Summit Vs. Dragon
- Thread starter Pro-8250
- Start date
I
IDAHO HOT SHOT
Well-known member
This topic has been countlessly debated.This comes down to one thing and one thing alone....RIDER PREFERENCE. I love my 155 Dragon. A Poo is very effortless to ride, very easy to sidehill either up or downhill. The problem is, they are almost to easy at times. My little complaint is this, they tend to want to slip out from under you on those steeeeeeep sidehills as where the M8 will like hold the sidehill. Personally, I do not like the flat, extreme rider forward style of the XP. Could I get used to it if someone gave me one for free? Probably so, but I could sell it to I guess. On the other and, my best riding buddy rides an XP. He is 170 lbs and rides it like a rock star. When we switch, he has my Poo tipped over 3 times in the first 5 minutes. So as I said at the beginning, rider preference. My advise would be to not rule out Cat and try all 3 sleds before you make a decision. Also consider how close each dealership is and what kind of service and support they offer. I switched from an 07 M8 that ran pretty good because my dealer was a D-bag. CHOOSE WISELY MY FRIEND, GOOD LUCK.
That has to be one of the best answers to date on a question that has heated up this forum dozens of times.
If you get the chance, try all three and buy what works for you. Can't really go wrong either way.
If you get the chance, try all three and buy what works for you. Can't really go wrong either way.
sled
I have had them both,i would go dragon for sure !! much stronger chassis and i think motor will be good to go now !! after the updates
I have had them both,i would go dragon for sure !! much stronger chassis and i think motor will be good to go now !! after the updates
Buy your dealer. I have tcp 5 minutes from my house.
My doo buddies are driving 50 minutes to buy plugs and cat guys are driving 45 minutes!!!
My doo buddies are driving 50 minutes to buy plugs and cat guys are driving 45 minutes!!!
Try all of them and buy the one you prefer They all have their weak/strong points and it really just comes down to rider preference. Once you get use to the sled you buy, it will do about anything you want. Honestly i dont think you can buy a "bad" sled nowadays.
But yeh, make sure you have a dealer nearby that you trust....thats vital to your overall satisfaction.
Have fun...Cheers!!
They all have their weak/strong points and it really just comes down to rider preference. Once you get use to the sled you buy, it will do about anything you want. Honestly i dont think you can buy a "bad" sled nowadays.But yeh, make sure you have a dealer nearby that you trust....thats vital to your overall satisfaction.
Have fun...Cheers!!
C
Concrete Mike
New member
Check out your local dealers.I have been nothing but Doo faithfull and now that my local dealer is gone if i need parts and service i'm looking at a 2 1/2
hour drive one way!If she blows again I will switch brands for better
service.
hour drive one way!
If she blows again I will switch brands for better service.
Absolutely stellar advice guys!
I went through the same thing last season. I asked every dealer regardless of brand within 75 miles of my house repeatedly for an opportunity to demo a ride a Dragon 800, a Summit XP 154 and a M8 and M1000. No one would do so and unfortunately I had surrounded myself with nothing but Yamaha riders who all said "just turbo your sled, you don't need a new sled".
Hindsight would have me seeking out people I didn't even know that perhaps would be willing to let me ride their sleds but, I wasn't really comfortable doing so, so I didn't.
Finally, a small Cat dealer about 75 miles from home contacted me and I got a chance to ride a M8 Sno Pro 153 and a M1000 Sno Pro 162. Since I found that I really liked the M8 and the dealer was very nice and sincere and offered me an incredible buy, I bought the M8 and never looked back but, I still like the Dragon and the Summit.
Yes, and don't overlook the Cat. I don't really care for Arctic Cat green so I had to buy a white Cat. I bad mouthed Cats for many years and now strangely I'm tickled to be riding one.
Best of luck and do your homework but, they are all great sleds!
I went through the same thing last season. I asked every dealer regardless of brand within 75 miles of my house repeatedly for an opportunity to demo a ride a Dragon 800, a Summit XP 154 and a M8 and M1000. No one would do so and unfortunately I had surrounded myself with nothing but Yamaha riders who all said "just turbo your sled, you don't need a new sled".
Hindsight would have me seeking out people I didn't even know that perhaps would be willing to let me ride their sleds but, I wasn't really comfortable doing so, so I didn't.
Finally, a small Cat dealer about 75 miles from home contacted me and I got a chance to ride a M8 Sno Pro 153 and a M1000 Sno Pro 162. Since I found that I really liked the M8 and the dealer was very nice and sincere and offered me an incredible buy, I bought the M8 and never looked back but, I still like the Dragon and the Summit.
Yes, and don't overlook the Cat. I don't really care for Arctic Cat green so I had to buy a white Cat. I bad mouthed Cats for many years and now strangely I'm tickled to be riding one.
