Skidoo XP observations

[Freak]

Took one for a ride yesterday and the vibration and rattles reminded me of the 900 RMK. Is this how they all run or was it just this one? I did like how technical the sled felt, unlike anything else out there. I noticed right away what some others have said about it not wanting to carve until you really lean into it and then it wants to go all the way over, Im sure you could get used to this.

When the owner opened the the clutch side panel it looked like a 3 year old sled with all the skidmarks and belt dust/debris. I almost bought an XP this week but chose the 8 Dragon instead and after riding that Xp felt like I made the safe choice. His XP was a 154 with 300miles my dragon a 163 with 12miles and with same rider it was 6's for highmarking. I think the sled has potential but after last years R I have no faith in Doo to step up and fix these issues this year and when you buy a new sled each year that can be devastating. I sure hope Doo gets on top of these issues quickly for the sake of those who dropped 11 grand on a sled they will ride for one year and sell.

 

[Nate]

I noticed the vibration and the hardness to turn, after awhile I could get used to this, but I do agree on the vibration had some nuts though

 

[JJD]

Hey, my buddy bought an xp 154 and i rode it just the other day with no notice of vibrations. I'm not at all brand loyal, I ride what works best and everyone seems to be really down on the 07 800r summits. I just bought two of these sleds new last week from the us (im from central alberta and only ride revelstoke/golden) I have already got 300 miles on mine with nothing but success, knock on wood. I know this is early in its life but with absolutely no changes right out of the box its reving right up at 8300rpm all day long with no clutching or belt issues to speak of. I also have 6 buddies who are on the second year of their 07's and none of them have had any problems and non of these sleds get babied in the least way. Just my .02

 

[MARV1]

Good post Freak! To save face the XP owners won't admit to vibration, etc.

 

[powridin]

Good post Freak! To save face the XP owners won't admit to vibration, etc.

Ride both you brand loyal loser you will find that the xp has no more vibration than the dragon 8. I have rode both, till you do don't bother posting.

 

[BIGGER]

Not another one of these..

 

[Makaveli_Rev]

We have one, and yes it does vibrate at low RPM's. We must be lucky cause we havn't had any clutch problems at just under 300 miles, but we do have the crap vented out of it. IMO its a great sled and i have to admit it is a little easier to throw around than my 07 RMK 155. I love my polaris but a 146X is sounding very tempting when the 09 snowchecks come out.

 

[hatchers]

Freak - MY 163 shakes like a jack hammer, but its nothing like the Poo 900, nothing. And madmax has a 154 thats seems to have minimal vibrations, no clue why. The TRA needs a softer spring and a steeper helix.......and the TRA noobs need to clean the hell out of the crappy bushings inside the TRA, it seems they used the same junk as last year, the secondary must not slip.......all in all, i finally blew a belt in bottomless deepness on saturday, 250 miles on a stock TRA is a good thing in my book, very good thing. Is the TRA still a POS smoking hot turd?.....yes it is. I can always fix clutching, but others cant ride a sub 500lb sled without dropping 20K

None the less, i will measure this XP against any other stock sled and buy any sled i feel out preforms this XP, i got money, os tossing money at a sled to make her act right is no big deal to me......i really want to like the dragon 800, but its hard to imagine the dragon 800 will have the nasty low end the 800R has......who knows

So far any new stock sled is a flop against my XP 163, and im 160 dry

 

[Slick]

Freak - MY 163 shakes like a jack hammer, but its nothing like the Poo 900, nothing. And madmax has a 154 thats seems to have minimal vibrations, no clue why. The TRA needs a softer spring and a steeper helix.......and the TRA noobs need to clean the hell out of the crappy bushings inside the TRA, it seems they used the same junk as last year, the secondary must not slip.......all in all, i finally blew a belt in bottomless deepness on saturday, 250 miles on a stock TRA is a good thing in my book, very good thing. Is the TRA still a POS smoking hot turd?.....yes it is. I can always fix clutching, but others cant ride a sub 500lb sled without dropping 20K

None the less, i will measure this XP against any other stock sled and buy any sled i feel out preforms this XP, i got money, os tossing money at a sled to make her act right is no big deal to me......i really want to like the dragon 800, but its hard to imagine the dragon 800 will have the nasty low end the 800R has......who knows

So far any new stock sled is a flop against my XP 163, and im 160 dry

The XP is probably a good choice for ya cause " A mans got to know his limitations " Good for you for recognizing yours.

