Why I started riding Yamaha again

[tenacious84]

The thread should be titled "why i started riding a YAMACAT". All of this discussion about sidewinders and no mention of the king cat, when they are the exact same machine with different colors. Granted there may be small differences, but nothing that makes a bit of difference.

Yamaha could do better if they tried. Losing customers and dealer support because they are not remaining competitive could spur a revolution or cause them to bail out completely, who really knows?

They have already bailed completely. I find it fascinating that people still can't come to terms with this fact. When you don't make your own chassis, you have no real interest in the market. This hole thread is centered around weight which is a direct result of the chassis. And without a chassis, yamaha has no real hand in the pot as far as this discussion is concerned.

Yet, here we are 4 pages into a thread, it must be the off-season.

 

[Turblue]

King cat guys are welcome to chime in ....I just assumed it was common knowledge that it’s a cat chassis with a Yamaha power plant.....but thanks for letting us know.

 

[0neoldfart]

My 2 cents...

I own a 2017 King Cat. Just sold a modded 925 Cat (2013), and a heavily modded 2013 M1100T. Still have my wife's Pro RMK 155 with Carl's 660 big bore. I weighed all 4 machines fully fueled and ready to ride. The difference between the heaviest to lightest sled was 91 lbs on a digital scale. All had lightweight exhaust, skid plate, and accessory bumpers.
I'm 50 yrs old, 230 lbs in decent shape, been riding in the mountains for a "couple" seasons (started in the 80's) I don't have delusions of grandeur, I'm no Burandt, nor will I ever be. But I can still show the young bucks up once in a while, even when on a 600 and they're sporting current model 800's.
The Sidewinder / King Cat is the best handling 4 stroke to date. It doesn't ride as heavy as the scales say (fully fueled with spare belt and tool kit was 659.8 lbs (for reference the 660 Pro RMK scaled at 568.8 lbs with a 155" track). The selling point for me was the TORQUE, reliability, the cheap horsepower increase with a flash, and the giggle factor. Yes, the Pro rides lighter, but it takes a bunch more effort to get to some places that the King Cat can go with a push of the thumb, and actually I find I get stuck LESS due to the phenomenal track speed of the boosted 4 stroke. Cost wise, I bought mine as a holdover for $500 more then what the dealer wanted for the holdover Mountain Cat, so the price difference wasn't huge.
This isn't a "who's right" thread - ride what you like, wave your flag if you must. There are choices. But if you get a chance, ride a new King Cat or Sidewinder for a day - you might be surprised to learn it's a very capable sled.

 

[robrstopr]

Ok so I ride Yamaha cuz I Bleed Blue....so Blue my Labs name is Yami.
Yup its heavy, but so am I...
Although I spend way to much money on this hobby. Piece of mind I only spend it once while riding Yamaha. Scared of the cat chasis issues but so far Ive been spared.

I never rode my sled stock so cant talk to it, but I can say dropped my new 2018 Winder last November to LCC. Troy and Crew got to work tweaking her adding this and that and changing this and that. So at 630 pounds wet ready to ride with a reliable 258hp, just puts a smile on my face all day long.

Not the best sled on the snow, but for those of you whos dealers cant sell them or don't have anyone around that rides one......Please if you see me or are riding same area or staying same lodge....please ask...You can crack throttle of mine.

Im old..I remember 2 stroke motorcycles. Clarify Road Bikes...lol Damn they were fast. Wonder how long before we say same thing about 2 stroke snowmobiles....Just a thought....Like I said....I'm old.

 

[bishop123]

sidewinder

Well this is my first message to this forum but here we go!
I started snowmobiling 3 years ago and rode lynx rave for one year and next year was arctic cat m800 , well yamahas has allways been on my mind and when they released the sidewinders , i know i had to get one. Well so far , this is easily more light to ride than the m800 . easily controlling and it goes to stupid places easily . and for the stuck part i dont think any sled is light when its stuck ?I think the selling points for me was , motor is really good , easy hp , it looks really good!sounds good and no adding 2stroke oil and forgot to mention how much smile it will leave on the face ! .for the mods so far to this thing is , stage 3 with snorkel and muffler and headlight delete , soon installing lazer work light , planning to do more in summer like titanium muffler and maybe titanium running boards and matt black wrap . and i apologize in advance for my english since im from finland.

 

[NOSNOWNOGO]

Vipax-Combining David and Goliath

Much like backcountry riding often goes. The path to this build is much the same. Never planned to go this far. When you approach the point of no return you either focus on exit or hold it to the wood. My initial purchase was a 16 viper to be set up @ 270hp MCX kit. Carrillo rods, titanium...

www.snowest.com

Couldn't wait any longer for engineers

 

[NOSNOWNOGO]

Quick video of the vipax

 

[Turblue]

Vipax-Combining David and Goliath

Much like backcountry riding often goes. The path to this build is much the same. Never planned to go this far. When you approach the point of no return you either focus on exit or hold it to the wood. My initial purchase was a 16 viper to be set up @ 270hp MCX kit. Carrillo rods, titanium...

www.snowest.com

Couldn't wait any longer for engineers

That a cool. Awesome job. How does it handle ?

 

[NOSNOWNOGO]

That a cool. Awesome job. How does it handle ?

Thanks! Honestly there is nothing like it. Feels really good. I ran a nytro at 330 and I don't think it would touch it. I have not experienced any gyro affect limits or vibrations. Snow conditions were not that good so I didn't get any backcountry videos as well as having to ease into it so I didn't blow the track completely sideways. It's instant power. I try not to be blind in only seeing the sport through a brand specific lense. I really don't care who makes what as long as it is the most capable thing out there. This build is somewhat a testament to that. Took the best pieces of what I feel are out there and put it all together. In my personal opinion it balances it all out very well. Nimble like an axys with beast hp.

 

[Turblue]

Yeah that is nothing short of amazing how you fit that together…post some video’s when you get it into some good back country snow. Awesome ?

 

[NOSNOWNOGO]

Will do. I'll update pics and video to the build forum.