So just wanted to do a blurb on why I went back to Yamaha, compared to the previous sleds I have owned. First off I’ve been riding since I was able to walk....now in my 40’s, ive seen a lot change in the sledding industry. It’s actually amazing the technology available for the these sleds. Reliability isnt even a question anymore...they just flat out work.
I grew up on a snojet sst440 and a 1986 Yamaha Enticer. Drove those sleds until you could see Saskatchewan stubble through the skis....Lol. From there I bought my very first brand new sled...1995 Yamaha Vmax 600...this sled is what I had when I transitioned from flat farm riding, to the mountains. Wow...big eye opener there. From there I went to a new 1997 Skidoo 670 summit...man this thing was night and day difference in the mountains, compared to the Vmax 600. Then I bought a used 1999 Polaris rmk 700...ended up installing a 151 on it and it worked well.
A buddy of mine bought a Yamaha RX1 and we all laughed...man that thing is a tank. Then he turbocharged it and did some chassis work....ahhh yeah...I want one.....unbelievable...the power was addictive. So, I sold the Polaris and bought a 2006 Yamaha Apex turbo...this sled was a lot of fun...road it for almost 6 year. Had done quite a bit of modding to it in that time. The downfall to this sled was it’s weight...so I traded it for a used 2008 Yamaha nytro...I can honestly say this sled wasn’t that much fun...I think it’s was mostly because of the m10 rear suspension, but I was pretty excited the day I seen it leave.
From there I bought a used 2013 pro rmk and used 2015 skidoo xm summit 174. Out of all these sleds handling wise the skidoo xm was the funnest sled I rode to date. Power wise and just all around thrills would go to the the apex forsure........But, I wasn’t completely happy with these sleds...at 230 plus gear.... I alway felt the 800 two stroke mill just wasn’t powerful enough. I rode a few buddies 2 stroke turbos , but never did care for the throttle response and reliability was always in the back of my mind. Plus your sticking more money to make them work. So what to do...mmmm the Yamaha Viper with a turbo didn’t sound very appealing from what I read. Plus again I was tired of sinking money into a sled just to try to make it work better.
Yamaha introduces the Sidewinder...factory turbo...hmmm. People were pretty skeptical with any Yamaha mountain sled at this point due to the weight penalty....even the couple dealers I talked to weren’t pushing them at all...they actually didn’t really know much about them. So I started digging for some answers. I heard that the Yamaha demo tour coming locally...ah...yeah ...I need to try one of these for Myself and form my own opinion.
Well all I can say is the rest is history...you can read a detailed report on what I thought about the sled in my other post here. This sled is everything I was looking for ...perfect power and great handling. The power is smooth and manageable, compared to the arm ripping power of previous turbo 4 strokes I’ve had.
We typically ride steep trees in our group......I still get impressed with what this sled is capable of...just when I think..nope not going to make it out...it does it with ease. Is it heavier than a 2 stroke...yes, but not by much wet and in the snow. The biggest way I gauged riding this sled was...at the end of the day I wasn’t dog dead tired ...like the apex days...... Still felt great.
So after a full winter I still am truly amazed how this sled works, and until you try one ...you won’t know what your missing out on.
I grew up on a snojet sst440 and a 1986 Yamaha Enticer. Drove those sleds until you could see Saskatchewan stubble through the skis....Lol. From there I bought my very first brand new sled...1995 Yamaha Vmax 600...this sled is what I had when I transitioned from flat farm riding, to the mountains. Wow...big eye opener there. From there I went to a new 1997 Skidoo 670 summit...man this thing was night and day difference in the mountains, compared to the Vmax 600. Then I bought a used 1999 Polaris rmk 700...ended up installing a 151 on it and it worked well.
A buddy of mine bought a Yamaha RX1 and we all laughed...man that thing is a tank. Then he turbocharged it and did some chassis work....ahhh yeah...I want one.....unbelievable...the power was addictive. So, I sold the Polaris and bought a 2006 Yamaha Apex turbo...this sled was a lot of fun...road it for almost 6 year. Had done quite a bit of modding to it in that time. The downfall to this sled was it’s weight...so I traded it for a used 2008 Yamaha nytro...I can honestly say this sled wasn’t that much fun...I think it’s was mostly because of the m10 rear suspension, but I was pretty excited the day I seen it leave.
From there I bought a used 2013 pro rmk and used 2015 skidoo xm summit 174. Out of all these sleds handling wise the skidoo xm was the funnest sled I rode to date. Power wise and just all around thrills would go to the the apex forsure........But, I wasn’t completely happy with these sleds...at 230 plus gear.... I alway felt the 800 two stroke mill just wasn’t powerful enough. I rode a few buddies 2 stroke turbos , but never did care for the throttle response and reliability was always in the back of my mind. Plus your sticking more money to make them work. So what to do...mmmm the Yamaha Viper with a turbo didn’t sound very appealing from what I read. Plus again I was tired of sinking money into a sled just to try to make it work better.
Yamaha introduces the Sidewinder...factory turbo...hmmm. People were pretty skeptical with any Yamaha mountain sled at this point due to the weight penalty....even the couple dealers I talked to weren’t pushing them at all...they actually didn’t really know much about them. So I started digging for some answers. I heard that the Yamaha demo tour coming locally...ah...yeah ...I need to try one of these for Myself and form my own opinion.
Well all I can say is the rest is history...you can read a detailed report on what I thought about the sled in my other post here. This sled is everything I was looking for ...perfect power and great handling. The power is smooth and manageable, compared to the arm ripping power of previous turbo 4 strokes I’ve had.
We typically ride steep trees in our group......I still get impressed with what this sled is capable of...just when I think..nope not going to make it out...it does it with ease. Is it heavier than a 2 stroke...yes, but not by much wet and in the snow. The biggest way I gauged riding this sled was...at the end of the day I wasn’t dog dead tired ...like the apex days...... Still felt great.
So after a full winter I still am truly amazed how this sled works, and until you try one ...you won’t know what your missing out on.
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