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Honest Sidewinder feedback?

stahlecker

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Jan 20, 2010
106
51
28
Western NE
I went from a 162 turbo Viper to a 2018 153 Sidewinder. I don’t regret it at all. The 153 without lockout shocks does wheelie.... a lot.

If thinking about a 153 without the lockout shocks all I can say is look into the Skinz ARC. It made a huge difference for me. Love being able to adjust the rear coupling from the handle bars.
 
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canuck5

Member
Aug 25, 2009
60
13
8
Sylvan Lake AB
I've got about 2000km on my mtx sidewinder now all very deep snow days and it has been a blast Evo stage 4 for me sled pulls hard but is very agile and easy to throw around, can roll them over like a two stroke with the rollover valve. I do find cold air intake also wakes these sleds up can become restricted in the deepness without. They are hands down a different beast than the viper was the narrow front end makes it so fun to ride. Pump gas and go. I got 1500km out of my first belt and defiantly pushed it way to hard the day it popped. I came off both Nytro and Apex this is by far the closest thing to a two stroke as it gets.
 
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vector boy

Well-known member
Jan 5, 2008
1,227
405
83
Norfolk, NE
I’d have to agree with canuck5. I haven’t ridden mine back to back with a ‘17. However, going off of how my ‘16 Viper rode to how my ‘18 rides, is night and day easier. My setups (as stated above) are very similar, but I do believe the drop and roll completely changes how these sleds handle, and make them very comparable to the lighter competitor sleds. This past weekend I was pulling lines on a solo ride with confidence in my sled that I wouldn’t have even thought about in a group ride with my Viper.


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freak485

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Feb 4, 2011
581
188
43
Billings, MT
how do these compare to a 15 pro? I have a 15 pro with silber and i put a x3 track on it...looking to upgrade buying a sled that is all set up and has a nice shock package on it is looking appealing....and back in my moto days i always loved the yz450f...so yamahead anyway. I do a mix of riding alot of trees though and back and forth draws..
 

roughriders

Member
Lifetime Membership
Jan 9, 2008
123
18
18
how do these compare to a 15 pro? I have a 15 pro with silber and i put a x3 track on it...looking to upgrade buying a sled that is all set up and has a nice shock package on it is looking appealing....and back in my moto days i always loved the yz450f...so yamahead anyway. I do a mix of riding alot of trees though and back and forth draws..


depends how much boost your running on the pro, I had 14' pro with silber turbo and the SW smokes it no question . that was around 7-8 psi. ran it at 15psi one day, i would say that was getting close to the SW. but it didnt last the day lol
 

freak485

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Feb 4, 2011
581
188
43
Billings, MT
depends how much boost your running on the pro, I had 14' pro with silber turbo and the SW smokes it no question . that was around 7-8 psi. ran it at 15psi one day, i would say that was getting close to the SW. but it didnt last the day lol

yeah i think i have the 7 pound spring in my pro. I haven't rode any of the new sleds and i have moved...before in my town i only had a Polaris dealer, so it made sense to just buy a Polaris sled...was easy that way but now i have access to all dealer in one town...so going to explore them all, i haven't ridden any of the new sleds my 15 is the newest i have rode...seems like there inst a bad choice....i ride alot of trees and small draws so just wondering how this sled does in that type of stuff. am sure its more work but really how much more work especially coming from a pro since it sounds like all the chassis are a even bigger improvement over that.
 

roughriders

Member
Lifetime Membership
Jan 9, 2008
123
18
18
yeah i think i have the 7 pound spring in my pro. I haven't rode any of the new sleds and i have moved...before in my town i only had a Polaris dealer, so it made sense to just buy a Polaris sled...was easy that way but now i have access to all dealer in one town...so going to explore them all, i haven't ridden any of the new sleds my 15 is the newest i have rode...seems like there inst a bad choice....i ride alot of trees and small draws so just wondering how this sled does in that type of stuff. am sure its more work but really how much more work especially coming from a pro since it sounds like all the chassis are a even bigger improvement over that.

i found the pro to be crap on the trail, rough and always bottoming out. the Sw soaks up the woops pretty nice. throttle response is far better than the pro with silber also. i did ride and 850 with a silber on it this year at 5psi, was pretty ipressed with the throttle response on tha
 

nytro41

Well-known member
Premium Member
Oct 11, 2008
386
155
43
Some where in the hills ID
i have a 17 and my brother has an 18. all i can say is i did the most comparing with the exact same sled as i could. one thing i noticed was when we took off we both went about 2ft in say 18" of powder. then mine would stop and start to trench a bit and my brothers would just keep going. the drop and rolled chain case is awesome IMO. the handleing i would say might be a bit better but not much. the other thing we both did was the viper steering post so its the flat steering which some people hate. My last yamaha was a 162 nytro and then i went to cat. so i am used to the flat steering. This year i dropped and rolled the chain case on mine just like the 18-19. My brother and i then went to a conquer 280 (which we both were skeptical) 175 3.5 inch pitch. i must say i love the track. then I went and clipped the center and am running a kmod rear skid bolted an inch and a quarter apart just like the alpha. the difference between mine and my brothers is amazing. mine tips easier and tighter especially with a 175. i can stay in the center all day and he has to jump on the sides. we are still doing some more testing to figure out if thats what he should do. weve also pondered about moving his rails to just inside the rubber lugs on the track like where the boggy wheels sit. sorry about the big long speal but i do love my SW. its not a light 2 stroke but i have gotten it down to 587 Ready to ride and my cousins ski-doo 175 turbo weighs 573 ready to ride.
 
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