thinking about a viper

[sledhappy]

I currently ride a turboed Pro running 10 lbs. I'm tempted to try a 4 stroke out. I heard that people are able to lighten the Viper up. Getting it with in reason of a boondocking sled.
What are the easiest way to drop some lbs? Please tell me what the weight truly is. I would be putting a turbo on but not sure which one yet. Any advice would be great.

I want to get some good opinions. Every one I ride with thinks I would be crazy. We do a lot of boondocking with some pulls in between.

thanks in advance

 

[bholmlate]

I would not do it they are heavy underpowered +8 year old motor technology with a +5 year old chassis. Who wants a 620 lbs factory boosted sled with a warranty anyway. Seriously there is a thread 4 or 5 down from this one talking about ready to ride weight of the a new turboed viper and mods to lighten it up more. I think the thread is "Weighed the viper" Every indication is that it is a pretty major improvement in the development of a 4 stroke mountain sled.

 

[motojunkie101]

He did say viper, not nytro. The viper is going to work well, and you'd never wonder if you would be getting towed out. The Polaris on 10lbs is a different monster for sure, but what you trade in weight and handling you make up for in durability. When your buddies are changing top ends, you would be changing the oil. When they are doing crank shafts, you may consider a valve check but it isn't required.

There is weight to be lost in the suspension, hood, battery, and a possible belt drive as well. It all comes down to how much you want to spend.

A viper with a hood and light battery weighed in at 606lbs but there is more to loose if that is what you are going for.

 

[Shattered1]

I would not do it they are heavy underpowered +8 year old motor technology with a +5 year old chassis. Who wants a 620 lbs factory boosted sled with a warranty anyway. Seriously there is a thread 4 or 5 down from this one talking about ready to ride weight of the a new turboed viper and mods to lighten it up more. I think the thread is "Weighed the viper" Every indication is that it is a pretty major improvement in the development of a 4 stroke mountain sled.

Here's two pictures from the thread "Weighed the Viper 162" by user jrusher a few links down.

The first picture is a 2015 Viper Mountain turbo with a 180hp kit, full tank of fuel and ready to ride, Mountain fit hood, lightweight exhaust option and a lightweight battery at 606 pounds.

The second picture is a turbo Pro with electric start and 3" track at 601 pounds.

You could lose the starter on the Pro and save some weight (that isn't an option with the Viper), but it shows an apples to apples comparison. I'd say that the Viper is in the ballpark anyway. And there's a pretty good chance that that Viper will still be running 10 years from now with 10 or 15,000 miles on it.

The Yamaha/MPI turbo doesn't void the warranty either. 180 horsepower with a full warranty is a good thing. I have a friend who is a Ski-Doo guy and he gets about $5000 of motor work done to his 800 XP and says that it's supposed to make 185 hp. The only problem is that he grenades an engine just about every season and the warranty is void due to the engine work. Then he buys a new motor and sends it off to get it to make 185 hp and expects to get about 1000 miles out of it. He was telling me about blowing up his motor at the end of last season and having to drop big money to replace it. I told him about the boosted Viper MTX. His first response was "But they're so heavy" (this coming from a guy that has never ridden a four stroke Yamaha in the first place). I gave him the run down about the Viper is supposed to be lighter and a better mountain chassis and that he wouldn't have to replace the motor every season. He's a Doo guy, so I wouldn't expect him to jump on the band wagon right away, but it sparked his interest. I bet he'd be more interested if there was a boosted Viper around for him to test ride. Unfortunately, the nearest Yamaha dealer is about 250 miles away in Canada, so it's not easy to test ride one around here.

So, if you are into a sled that will perform well and not have to be towed out so often, it would be worth considering. Wish I could afford one. Maybe next year.

 

[Remmy]

Coming from a Pro @ 10 lbs. I would recommend going with at least the 240 kit. The 4 stroke boosted power is impressive and hits hard compared to the boosted 2-strokes I've driven.

I contemplated boosting my Pro before I sold it but wasn't ok with taking the risk, reliability wise. We ride in some pretty sketchy places where a Helicopter ride is the only thing getting a grenaded sled out of the Mountains.

 

[sledhead9825]

Here's two pictures from the thread "Weighed the Viper 162" by user jrusher a few links down.

The first picture is a 2015 Viper Mountain turbo with a 180hp kit, full tank of fuel and ready to ride, Mountain fit hood, lightweight exhaust option and a lightweight battery at 606 pounds.

