski package on Sunday. Called me back on Monday and told me no Yamaha blue available. All the skis were made in an off colour blue that do not match Yamaha blue. They are offering them at a discounted price thou. In the mean time I will be shopping around. Grateful for the ski info here. Thanks

I was told the same thing by cody at curve, he sent me a pic of the color, it looked alot darker blue, almost purple. It wasn't worth the 10% discount to me.

 

[rebmo]

Sidewinder Model: R-TX-DX
Track Length:129
Studded: Yes, up middle only
Type of rider: Somewhat Aggressive Trail Rider.

Now running SLP Mohawks for the first time this Season with the 6" MH carbides.
Did not like the TunerII skis, TERRIBLE OEM carbides. switched to dual 6" carbides, so so on trail, but horrible in loose snow on trails. Dangerous in loose snow turns. No darting. Useless off trail.
Didn't hear much better on the Tuner IIIs so didn't waste my time. Also not a design for loose snow which does occur on trails.
Hoping for some better control with the wider Mohawk ski in loose trail conditions.
Will report when I get some time on the Mohawk skis.

 

[rebmo]

Up in the U.P. Calumet/Houghton area with the Mohawks (6" carbides) on the Viper R-TX-DX. There's good snow on the trails some packed but mostly loose. Groomers are getting out each night. I am running a 15 Turbo Cat 137" XF-9000 with stock skis and single carbide 6". Lots of darting, aligned tow out at a shop to 1/4" out and now pretty good but still a little shifty with the single runners. Good control on the loose stuff but a little darty on the trails. Now, my son was running the Viper with the Mohawks. I jumped on and did a 30 minute run on trails and off trail (legal spot) and the Mohawks were incredible.

The Tuners with dual 6" carbides were OK on trail but not so good in loose trail and terrible off trail in 8-12" or more. The Mohawks were great on trail, railing in the corners, great on the loose trail, no darting easy steering, and of course great off trail (7-3/8" wide). Cannondale had done the front & rear skid shock (rebuild & revalve) so it was the first time running this setup too. For the first time in 3 years I can say this sled is right were we wanted it. Plush ride in the bumps with the shocks and great handling in loose or packed snow. The Mohawks are soft and compliant and seem to give good feedback throughout rough terrain and turns, yet great control with minimal effort. Front skid shock on maybe 2 turns in from loose. Front springs set just above level when no load. Rear torsion springs lowest setting. Transfer blocks on 2, studded up the middle only straps on last setting (for max travel).

I'm very impressed with the Mohawks. I ordered a second set for my Cat. Running up to Copper Harbor today so I'll report back if any other noted Mohawk performance info.

 

[parepadarappa]

SR Viper Model: 2016 X-TX SE
Track Length:141
Studded: no
Type of rider: Mostly off trail/forest roads

Bought sled new last year as a leftover, upgraded from my 02 SX-R 600. Never had a set of skis so bad I couldn't fix with different carbides, That was until I got my Viper. Tried the stock setup (2" carbides on the inside? What kind of garbage is that) quickly switched to 8" shapers on the inside and put the 2" stockers on the outside. It helped, but like everyone else, it still pushed in corners. Sledding season snuck up on me this year, and I took one ride with the stockers and remembered how bad they sucked. Came home and ordered a pair of Slydog Powder Hound 7" with 8" round bar carbides. One ride and it's night and day. It actually turns in corners now. I only have about 15 miles on the new skis, but the steering is still as heavy as the Tuners, but not being worried about running into a tree makes it worth it. I'm going to change some suspension settings and see if I can eliminate that.

 

[Gway12]

Model: 2016 Viper XTX SE
Track Length: 141
Studded: yes
Type of rider: Aggressive Trail Rider. 15% off trail

Changed to Doo Pilot 5.7 after my stock tuners literally ripped off the ski mount from pulling up to a tree slowly only to back up. Will agree with everyone on this forum, ditch the tuners asap. unless i was almost completely off the throttle i would push through turns and would dart occasionally. I will add for a crossover sled was almost useless off trail with the tuner skis.

Tried out the Doo Pilot 5.7 with snowtrackers off my dads 1200 yesterday. 400km trip over about 10 hrs of trail riding got in a bit of powder. on Trail the skis gave me almost immediate confidence,barely pushed until i was well into throttle and did not dart once all day. On bare roads through towns and gas stations i could turn anywhere i wanted no problem and noticeably more flotation in powder.

 

[jpothof]

SR Viper Model: 2015 X-TX SE
Track Length:141
Studded: no
Type of rider: Aggressive Trail

Found the tuners with stock carbide or shaper bars was good only on hardpack trail. Lost confidence in them with any loose snow on trail as they would push no matter how much I adjusted the suspension. I switched to SLP Mohawks with 6” shaper bars. These needed adjustment of the front skid shock for much less ski pressure, work great in really any trail conditions and better off trail the little bit of that I do. I just couldn’t find a way to run the tuner ski hard in less than perfect trail conditions.


