M8 to M8000 is it all good?

[Goindeep07]

Looking to upgrade my stock '10 M8, I added a 2.6 x 162 PC track last year. this sled has been very reliable and seems to just work, but I hear of all the new models out there and i am on the fence. What will i loose if i go to a new Pro Climb? Reliability? Will it boondock as well? climb out of the steep and deep as well? Also looking at a Pro & XM. Any feedback will help. Thanks

 

[tgoodwin]

I ride an older M and am in the same boat as you. Here is what I have found. I have seat time on the Pro and the XM, not a ton so I'm sure I could get comfortable on either one. I love the feel and how the pro rides, while I did not care at all for the XM, other than the noticeable power difference. I haven't been on the ProClimb yet, but have a close friend who has been on one every year since they've been out. He's been fairly unimpressed with the 12 and 13s, but says the new 14 is amazing. He's always said he feels the power is best on the Cat, but that's about where it ends. This year he says it feels completely different and that now he felt comfortable in all aspects. He's a Skidoo guy and says this is the first time he's been a sled that made him think about jumping ship. There's a place in Garden City UT right now that's selling 14' M8000 sno pro 153s with between 150-350 miles for under $8800. If I had the money that's where I'd be. Good luck. Just make sure you get the clutching set up right if you go Cat, that seems to be the Achilles on this sled. Do it right and you're golden.

 

[Goindeep07]

Thanks for the info! I also have spent a little time on the pro and think i could learn to really like it in time. I heard the XM has good power but over the past couple of years ive ridden with a number of new sleds that work well .. But so does my old M8. Im sure the advantages of the new models are the flickabilty and overall performance, i just dont want to give up reliability or loose ground on the steep climbs by making the change.

 

[Dam Dave]

I think the pro climb out climbs the M8 all day long

only you can decide if its time to change sleds, I will not go back to the M8, I rode on a couple of weeks ago and WOW did it feel like a boat

I say spend quality time on all and then decide

 

[slyrydr]

i bought a 14' sno-pro, 162....clutching is great stock, as is all the other main points that make a good sled...weight transfer, balance, suspension, etc...i have 650 miles on mine, original belt, 0 problems....i also have a 13' xm, good sled, no problems, but have taken the cat as my main ride for a number of reasons, ride, maneuverability, fun factor, stronger engine, climbs better....my main concern about the poo is the engine, it still sucks for reliability once you get to 1000 miles or so, i've pulled out two this year for engines that were totally done, one at just over 700 miles, the other barely had 200...poo is supposed to have a new engine next year, if i was going that way, i'd give it a year to prove itself (or not, poo doesn't seem to have good luck with its' 800's)....dealer is important, almost as important as your sled choice....i had an 09' 1000, and a 10' m-8, both great, dependable rides, if you're not in a hurry, you could stay where you are sled-wise, for sure to see what the new sleds are going to be for next year, but there are a lot of good deals to be had with the 14 m-8000's right now

 

[cowkiller]

I went from an M8 to a 14 proclimb M8000. Like Dave said I ain't going back. I still have my M8 as a back up. I may sell it and pick up another M6000 they are great sleds as well.
I am happy with my 14 that is for sure.

 

[summ8rmk]

The 14 proclimb is not a step backwards from the M.
It took me 200 miles on the 14 to finally get a good feeling of how to ride it. Really different than the M.
I have a little over 300 miles now and am very happy with the sled.
I ride the mountains and most of my rides are 35-45 miles. That takes all day and almost the whole tank of fuel. So about 8 rides to get fully comfortable on the sled.

ridin da yamacat

 

[M8onEdge]

I still have my '10 m8 for my sons to ride. Riding 14 162 m8000 limited this year....550 miles, no belt problems. Rode 13 XM SP last year (400 mi) and 155 Pro the year before (400 mi). Of all the sleds I prefer the 14 M8000. My two cents:
Pro RMK- best extreme sidehill(near vertical stuff), nasty boondock sled. Prefer Cat in lower powder conditions as Pro is a bit "planted" and requires more countersteer to roll. Power less but power to weight is better stock for stock. Haven't seen reliability issues in my rider group including probably 10 sleds since '11.
XM- Great powder sled, easy to ride but not at all like an M8. Major rider adjustment. Deal breaker for me, I didn't like it in low powder and spring conditions due to squirrely feel and wouldn't hold an edge with others in lower sno conditions (plus mine had a limp mode glitch that dealer couldn't fix that left bad taste in mouth...doo not perfect contrary to rumors).
M8000- Closest to the M8 feel if you like that. Have to change the ski's for deep,soft pow. May not be as easily flickable as m8 on downhills and off camber stuff but really close and can hold same sidehills. Overall chassis and rider position way better than m's. Would never go back to M8. Most torque out of bottom. My overall preference.

 

[CO 2.0]

I loved my 2010 M8 162 with 2.6 powerclaw over the 12 proclimb I had, and it had more power for sure than my pro rmk with engine reliability to boot. Always my go to sled for deep riding. Then I got a '14 PC 153. Only time I've ridden my M8 since is when the '14 PC was in the shop. The '14 PC 153 will smoke my modded 2010 M8 162 in deep pow. Even with both having the same track paddle heights. Really amazing how the '14 PC gets on top of the snow and gets the power to the track. I like not having to wipe my hood off the proclimb as much as I do on my M.

