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The Nytro XTX is not my first choice for a mountain sled, because, well, it is not a mountain sled.
BUT, Yamaha surprised us this year with a crossover, the XTX. We expected a Nytro MTX mountain sled, not the XTX crossover. However, the Nytro is in high demand by the turbo and supercharger crowd. Those who build these high-horse Nytros for deep-powder high-altitude often convert Nytro RTXs and XTXs into mountain monsters.
For '09, we placed our Yamaha order for an Apex MTX, but Yamaha scrapped the Apex MTX order and sent us the Nytro XTX to test. XTX sports a 144-inch sneaker with 1.25-inch lugs, not a track for mountain guys. But, Wade West, Yamaha's Snowmobile PR specialist, shipped with our XTX an extra big 1.75-inch lugged track. Rexburg Motor Sports performed the swap for us and the XTX was closer to being a mountain snowmobile. Ultimately we liked the handling of the XTX with this taller lugged track!
After the mandatory motor break-in stint, Kevin, his son Jake, and I had the XTX on the mountain and trail each week, and learned that the Nytro's motor is a beaut. It starts easily and runs and pulls hard up the hills. When unleashed for a long haul down a trail, it can build scary fast speed too. For rough trail riding, the front GYTR dual clicker high-pressure gas (HPG) shocks mated to the 41.3-inch ski stance provided absolute positive control. When we slapped the junk whoops the rear skid's 14.5-inches of travel smartly handled the rough terrain as well.
When off trail, the Nytro's 144-inch track could not chase a mountain sled, like a Summit for example, and we did not expect it to. But, if the XTX were placed as a tail gunner sled, poaching in other sleds tracks, it held its own.
Two matters quickly surfaced though, the handlebars were positioned for mostly sitdown riding, and the bars lacked a mountain strap. So, if this were to be "my" crossover sled, I would definitely place a mountain strap on the handlebars with a 4-inch riser block. I believe it would be advantageous for Yamaha to kick out the XTX with the MTX handlebars as other OEMs have done so for their crossover sleds.
One point of interest was that the XTX proved to be the fave sled for several women riders in our group. When Kevin and I took our wives riding, we soon learned the Nytro's easy starting, its comfortable ride, wide ski stance and well-shaped seat were all important to the ladies. Is this to say the XTX is only a woman's sled? Heck no. It's a studly, versatile sled.
Kevin made this assessment, "I had kind of forgotten how fun it is to fly down the trail on a sled designed for the trail. I loved the XTX, mash the throttle in a corner, feel the front-end grab the trail and go. Combine this with a powerful motor, comfortable ride and off-trail capabilities - actually pretty serious off-trail capabilities, and this sled is a serious contender in the crossover segment. The XTX has limits for big mountain riding, but very few limits for meadow bashing and rough trail riding."