So since 2011 I have been happily tearing up the hillsides on a Pro RMK. Today was my first ride on an XM and the following are my first impressions.
1st off. I picked up a 2015 T3 163 from a gentleman who ended up injured and I have been very anxious to ride it. Unfortunately, I got it home and began to add an hps can, skid plate, etc. I went to start it up to back it out so I could repair some of my rental equipment and I couldn't get it to start. Finally it starts and won't stay running. Needless to say it's at the dealer trying to find out what's wrong. I gotta say, it's a nice welcome back to doo.
Luckily for me I have a couple SP 154's in my fleet this year, so rather than jumping onto my Pro I take out one of my 15 sp's. My Pro from the last couple years has been a 2013 163 with c&a bx skis, a hps can, a wrp low rise seat and a fox shock kit for the skid. A pretty fun and well handling sled. My confidence on this sled was through the roof.
The conditions today was incredible, especially for December riding. Over the top white fluff....all day. Made me really wish I was on my T3. Here is a pic of good friend Stephen Darcy testing out an XM with me. This should give you an idea of the snow conditions.
Yes, there is a rider in there, you can just see the top of his helmet near the base of the big pine.
Anyhow, on our way up through more gentle terrain as we worked our way to the steeper, wooded and technical terrain I got my first taste of carving on and XM. My initial impression is that the sled is incredibly easy to carve and responds to very subtle foot pressure. I loved it. Downhill turns are way easier on an XM than a Pro. The etec is a hands down superior motor. Great feel, good throttle response and noticeably more power. Overall the sled feels like a better built snowmobile. Fit and finish is much better and it just feels solid. Overall in the gentler terrain, a much funner ride than the polaris. I feel like the xm is a much better sled for a beginner to intermediate to jump on and really improve their riding skills quickly.
Now as we moved to steeper and more technical terrain. This is where I had a few more challenges. Now, take any critique with a grain of salt as I am, recognizing that these are simply first impressions, without much seat time and I do expect some of this to change as I ride more, adjust riding style and tweak my sled (when I get it back from the dealer). So as I started to get into more technical terrain (terrain I have ridden dozens of times on my Pro) I got stuck in a few areas that had me shaking my head and cussing a bit. One on a sidehill that I know I would have nailed on my pro and another on a slight incline (seriously almost flat) where I'd stopped to catch my breath and when I started again, buried it. I couldn't believe it. It does seem that with the approach angle of the track that the xm doesn't get up onto the snow quite as easily as the pro and I seemed to trench more on initial throttle input. I plan on tightening my limiter strap on my t3 and see how that helps as well as possibly putting on Tom's Powder Wedge. We'll see. After this I kinda had some hesitation and rode with a little more caution and a little frustration. I know a big part of this is lack of seat time, so overall I am not too concerned but did feel like it wasn't quite performing like my Pro did in this type of terrain.
Then we moved into a section of trees that had tight lines and downed logs everywhere. It was the kind of tree riding that you had to ride aggressive, on the throttle and make quick decisions or you'd end up stuck in a nasty spot. This was probably one of the best moves for me. It required me to put aside my caution and really get aggressive and we nailed it. We were dicing through the trees, sliding the tracks across downed logs and ripping lines that if you didn't make you'd either be wrapped around a tree or have a ski stuck under a downed log that you'd notice while you sailed gracefully over the bars. After we finished that section a couple solid fist bumps were in order. Yes, it was that good.
After this section my confidence went back up a bit and I started to feel that if I rode this sled aggressive I could take just about anything.
We next headed into a pretty steep ravine with some stumps and downed logs. It required you to sidehill through it while changing elevation to avoid certain hazards mentioned above. I was following Darcy up this ravine so not only did I have to worry about stumps and downed logs, I had his trench to deal with. Most the ravine I attacked and felt super strong, nailing every line I picked. That is until my track spun out on a hidden stump turning me straight up hill. At this point my goggles where freezing up, I couldn't see, I was exhausted from digging out a few extra stucks, but over all felt pretty good about my first experience on and XM.
As I was working my way through some of the more technical terrain and having to do some random hop overs, I did find I was hanging up on the seat a bit. I had the low rise on my pro and I am hoping that Marc at WRP has a low rise in the works for the xm. I also wasn't too impressed with the heated goggle compartment. My goggles would heat but it just seemed they would stay soaked and didn't dry out. Maybe the box holds in the moisture. Not sure on that one.
Overall, I am pretty impressed. I think I could have gotten stuck less on my pro and had a bit more confidence, but I feel strongly that with seat time, some tweaking and of course my own T3 163 under my legs that I can have the confidence, plus some on my new sled.
As a side note here are a few of the mods I will be doing to the T3 once I get it back. TKI belt drive, either a Toms E Motion Skid or a Timbersled skid (haven't completely decided yet), HPS can and Tom's Powder wedge.
