Does a new sled make you a better rider????

[goinvertical]

tippy

if you guys want a newer sled that is not "tippy" you should be ridding ski-doo.

I ummm...have to agree. I had the chance to ride an 08 800 XP all day last year. Well set-up it was. Anyhow, it seemed stable but extremely twitchy up front(ski pressure) for me. BUT, you couldnt, at least not me anyways, get that thing stuck! I would stop next to all my buddies who were stuck,shut it off while they dug their sleds out and then say "watch this" as I hit the electric start button and continued up the hill they were "trying" to climb.Lol. I give kudos to ski-doo for awesome seat material and nice suspension,and of course electric start. As I said, it was well set-up and had only 300+ miles on it. But it is still a stand-up sled with ergos being oriented for a rider forward type of rider. We all ride Polaris as that is what I sold. I will do no bashing here, what I will do is say thanks to the guy who lent me his sled,even though I had my own,and the chance to actually ride and compare the competition.

 

[2XM3]

I can relate it to my sprint car racing days.

Old tech car....great driver.....does well

State of the art car...poor driver....stuffs it into the wall...horrible

State of the art car...great driver.....totally dominates......

 

[Kong]

I don't know if it makes you a better driver, but the new sleds are so much better to drive.

IMHO

 

[CoyoteGirl]

My experience -

In the past years I would work out hard 2 months prior to riding to get in good (better) shape. I'd ride 3 days at Thanksgiving and be sore as all heck! This was on an Edge chassis that at the time I thought was butta to handle.

This year. I didn't work out for the 2 months leading up to Thanksgiving, rode for 3 days and was just slightly sore. 08 Dragon is the new sled and I KNOW she handles like butta! hehehe

Just got back from 5 days of over the hood powder and am pretty tired, but not really all that sore.

So, IMO the new sleds may not make you a better rider, but they let the rider you are do what you'd like to do easier. With less muscle fatigue and for longer periods of time.

I have no doubt there are many BA riders out there on old iron that will run circles around me. But, I'm happy with the many more circles I get to run around myself now on the newer chassis.

 

[alexhack]

staying updated on the latest and greatest techonolgy is mostly a good thing IMO.. however if you couldn't ride before.. a new sled wont help you..

It will get you into more trouble too.

 

[PowderGirl]

Well said Brandy! I am soooo thankful to be on a snowmobile that rides and handles so much easier! I'm on a 07 Dragon now, came off the 05 M7 and both were far superior in handeling than my 02 Edge. I went from being completly fricken whiped out half way through a tight tree riding day on the old Edge to burning a full tank of gas in more difficult terrain and actually feeling not to shabby at the end of the days ride on the newer chassis. Probably makes much more of a difference for lighter weight riders like myself but I know of plenty of riders twice my weight that would never go back. Took a spin on a 04 Edge RMK 2 days ago and have to admit, I probably wouldnt be riding sleds anymore if I had to ride that chassis where we ride today.

I do believe the newer chassis sleds will help a new rider become a better rider faster or any rider more capable - been around plenty of riders on old iron the past few years and most have either upgraded or seriously wish they could.

 

[LPIdaho]

take a peek at the location of the crank on a new dragon/m/xp versus older chassis' you will see that it sits under the secondary instead of in front of it....the crank gives you 90% of the gyroscopic effect. the suspension may infact sit a bit higher, but the rotating mass is more centralized and lower. the rider sits higher and in better leverage position.

yes, but wouldn't you say this is more because you have way more leverage on the newer sleds because the handle bars are at your waist, not at your knees than center of mass?

 

[Boondocking Babe]

So funny story....

I went out riding today in a couple feet of fresh powder and a decent base on my '99 Summit X 670. I don't mind it to much... Other than I can't shut it off if it is pointed down hill in fear that the engine will flood out and my boyfriend will cuss and swear at it untill he decides to gives in and change the plugs. grrr.... After struggling with it, I hopped onto his '03 Escape and I proceeded to tear it up. It was so much easier to ride and allowed me to do things I have been struggling to accomplish on my Summit. I guess that answered my question. It may not make you a better rider but makes it easier to show what you've got!