J
while ive had my 2011 m8 standard 153 for 3 weeks now. I have rode in the snowies for 2 days and a couple great trips to the up of mich with good deep offtrial snow.
only mods done have been the dogbone a-arm brace, akmodshop dteering post brace, 1" cat riser (im short), inner idlers removed tried powder pros but didnt like them so sold them and put stockers back on, and a mtn addiction gas can and a extra set of hood holddowns rubber latches and a tether.
rolled the sled out of stuck spots 4 times and no issues with hurting the hood (was told rolling a cat is bad, have rolled out my xp dozens of times and will do the same with the cat).
pros:
love the power, love the way it sidehills love the stability and way it handles in the air (no huge jumps but just feel more comfortable jumping it than my xp). love the durability of the m (hit a tree in wyoming that im sure would of tweaked my s-mod on my doo and it didint do anytihng to my m). love the running boards (its so nice to not feel them bend when you get on the sled and love how they expell snow). love the tipped up tunnel, no buddy rides my butt on the trail anymore...lol love how the tunnel and skid dont hold snow. love the powderclaw track and the hook up. love the storage in the seat. love the fuel gauge as the xp ones never work accurately. love the big fuel tank opening. love the ergos of the cat and the narrow running boards. love how easy it is to change clutching wieghts. love the efi, especially after rollovers.. no more pulling 30 times to start a carbed xp.
cons: miss the wheelies with the xp, miss the skidoo 6.9 skis, miss the temp gauge, miss the scratch resistance of the xp tunnel (had polished tunnels on the xp and also did it on the cat, the cat tunnel scratches really easy where as the xp was much tougher to scratches). miss being able to put a track stand under the bumper (cant with teh stock snow flap on the cat). xp handles better on the trail, we hate trails anyway so this is ok.
things i have to get used to but dont think is a pro or con just different:
the 15inch track- the doo 16 would let me do uphill turns tighter and easier with out washing out (could be the sidepanles on the cat as well).
Carving- carving is different on the cat and xp. on the xp you fight to get the sled on its side and it wants to come back to flat. you can use this snap back to an advantage and get the momentum to do some wicked tight carves and do them fast. the cat falls over easy but you have to fight to get it back up so (as of now, still mastering it) i cant caver as tight or as fast on the cat yet. but the cat is easier to carve on and more controlable while carving as well as less work.
unseen bonus of the cat: love the fact that the motor has a proven reliablity track record. love the fact that the chassis is one of the most durable chassis out. love the fact that the a-arms bend before the the bulkhead. i feel more comfortable taking this sled in too the trees and sidehilling above trees whereas on my xp that was risking major expense and repair.
overall: i am very happy with my decison to switch to the 2011 m8. i love this sled.
here is a funny pic of my first day on the sled in wyoming. went to jump to wrong foot forward on the left side while mid air to prepare to sidehill up to the left. but missed the running board completely and ended up rolling azz over apple cart a few times as the sled rolled away with out me.
only mods done have been the dogbone a-arm brace, akmodshop dteering post brace, 1" cat riser (im short), inner idlers removed tried powder pros but didnt like them so sold them and put stockers back on, and a mtn addiction gas can and a extra set of hood holddowns rubber latches and a tether.
rolled the sled out of stuck spots 4 times and no issues with hurting the hood (was told rolling a cat is bad, have rolled out my xp dozens of times and will do the same with the cat).
pros:
love the power, love the way it sidehills love the stability and way it handles in the air (no huge jumps but just feel more comfortable jumping it than my xp). love the durability of the m (hit a tree in wyoming that im sure would of tweaked my s-mod on my doo and it didint do anytihng to my m). love the running boards (its so nice to not feel them bend when you get on the sled and love how they expell snow). love the tipped up tunnel, no buddy rides my butt on the trail anymore...lol love how the tunnel and skid dont hold snow. love the powderclaw track and the hook up. love the storage in the seat. love the fuel gauge as the xp ones never work accurately. love the big fuel tank opening. love the ergos of the cat and the narrow running boards. love how easy it is to change clutching wieghts. love the efi, especially after rollovers.. no more pulling 30 times to start a carbed xp.
cons: miss the wheelies with the xp, miss the skidoo 6.9 skis, miss the temp gauge, miss the scratch resistance of the xp tunnel (had polished tunnels on the xp and also did it on the cat, the cat tunnel scratches really easy where as the xp was much tougher to scratches). miss being able to put a track stand under the bumper (cant with teh stock snow flap on the cat). xp handles better on the trail, we hate trails anyway so this is ok.
things i have to get used to but dont think is a pro or con just different:
the 15inch track- the doo 16 would let me do uphill turns tighter and easier with out washing out (could be the sidepanles on the cat as well).
Carving- carving is different on the cat and xp. on the xp you fight to get the sled on its side and it wants to come back to flat. you can use this snap back to an advantage and get the momentum to do some wicked tight carves and do them fast. the cat falls over easy but you have to fight to get it back up so (as of now, still mastering it) i cant caver as tight or as fast on the cat yet. but the cat is easier to carve on and more controlable while carving as well as less work.
unseen bonus of the cat: love the fact that the motor has a proven reliablity track record. love the fact that the chassis is one of the most durable chassis out. love the fact that the a-arms bend before the the bulkhead. i feel more comfortable taking this sled in too the trees and sidehilling above trees whereas on my xp that was risking major expense and repair.
overall: i am very happy with my decison to switch to the 2011 m8. i love this sled.
here is a funny pic of my first day on the sled in wyoming. went to jump to wrong foot forward on the left side while mid air to prepare to sidehill up to the left. but missed the running board completely and ended up rolling azz over apple cart a few times as the sled rolled away with out me.
