heres my review for you.
two mtx's, one blue with stock mtx skis, apex rear springs no other mods (mine), one anniversary model (wife's) all stock but slydog powderhounds riding at 8-10000 this week at togwotee wyoming.
mine, nasty darting on the trail to the play areas, played with limiters, front shock on rear skid, front ski springs, ski alignment ect... made it alittle better but not stellar. works well off trail, wont win any high mark prizes but goes almost everywhere the summits (rev and XP's) were going. smooth power, quiet, no vibration through bars, decent fuel economy (same riding, about 1/2 gallon less than the 800 xp summits), fun sled to ride after getting used to the rider forward and what the sled likes and doesnt like.
wife's needed alot more ski pressure with the powderhounds, had a big understeer issue, wouldnt turn hardly at all in powder with skis alone, (if you were carving and counter steering it was ok). made rear skid adjustments and the sled started behaving better. her bars heated alittle better than mine, no wet foot issues with either, i think the wet foot thing is caused from the skis spraying the bottom of the boards, and the clutch side spinning it up to the boot area (just my observation).
her sled reved faster and higher than mine (87-8900 on trail), mine would only get 86-8700 max on trail. both need more break in time but, i cant do a whole lot with the clutching due to the fact the weights are empty and the primary spring is yamaha's stiffest so, i am hoping i get my rpms when it fully breaks in or i'll be looking at stiffer aftermarket (dalton) primary springs to help with the revs.
what i was hoping for is 88-9000 on the trail and then when under load at the steep n deep the 85-8700 for the powerband. mine drops to 81-8200 max under load in the deep stuff. feels sluggish and slow to rev. the motor almost feels like the sled is being held back and could be stellar if opened up some how.
running boards clean off well with a few rubs from the boots, decent riding postion and ergos. decent wind protection with the yamaha mid height accy windscreens. hand guards help the bars heat better i think.
downs, the gauge pack, hard to read especially the tach when trying to dial sleds in, no clock like apexs, no altimeter like the xp's (both nice features that riders want/need), hand controls are touchy, and need attention all the time. would be better for individual thumb, grip controls like the apex.
the front shocks are too soft for hits and need alot of compression help (stiffer), the rebound up front seems ok. the rear shocks need ALOT of help (but are non rebuildable and non adjustable), more compression is needed, and alot less rebound. they seem to rebound way too fast but, bottom on the smallest bumps and dips.
not sure on the track yet, paddles seem soft and bend over and hold their bend in the cold hampering performance for sure, but with my motor and clutching rev issues, i am not sure what is holding the sled back more for climbing and deep powder, the motor or the track.
i am overal happy with the two sleds, but hoping as a group, we can address these and the other issues some are having amungst ourselves to make the sled stellar. ski