Best of luck and do your homework but, they are all great sleds!
Having ridden all three I would say for my riding style I would buy the '09 M8. But, I own a Dragon that works just fine, and I would like to point out that the 155 in polaris and arctic cat in 153 actually compares to the 146 doo. The 154 doo actually matches up square inch-wise with the 163's from the other manufacturers since doo uses a 16" wide track and the others use 15" tracks. So, the doo pulls over harder and is harder to keep over on the side. But, real stable and holds its line really well when you go vertical. The other advice about dealers-go with it. Find the best dealer test ride and buy from them. Good luck!
S
suitcase
Well-known member
This is my story and I'm sticken to it.
First of all, the three two stroke brands are all great sleds, I don't have a lot of time with the cat. I don't feel right on one.
O.k. here goes, I ride poo, my 3 friends that I ride alot with (3 to 4 time a week alot) all ride doo. I must say that in the deep snow the doo will pull more places easyer than my poo. ( We all ride at the same level all selds stock), It might be the wider track, lighter sled, the attack angle, Ive gone over and over in my head why, no solid answer. The poo will go the same places it just might take and extra try for the poo. The place where the poo is on top of the doo is the manoverability (in harder snow, in soft snow preaty much the same), but keep in mind as was stated by HOT SHOT they are very hard to get use to and they tip over very easy, alot diffrent than the other sleds to ride, not worse nor better just diffrent. I ride the poo because that is what ive allways rode and once I rode the new style of poo found out they fit my rideing style very well. Im with the others ride them all. As stated by HOT SHOT it is rider prefrence.
Just my two penny's
First of all, the three two stroke brands are all great sleds, I don't have a lot of time with the cat. I don't feel right on one.
O.k. here goes, I ride poo, my 3 friends that I ride alot with (3 to 4 time a week alot) all ride doo. I must say that in the deep snow the doo will pull more places easyer than my poo. ( We all ride at the same level all selds stock), It might be the wider track, lighter sled, the attack angle, Ive gone over and over in my head why, no solid answer. The poo will go the same places it just might take and extra try for the poo. The place where the poo is on top of the doo is the manoverability (in harder snow, in soft snow preaty much the same), but keep in mind as was stated by HOT SHOT they are very hard to get use to and they tip over very easy, alot diffrent than the other sleds to ride, not worse nor better just diffrent. I ride the poo because that is what ive allways rode and once I rode the new style of poo found out they fit my rideing style very well. Im with the others ride them all. As stated by HOT SHOT it is rider prefrence.
Just my two penny's
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Unless Polaris has their engines figured out look at the XP and Cat. The Suzuki motors in the cats are great and the XP is the chassis to ride if your agressive.
I would like to add, before you buy your dealer.. Inspect your dealer checkout there pricing, and service quality (talk to others in your area), if your going to end up buying parts online anyways then I'd shop around online to see what you can get the best deal on.
i would go polaris, they got more floatation with that extra inch of track
if you whant to go in the steep n deep go with 09 or 10 xp
. now if you whant the highmark go with the xp. how could you go wrong with power to weight. i could go on and on. but just do some research on both compare both selds side by side. with driving both i felt the xp was a way better sled out of the box. once i had the feel for it too, i was hooked and never looked back . good luck with your buy
. now if you whant the highmark go with the xp. how could you go wrong with power to weight. i could go on and on. but just do some research on both compare both selds side by side. with driving both i felt the xp was a way better sled out of the box. once i had the feel for it too, i was hooked and never looked back . good luck with your buy
S
Steelhead Slayer
Member
I have 2 XP's love them and don't plan to change brands any time soon. I wanted to point out that you hear an awful lot about how much harder the Xp's are to pull over or side hill than the other 2 brands. The reason the Doos are like this is because of the same reason they work so well on the trail, its in the sway bar. I use the ski-doo removable sway bar link and it gives you best of both worlds for backcountry/trail. By removing the sway bar the sled become a completely different animal, sidehills with ease! I would highly reccomend the XP for anyone lookng for the best all around STOCK sled. If you are looking to boost your ride, go with Cat or Poo. Also I think it is great that there are so many great mountain sled options out there for us all to choose from right now. Thank you Doo,Cat, Polaris!
Dry smash it
Good, honest response! I have had both and preferred the XP, so it just shows that it is rider preference.
If Poo gets their engine issues resolved it will be a solid sled, my complaint was the rider position and ergo's of the Polaris, I am much more comfortable and confident on the XP. Ride them both for a FULL day if you can to see what works for you.....and make sure that silly swaybar isn't hooked up on the XP, it RUINS the sled for anything but roads.
G
Good to Go
Banned
Seriously, great advice on here... ride them all. For every issue somebody points out something has, their 'choice' has three. It's the nature of the game.
Now, isn't a pic worth a thousand words...
