Electric Start XM

HANDSOME · Apr 27, 2012

Anyone know the weight penalty for electric start on an xm ?

snowmobiler · Apr 27, 2012

Norona · Apr 29, 2012

snowmobiler said:
20.

I don't think it is 20 pounds but whatever it is you will not notice it one bit, had e start in my free ride this year and made zero difference to anything other than ease of starting. The sled is easy to start period but for my girlfriend it is a lot safer and easier to start. Like a dirt bike once you have it you won't go back...

Matte Murder · Apr 29, 2012

I have e start on several sleds. I run the Shorai lightweight batteries which are only 2.5lbs and work as good or better than stock. With the lightweight battery it is a little less than 10lbs penalty for the sheer joy of the magic e start button. The ETEC actually pulls a lot harder than my Pro, those injectors need a big shot of electicity to fire so the magnets in the stators are bigger and fight you when pull starting. I also notice that me and my guys always kill their sleds when we stop where guys with pull start leave theirs running. That saves gas and keeps the temps down and I think helps keep the plugs from fouling. At the end of a long day when you are wet, tired and hurt it is priceless.

bailer · Aug 10, 2012

Matte Murder said:
I have e start on several sleds. I run the Shorai lightweight batteries which are only 2.5lbs and work as good or better than stock. With the lightweight battery it is a little less than 10lbs penalty for the sheer joy of the magic e start button. The ETEC actually pulls a lot harder than my Pro, those injectors need a big shot of electicity to fire so the magnets in the stators are bigger and fight you when pull starting. I also notice that me and my guys always kill their sleds when we stop where guys with pull start leave theirs running. That saves gas and keeps the temps down and I think helps keep the plugs from fouling. At the end of a long day when you are wet, tired and hurt it is priceless.

Which model Shorai should I get? Is it the same physical size, post location and does it have as much cca for the cold mornings?

fassteddie · Aug 11, 2012

the starter itself is 6 lbs. the stock battery has to go, if i remember it's like 14.5 lbs. Wade has the perfect setup for the e-start...i think Remko at I-90 has the lite weight batt's this year.

Matte Murder · Aug 11, 2012

Yep I got my batteries from gr8skidoo (Remko at I90). It is the Shorai that is basically the same size as the stock battery but 2.5lbs. You will think you got gipped and they sent you an empty case it is that light. Those Shorai batteries are about $200 and spin the starter as good or better than the stock lead acid battery.

Satdaddy · Aug 19, 2012

Hi;

I had an 08 XP starter on my 2012 last year and it fit no problem
I pulled it out to put it on my new XM I ordered. Does anyone
Know if it will fit on the XM? Dealer could not confirm.

Thanks

TheGuyX · Sep 14, 2012

Dump the Electric Starter

Reasons

1. - Extra Weight
2. - Extra crap on the sled to break. Battery can shake loose.
3. - Etec Pull Start starts as easy as the Electric Start
4. - Electric does not have the pull start.

Last season on my last trip out, hit some serious washboard on the trail up to Silent Pass. My 2011 Etec 800 Summit 154 suspension handled the serious bouncing, but stopped at the bridge, turned off the engine and wham, machine was dead. Looked at my battery, and it had been shaking so bad it broke the main positive to the terminal on the battery and another one of the wires also. It didn't kill my day, but had to open the side of the sled and touch the wires together every time I wanted to start the sled. Pain in the butt, but still had a great day. Solution - Waiting for my 2013 Summit X 154 to arrive in Nov with pull start only. No battery to shake loose.

When I had the old Powertek, the electric start was a must, because it would flood if you flipped the sled upside down, and it was way easier to hit the starter button and let it turn over a bunch, than to pull start a half dozen times. The ETEC does not have that issue, so DUMP the ELECTRIC START. That's my opinion.

Matte Murder · Sep 14, 2012

One, you gotta check stuff on your sled for loose bolts and nuts. That battery didn't just fly off because you hit those bumps. It worked itself loose over time. Two, the light weight batteries that I got come with padding that has sticky back on it. You put it wherever you want it to protect the battery. Then when you tighten it down it has some give that will keep the bracket tight even if the bolt loosens up a lot. The battery is also so light it doesn't stress the mount like a battery 5 times as heavy. I was sold on the E start thing by Dan Adams at one of his clinics. He was pretty adamant about it when I asked him the config he recommended on a 2012 Pro. He was heavily in favor of a 800, 163, E start. Glad I listened to him, very happy with what I got.

SkiDooHoser · Sep 15, 2012

I am looking for a e start set up for my wifes XP if anyone has one for sale.

Trashy · Sep 15, 2012

SkiDooHoser said:
I am looking for a e start set up for my wifes XP if anyone has one for sale.

I have one but I'm in Canada....

