Test Drove a Viper Today

[Sno Cat]

Test drove a Viper RTX SE & an LTX SE today. I was in the 2nd group out, the trail was fresh.

The RTX darted & the rear fishtaled. The LTX darted but then pushed w/the slightest amount of throttle. Darting & pushing can be resolved w/better carbides & proper setup although, I couldn't see how to adjust weight transfer on the rear skid - maybe you can't??. I could lift the ski in the turn easier than I can on my 1200 Renegade. Clutch engagement was lackluster but the backshift was great. The throttle response was not as crisp & instant as it is on Nytros & Apexes. The sleds are big. The seat's taller than an Apex & they're just as long. The ergos are fine, the fit, finish & 'feel' of the sled is Arctic Cat all the way. The most remarkable thing about the Vipers is how unremarkable they are. They didn't do anything poorly per say, they just didn't excel at anything either. Underwhelming is how I'd describe the sleds. Then for giggles I jumped on a Doo 1200. The clutch engagement & throttle response was better & the front end wasn't nervous like the Viper. The Viper is nice but it's merely average. The Apex remains an excellent sled & is a better trail sled IMO.

I think Yamaha dropped the ball by partnering w/Cat. Yam obviously couldn't afford to develop their own new chassis but the Viper seems to be too much of a compromise. On the upside, the Viper made me realize my Doo 1200 Renegade is the best handling sled in this class, & I am (or was) a Yamaha guy.

Ride on!

 

[Mighty]

Thanks for the review

 

[Bpatch50]

Yamaha can't afford to build a new chassis? Lol. Yeah, they're really hurting for money.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I haven't ridden the viper but the 1200 Doo leaves a lot to be desired as far as I'm concerned. I still think the Nytro is a better overall sled than the 1200 when dialed in correctly.

 

[**sj**]

Thanks for the review

WHAT DID I TELL YOU? and we havent even seen the duarbility and maintenence issues....it would be nearly impossible to partner with cat on this chassis and have the cache of the apex...Im raising the price of 2012 apex a grand...what else is there of that quality and pop for that kind of money? nothing

 

[Mighty]

Thanks for the review

WHAT DID I TELL YOU? and we havent even seen the duarbility and maintenence issues....it would be nearly impossible to partner with cat on this chassis and have the cache of the apex...Im raising the price of 2012 apex a grand...what else is there of that quality and pop for that kind of money? nothing

I hear ya. But my moma always said to never trust a man that wouldn't eat meat

 

[Sno Cat]

Yamaha can't afford to build a new chassis? Lol. Yeah, they're really hurting for money.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I haven't ridden the viper but the 1200 Doo leaves a lot to be desired as far as I'm concerned. I still think the Nytro is a better overall sled than the 1200 when dialed in correctly.

There's no other reason to partner w/Cat other than to avoid the expense of developing their own chassis. The Viper's a phase-shift for Yamaha, they're possibly headed to being only an engine supplier. Suzuki's on the edge of insolvency - I don't think any sled/bike/ATV builders are making hay like they did pre-obama. In Yamaha's own words, 'the last few years have been tough'. Glad you like your Nytro. Cheers.

 

[2008 Nytro RTX]

Thanks for the review,But if I read 10 reviews 9 out of 10 were glowing. Can't please them all,but honestly it seems the front end is a lil nervous on groomed trails but that is nothing some new skis can't take care of.

 

[small-bore]

I went on the Cat demo ride today. I rode a 7000 snopro. It had fuel injection isues. It would pop and lightly backfire when i backed off the gas. I asked the cat rep about it and he said they were still working on the mapping. It was good in the bumps and cornered fine. It darted alot but the trail was rutted so it didnt bother me. It still has that awesome sound.

 

[jtssrx]

The procross I owned was a hoot to drive. So the viper can be tweaked.'the one thing that is going to be an issue is power. My guess looking at the exhaust the sled is going to be at least 10hp down from the nytro. If this sled had a 180 hp motor in it it would be a hole lot more interesting. I don't understand why Yamaha didn't come up with a motor that had front exiting exhaust. Why not have a boost option right away? This sled with a super charger would be a nice setup if you could get say 175 to 180 hp on pump fuel. I ran as much as 260hp on pump gas on my cat turbo.

 

[SledFreak]

Thanks for the review

WHAT DID I TELL YOU? and we havent even seen the duarbility and maintenence issues....it would be nearly impossible to partner with cat on this chassis and have the cache of the apex...Im raising the price of 2012 apex a grand...what else is there of that quality and pop for that kind of money? nothing

Your dreaming! I have seen them for 9200 on ebay..

 

[2008 Nytro RTX]

down 10 HP just cuz the exhaust? No way,it will still come in around 135 HP IMO

 

[Bpatch50]

Viper

There's no other reason to partner w/Cat other than to avoid the expense of developing their own chassis. The Viper's a phase-shift for Yamaha, they're possibly headed to being only an engine supplier. Suzuki's on the edge of insolvency - I don't think any sled/bike/ATV builders are making hay like they did pre-obama. In Yamaha's own words, 'the last few years have been tough'. Glad you like your Nytro. Cheers.

I love how people they assume they know all the details about this situation even though they haven't been released. Yamaha has there reasons and it was clear Cat needed this deal more than Yami.

This could be a short term fix while they continue to build their own chassis. This could be their way of getting around patents. It could be the start of tech sharing across the industry. There's plenty of reasons this might have happened.

And not to get political but I love how you insinuate any industry decline is Obama's fault. That's just funny!

 

[Yamahnator]

Thanks for the review,But if I read 10 reviews 9 out of 10 were glowing. Can't please them all,but honestly it seems the front end is a lil nervous on groomed trails but that is nothing some new skis can't take care of.

No doubt, but some of these guys pounce on any negative like a shark with blood in the water... My take is it is a prototype sled that is probably not a good representative of what's in store. When I ride them i'll take a grain of salt on the handling for setup and focus more on how I feel the chassis actually is.

 

[jtssrx]

down 10 HP just cuz the exhaust? No way,it will still come in around 135 HP IMO

Look at the nytro design and them look at the viper design. That 180 and then the 90 degree bends are huge restrictions.

 

[2008 Nytro RTX]

Thanks for the review,But if I read 10 reviews 9 out of 10 were glowing. Can't please them all,but honestly it seems the front end is a lil nervous on groomed trails but that is nothing some new skis can't take care of.

No doubt, but some of these guys pounce on any negative like a shark with blood in the water... My take is it is a prototype sled that is probably not a good representative of what's in store. When I ride them i'll take a grain of salt on the handling for setup and focus more on how I feel the chassis actually is.

This is also a very good and accurate point,I agree 100%