SLED-jack'd

[Datdude]

I am on my third Ski Doo and they have been very good to me. The other thing that keeps me on Ski Doo is the dealer support I get. The local Polaris and Cat dealers have a pretty bad reputation for service, and I am not a member of AARP which means no Yamaha for me

[Maristar210]

Originally Posted by Datdude

I am on my third Ski Doo and they have been very good to me. The other thing that keeps me on Ski Doo is the dealer support I get. The local Polaris and Cat dealers have a pretty bad reputation for service, and I am not a member of AARP which means no Yamaha for me

HA Datdude I laughed out loud....

My buddy has an 06 800 Renegade that I get to ride, That sled is awesome

Even more awesome because it costs me ZERO and in exchange he gets rides / pulls in the summer..

[Datdude]

Originally Posted by Maristar210

HA Datdude I laughed out loud....

My buddy has an 06 800 Renegade that I get to ride, That sled is awesome

Even more awesome because it costs me ZERO and in exchange he gets rides / pulls in the summer..

Glad I could make you laugh. That might offend some people

That is a pretty sweet deal you have worked out! Do you guys have any snow?

[Maristar210]

Originally Posted by Datdude

Glad I could make you laugh. That might offend some people

That is a pretty sweet deal you have worked out! Do you guys have any snow?

In West Michigan and especially SW Michigan we have been hammered and for a change it has been snow instead of the beer.

Some parts west of Kalamazoo have had 2 FEET of snow in the last two days. Holland Michigan is over a foot in that period. In Grand Rapids we have had about 6 in the last two days.

There is actually more snow in Western Michigan than there is in the UP which is strange.

Check it out for yourself...

http://www.fishweb.com/recreation/sn...s/trails1.html

[Workin' 4 Toys]

Originally Posted by Datdude

I am on my third Ski Doo and they have been very good to me. The other thing that keeps me on Ski Doo is the dealer support I get. The local Polaris and Cat dealers have a pretty bad reputation for service, and I am not a member of AARP which means no Yamaha for me

I am for one, very disappointed REDLINE didn't get further than it did.
IMO they had tremendous potential.
As I understand it, they were being designed and built by a professional dune buggy builder out of California. I saw a few on demonstration before they started selling them. And then... poof .... gone... But they had what I wanted....

[bigmac]

Originally Posted by Workin' 4 Toys

BM..I knew you'd appreciate the humor.

I don't know what the problem could be with their cats. Don't get me wrong, they all have problems. I don't know many skidoo riders, but the few I have had the opportunity to ride with claim to never have problems. This including some guys that live in the U.P. that have LOTS of $$$$, and ride LOTS of miles by themselves, so reliability is of utmost importance in the northwoods often with noone around. That being said, they have access to all the brands.

I have owned 3 yamahas personnally, 2 of which gave me nothing but headaches and the 3rd was beginning to when I got rid of it. I'll leave it at that.
There are more than a few people I ride with into yami (new ones being 04-07) a they have had problems too. Some the handwarmers won't warm enough to keep the -20 degree temps off where all other brands had zero problems. Some konk out while driving, some wouldn't start, some ate up hyfax, and another blew his chaincase apart, some are having nightmares with the adjustable shocks...

Cat reliability has been an issue for many, many years. I've owned Arctic Cat, Polaris, and Yamaha and from a reliability standpoint, Yamaha wins hands down. I really like their 4 strokes, but I'm not sure I like the handling. Polaris - well, I'd never own one again, especially now that there appears to be at least a fair chance they'll get out of snowmobiling altogether. Cats have innovative engineering concepts - their suspension/chassis has led the pack for many years but those things just won't hold together. I'd never own one again until they get their act together - if and when. If we ever get winter back around here, I'm thinkin' SkiDoo is likely going to make my next sled. Their fit/finish and engineering execution appears to equal Yamaha and I think the handling is superior based on my limited saddle time on a couple this past week. 32 years of snowmobiling in conventional riding position has me just a little skeptical about rider-forward, but, although I am a member of AARP, I suspect I still have a few new tricks left in me.

[Datdude]

Sorry about the whole AARP thing bigmac............................

Once you get used to the REV seating position, there is no equal IMHO. It took me about 1 day to get totally comfortable with the handling of the sled. After that it was all over

[bigmac]

Originally Posted by Datdude

Sorry about the whole AARP thing bigmac............................

Once you get used to the REV seating position, there is no equal IMHO. It took me about 1 day to get totally comfortable with the handling of the sled. After that it was all over

The riding position I can get used to, may end up preferring. I do know that SkiDoo's front suspension has been evolving, but lagging, the movement of weight toward the front of the sled and from what I read, they've just about got it nailed. Ironically, I always hated SkiDoo handling because of the inside ski lift. Now, the SkiDoos don't do that and my Yamaha does. Granted, I'm running way too much carbide (6 inches of 60 degree) and that was made worse by the very smooth but concrete-hard trails in Montana, but even so I found the SkiDoo handling to be better and more predictable.

[Datdude]

In 2006 Ski Doo lowered the front height by 1.5" (I think) and that really seemed to help the cornering. My current REV is a 440cc snowcross race sled that is "jacked up" in the front so it is a totally different animal. On my sled I found that I can not sit back and let the sled do the work. I need to RIDE the sled and lean into every turn or the sled wants to throw me off the high side. The ultra stiff front suspension I need/want for the off trail riding we do does not help this condition in any way. Once used to this, I find the sled to be totally predictable and fun. My Yamaha experience is limited to my buddies 2006 Apex GT. The power on that sled was amazing(coming from a little 440LC), but the sled tended to push real bad in the corners. It was unstudded and it had 6" of carbide (degree unknown). It was a little unsettling coming into a corner and not knowing if the sled was going to turn or not. I only spent a few hours on the sled, so maybe it was just something to get used to? It may have been a setup issue as well. He has since sold the sled so I will never know.

[bigmac]

Originally Posted by Datdude

In 2006 Ski Doo lowered the front height by 1.5" (I think) and that really seemed to help the cornering. My current REV is a 440cc snowcross race sled that is "jacked up" in the front so it is a totally different animal. On my sled I found that I can not sit back and let the sled do the work. I need to RIDE the sled and lean into every turn or the sled wants to throw me off the high side. The ultra stiff front suspension I need/want for the off trail riding we do does not help this condition in any way. Once used to this, I find the sled to be totally predictable and fun. My Yamaha experience is limited to my buddies 2006 Apex GT. The power on that sled was amazing(coming from a little 440LC), but the sled tended to push real bad in the corners. It was unstudded and it had 6" of carbide (degree unknown). It was a little unsettling coming into a corner and not knowing if the sled was going to turn or not. I only spent a few hours on the sled, so maybe it was just something to get used to? It may have been a setup issue as well. He has since sold the sled so I will never know.

Likely a setup issue. A sled that pushes with 6 inches of carbide with an unstudded track just doesn't have enough ski pressure. I'm not impressed with Yamaha's stock suspension setup and adjustments are complex with multiple interrelationships - my sled came with a DVD and a laminated card about how to tweak, but it never addressed those interrelationships. My Vector came with 3 inches of carbide and likewise pushed in the corners. I tweaked the limiter strap one hole and switched to 6 inches and now the problem is just the opposite. I was glad to have that steering in the big snow fields out there, but it was a b1tch to steer on their groomed trails and I did not enjoy 150 miles of forest twisties. The Apex can be a great trail sled - if I were your buddy I'd add some ski pressure. It's annoying that current Yamaha sled have to undergo so much suspension tweaking to get them to perform properly.