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snowmobiler
Well-known member
my gramma loves skis in the air.less drag gets her higher on the hill.
doo xm test ride - impressed
- Thread starter pura vida
- Start date
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Hrt Offroad
Active member
so to start with full disclosure i ride a very well running 2011 pro, have had 07 mod with a 797, 09 dragon that ran very well without issue, edge sleds, 660, 727, 97 700, and an ultra. ie., been on a polaris for a while but no where near brand loyal blind.
spent yesterday in the mountains in essentially ideal snow conditions with the 2013 XM. to sum it up, ski-doo hit a home run with this sled. VERY impressive. i never cared for the rev, and hated the xp (i've spent significant time on both) but i would have NO problem own and riding the new xm. it flat out works and that etec is a beast and ran HARD all day without a single hiccup. there were six of us riding it and none of us were nice to it and it never got a brake (is that that correct brake/break??). and it will jump over 100 feet...obviously it still feels different than a pro but it is just as easy to carve, side hill likes a machine, and powder turns just as sharp, if not sharper (hard to tell honestly. any difference either way is insignificant). and for all the comments i heard about how bad it was on the trail, we did not see this. it did fine and handled the bumps and trails as well as anything we had with us. we also disconnected the sway bar after awhile and although i didn't notice much of a difference the guy that was on it the majority of the time said he could tell a big difference. said there was a lot less feedback through the suspension/handle bars when carving and cutting across other tracks on side hills.
the only complain or criticism i had was it actually had too much ski lift. which is the complete opposite from the horribly handling xp. on steep hill climbs the skis lift to the point that will cause it to loop out. where my pro keeps the skis closer to the snow and can go longer without causing it to loop out. with that said, i felt it was pretty clear, on a straight shot hill climb, the xm will out highmark a stock pro in most cases. more testing will need to be done in less than ideal snow conditions to see what it feels like in that situation. oh, and the guy that sent it over 100 feet said it needed better shocks...
to sum it up, i haven't been this impressed with a ski-doo since 2000 when i was riding my POS 96 triple piped 133 ultra and i rode my brothers brand new 2000 summit 700 for less than 10 minutes. knew i needed a new sled immediately... so, doo finally has a sled that handles like (in my opinion) a sled should.
honestly, and in no way intended as a bash, i'm a little concerned about cat b/c with the popularity of the pro, how well this new xm runs/rides, and the issues the pro climb had this year i can't imagine there being very many pro climbs sold next year. demo rides do wonders...
(so what's the under/over on how long it takes DA fredie boy to jump on this thread and start jumping up and down screaming his head off. remember, it is better to ignore a troll rather than feed it...)
pv
I too got to test the new XM a couple weeks ago in some deep Revy Pow...I concur with all of PV's Review. It's not a complete game changer as far as the market is concerned, but is a complete game changer as far as BRP is concerned. It is quite an effortless machine to ride.
However, after my experience on the XM...I turned around and had the best 5 days on the snow ever on my '12 Assault. Wish I could have the XM for 5 days to really be able to put it through it's paces
Good job Doo!!
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tbeaton
Well-known member
my 11 etec has a recall for bad pistons. get a free top end rebuild.
i'm sure the xm is better but its still an xp. the chassis is still the same.
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800 hillbilly
Active member
I recently lost a crank bearing in my 2011 pro, again gotta love the 4 year warranty! My local dealer sells all 4 brands and the head Mechanic there said he had 3 800 E-techs motors to do before mine. 2 with crank issues, and one which lost a piston ring which had'nt had the updated pistons put in yet. He told me that my sled was the first pro hes had to do a motor job on. I really dont think that the E-Tecs are any more reliable than anything else out there.
If the new XM goes like eveybody says it does, I think thats great for the Doo faithfull. The Xp had its handling Issues, I couldnt ride one to save my life. We all win when the manufacturers try to out do each other, well except in the Price of all this new technology!
If the new XM goes like eveybody says it does, I think thats great for the Doo faithfull. The Xp had its handling Issues, I couldnt ride one to save my life. We all win when the manufacturers try to out do each other, well except in the Price of all this new technology!
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snowmobiler
Well-known member
i read this alot.why cant you guys ride the xp.stand back a little and bam,skis in the air all day.lean a little and it carves effortlessly.i just dont get it.