There is a reason why its for sale..... with all the money and effort we make to take weight off our sleds (and our bodies for some of us) there is no way in H E double hockey sticks I am carrying around an exrtra 20 pounds all day! The Etec starts so easily it just doesn't make sense, unless you are physically unable to pull it over safely or without hurting yourself.

The Pteks were a different story tho after doing the roll over to get unstuck, especially if you didn't know the tricks of the trade to getting them re-started.

TheGuyX · Sep 20, 2012

Hi Matte. I don't want to get in a pissing match about my battery shaking and breaking some wires, however: The bolts didn't come undone, just the bracket shaking back and forth on a tough 50 k washboard trail caused the wire to the Positive Post to vibrate until it broke along with another small wire. Bolts were still tight. It was the whole bracket that holds the batteries that was shaking.

I am, however, interested in your comment that Dan Adams ( don't know him ) told you at a clinic 800, 163 E-Start. What is the rational for:
1 - E Start vs pull start. Is this for the Pro only. The Etech is stupid easy to pull start! What is his rational for that recommendation.
2 - 800 - No argument there.
3 - 163 - I just traded a 154 in for another 154. I can't think of a situation where the 163 would have been better. I'm interested in what type of situation or terrain that would have the 163 be a better choice and the reasons behind it.

Thanks
JB

Matte Murder said:
One, you gotta check stuff on your sled for loose bolts and nuts. That battery didn't just fly off because you hit those bumps. It worked itself loose over time. Two, the light weight batteries that I got come with padding that has sticky back on it. You put it wherever you want it to protect the battery. Then when you tighten it down it has some give that will keep the bracket tight even if the bolt loosens up a lot. The battery is also so light it doesn't stress the mount like a battery 5 times as heavy. I was sold on the E start thing by Dan Adams at one of his clinics. He was pretty adamant about it when I asked him the config he recommended on a 2012 Pro. He was heavily in favor of a 800, 163, E start. Glad I listened to him, very happy with what I got.

Matte Murder · Sep 20, 2012

Guy one of the big things he teaches is to be more efficient with your riding technique. Sledding is hard enough but you can make it much tougher by relying solely on strength to get the sled to respond. We had one sled in our group at the first class we took from him that came with e start and we were giving my son some crap about it(the sled we bought had e start on it, couldn't get it without when we wanted to buy). Dan just broke in and said he thought that e start was a big advantage. That we wasted a ton of energy starting our sleds 15-25 times a day and that the ten pound weight penalty was nothing(with light weight batteries). He also said with e start you wil shut your sled down every time you stop saving gas and oil and maybe a fouled plug. The other benefit was just the quiet from stopped sleds. That you became more away of Avy signs like whumping or avys going off etc. We had it on one sled the first year and all 3 sleds after that and I prefer having it to not. At the end of a long tough day when you are wet, hurt, worn out , after a big stuck and a long dig out the e start is priceless. With me on my Pro RTR the total weight is over 700 lbs, even a flyweight rider on a Pro it's over 600 RTR. No one can feel 10lbs.

wasatchcomm · Sep 21, 2012

i got estart on my 12 poo, thought it would be great for my wife, it is... but its even better for me, i worked a little harder in the off season and lost a little bit more weight and got a littel stronger to make up for the 20lbs of estart,,, i ordered a new xm with estart,,,, i for one will not own a sled without estart again, unless it is not offered...

i think its awesome...
just my opinion....

Snodawg · Sep 21, 2012

I got E-start on my 11 Pro and wouldn't think of going without it, now. I have a few problems with my right shoulder and it really helps in that dept. But that aside, I love when I get into some precarious positions on the side of a mountain on the wrong side of my sled. I can just reach up and hit the button (I installed a momentary push button at the base of my handlebars) and off I go. I weighed all of the components seperately when I installed a kit on my wifes IQ. Came to 12 lbs with a stock battery. Also, my previous sled was an 07 M8, so when I switched to the Pro I was already losing 60-70 lbs, so the 12 lb "penalty" went un-noticed. It's been bullet proof so far and when this battery finally quits, I will replace it with a light weight one.

summ8rmk · Sep 21, 2012

I want e start!
My 04 RMK has it. But I don't ride it.
My next new sled will have e start.

Snodawg · Sep 21, 2012

summ8rmk said:
I want e start!
My 04 RMK has it. But I don't ride it.
My next new sled will have e start.

Are you jealous of my happy button?

Satdaddy · Oct 7, 2012

Hi;

Anyone know if my 08 XP starter will fit onto a new XM chassis. I had it on my
2012 XP last year and it fit and worked fine.

As for light weight battery; had it installed last year and man is it light. Would
highly recommend; it works great..... Thought e-starts were for wimps, but will
never be without one again. It saves a lot of energy, and I found with all the
starts and stops the day usually brings you never think twice about pressing
the kill switch to take in the whole experience of being in the back country....

Electric Start XM

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