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Zach Herfindahl was able to. Sounds like he was quite impressed with it. If you look up his racing page on facebook, he posted a few things about it on there. One short video clip of it as well.
Alpha one 154” vs 165”
- Thread starter sledhed21
- Start date
Zach Herfindahl was able to. Sounds like he was quite impressed with it. If you look up his racing page on facebook, he posted a few things about it on there. One short video clip of it as well.
Guys, so after nearly a full season on the Alpha One, what is your final verdict on the 154" vs the 165" Alpha One based on your experiences?
Yes, the 154" will be more nimble in the trees and the 165" will be better on the days when you can't see your handlebars but, what else have you found and/or would recommend to someone interested in buying an Alpha One?
Yes, the 154" will be more nimble in the trees and the 165" will be better on the days when you can't see your handlebars but, what else have you found and/or would recommend to someone interested in buying an Alpha One?
If U like to wheelie, the 165 is not for u.
Polcat
Polcat
Oh I DO love to wheelie!
I have ZBros adjustable bracket behind the rear scissor arm that is set so I won't go over backward anymore but, I am right on the line and it still keeps my front end nice and lively.
Thanks, I think you may be right.
I have ZBros adjustable bracket behind the rear scissor arm that is set so I won't go over backward anymore but, I am right on the line and it still keeps my front end nice and lively.
Thanks, I think you may be right.
I should expand on my statement.
I luv wheelies, i also like the 165.
Yes i miss the wheelies but i can go through tighter trees with the 165.
I don't have to be balls to the wall half out of control, i can slow down, change lines and speed back up while climbing. That is pretty cool.
On real deep days, 165 100%.
Not getting stuck when lots of others need ur help, that's nice also, saves ur energy to be more helpful.
Polcat
I luv wheelies, i also like the 165.
Yes i miss the wheelies but i can go through tighter trees with the 165.
I don't have to be balls to the wall half out of control, i can slow down, change lines and speed back up while climbing. That is pretty cool.
On real deep days, 165 100%.
Not getting stuck when lots of others need ur help, that's nice also, saves ur energy to be more helpful.
Polcat
I spent only a small amount of time on an alpha 154 and about half a day on the 165. The 154 is definitely more playful and lighter feeling. It does wheelie more and compares to me the same as Polaris or Skidoo 150s. The 165 is definitely more planted and causes more steering effort. The benefit of the 165 is that you have more control and allows for more mistakes to happen before you get stuck. It climbs and stays flat better, but comes at a cost of playfulness. You can't do re-entrys as easy and on less deep days it isn't as fun to ride.
Overall I am a 150's track length rider because my snow conditions vary too much and unfortunately I don't get to ride in 3' of fresh powder all day every day so the 150s fits my snow/riding style better. If you do ride deep snow primarily then the 165 will be a beast for you.
Overall I am a 150's track length rider because my snow conditions vary too much and unfortunately I don't get to ride in 3' of fresh powder all day every day so the 150s fits my snow/riding style better. If you do ride deep snow primarily then the 165 will be a beast for you.
Guys, do you have any new revelations to add to this question? I am looking very hard at Alphas now but, I really want to ride them both first because one ride will tell me all I need to know. Before any rides under my belt, I am leaning hard toward a 154" in either a Mountain Cat or Hardcore.
To me at 66 years of age I've had to go longer as I have to go slower because of lower strength, endurance and reaction times, especially in deep snow. I've tried to go back from my 165 to 155 but have to stay on the throttle to much and that many times only gets me into more trouble. The group I ride with have ages from 40 to 66. many of the 50+ guys have all gone long (165" to 175") now. I didn't switch until I hit 62. The younger guys will switch with me for a little while but don't like the heavier, less maneuverable feel of the longer chassis.
I am 50 Years old as of now and i have always had the longer track lengths for as long as i can remember. Besides one 153" that i had to lengthen out with a 3.2 paddle track. All in all last year I bought the wife a 2019 Alpha 600 and i think i rode that thing more than my 165 Alpha with a Silber Turbo pushing anywhere from 8-12 pounds of boost. That 154 was a hoot to ride and was surprised to see how steep and deep it could go!! This year the wife is on a 800 Alpha and i cant wait to get on that thing and see what it can do! I'm old and don"t like to get stuck but i don"t ever remember saying i wish i was on the 165 with the boost and would have just blown through this stuff. The 165 doesn't like to get the front end in the air unless you have your suspension set up for that particular kind of thing or add a lot of extra horsepower at a significant cost and then you can pull the front end and ride wheelies for as long as you want. To sum everything up the Alpha 154 is such a more enjoyable sled to ride unless you are riding with a bunch of guys that all have longer track and added horsepower and half your age. The 154 would probably be my choice but i am one of those guys that always has to add a significant amount of horsepower and then i think the added horsepower would flip my old butt over. The 154 is a very fun sled !!!
Z
Do you plan on just riding it stock? Here's my .02 cents. I bought a alpha 154 and several of my buddies have 165's. In my opinion, the 154 will do just about everything the 165 will do, unless its really deep. In that scenario, the 165 will definitely out perform and out climb the 154 a bit. However, it most situations, the 154 will do everything and anything you need it to, and it has a certain fun factor with how agile and effortless it is to throw around.
Two things I would also consider, so back to keeping it stock? I put a silber turbo on my 154 and now there are days I wish it was a 165. It's an absolute riot and wheelie machine, but it can be a handful. The other thing is, if you go with an alpha, the 154 is very responsive to rider input and is easy to override. I was frustrated at first, but now that I've adjusted my riding style, its been awesome!
Believe me, either way you will not be upset! You will have a blast on either length and it will be nothing but smiles once you get that thing on the snow. Best of luck!
Thanks for the great information guys! You really spelled out the differences. I am 58 but still ride with a younger crowd and enjoy it. To me snowmobiles are a toy. Toys are meant to be fun. 154" are fun at the sake of a small amount of capability. I will gladly give up a few feet of height while climbing any day to be able to easily blip the throttle and lift the front end over a snow covered long. Now if they would just offer me a 154" Alpha Mountain with SHOT!
B
I came off a 174 T3 and what a boring dead fish fawk that thing was. The 165 is a riot and picks up the skis at will too. Pull the front end and turn on a dime, this sled is a serious blast. 154 must be straight squirrely but I'm over 200#'s so can't break my own rule and go with less than a 162 track.
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