Looking to trade in five year old four stroke Yamaha which drives like a tank in corners. Looking at Ski Doo and Yamaha right now and torn between 4 and 2 stroke for the new sled. New Doo 2 strokes sure burn clean and the rider position is much better on the Ski Doo. Any thoughts on the two makes and the Etec and 4 stroke?
I guess I should mention I mainly ride trails, which are mainly groomed.
the Etec's are amazing for fuel economy. I don't know how they ride though, never been on one, just seen one in action a few times, seems like they do ok... But this was in a mountain setting, not trail.
I dunno a thing about yamahas. No one rides them around here >.>
If I could afford one, I would look really close at an Apex or a Vector. I like sleds that sit a little low and wide for most of my riding I do around here, and I like power. My cousin has an 09 Renegade 800 P-tek, and it's an awesome sled. It depends on if you want to stay with a 4 stroke or if you wanna go back to a good 'ol 2.
If you're getting rid of your yamaha because it was too heavy, then you're probably gonna want to stay away from them again because they haven't solved that issue.... And EPS didn't help their crappy handling, it just made it easier to put up with.
The skidoo chassis is extremely well refined and handling cannot be beat. You would be switching to the lightest chassis on the market. The only thing I don't like about skidoo is that their engine durability is questionable. The main issue being sealed crank bearings drying up fairly early. If you want to stick with the benefits of four stroke and get a much lighter and better handling sled go with the Doo 1200 4 stroke.
I will mention that the 012 cat's seem pretty nice, but a first year sled comes with first year problems.
I don't know, my '05 RX1 does great on groomed trails. Steers easy. Dual carbides. I think alot has to do with setup. My limiter strap is pretty loose and goes through the corners real good with minimal effort.
Not Bias at all! You really should come out and ride a few of my Cats! I haven't heard anything good about the big Doo 4 stroke, the little Ace maybe, but not any better than the Phazer! Just4playmi has a Yami and it's real nice and all but aint any faster than my Pantara!
You obviously haven't looked very hard! It is by far the best chassis for aggressive riding (handling) and one of the only that are capable of jumping that is built around a four stroke engine.
And no way the phazer is better than ace. Twice the mpg, better handling, less weight, and similar speed.
Also, we know you love your panteras and all your cats, but not everybody is as good a tuner as you kckatts!
the E tech is a power house very responsive with great fuel economy, it is direct injected for first pull starts, and its self fogging, the rev xp chassis are rider forward and it really does increase handaling. not to mention they are self fogging.
Honestly, I have had all of these. If you want power, handling, and performance go with a 2 stroke, 800cc Ski Doo ..... Revs are the best ... and yes I still ride both!
I agree, my neighbor has let me ride his 2011 summit 800R etec and they have loads of power, they're great for hillclimbing and he claims to get around 16 mpg. They're overall very good as far as mountain machines go. I think the new ones have around 165 HP so you're not lacking in that department
I rode both the ETEC and 4 tec and OF during Snodeo, power was awesome on both the 800 and 1200, both sleds were very agile and the power curve was like that of an electric motor. I didnt get a chance to ride the Yamahas as there were few sleds there and the line was too long. I was able to ride the Doos 4 times while 1 person was waiting for a singe ride on the Yammi line.
If talking Yammi vs Doo 4 stroke, I went with a Doo because the closest Yamaha has to perform the same as a 4 tec is the Nytro which I believe is a heavier machine. Many owners of the Nytro have complained in the past of the poor handling characteristics of there sled and the hundreds if not thousands of dollars sunk into aftermarket shocks and the ever popular Pilot ski upgrade. I was debating a Nytro myself earlier during the summer and went to a dealer to inquire further about them and was told that the best upgrade one could do is the Pilot ski upgrade, FROM a YAMAHA DEALER!?!?!? Doo parts to make a Yammi better?!?! Im sure that a Nytro will outlast a Doo as the Japanese pretty much make the best gas engines on the planet, but what are you willing to sacrifice for it?? Do you plan on getting 20,000 miles on your next sled?
I rode Yammi's for years but moved away when they went all 4 stroke I had an 800 rev and now the new 600 etec to me there is no comparison I get better than 20mpg and almost a thousand miles to a tank of oil. The power is great and the lighter weight makes all the difference in the world. My future son inlaw and I both ride x package etec's and the two guys we normally ride with are cat riders one on a thundercat and the other on an 07 1000 turbo. They both can outrun us on the lakes but in the trails we beat them up all day long that turbo sled weighs almost twice as much as the etec and beleive me they know it after trying to throw those heavy sleds around all day. And we only have to make one fuel stop to their three!
The only way I will ever give up my etec is to give it to my girlfriend when I buy myself a new 800 etec xrs which the dealer just called and said they have a snowcheck that someone backed out of so this may happen sooner than I thought!
E-TECH!!!! My step father has a 2010 MXZ TNT E-TECH, it is a crazy awesome sled....the thing handles like no other on the trails and the gas mileage is unreal, I fill my 00 xc 600 twice before he has to fill up.
I bought a 2010 Yamaha Vector LX-LT last year. Rode about 3800 mi in 2011, about 1500mi this yr. Mainly groomed trails but also boondocking in open fields and ditchbanging. IMHO it is too heavy and has a very high center of gravity. I have had 3 main problems with this machine. 1. Due to high CG it will tip/rollover very easily, has occurred 3 times, 1 serious rollover with broken WS and plastic parts, all incidents occurred at low speeds in situations totally unexpected. 2. Blew up 2 belts in 10 days last spring due to poor venting of clutch area in warm weather causing over heating of belts(+6C,spring conditions) I removed side panel to improve cooling, no problems after that. 3. Due to significant "darting" issues replaced OEM skiis with dual carbides and solved problems and improved flotation in deep snow. Due to danger of unexpected rollovers I am getting rid of this sled and buying a SkiDo Renegade X 1200 on snow check.
Don't waste your time posting. The OP hasn't been active since starting this thread....
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