I think most guys just keep upgrading from a REV to an XP or what ever so they reallly don't know any better. Same can be said for the guys that were on Dragon IQ RMK's. Then they upgrade to a pro and then try an XP and think they can not ride it. They just plain out feel heavy and are take more effort. Doesn't mean it can't be done just would take some time to get there. Personally if I don't have to spend more energy why. I get tired out there as it is. To me lighter easier to handle is better. Ski-doo must feel the same way or they wouldn't had to change the XP at all. Of course still heavy compared to the Pro.
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pura vida
Well-known member
i know it is a complete waste of time to respond to this and it just feeding the troll (although i have to say lately snowmobiler hasn't been nearly as bad as fredw) but i will anyway simply b/c others might find the info useful...
i have rode the xp. i've rode the xp a lot. i stood all over the place on the xp. i can make it do whatever i want and put it wherever i want. yes, compared to an 08, the 12 i spent all day on in 30 inches of fresh snow handled much better. but, it still handles like an xp (which is crappy) and i can ride a yamaha in those conditions. and lets forget the pro, an the IQ chassis was a far superior handling chassis to the xp. hell, the IQ takes less effort and input to ride than the rev did. (yes, i have also spent a significant amount of time on the rev chassis, which is much better than the XP) and, just because the skis come up does not mean it is better handling. in fact, ski lift quickly becomes a detriment, not an advantage. that's the only reason i felt the 12 i rode was actually enjoyable in the 30 inches of fresh snow we were riding, the skis never touched the snow (that and the etec is BA). i could surf the track all day. good times, but doesn't mean it handles well. two different things. now we move from the IQ to the pro chassis and the term "game over" comes to mind. that is, until this new XM chassis. after my limited time on it, as stated above, i was immediately impressed and felt ski-doo finally has a sled with handling comparable to where polaris has been for a number of years. more testing and time in less than ideal conditions will determine if my first impression holds up. my guess is it will.
pv
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When riding the XM, could you feel a weight difference from the Pro?
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550iq
Well-known member
It will be interesting to watch the reliabilty of Ski Doo's flexible rear skid and reduced-size lateral track bars. In order for Ski Doo to get their XP chassis to lean over they had to reduce ski width to what, 30", make their rear skid bend, and make their track flex at the edges. That very narrow rear torque arm joint looks very weak. Inovative stuff, but a lot of what if's just to make the Ski Doo perform like the Polaris Pros. That being said, I will have a new Renagade Backcounty X in my garage next fall.
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pura vida
Well-known member
we beat the crap out of and it ran flawlessly. but that was for only one day. once it is in consumer hands is when it will be really tested. but i bet for the most part it holds up well. i did just hear that one of the two xm's in ak just got taken out of commission. stuck throttle into conex. dude ok, sled not so much was the exact quote. for those that care here is a vid that was put together of our ride monday.
http://vimeo.com/38541530
pv
http://vimeo.com/38541530
pv
Awesome video and great music to boot. Us east coast riders can only dream about snow like that especially after this winter. Was that Pearl Jam for the first song?
Anyway my concern with the the new Doo woud be the lack of reinforcement of the outside of the track. Out west maybe not so much because the conditions are generally soft and deep. However when the snow gets dense or crust like out here what will the durability of the tract be. Also how will it hold up against logs, stumps, rocks, etc..
I know one thing if my dealer sold SkiDoo I would have tried one years ago. A good dealer goes a long way in this industry.
Anyway my concern with the the new Doo woud be the lack of reinforcement of the outside of the track. Out west maybe not so much because the conditions are generally soft and deep. However when the snow gets dense or crust like out here what will the durability of the tract be. Also how will it hold up against logs, stumps, rocks, etc..
I know one thing if my dealer sold SkiDoo I would have tried one years ago. A good dealer goes a long way in this industry.
better video than BRP has. Nice job. Pro has been such a great sled to me, that I'm buying a 2013. Hopefully don't regret not getting the Skidoo.
By the way, wish I lived in Alaska this year. Every video snow rocks, I rode dirt this week just to get to 3 feet of hard snow and stumps .
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snowmobiler
Well-known member
perfect ski lift in the video.just like the older xps.
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nuggetau
Well-known member
Why in the world do you keep talking about ski lift like it is a good thing? In an ideal world the ski's should just be skimming the snow, you act as if your ski's flailing in the air is a good thing.
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snowmobiler
Well-known member
in the video the back of skis skip off the snow.if you dont like that,thats ok too.
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volcano buster
Well-known member
I like the snow ballast on the tunnel when you are done.
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