The second picture is a turbo Pro with electric start and 3" track at 601 pounds.

You could lose the starter on the Pro and save some weight (that isn't an option with the Viper), but it shows an apples to apples comparison. I'd say that the Viper is in the ballpark anyway. And there's a pretty good chance that that Viper will still be running 10 years from now with 10 or 15,000 miles on it.

The Yamaha/MPI turbo doesn't void the warranty either. 180 horsepower with a full warranty is a good thing. I have a friend who is a Ski-Doo guy and he gets about $5000 of motor work done to his 800 XP and says that it's supposed to make 185 hp. The only problem is that he grenades an engine just about every season and the warranty is void due to the engine work. Then he buys a new motor and sends it off to get it to make 185 hp and expects to get about 1000 miles out of it. He was telling me about blowing up his motor at the end of last season and having to drop big money to replace it. I told him about the boosted Viper MTX. His first response was "But they're so heavy" (this coming from a guy that has never ridden a four stroke Yamaha in the first place). I gave him the run down about the Viper is supposed to be lighter and a better mountain chassis and that he wouldn't have to replace the motor every season. He's a Doo guy, so I wouldn't expect him to jump on the band wagon right away, but it sparked his interest. I bet he'd be more interested if there was a boosted Viper around for him to test ride. Unfortunately, the nearest Yamaha dealer is about 250 miles away in Canada, so it's not easy to test ride one around here.

So, if you are into a sled that will perform well and not have to be towed out so often, it would be worth considering. Wish I could afford one. Maybe next year.

I would say that is chubby Pro. Just from that one pic you posted I can see a lot of extras bolted on to that sled. So no, not apples to apples

 

[Shattered1]

I would say that is chubby Pro. Just from that one pic you posted I can see a lot of extras bolted on to that sled. So no, not apples to apples

So, list the extras and the estimated weight that you see. I see a wrap, a bag under the seat and rails for a fuel can. Am I missing something?

 

[icr]

So, list the extras and the estimated weight that you see. I see a wrap, a bag under the seat and rails for a fuel can. Am I missing something?

3" track adds about 15lbs, bumpers probably 5. Exit shocks 6lbs. Curve skis 5lbs. Air frames 2lbs.

The pro has no light weight parts. Lightweight hood and battery would drop 20lbs, that'd be closer to a fair comparison but the viper still has less track and lighter shocks. A pro full wet is 530lb, a turbo adds 20lbs. So the lightened viper would be 56lbs heavier than a stock pro with turbo.

 

[sidehil]

Buy a Pro

 

[NDFARMER95]

3" track adds about 15lbs, bumpers probably 5. Exit shocks 6lbs. Curve skis 5lbs. Air frames 2lbs.

The pro has no light weight parts. Lightweight hood and battery would drop 20lbs, that'd be closer to a fair comparison but the viper still has less track and lighter shocks. A pro full wet is 530lb, a turbo adds 20lbs. So the lightened viper would be 56lbs heavier than a stock pro with turbo.

I'm contemplating one depending on how they handle. Those are monotube walker evans with red springs. IMO, these are very comparable sleds. Both electric start, .4 difference in lug height, and structural components. Pros bumpers are junk, and boards are kinda wimpy.

 

[Snappy Sledder]

Ride one. All you're going to get on here is 3 different things.
1. Guys that hate Yamahas and will never like them because they are too arrogant telling you to keep your Pro
2. Guys that bought a Viper that tell you why they bought a Viper/guys that decided not to and why they decided not to
3. People actually giving useful information on what you could do.

Some of those will happen more than others. Myself, I have not ridden one yet. I'll let you know in January what I think of the handling. But after sitting on them compared to my Nytro, they'll be a game changer. Talk to your local dealer, set up a demo ride, and base your decision from there. Go where you ride, take your Pro, and swap back and forth. That will be the only true way to see how one would work with your riding style.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[icr]

I'm contemplating one depending on how they handle. Those are monotube walker evans with red springs. IMO, these are very comparable sleds. Both electric start, .4 difference in lug height, and structural components. Pros bumpers are junk, and boards are kinda wimpy.

The rears are exits. Obviously everyone sees things differently. I think if the viper has a light hood and battery so should the pro to compare them. Stock pro boards are the best from any OEM. Pro doesn't need electric start, easiest to rope over in the industry.