I plan on returning to this thread to occasionally update my thoughts on the transition. Stay tuned.
1st off. I picked up a 2015 T3 163 from a gentleman who ended up injured and I have been very anxious to ride it. Unfortunately, I got it home and began to add an hps can, skid plate, etc. I went to start it up to back it out so I could repair some of my rental equipment and I couldn't get it to start. Finally it starts and won't stay running. Needless to say it's at the dealer trying to find out what's wrong. I gotta say, it's a nice welcome back to doo.
Luckily for me I have a couple SP 154's in my fleet this year, so rather than jumping onto my Pro I take out one of my 15 sp's. My Pro from the last couple years has been a 2013 163 with c&a bx skis, a hps can, a wrp low rise seat and a fox shock kit for the skid. A pretty fun and well handling sled. My confidence on this sled was through the roof.
The conditions today was incredible, especially for December riding. Over the top white fluff....all day. Made me really wish I was on my T3. Here is a pic of good friend Stephen Darcy testing out an XM with me. This should give you an idea of the snow conditions.
Yes, there is a rider in there, you can just see the top of his helmet near the base of the big pine.
Anyhow, on our way up through more gentle terrain as we worked our way to the steeper, wooded and technical terrain I got my first taste of carving on and XM. My initial impression is that the sled is incredibly easy to carve and responds to very subtle foot pressure. I loved it. Downhill turns are way easier on an XM than a Pro. The etec is a hands down superior motor. Great feel, good throttle response and noticeably more power. Overall the sled feels like a better built snowmobile. Fit and finish is much better and it just feels solid. Overall in the gentler terrain, a much funner ride than the polaris. I feel like the xm is a much better sled for a beginner to intermediate to jump on and really improve their riding skills quickly.
Now as we moved to steeper and more technical terrain. This is where I had a few more challenges. Now, take any critique with a grain of salt as I am, recognizing that these are simply first impressions, without much seat time and I do expect some of this to change as I ride more, adjust riding style and tweak my sled (when I get it back from the dealer). So as I started to get into more technical terrain (terrain I have ridden dozens of times on my Pro) I got stuck in a few areas that had me shaking my head and cussing a bit. One on a sidehill that I know I would have nailed on my pro and another on a slight incline (seriously almost flat) where I'd stopped to catch my breath and when I started again, buried it. I couldn't believe it. It does seem that with the approach angle of the track that the xm doesn't get up onto the snow quite as easily as the pro and I seemed to trench more on initial throttle input. I plan on tightening my limiter strap on my t3 and see how that helps as well as possibly putting on Tom's Powder Wedge. We'll see. After this I kinda had some hesitation and rode with a little more caution and a little frustration. I know a big part of this is lack of seat time, so overall I am not too concerned but did feel like it wasn't quite performing like my Pro did in this type of terrain.
Then we moved into a section of trees that had tight lines and downed logs everywhere. It was the kind of tree riding that you had to ride aggressive, on the throttle and make quick decisions or you'd end up stuck in a nasty spot. This was probably one of the best moves for me. It required me to put aside my caution and really get aggressive and we nailed it. We were dicing through the trees, sliding the tracks across downed logs and ripping lines that if you didn't make you'd either be wrapped around a tree or have a ski stuck under a downed log that you'd notice while you sailed gracefully over the bars. After we finished that section a couple solid fist bumps were in order. Yes, it was that good.
After this section my confidence went back up a bit and I started to feel that if I rode this sled aggressive I could take just about anything.
We next headed into a pretty steep ravine with some stumps and downed logs. It required you to sidehill through it while changing elevation to avoid certain hazards mentioned above. I was following Darcy up this ravine so not only did I have to worry about stumps and downed logs, I had his trench to deal with. Most the ravine I attacked and felt super strong, nailing every line I picked. That is until my track spun out on a hidden stump turning me straight up hill. At this point my goggles where freezing up, I couldn't see, I was exhausted from digging out a few extra stucks, but over all felt pretty good about my first experience on and XM.
As I was working my way through some of the more technical terrain and having to do some random hop overs, I did find I was hanging up on the seat a bit. I had the low rise on my pro and I am hoping that Marc at WRP has a low rise in the works for the xm. I also wasn't too impressed with the heated goggle compartment. My goggles would heat but it just seemed they would stay soaked and didn't dry out. Maybe the box holds in the moisture. Not sure on that one.
Overall, I am pretty impressed. I think I could have gotten stuck less on my pro and had a bit more confidence, but I feel strongly that with seat time, some tweaking and of course my own T3 163 under my legs that I can have the confidence, plus some on my new sled.
As a side note here are a few of the mods I will be doing to the T3 once I get it back. TKI belt drive, either a Toms E Motion Skid or a Timbersled skid (haven't completely decided yet), HPS can and Tom's Powder wedge.
I plan on returning to this thread to occasionally update my thoughts on the transition. Stay tuned.
