I just wanted to post a ride report on the new Yamaha sidewinder....figured the general section is the best so everyone can read and also ties into the cats....we had a opportunity to ride one through the power tour they have on right now.... just a little background on what sleds I have rode in the past. First 4stroke I had was a turbo apex...rode it from 05-11 which was amazing sled power wise, but the end of the day I was wiped...then tnytro from 11-13 never did care for this sled. Then went to a pro 800 and currently skidoo t3 174. Ever since Yamaha went to a cat chassis I just haven't been interested, not that there a bad sled but just not a fan. The other reason I stayed away was the pile of cash needed to make them a rideable contender in the mountains, and by mountains I mean boondocking and tree riding. So fast forward to this year and the sidewinder sounds like guys are really enjoying it....hmmmm better find out how this thing works. Snow conditions were pretty good foot or more of fresh overnight, with a decent base.( some sugary spots with no base ). Temp was around -1
Initial impression on the trail, the power was very smooth and responsive. I couldn't even tell it had a turbo because there was zero lag, but the true story with that will be when riding off the trail. The other thing I noticed right away is how easy it steers on the trail..no ski pressure like its predecessors. Also since it has no stabilizer bar I figured it would be hard to handle on the corners in the trail, but it handled them well.
When we got off the trail I figured it's probably going to take some time to get use to the handling and the weight again, but it didn't. Jamie our demo rep even said take it slow till you get use to it ....lol .....It felt very comfortable right away(besides the handlebars being to low for me)and very responsive to rider input....,honesty the way it handled I couldn't tell it was heavier than my t3. They did such a great job centralizing the weight of the motor.
Needless to say I was very impressed with the sidewinder....I believe it performed just as well as my t3 and even better in some instances due to the power. The power was very smooth and usable....didn't ever feel I was screaming out of control. Throttle response was there all the time .....Side hilling was very easy...took a bit more to get on edge than my t3 but once your there it holds a line and doesn't wash out from what I could find. Even one spot I dropped into is a very steep side hill with nowhere to turn around at the bottom due to a wall of trees. It is a very technical line and this thing handled it with ease ....it's a good pull on my t3 and the sidewinder had power to spare. There is no way I would of tried this with my apex because getting it point back up the hill would a been near impossible.
The other thing I wanted to tested out was rolling it over when I was stuck ....weight wise and oil running out like the previous models. lol I found a few spots for that, with a bit of shovelling we rolled it over and had zero issues with the oil running out. Actually rolled over pretty easy.
Anyway I believe this is a true contender for mountain riding and will be riding one of these in the near future....thanks to Randy and Jamie for setting this up and Ghostriders in Fernie BC. Great day and met some new friends.
Changes I would make is higher bars, clean the controls up to be less congested, 174 3", tether, cold air intake, lightweight down pipe and boards.
http://vid61.photobucket.com/albums/h60/Turblue/IMG_4795_zps6fcea6cr.mp4
http://vid61.photobucket.com/albums/h60/Turblue/IMG_4798_zps8pw5ugn3.mp4
https://www.snowest.com/2016/03/yamaha-2017-sidewinder-mtx-turbo
http://snowgoer.com/latest-news/qa-yamaha-engineer-explains-technology-of-new-998-turbo/23834/
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Wxy-j4rZdMk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A0bEiYLloho" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Update 2018's here
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sesazKqIp2Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
2017 mtx
2018 mtx
Attack Angle comparison from 2017 to 2018
2017
2018
Initial impression on the trail, the power was very smooth and responsive. I couldn't even tell it had a turbo because there was zero lag, but the true story with that will be when riding off the trail. The other thing I noticed right away is how easy it steers on the trail..no ski pressure like its predecessors. Also since it has no stabilizer bar I figured it would be hard to handle on the corners in the trail, but it handled them well.
When we got off the trail I figured it's probably going to take some time to get use to the handling and the weight again, but it didn't. Jamie our demo rep even said take it slow till you get use to it ....lol .....It felt very comfortable right away(besides the handlebars being to low for me)and very responsive to rider input....,honesty the way it handled I couldn't tell it was heavier than my t3. They did such a great job centralizing the weight of the motor.
Needless to say I was very impressed with the sidewinder....I believe it performed just as well as my t3 and even better in some instances due to the power. The power was very smooth and usable....didn't ever feel I was screaming out of control. Throttle response was there all the time .....Side hilling was very easy...took a bit more to get on edge than my t3 but once your there it holds a line and doesn't wash out from what I could find. Even one spot I dropped into is a very steep side hill with nowhere to turn around at the bottom due to a wall of trees. It is a very technical line and this thing handled it with ease ....it's a good pull on my t3 and the sidewinder had power to spare. There is no way I would of tried this with my apex because getting it point back up the hill would a been near impossible.
The other thing I wanted to tested out was rolling it over when I was stuck ....weight wise and oil running out like the previous models. lol I found a few spots for that, with a bit of shovelling we rolled it over and had zero issues with the oil running out. Actually rolled over pretty easy.
Anyway I believe this is a true contender for mountain riding and will be riding one of these in the near future....thanks to Randy and Jamie for setting this up and Ghostriders in Fernie BC. Great day and met some new friends.
Changes I would make is higher bars, clean the controls up to be less congested, 174 3", tether, cold air intake, lightweight down pipe and boards.
http://vid61.photobucket.com/albums/h60/Turblue/IMG_4795_zps6fcea6cr.mp4
http://vid61.photobucket.com/albums/h60/Turblue/IMG_4798_zps8pw5ugn3.mp4
https://www.snowest.com/2016/03/yamaha-2017-sidewinder-mtx-turbo
http://snowgoer.com/latest-news/qa-yamaha-engineer-explains-technology-of-new-998-turbo/23834/
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Wxy-j4rZdMk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A0bEiYLloho" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Update 2018's here
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sesazKqIp2Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
2017 mtx
2018 mtx
Attack Angle comparison from 2017 to 2018
2017
2018
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