Anyone ridden an 09 XP vs. 09 M8 - no BS

[SPDFREEK]

Rode with a 163" XP last week and could not get the highmark. He had me by 10 feet and I just couldn't get there. I ride a 09 M8 162" Sno Pro. I'll get him next time as this was my very first time to the mountains. If this sled can take a newbie to within 10 feet of an experienced mountain rider I'll be all over him in as short period of time. Never hill climbed before never rode mountains ever. Flat land for the last 12 years and It'll never be the same if I have to go back there. Lovin' the mountains and this 09 M sled.

Later.
SPDFREEK

 

[M1000mod]

If your going to buy the cat i would hold off untill next year there going to up the horse power 10hp or more so it should be real dominent next year

 

[rednecksledder]

I would be willing to bet people pay more attention to the brand that they're riding. Let's say you are pulling your sled of brand x up to the parking lot and you see a sled of brand x in the back of a pickup on the side of the road and brand y in the back of another pickup on the other side of the road. Chances are you'll probably pay more attention to the sled that is the same brand as yours.

It's the same as when you buy a new vehicle, you never realize how many vehicles there are of that color until you buy yours.

Very true!

 

[Bacon]

Rode with a 163" XP last week and could not get the highmark. He had me by 10 feet and I just couldn't get there. I ride a 09 M8 162" Sno Pro. I'll get him next time as this was my very first time to the mountains. If this sled can take a newbie to within 10 feet of an experienced mountain rider I'll be all over him in as short period of time. Never hill climbed before never rode mountains ever. Flat land for the last 12 years and It'll never be the same if I have to go back there. Lovin' the mountains and this 09 M sled.

Later.
SPDFREEK

Here's a little tip when you are climbing, especially if you are a bigger guy. Try to get as far forward and over the bars as you can. If you lean back and pull on the bars you will not go as far up the hill. Put your feet in the stirups and the bars in your crotch and your head over the front of the sled.

 

[eludnu]

Spent one day last week on a 09 xp then followed the next by an 09 M8, both running the 150 range tracks.

XP. Love the power. It's just smooth everywhere. My buddy rides the 144, and with the extra track speed he could pull with it, I'm not sure for the type of riding I do the extra length track provided a benifit. He could go everywhere I could, and darted through the tree's with less effort. (I hopped back and forth between sleds a few times.) I noted right away that the seat on the XP is WAY better than the stock seat on the M8, as it is easier to transition to standing from sitting. Not having any storage on the XP kinda sucked, although it's not that big of a deal for me. The thing I noticed the most though was that it was not as easy to keep on it's side as the M8. If I was carving a section and hit a bump or transition, the XP wanted to lay back down flat,and took effort to keep on it's side. It did sidehill very well though. Wierd.

The M8: The boondocking sled for me. It went on it's side and stayed there no matter what. Sidehilling was even easier than the XP. The stock seat sucks. It's just too short. I didn't expect to like to track at all, but it works really well. I'd like to ride an M8 with a different track and see how much of the improvements can be contributed to the track.

I would buy the M, but given a few days to learn how to ride the XP properly, I could be just as happy with it. The power delivery of the Skidoo in the Cat, now that would be awesome.....

 

[winter brew]

eludnu....di the XP still have the swaybar? They don't handle well with the bar, but pull it out, spend a couple days riding it and it's as easy to throw around as a M-.....I've had both and prefer the XP for it's lighter weight, better power and better bump ride....just a all around better built and thought out sled IMO.

 

[ndmtnsledder]

Didn't read all the other posts so sorry if there is just a copy of someone elses or you've probably picked something by now but anyway. I came off a 05 M7 153 and picked up a 09 M8 153 snopro before our last trip bone stock other then the boss seat that came off my old sled. One of the guys with us has a 08 800 XP 146.

I rode it a bit last year and we did some swapping again this year. Also had some of the other guys ride both. We did a bit of racing on a powdery lake he hooked up and flew by me off the line I caught him and then we stayed dead even. The XP seems snappier by the seat of the pants but they seem to pull the same. They both climb out of the snow well and climb well we don't do much of that though. In the trees or sidehilling I preferred the M it seems more fluid in its carving the XP seems to have a point were it goes from flat to being tipped over and goes all the way. On the other hand he said he felt like it was to easy to lean the M over but far easier to sidehill. The opinions on this from the others was the same just split on which they preferred depending one what they were used to it seemed like. The M is a bit smoother engine wise and the throttle pull is alot easier. The M won't pull the front end up as easy which I prefer in a climb the XP always feels like its gonna go over to me which he also agreed. Suspension wise the 09 M is light years ahead of my 05 I didn't get to ride his much on the trail so can't say much about that on the XP. I'm sure the sway bar helps some. The adjustable handle bars on the M are really slick if you have to ride some trails to get to were you are going to play.

 

[SPDFREEK]

Here's a little tip when you are climbing, especially if you are a bigger guy. Try to get as far forward and over the bars as you can. If you lean back and pull on the bars you will not go as far up the hill. Put your feet in the stirups and the bars in your crotch and your head over the front of the sled.