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[RogerThat]

2018 Sidewinder L-TX LE 50th
Track Length: 137
Type of Rider: Aggressive Trail

After reading everyone's feedback and reviews which has been awesome in this thread! I'm left with one question that i'm hoping you guys can help with. I've run the sled with the stock tuners and carbides for about 700 km and their okay as I typically only do big tours on hard packed Quebec or Northern Ontario trails (Coming off a '13 Apex tippy with push in the tight stuff). I haven't had them with any depth of fresh snow which i'm assuming they will be garbage from the comments; I'll be begging to upgrade immediately. I'm in debate over trying the aggressive snowtrackers as a cost effective upgrade to try and save/sort the issues that the tuners suffer from. Or bite the bullet and go for the Curves with a 6" shaper bars etc. Being that I ride long days consecutively 450-500km per day for 3-4 days in a row is the added ski pressure from what some people are commenting on the Curves. Assume proper set up of the suspension with Curves vs. the aggressive Snowtrackers. Thanks in advance!

 

[Riceburner]

2018 Sidewinder L-TX LE 50th
Track Length: 137
Type of Rider: Aggressive Trail

After reading everyone's feedback and reviews which has been awesome in this thread! I'm left with one question that i'm hoping you guys can help with. I've run the sled with the stock tuners and carbides for about 700 km and their okay as I typically only do big tours on hard packed Quebec or Northern Ontario trails (Coming off a '13 Apex tippy with push in the tight stuff). I haven't had them with any depth of fresh snow which i'm assuming they will be garbage from the comments; I'll be begging to upgrade immediately. I'm in debate over trying the aggressive snowtrackers as a cost effective upgrade to try and save/sort the issues that the tuners suffer from. Or bite the bullet and go for the Curves with a 6" shaper bars etc. Being that I ride long days consecutively 450-500km per day for 3-4 days in a row is the added ski pressure from what some people are commenting on the Curves. Assume proper set up of the suspension with Curves vs. the aggressive Snowtrackers. Thanks in advance!

I have the same sled as you.
I have new 2018 version Aggressive Sno Trackers.
Factory suspension settings to start with RaceWerx Adjuster on 1.
No Darting, On Rails Ice and hard pack, some push in loose but not too bad.
Little ski lift , Easy to steer.
They pushed less in the corners than the 2018 850 Renegade in the looser stuff I drove the same day. Caveat. Both sleds set up to transfer.
I would say they would serve you well for big mile trail riding.
I would not recommend them for Aggressive corner riders but perfect for Semi Aggressive or less trail riders IMHO.

 

[thor452]

Model: 2017 ltx le
Track Length: 137
Studded: not yet
Type of rider: Aggressive Trail Rider. 15% off trail
on my dealers request I tried staying with stock tuner III skis and aggressive snow trackers. on stock suspension set up they were terrible pushed darted and extremely heavy steering. added spring pressure to front skid shock and lowered front springs to jus above level on a arms. This made the steering effort lighter to manageable levels and the sled would bite fairly good in most snow conditions with little to no ski lift and almost no push but they still dart like mad. I am quite disappointed in this set up as I had high hope for the ST to take care of things like they did on the apex. I am in the market for new ski options at this point I wonder if I can put the 2012 apex skis on here and put these on the apex.

 

[TrueBlue]

I was told the same thing by cody at curve, he sent me a pic of the color, it looked alot darker blue, almost purple. It wasn't worth the 10% discount to me.

What was the cost of these ski's

 

[yam1669]

What was the cost of these ski's

Cant remember exactly, originals were like 350pr so 10% off that. I didn't like the color so 35bucks off wasn't worth it to me.

 

[RogerThat]

Guess I'm gonna have to go with the Curves with a 6" shaper bar. No point spending on the Snowtrackers only to toss them and spend again. Back to the gym to build up the manual steering.

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[Riceburner]

Model: 2017 ltx le
Track Length: 137
Studded: not yet
Type of rider: Aggressive Trail Rider. 15% off trail
on my dealers request I tried staying with stock tuner III skis and aggressive snow trackers. on stock suspension set up they were terrible pushed darted and extremely heavy steering. added spring pressure to front skid shock and lowered front springs to jus above level on a arms. This made the steering effort lighter to manageable levels and the sled would bite fairly good in most snow conditions with little to no ski lift and almost no push but they still dart like mad. I am quite disappointed in this set up as I had high hope for the ST to take care of things like they did on the apex. I am in the market for new ski options at this point I wonder if I can put the 2012 apex skis on here and put these on the apex.

Seems strange vs my experience which is much better than yours. [see above]

Have you got the 2018 or 2017 version of the Aggressives? They did update them for 2018.

Toe at 0 ?