Metallicat
TY 4 Stroke God
I am writing from my hotel in St. Ingace, MI after putting on 900+ miles since Tuesday. Leaving tomorrow to go back home. 1400 miles on the odo now!
This sled has quickly become my favorite sled of all times!
Going into this trip, I still wasn't too confident with the Vector's handling. I am happy to say that now I can rail this machine around the corners with more confidence than any other machine I have been on. This maching LOVES throttle through the corners! When you have a sweeping corner, just lay on the throttle and let the back end slide a little, and the front end magically settles down and stays planted as well as any sled I have been on. Even when the inside ski does come up a bit, you can still ride out the corner with the outside ski planted and it just rails! It is a better handling machine than my 1998 ZR with a fully coupled skid! It is just silly how much power you can lay down on the corners with this machine. The only adjustment I made is a limiter strap change, I sucked up the limiter strap 1 hole. I started out with the transfer rod set to minimum transfer but didn't like the way the track spun with no hook-up, so I slowly backed off of the transfer and now have great weight transfer with little to no ski lift in the corners. The transfer rod is now set to one click past standard, towards the max transfer position.
The engine really loosened up over the past 900 miles and now is over-reving. Hitting the throttle at 60mph yields 8800rpm and from a dead stop I am still seeing 8600-8700 on the tach for as long as I dare hold it open.
The Ultimax3 belt kept the rpm's down and did help prevent over-rev when accelerating out of the hole, but honestly I think it shaved about 10mph off of my top end. Is this even possible? The Ultimax3 is slightly longer and is not as wide as the stock belt. With the stock belt, I was cruising at 90mph at just over 1/2 throttle during my first ride of the year. For the first 800 miles of this ride, I was using the Ultimax belt and I could only see 80mph at just over 1/2 throttle. Finally, tonight I put the stock belt back on and voila, 90mph again at the same throttle position! Ultimax3 = 99mph in perfect conditions, stock belt = 105+ in good conditions. Does the belt width really make that much of a difference in top end? It seems to!
The ride of the mono is fantastic, easily outclassing the Polaris Edge models I was riding with. The Edges used to be tops in my book as far as ride quality is concerned. I found that the mono, set at about 6 on the adjustment dial, provides a good ride in the stutters and yet is still confident in the rollers. Set on position 1, the mono would "yo-yo" a bit in the rollers as there wasn't enough rebound dampening. This skid provides very good feedback from the snow. It is plush yet you still have a good sense of the snow conditions. It isn't as plush as a properly calibrated M-10, but it is pretty darned good.
The front suspension is firm yet doesn't provide too much feadback through the handlebars. It is firm in a good way...firm yet giving at the same time. I like it!
I am singing nothing but praises at this time! I can jump this sled too, and it responds better than my ZR since it stays more level and lands even softer!
I'll write more when I get back tomorrow, spent too many hours at the bar next to the hotel to write much more now. LOL!
Just wanted to chime in!
This sled has quickly become my favorite sled of all times!
Going into this trip, I still wasn't too confident with the Vector's handling. I am happy to say that now I can rail this machine around the corners with more confidence than any other machine I have been on. This maching LOVES throttle through the corners! When you have a sweeping corner, just lay on the throttle and let the back end slide a little, and the front end magically settles down and stays planted as well as any sled I have been on. Even when the inside ski does come up a bit, you can still ride out the corner with the outside ski planted and it just rails! It is a better handling machine than my 1998 ZR with a fully coupled skid! It is just silly how much power you can lay down on the corners with this machine. The only adjustment I made is a limiter strap change, I sucked up the limiter strap 1 hole. I started out with the transfer rod set to minimum transfer but didn't like the way the track spun with no hook-up, so I slowly backed off of the transfer and now have great weight transfer with little to no ski lift in the corners. The transfer rod is now set to one click past standard, towards the max transfer position.
The engine really loosened up over the past 900 miles and now is over-reving. Hitting the throttle at 60mph yields 8800rpm and from a dead stop I am still seeing 8600-8700 on the tach for as long as I dare hold it open.