 

[Good to Go]

Ride both you brand loyal loser you will find that the xp has no more vibration than the dragon 8. I have rode both, till you do don't bother posting.

Panties all bunched up???
Lighten up...

 

[dmkhnr]

I think the sled has potential but after last years R I have no faith in Doo to step up and fix these issues this year and when you buy a new sled each year that can be devastating. I sure hope Doo gets on top of these issues quickly for the sake of those who dropped 11 grand on a sled they will ride for one year and sell.

How quickly we forget the 900 RMK. Dave, you know if that D8 turns out like the 900, Pol not going to do anything more than they did in 05-06. I learned my lesson with doo back in 96 on a jet ski with the 800 motor (rat bastage thiefs). So as far as I'm concerned doo doesn't exist when it comes time for me to buy my sled every 2 years.

 

[TIM]

xp, is just ok.

My xp is a good boondocker and a good jumper but sucks at climbing.

 

[Freak]

Freak - MY 163 shakes like a jack hammer, but its nothing like the Poo 900, nothing. And madmax has a 154 thats seems to have minimal vibrations, no clue why. The TRA needs a softer spring and a steeper helix.......and the TRA noobs need to clean the hell out of the crappy bushings inside the TRA, it seems they used the same junk as last year, the secondary must not slip.......all in all, i finally blew a belt in bottomless deepness on saturday, 250 miles on a stock TRA is a good thing in my book, very good thing. Is the TRA still a POS smoking hot turd?.....yes it is. I can always fix clutching, but others cant ride a sub 500lb sled without dropping 20K

None the less, i will measure this XP against any other stock sled and buy any sled i feel out preforms this XP, i got money, os tossing money at a sled to make her act right is no big deal to me......i really want to like the dragon 800, but its hard to imagine the dragon 800 will have the nasty low end the 800R has......who knows

So far any new stock sled is a flop against my XP 163, and im 160 dry

Me and Hatchers are gonna go out and really put these two sleds up against each other. Everything Ive heard and seen the 2 sleds set similar marks on the hill with the XP 163 maybe having just a little higher mark. But with some improvements I think the Dragon 8 is going to give the XP fits. Just remeber Hatchers that you got me by 90 lbs in bodyweight so we'll have to do some trading

 

[Freak]

Ride both you brand loyal loser you will find that the xp has no more vibration than the dragon 8. I have rode both, till you do don't bother posting.

Dragon has no vibration. The one XP I have ridden had pretty bad vibration, albeit not as bad as the 900rmk but it reminded me of the 900. Maybe the Dragon you rode had a burnt belt or something. Thats one of the biggest reasons to go with the Dragon, Its SMOOOTH power!

And just so people know I like all sled manufacturers, being a heavy guy I really wanted the XP to be perfect, but Im gonna wait one more year. I feel that if we make note of these issues now then Doo will hopefully work on fixing them for next year.

 

[Slick]

Me and Hatchers are gonna go out and really put these two sleds up against each other. Everything Ive heard and seen the 2 sleds set similar marks on the hill with the XP 163 maybe having just a little higher mark. But with some improvements I think the Dragon 8 is going to give the XP fits. Just remeber Hatchers that you got me by 90 lbs in bodyweight so we'll have to do some trading

Actually I think he's got you by more than 90 lbs. Cause if he were to leave even a small part of his overinflated ego or swelled head, he'd be almost weightless. Big disadvantage to you. Gonna be tuff to do a fair comparison.

 

[Xrider]

I feel that if we make note of these issues now then Doo will hopefully work on fixing them for next year.

Why would ya think that??

 

[hilinerider]

i wonder if the vibration some of these sleds are having is from the bad/wrong bushing in the clutch, heard of a few that have this problem,

 

[hatchers]

Freck – I fat fingered my body weight, im 260 dry…..so I guess you have the advantage, skinny man.

 

[live2beel]

I thought maybe it was just mine (146X). The harmonics on the 800 between 5000- 6000 rpms are terrible. My feet are still tingling from the vibration with yesterdays ride. If I cant get this figured out, this baby is going down the road. My old Rev is soooooo much smoother.

 

[IceCap]

So... Freak and Hatchers how's the sled comparison coming along?