 

[Braapist]

you don't notice the weight when you have all that power......I ride an apex turbo and tree ride with pros all the time

 

[CHAZWILDMAN]

Love mine so far come ride with us i will let you take it for a rip

 

[Trace]

check this out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtjsylwWboc
<iframe width="853" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/LtjsylwWboc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[noob]

took my boost it viper out for first time Friday and I'm just as excited to ride this sled as I am to ride my 15 pro. 8 year old motor(bomb proof motor that rips) and a 5 year old chassis(to me it's new and is absolutely awesome) You ride mid boards and lean left or ride and the input to make this sled do what you want is awesome. I found myself over riding the sled like crazy because I'm so used to the nytro. My full on cr racing nytro was a turd for handling compared to this viper(not a rip on cr, I run lots of his stuff on my viper, just the nytro chassis wasn't good)
Is it as light as a pro. Hel! no. but to me I loved riding it.

buddy and I did notice at the end of the ride how his skid was half full of snow(15 xm) and my viper skid had hardly anything in it. referring back to the snowest weigh in challenge and how they claimed the viper skid had hardly any snow in it and the rest of the sleds were packed. it was one ride but an interesting point to notice.

the best response ever is dudes who don't have zero, zilch, none, not a bit of experience on these sleds and seem to think they are guru's and know it all. ride one and decide for youself. I rode buddies 15 xm and would love to own one of them too. power was wicked, seemed to have real good rider input and was a solid machine.

 

[BigFish BC]

3" track adds about 15lbs, bumpers probably 5. Exit shocks 6lbs. Curve skis 5lbs. Air frames 2lbs.

The pro has no light weight parts. Lightweight hood and battery would drop 20lbs, that'd be closer to a fair comparison but the viper still has less track and lighter shocks. A pro full wet is 530lb, a turbo adds 20lbs. So the lightened viper would be 56lbs heavier than a stock pro with turbo.

so in other words it has the same parts as a yammi other than the 3 inch track,turbo starter battery,sounds like they are playing on the same field lol.

 

[BOOSTD]

The pro pictured did have a headlight delete and odds and ends changed so no it's not a perfect side by side comparison. If I were a polaris and yamaha dealer I would love to build a perfect side by side comparison but I'm at the mercy of what people have and what yamahas I can supply. With that said, I weighed the two sleds above to show that yamaha is getting closer. By no means will we ever be as light as a pro stock for stock, I think we all know that now however it's nice to see we are in the ball park and becoming more and more competitive. I'll take the extra weight, reliability and power any day of the week, I know some won't but that's the beauty of the sport.

 

[roughrider99]

3 inch powerclaw is actually lighter than 2.6
As far as which way to go.
I own a turbo pro and I own a viper that will end up being turboed.
I think they each have their trade offs but I love both sleds, what one lacks the other makes up for and in that respect I find them very even so i decided to keep my pro. I don't have much ride time on the viper but I think the pro will still be my go to sled for hard, crappy spring time conditions cuz it's a 155 and viper is 163 3" perfect for powder days.

It would be a very tough choice if I could only have one sled.

 

[turbo800]

On Saturday, I was able to get my first ride on my Viper. My brother also took his new to him '14 M8000 out for his first ride. We switched back and forth to see the differences, considering we both came off '09 Doo XP's. I was truly amazed how little extra effort it took to bring up one ski on the Viper. One thing to note, I installed 8" Slydog skis and his had the stock CAT skis (~6"). The snow was hard and crusty, we haven't had any new snow in 2 weeks.

Quite possibly the hardest thing to get used to was the flat steering vs the arc'd on the Doo's. My bar riser felt a little too far forward and I felt like I was lightly reaching for the bars setup by the dealer, this IMO didn't give any mechanical advantage. With the aggressive carbides on the 'dogs and hard snow, at slow speeds it could be a pain to turn the bars! My brother even complained about his stock CAT skis going through the trees wanting to dive into holes. He'll be looking for some better skis even for his two stroke!

This is my first 4 stroke thumper. Considering this is a "600 class" machine, it sure didn't feel like it, actually beefier! I'm following the recommended break-in guidelines, < 6000 RPM for the first 100 miles, which equals about 30 mph down the trail. The torque from this motor is impressive! I only got a couple of chances to open it up for a split second to hear the turbo come on. This MPI turbo kit with the Mitsubishi turbo is super quite compared to my Garrett, you can always hear it singing along. The most noise comes from the intake filter (snorkel), which kinda reminds me of a gutted airbox sucking air, but not bad at all!

I can't wait to ride it again with some new snow falling as I type this!!