The Ultimax3 belt kept the rpm's down and did help prevent over-rev when accelerating out of the hole, but honestly I think it shaved about 10mph off of my top end. Is this even possible? The Ultimax3 is slightly longer and is not as wide as the stock belt. With the stock belt, I was cruising at 90mph at just over 1/2 throttle during my first ride of the year. For the first 800 miles of this ride, I was using the Ultimax belt and I could only see 80mph at just over 1/2 throttle. Finally, tonight I put the stock belt back on and voila, 90mph again at the same throttle position! Ultimax3 = 99mph in perfect conditions, stock belt = 105+ in good conditions. Does the belt width really make that much of a difference in top end? It seems to!
The ride of the mono is fantastic, easily outclassing the Polaris Edge models I was riding with. The Edges used to be tops in my book as far as ride quality is concerned. I found that the mono, set at about 6 on the adjustment dial, provides a good ride in the stutters and yet is still confident in the rollers. Set on position 1, the mono would "yo-yo" a bit in the rollers as there wasn't enough rebound dampening. This skid provides very good feedback from the snow. It is plush yet you still have a good sense of the snow conditions. It isn't as plush as a properly calibrated M-10, but it is pretty darned good.
The front suspension is firm yet doesn't provide too much feadback through the handlebars. It is firm in a good way...firm yet giving at the same time. I like it!
I am singing nothing but praises at this time! I can jump this sled too, and it responds better than my ZR since it stays more level and lands even softer!
I'll write more when I get back tomorrow, spent too many hours at the bar next to the hotel to write much more now. LOL!
Just wanted to chime in!
MadMax
TY 4 Stroke Master
awsome.............. We just got back from the seney area last week.... "WOW" Loved it.. Couldn't have been better... I have a 05 vector with 4,000 miles.. My two riding buddies have the 08 vector shorties... It took my best friend about 300 miles to get the hang of the new ride.. My other pal took longer.. He was coming off a 01 V-max 600 that he really liked.. He's still not crazy with the taller bars and seat but he just loves the motor and the gas mileage.. How did you do on gas mileage?? Or doesn't really matter to ya? We rode at total of 430 miles and there wasn't a one tenth of a gallon difference between all three vectors.. Can you say quality contol.. MM.trucknut
Extreme
I rode with a friend a couple of weeks ago he had a 05 rage with about 8500miles on the clock.Mine was brand new out of the trailer o miles. first tank was 2 tenths more than his.these motor's are amazing!
Hey Metallicat, YOU SUCK! LOL 
No, I'm not yellous...
Will you please stop posting all these riding-reports while I don't have any real snow yet... LOL
Sounds like you're having a blast! Good report. Could you try to figure out the MPG between you're next fillup? I guess we are a few wanting to know this...
Oh, BTW, how are the doo-wheels holding up? Any excessive hyfax-wear yet?
No, I'm not yellous...
Will you please stop posting all these riding-reports while I don't have any real snow yet... LOL Sounds like you're having a blast! Good report. Could you try to figure out the MPG between you're next fillup? I guess we are a few wanting to know this...
Oh, BTW, how are the doo-wheels holding up? Any excessive hyfax-wear yet?
Metallicat
TY 4 Stroke God
Mileage seemed to always work out to around 16mpg. This was cruising at speeds between 60 and 80mph with lots of WOT blasts.
Hyfax wear is pretty darned good. My hyfax are worn about 1/2 way in the worst areas at the front of the rail. Should be good for at least another 1500 miles if not more.
The Doo wheels are great! No complaints about the rear end at all!
Hyfax wear is pretty darned good. My hyfax are worn about 1/2 way in the worst areas at the front of the rail. Should be good for at least another 1500 miles if not more.
The Doo wheels are great! No complaints about the rear end at all!
Metallicat
TY 4 Stroke God
Yeah, hope you get some ride time in soon! Any place you can trailer to?
I was 300 miles away from home on this trip.
I was 300 miles away from home on this trip.
RSV said:OK, sounds great!
Metallicat said:
Yeah, it's sloooowly getting better here, but I have to work this and next weekend, but after that I'll be able to get some riding in, I hope...
