Phazer questions; considering a purchase and need advice

This is my first post on TY and I hope I can get some good advice. From looking around on here, it seems that this is a great site. Now for the questions! I have been riding Cat for quite a while. My latest sled was a 07 F8 Snopro. I sold it after about 750 miles and one season. The main reason was what I felt was lack of performance. The sled rode great and handled alright, but the fun factor didn't exist. From the first time I sat on a Phazer the ergos seemed perfect and it feels like they would be a blast!

We mainly ride trails in N Wisc. and Michigan so I'm not worried about having a 100 mph sled. I am looking for something that has GREAT bottom end and can take the rough trails when needed.

I noticed last weekend at Nelson's in Mi. that the front of my 07 cat was considerably heavier that the new Nytros. What is the real life weight of the Phazers?

There also seem to have been some minor issuses with the 07 Phazers. Has there been a fix for the issues listed on here?

That's enough for now...Thanks in advance for your comments!!!

Bill

Welcome to the site, we have some pretty dedicated Phazer owners who should be able to give you an honest review.

Personally, I have two '07's an FX and a GT and they're both unique in the way they ride and handle. I felt the issues with the '07's were "relatively" minor and the ones I considered problems have been corrected in subsequent years. Naturally, there will be things that others consider issues that weren't addressed so I'll just leave it at that.

While I think you'll find the Phazer scores high in "fun factor", I also believe you may end up disappointed when the trails get straight and your buddies walk away from you while you have the throttle pinned to the bar considering you felt the F8 lacked in performance. I would steer your toward a Nytro given your original post.

Hopefully this will help get the thread started and I'll leave it to the real riders to fill in the blanks.

I think setting the skis to the wider position helped with some of the tipyness (if that's a word). Then mostly jsut playing with the suspension and either dialing it in or getting a revalve (more progressive) if needed. I have a blast on my wifes Mtn. but I do feel like a little kid on a Bravo when we hit the straights, at 65-75 mph max, there're gone quickly. I think the main thing with this sled is to make it quicker in the nastly and twisty stuff rather than try to get more mid to top end. There's only 80 in there so you've only got so much to work with. For me, suspension tuning/upgrades are were you'll find the most improvement.

Thanks for the opinions! I don't think that the lower speed on top end will matter that much to me. We mainly ride in Northern Wisconsin and our group always trys to avoid the rail grades. If the 0 - 50 or so is quick, and it handles the twisties well, that is where we mostly ride anyway.

A dealer close to here has a left over 07 GT that I can buy for $6000 + tax. Would that be a decent deal, or should I try to pick a used one?

Bill

In my opinion that is not a very good deal for that sled. First of all just so you know since you are looking for a sled that is good in the twisties, just know that the phazer has more inside ski lift that most others out there. Also no matter what everybody says about 4 stroke power, the fact is that the phazer only puts out 80 hp and will only compare to the cat 800 which puts out 145 hp for a mere second. Having said that though it is a great sled and I would buy it again. And for only 80 horse it does put out some decent grunt down low. Some advice, try to stay away from the 07's, I have an 07 and there was a couple updates from the 07's to the 08's. Check out my response to this guys post and it should give you some info on the 07's http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php?t=59043
As far as price goes a new 07 should be a bit less than 5000$ now in my opinion. You should maybe even be able to find a new 07 in the mid to low 4's. lI bought my 07 phazer FX new from port yamaha at the end of the 07 season for like 5500$ new plus tax, and later in the season they went down even more to 5300$. Got to go, any more questions ask me I will be glad to give my opinion, I will have more time to respond later.

Also just read read over your post and since you had a sno pro last and have not complained about the stiffness, I would go for a phazer RTX and just put the bigger windshield and additional wind deflectors on it. I think the GT might be to soft for you if you ride aggressive in the trails.

I agree with tkuss regarding the price and would like to comment that the dealer is not necessarily trying to screw you on the price. If the dealer had that sled in inventory for two seasons they've had to pay the cost to carry it that long. An informed consumer, such as yourself now, shouldn't pay for their forecast error but they shouldn't take a loss if they want to stay in business. If you happen to like the dealer and want that particular sled you can close the price gap by adding higher margin (lower cost to the dealer) gear and accessory items to make the deal.

All things being equal, the "shopping season" has just begun and shopping can be a big part of the fun so don't be too quick to pull the trigger unless you've found a smoking hot deal. The deal you described wasn't even lukewarm.

American Snowmobiler weighed a gassed up '07 MtnLite at 590 lbs. Short trackers are 35 lbs or so lighter. 8 gallons gas is about 50 lbs.

So, short trackers should be about 500 lbs, ready-to-ride, no gas.

In early January 2007, I bought a NEW 2007 FX for $5350. Two years later, a dealer asking $6,000 for a GT is way off the mark. Way off.

I would stay away from any Phazer with the base level shocks like the 2007 GT. Go with the GYTR coils at a minimum. You will want the clickers. The Phazer and Nytro chassis are all about suspension adjustability - not all out speed. When the suspension setup is off - the sled is a turd. When its dialed in, your face hurts like hell from grinning ear-to-ear all day long. Don't settle for shocks without clickers. You will need to dial it in - takes some time and experimenting - but absolutlely worth it.

A good rider on a Phazer who is willing to lean out and push the sled, can hang with anything else on the typical northern WI trails (and have the most fun of anyone). When the "hot" rider in our group is on his Phazer, he can put his ski up the tunnel of any FX Nytro, REV 600, or Rev 800 in our group in the tight and twisties.

However, when we hit the 10 mile lake run, he just plays and cruises, because after a very short time, all he sees is snow dust.

Personally, I have never had a bad day on the Phazer - always fun. However, the Nytro is Soooooo quick off the bottom, its addicting.

If others in your group are riding Phazers, its a total blast, but if you are the only one, and there's lots of lakes between points A and B, then you may get tired of getting dropped all the time.