I will say though that I sold my Pro rmk cause of reliability. 2 motors in first 1100 miles. I thought the '14 PC was gonna be solid for me, but it's not. Gone through 2 primaries, 1 secondary, engine (bent crank PTO stub from clutch failure), broken chain, & worn bottom aluminum gear in 500+ miles. I pop Cat primaries like it's going out of style. Think I went through 6 on my '10 M8 already in 3500 miles. Polaris clutches are much better.

 

[Xrider]

I think the newer sleds from any of the 3 are better. However we have a guy in our group on an M7 and I'm always blown away at how that thing goes and keeps up. I've ridden it and don't really like it. But they do work well!!

 

[1rarel78]

Hey CO, why not put a P85 on you'r cat? Think you can do that.

 

[CO 2.0]

P85 has been on my radar. Just hard to justify $1000 when you have a warranty.

 

[Vern]

I just picked up a '14 m8000 sp 153 a week ago and I only got one ride so far on really crappy hard snow so not much to go off of but after 8 years on the m7 I didn't think it was a hard transition at all goin to the new chassis. I still need to fine tune the suspension and hopefully find some better snow to get a good feel for it but so far I'm happy. The hardest thing to get used to for me so far is the power, might not be as bad for you guys comin off the m8 h.o. But comin off the 7 its a huge jump in power and she almost threw me a couple times on the mayden voyage. I'm not likin the stories from CO 2.0, they make me a bit nervous but I guess only time will tell. I know on the m7 I got roughly 2k miles per clutch on the older clutches, so hopefully the new clutches aren't worse than that. At the beginning of the season the m7 got a new '14 primary also.

 

[madmax]

Anyone around salt lake city who wants to demo ride a 14 M8000 let me know. Awesome machine.

 

[sled-fiend]

M8-M8000

The transition was easy for me, I also had a pro rmk, the M8000 doesn't feel goofy to me in any way.

 

[M Cat]

I went from a 09 M8 to a 13 proclimb 8 last year. IMO it is twice as easy to ride as my M. As for belt problems I blew on at 420 miles and am at ~700 now so I don't have a complaint there. I spent a little time on a 14 pro last weekend and was not impressed enough to convert at this time. It was harder to put on edge for me but I will say I noticed the weight difference. The power cat has equals the weight difference playing field as far as I could tell.

 

[Latitude 62]

Biggest noticeable difference between the two for me is the ride quality. The suspension on the Pro Climb is far and away better than the 11 M8 I had. Pro Climb has that same great Zook mill, but no rear skid kick back and that front end sucks everything up that I have run it in. I personally like the driven clutch on the M8 better, but, that is the only thing on the M8 that I prefer.

 

[ranger12]

A guy that I ride with went on a family trip with some friends a week ago and he has a 13 ltd with some suspension tweaking done to it a can and a good clutch setup on it. His backup sled is a 09 M8 with a SLP stage something kit and a bunch of other stuff done to it. He said that he had to get on the 09 for a little bit just to see if his 13 was any better. He said that he rode it for about 2 minutes and had enough. He said that he used to think the 09 was good, but no way would he ride it anymore if he didn't have to.

 

[1rarel78]

True that CO. Didn't realize it cost that much to convert.

 

[Vern]

Just got back from my second ride on my m8000 and actually had some good snow this time. Good base with about 1.5-2 ft of fresh on top, in the a.m. It was pretty fluffy but you could tell it got heavier as the day went on. So far I couldn't be happier with this sled, handles awesome. In the soft stuff getting on one side in the "wrong foot forward" position is almost unnecessary except maybe in really tight situations. It responds and lays over awesome in normal riding position with one foot on each board, just putting weight on one foot or the other was all it took and there was actually a few times getting on one side caused some "situations" to arise cuz the sled would react to fast and cut to sharp or try to tip over. She just tractors right along in the snow, there was a few occasions I thought I was gonna end up stuck and new I would have on my m7 that she just dug in and took off like it was nothing. I know I've only rode it twice, but my brother wanted to try it out so we swapped and I hopped on his m7 and even with the little time I have on the proclimb the m7 felt old school and kinda low riderish. As mentioned the skis could be better, you let off the flipper and they drop right into the snow. Early on when the snow was pretty fluffy it didn't bother me but as the snow got heavier when one side would drop in it seemed like it would try and take the sled with it and pull you in that direction. I definitely tried to put her threw her paces today, nailed a good sized tree with the front bumper which tweeked her to one side a bit, will have to invest in one of kevins bumpers when I get some extra coin. Also rolled her twice once on the hill cuz she came off a lip in a climb caught air and landed on her side, and once at the parking lot after the ride but I'd like to pretend that one didn't happen. All in all I'm 100% happy with the purchase so far and think you other guys comin off the M chassis would be as well. As long as none of the little problems that some have mentioned once there's some miles on it don't pop up I'll be happy and be grinning like a giddy little school girl every time I ride. Sorry for the long post