I just want 3-4 feet of fluff to try the new track in, but it doesen't seem to be going that way... The big riding time around here is the easter, when most of us are off work. I was hoping to get the first 800km in before that, but it doesent seem to be happening... We'll see.
Metallicat
TY 4 Stroke God
Around here, all of the snow is gone by Easter, so I suppose I will be jealously reading your posts in a couple of months while I am sitting at my computer, watching the grass green up! LOL!
RSV said:Yeah, it's sloooowly getting better here, but I have to work this and next weekend, but after that I'll be able to get some riding in, I hope...
Yeah, you bet I'll be posting then!!! LOL!!!Metallicat said:
It's been a weird winter this far... I guess I jinxed it with buying this track! LOL
Metallicat
TY 4 Stroke God
What's really wierd, is I did not see a single 2008 Vector on the trails this weekend. Lots of new Apex models and FX Nytros, but not a single new Vector. I think a lot of people are missing out on one of the finest trails sleds on the planet. Plus, it seems like a lot of people think they need 150hp to go trail riding. Lots of BIG hp sleds on the trails nowadays. I can not use all of the power of my sled since I never feel safe winding up past 90mph on the trails anyway. Yeah, once in a while on a very wide, long, flat trail I will hold it open for a while. I still don't care to go that fast for very long.
Heh, yes, it's even more scarse over here... I was the only one who had ordered the Vector in the spring at my dealer. It seems the whole world is going ditch-banging, since "everybody" over here are buying the Nytro. I like it, so I have a different sled from everybody else. I just love the 120-engine, so I would never buy any other model then this... I just hope Yamaha doesen't screw up this engine with trying to improve it, because it's just perfect as it is.
How were you doing MPG-wise against the other sleds you were riding with?
How were you doing MPG-wise against the other sleds you were riding with?
Metallicat
TY 4 Stroke God
RSV said:
I was only averaging about 1-2mpg better than the properly jetted 2001 Polaris XC600 I was riding with. He was doing great in the mpg department.
Against my dad's 2002 Edge 600 with an inch and an quarter track, about 4mpg better. Funny, his sled only hits about 95mph on the speedo with that track. It is about 10mph slower than the standard Polaris tracked 600. It takes a lot of hp to spin those larger full block pattern tracks.
2002 XC700 with an inch and a quarter track, about 5-6 mpg better.
Sooooo, when will your dad be upgrading to a Vector? LOL
The '01 600 must be on the edge when it comes to jetting? The 600 Poo's I've ridden with have never gotten over 10 to 11 MPG... Not even at a steady cruise.
The '01 600 must be on the edge when it comes to jetting? The 600 Poo's I've ridden with have never gotten over 10 to 11 MPG... Not even at a steady cruise.
Metallicat
TY 4 Stroke God
My cousin, who owns the 600 Edge, dropped his needles 1 position and he is now getting close to 15mpg just cruising between 60 and 70. My dad's 600 was only in the 10-11mpg range.
But you have to remember that when I was using the Ultimax3 belt, it took a lot more throttle to reach higher speeds than it did with the stock belt. The Ultimax is not the way to go. I thought for the longest time that it was just the snow conditions, then when I finally changed back to the stock belt I picked up 10mph at the mid-way throttle position. With the stock belt, we rode 100 miles last night and I was still showing over 1/2 tank of fuel. I think I am going to pick up the new 8DN belt which is supposed to be a bit softer and a bit wider. The Ultimax can go in the garbage as far as I am concerned. When I fill up my sled tomorrow or the next day, I will have a true estimate on the mileage with the stock belt.
But you have to remember that when I was using the Ultimax3 belt, it took a lot more throttle to reach higher speeds than it did with the stock belt. The Ultimax is not the way to go. I thought for the longest time that it was just the snow conditions, then when I finally changed back to the stock belt I picked up 10mph at the mid-way throttle position. With the stock belt, we rode 100 miles last night and I was still showing over 1/2 tank of fuel. I think I am going to pick up the new 8DN belt which is supposed to be a bit softer and a bit wider. The Ultimax can go in the garbage as far as I am concerned. When I fill up my sled tomorrow or the next day, I will have a true estimate on the mileage with the stock belt.
RSV said:
