Snocheck M8. All stock with a MBRP can. 153"
Now my regular whip is a XP. This year is a 163(like last) but I was riding a 154 when we took the M8 up the hill for comparison's sake.
Both sleds completely stock with MBRP can's only.
First off, the Cat sounds way way better than the Doo with these cans on them.
Keeping the sled on a sidehill was superbly easy, however, felt much like my old 1M with a forward post and higher seat. Tough to describe but kinda like waterskiing, move your weight back and steer with your legs. Very predictable and to pickup speed just keep her layed over and grab the throttle. Seemed very easy to almost stop and get going again without much effort when sidehilling. Definately less effort than the XP. Although everything I did with the M, I did on my XP(much can be contributed to my experience with the Doo's.)
Low end grunt was a smile to my face, very unlike past laydown cat's and revved faster without question. The torque really impressed me. Just kept moving, even when barely going forward, it never stopped, and like I mentioned, put it on it's side and point it back uphill. I have to be cautious how I word this but it almost seemed mildly boosted in this regard. Torque is king!
Now, what everyone really wants to talk about, but first a small XP overview.
Move your shoulders and the XP moves, unweight one foot and shift over to the other and it moves. However, without having to take a "backseat" feel like the M. It takes more effort to keep on a sidehill, more body english and a need to anticipate what the machine will do whereas the M-Series is very forgivable in the same sense. I can keep an XP on one ski for about half a KM at 35mph, spin nuts whenever i want etc etc. To say that an XP is not rideable or someone is unable to ride an XP is hogwash. Just a little more demanding.
Onto the meet and potatoes. Hillclimbing.
While I did not have a 2010 154 on hand, we did have various '09 XP's to compare against. One T-Yamaha(that blew everything out of the water) and the Polaris' stayed on flat ground all day
Simple pull up hill, straight line the 153 M8 was roughly 7-10ft above the 154 XP. While the 163 XP was 5-6 higher on the hill than the M8. Biggest difference was ground speed going up hill. The Xp's started out of the gate strong but tapered off and lost momentum very quickly after it started slowing down. The M8's torque really shines as it just doesn't seem to stop moving. Obviously I had to turn out at some point but the machine never stopped pulling. Unlike the Xp, the Cat still wanted to propel forward even as it was digging down it felt like it wasn't momentum but traction that was lacking.
Now hitting a hill and by all means necessary get to the top, the 154 XP petered out even after cross hill sidehills to keep momentum before reaching the top. The Cat made it over with some difficulty as it to had to manouver, with a little less effort, up the hill, much like the 154 XP. The 163 XP did not need to sidehill back and forth to the same extent but definately had to zigzag and had minimally more ground speed than the M8 going over the top.
Unless the 2010 XP is that much better than the '09, Cat has got the Yellow crowd covered this season. Given that statement, I'd prefer the M8 motor in the XP myself, however with that not being possible, I'm going to have to work on making our XP's better.
Learning and adapting is the #1 thing when riding any new chassis or anything that is uncomfortable for oneself. Experience is all it takes, but personal preference might override the need to keep riding something that requires more effort than your willing to invest.
All this coming from a guy that keeps his mod 1M in the garage and rides XP's day in and out. I do work at a Doo shop afterall.
P.S. Ride quality on the trails just needed some setting up, definately not set for anyone less than 250lbs on a stutterbump trail. We did not adjust anything as the trail ride in is more about who can make it to the rec site rather than making it enjoyable.
What have others found? Non-bashing would be prefered, if there's nothing positive to say without comparison differences between brands, please leave it out of your reply. I did include my personal thoughts, hopefully you do to, let's keep this one out of the garbage bin with no trash talking .
Now my regular whip is a XP. This year is a 163(like last) but I was riding a 154 when we took the M8 up the hill for comparison's sake.
Both sleds completely stock with MBRP can's only.
First off, the Cat sounds way way better than the Doo with these cans on them.
Keeping the sled on a sidehill was superbly easy, however, felt much like my old 1M with a forward post and higher seat. Tough to describe but kinda like waterskiing, move your weight back and steer with your legs. Very predictable and to pickup speed just keep her layed over and grab the throttle. Seemed very easy to almost stop and get going again without much effort when sidehilling. Definately less effort than the XP. Although everything I did with the M, I did on my XP(much can be contributed to my experience with the Doo's.)
Low end grunt was a smile to my face, very unlike past laydown cat's and revved faster without question. The torque really impressed me. Just kept moving, even when barely going forward, it never stopped, and like I mentioned, put it on it's side and point it back uphill. I have to be cautious how I word this but it almost seemed mildly boosted in this regard. Torque is king!
Now, what everyone really wants to talk about, but first a small XP overview.
Move your shoulders and the XP moves, unweight one foot and shift over to the other and it moves. However, without having to take a "backseat" feel like the M. It takes more effort to keep on a sidehill, more body english and a need to anticipate what the machine will do whereas the M-Series is very forgivable in the same sense. I can keep an XP on one ski for about half a KM at 35mph, spin nuts whenever i want etc etc. To say that an XP is not rideable or someone is unable to ride an XP is hogwash. Just a little more demanding.
Onto the meet and potatoes. Hillclimbing.
While I did not have a 2010 154 on hand, we did have various '09 XP's to compare against. One T-Yamaha(that blew everything out of the water) and the Polaris' stayed on flat ground all day
Simple pull up hill, straight line the 153 M8 was roughly 7-10ft above the 154 XP. While the 163 XP was 5-6 higher on the hill than the M8. Biggest difference was ground speed going up hill. The Xp's started out of the gate strong but tapered off and lost momentum very quickly after it started slowing down. The M8's torque really shines as it just doesn't seem to stop moving. Obviously I had to turn out at some point but the machine never stopped pulling. Unlike the Xp, the Cat still wanted to propel forward even as it was digging down it felt like it wasn't momentum but traction that was lacking. Now hitting a hill and by all means necessary get to the top, the 154 XP petered out even after cross hill sidehills to keep momentum before reaching the top. The Cat made it over with some difficulty as it to had to manouver, with a little less effort, up the hill, much like the 154 XP. The 163 XP did not need to sidehill back and forth to the same extent but definately had to zigzag and had minimally more ground speed than the M8 going over the top.
Unless the 2010 XP is that much better than the '09, Cat has got the Yellow crowd covered this season. Given that statement, I'd prefer the M8 motor in the XP myself, however with that not being possible, I'm going to have to work on making our XP's better.
Learning and adapting is the #1 thing when riding any new chassis or anything that is uncomfortable for oneself. Experience is all it takes, but personal preference might override the need to keep riding something that requires more effort than your willing to invest.
All this coming from a guy that keeps his mod 1M in the garage and rides XP's day in and out. I do work at a Doo shop afterall.
P.S. Ride quality on the trails just needed some setting up, definately not set for anyone less than 250lbs on a stutterbump trail. We did not adjust anything as the trail ride in is more about who can make it to the rec site rather than making it enjoyable.
What have others found? Non-bashing would be prefered, if there's nothing positive to say without comparison differences between brands, please leave it out of your reply. I did include my personal thoughts, hopefully you do to, let's keep this one out of the garbage bin with no trash talking .
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