Thanks Bacon....good tip. I thought I was supposed to wheelie up the hills like the pros do. Makes sense to keep the track in the snow as much as possible. The weelieing the pros do probably has something to do with all the power they have I guess. I may just get him next time with that tip....looks like we will see soon. Going to Valemount BC on Wed. morn for 3 days. Stoked!!!

Thanks again.

CHEERS.
SPDFREEK.

 

[summ8rmk]

I finally rode an XP. The guy on the XP wanted to demo my CAT because he saw me riding and thought I could throw it around pretty good. I also thought he did pretty good on the XP. This was more technical riding on short steep near-vertical hills and in trees and down in ravine with no bottom. So I let him ride my CAT and he made me try his XP. This time it was on a big open hill. I told him to be careful when sidehilling not to pull to hard in to the hill or you'll roll it up the hill, he laughed. When he was finished with the demo he said he really liked it and might go with CAT next year. (his whole family is diehard Ski-doo)I was not impressed with the XP at all. The handle bars felt realy weird. This was in about 2 feet of fresh dry powder. My CAT felt like it had better traction and more controlable up the hill. The guy's uncle was there with his 07 REV and he wanted to try my CAT also and I rode his REV. I forgot that you have to be bull legged to ride the REV. But I still like the REV more than the XP but not as much as my CAT. The conditions were good enough that Pre- 800R REVs could not make there own tracks out of the Super bowl. The XP I rode came out of the bowl pretty slow. I rode my CAT half way up the hill and side hilled 1/4 mile across the bowl at about 10-15 mph. Try that with a Doo. One of the REV riders actually complained that the sidehilling that I did made it hard for him to climb out of the bowl. It didn't effect me getting out.

 

[Logman]

My buddy had an X-p last year now has a new m-8 loves the Cat much better in the trees and on trail and it runs every time he pulls the rope many of our crew have switched to Cat and so far couldnt be happier I put a SLp pipe on mine and power is above the rest buy quite a bit ..Nice to just pull the rope and ride....

 

[zip-tie-it]

"The best advisers, helpers and friends, always are not those who tell us how to act in special cases, but who give us, out of themselves, the ardent spirit and desire to act right, and leave us then, even through many blunders, to find out what our own form of right action is."
Phillips Brooks

Grasshopper where do we people go if not towards the perfection of our own illusion? Sooooooo..Some questions that you may want to ask yourself.

1.What type of ridding do you do?
2.Do you want to work on a sled yourself/mod?
3.What type of dealership is near you?
4.What do your friends/family ride?
5.Basicly what are your priority’s.

After answering these types of questions to the best of your abilities, you may be tempted to ask more specific questions about, clutching, suspension, and tuning setups. If you know yourself and have the experience and knowledge to offset the variables that others individual perception, and experience, interject into the eqation (rider weight, rider preferences, snow conditions, altitude, tempter, riding style, sled setup, maintenance, so-on so-forth) then you may be able to glean options to base a decision off of.
Once you reach a decision there is on more important step to your complete satisfaction.

"Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out."
Jack Buck

Some of my best riding days were spent on an élan, some place between Willow and Talkeetna. -15F 3+ft of fresh; the sun made Denali look like it was about to fall on you. When I was stuck it took about 45 min to trudge/dig the sled out because I was not strong engh to lift her, but it would give me plenty of time to listen to the sounds of the ice popping. To start it I would stick the thumb of my mitten in the throttle to crack it open and the throw my 60# *** off of the running board with the pull cord in my hand to get her going. Sorry but I still smile remembering it.

 

[scmurs]

Hope it's not too late to jump in on this one but I thought that I'd throw this this one in:

scmurs

 

[570MC]

Hope it's not too late to jump in on this one but I thought that I'd throw this this one in:

scmurs

Just in time

 

[I.P.Yellow]

Hope it's not too late to jump in on this one but I thought that I'd throw this this one in:

scmurs

Looks as if you track poached pretty good on that climb. It's usually the other way around when I'm riding with my buddy and his '09 M8 and my '09 163X.

 

[scmurs]

There was no track poaching on that one. Might have gotten close near the bottom, but I would attribute this one to rider ability more that the sled itself. The guy on the AC is a back country guide and the guy on the XP is a flatlander.

You could have swapped the riders to each others sleds and the XP would be coming to rescue the M8.



scmurs

 

[ndmeathead]

haven't got to ride on xp yet but just standing on them feels wierd IMO. been on the 09 RMK this year and took a 06 700 Cat 162" out yesterday for a 5 hour afternoon ride. Snow conditions weren't optimal in bighorns but riding that 06 was the $***. If the 09 -10 years are that much better I don't think I'm gonna be looking at anything but a Cat when I quit bumming rides and buy one next year. We found a few good pockets where it looked like elk were the only thing there in a month and playing on the 06 was way easy. Probably not relevant for you but that ride yesterday and this short thread have sold me. And the Mod potential - -- - with a reliable 2 stroke - -- - awesome!