Sorry you don't know how to clutch!
oh but i did!! put 09 parts in changed weights, ramps, experimented a bit. not an expert but know the basics. ended up with dj clutch kit little difference not much
XP vs D8 vs M8
- Thread starter Flakey
- Start date
oh but i did!! put 09 parts in changed weights, ramps, experimented a bit. not an expert but know the basics. ended up with dj clutch kit little difference not much
do you guys think that some sleds handle different types of snow better than others. been ridding mt baker for 5 years and it seems like the cats might do better in the wet cascade snow but this could just be my bias (born in MN ) or the 162. anyways both the xp and m8 are amazing machines.
That is just so funny and false.
Our XP's (5 of them). Total Miles ridden = 7700 miles SO FAR
All still on original belts.
If you dont know how to make stock adjustments on your XP, or care to even do clutch/belt maintenace or after purchase clutching, you have no business stating all XP's eat belts.
Another consideration is the suspension. I've ridden all three and the Dragon is the worst on the trails. I know we are mountain riders but Flakey knows how crappy our trails get and it can get painful. I think the XP and M are both pretty good on the trail.
The M chassis is easy to get used to and I agree it feels similar to the Dragon. The new M chassis has the telescoping handlebars which is really cool....the XP takes a little more getting used to but is very flickable. The M chassis has been a proven chassis for 6 years now but the motor has been stepped up so who knows what will happen this winter (although I think Cat motors have proven pretty reliable over the years). The XP motor is on it's 4th year and the chassis has been around 3 years and I think most the bugs have been worked out.
What I'm saying is that all 3 of them will do well and would be fun to ride
Pick the one that gives you the longest warranty and ride it like a $2 hooker.
Rt
The M chassis is easy to get used to and I agree it feels similar to the Dragon. The new M chassis has the telescoping handlebars which is really cool....the XP takes a little more getting used to but is very flickable. The M chassis has been a proven chassis for 6 years now but the motor has been stepped up so who knows what will happen this winter (although I think Cat motors have proven pretty reliable over the years). The XP motor is on it's 4th year and the chassis has been around 3 years and I think most the bugs have been worked out.
What I'm saying is that all 3 of them will do well and would be fun to ride
Pick the one that gives you the longest warranty and ride it like a $2 hooker.
Rt
J
jhurkot
Well-known member
xp is the best climbing sled. more effort to get it to sidehill. very stable on trail.
m8/d8 won't beat the xp in a straight up hill climb competition but are much better handling machines. i think the d8 initiates the sidehill better but the m8 holds the sidehill better.
also before we declare any sled "the best sled of 2010", lets wait until april of 2010. remember how many people thought the 2007 rev 800r was the best sled before the snow started flying?
m8/d8 won't beat the xp in a straight up hill climb competition but are much better handling machines. i think the d8 initiates the sidehill better but the m8 holds the sidehill better.
also before we declare any sled "the best sled of 2010", lets wait until april of 2010. remember how many people thought the 2007 rev 800r was the best sled before the snow started flying?
That is just so funny and false.
Our XP's (5 of them). Total Miles ridden = 7700 miles SO FAR
All still on original belts.
If you dont know how to make stock adjustments on your XP, or care to even do clutch/belt maintenace or after purchase clutching, you have no business stating all XP's eat belts.
kinda impossible to maintenace more than everyride, maybe you take all your tools with you and do a cleaning in the middle of the ride, or you ride like a f****** Pu*sy!!
Out of the 3 only 2 really seem rideable to me and thats the d8 and m8. I find the d8 best for me, as it has the best rider position, and it just feels more comfy. Also i think it looks much cooler than the m8 when both have their windshields on, and since i ride with a 12inch windshield its pretty important how they look.
Flakey.....The wide seat feeling on the XP is because the stock seat "pooches" a bit outward from the tunnel....get the Race seat (available tall, low, hard or soft for a reasonable price) and this feeling goes away.
As for those that say the XP is tough to pull over or sidehill etc...it's all in the susp setup. They are right on the heels of a M-cat for ease of handling.
After having M-Cat, Dragon, Rev, XP.....there is no question in my mind that the XP is the way to go for boondocking, climbing and deep snow. It has the least weight, biggest footprint and the most responsive power to the snow.
For those that eat alot of belts on the XP, something is wrong...period! Proper alignment and setup and they DO NOT go through belts. We ran our 174 XP on the same belt all season, even TRIED to blow a belt and failed....and we ride!
My 2nd choice would be the new M8, it is a good sled and has been nicely refined over the last 5 years.
The Dragon....well.....first Polaris needs to finalize the "fix" (again) on their 800 to make it run consistantly and reliably. And the chassis handling is either love it or hate it. VERY responsive....too much so IMO.
As for those that say the XP is tough to pull over or sidehill etc...it's all in the susp setup. They are right on the heels of a M-cat for ease of handling.
After having M-Cat, Dragon, Rev, XP.....there is no question in my mind that the XP is the way to go for boondocking, climbing and deep snow. It has the least weight, biggest footprint and the most responsive power to the snow.
For those that eat alot of belts on the XP, something is wrong...period! Proper alignment and setup and they DO NOT go through belts. We ran our 174 XP on the same belt all season, even TRIED to blow a belt and failed....and we ride!
My 2nd choice would be the new M8, it is a good sled and has been nicely refined over the last 5 years.
The Dragon....well.....first Polaris needs to finalize the "fix" (again) on their 800 to make it run consistantly and reliably. And the chassis handling is either love it or hate it. VERY responsive....too much so IMO.
"too responsive".....maybe a poor choice of words. I found it "twitchy" and it seemed to get thrown off course by off camber bumps more than the others. again...JMO. I found it VERY difficult to ride in technical trees etc..
For XP setup, get rid of the sway bar! ski springs to #2-3 or even softer. Let the limiter all the way out, soften the front spring to 1/4-1/2" preload, rear spring adjuster to #3-4 for rider weight.....don't worry about the rear sag, it's SUPPOSED to sag. Most guys have the bars forward....move them BACK to about inline with the steering post angle or slightly forward of this. The idea is to get the rider weight back on the sled a bit, the XP already has plenty of weight on the skis, putting the rider way forward makes the sled ill handling and tough to pull over /sidehill etc...
I know someone will ask so.....letting the limiter out doesn't make for too much ski lift on a climb, it actually makes for LESS on this particular chassis because letting it out takes some load off the rear springs. Sucking up the limiter places more load on the rear, causing the rear springs to collapse under weight transfer and it's "skis to the sky". Try it for a day of boondocking and most guys are happy.
S
Sasksummit
Member
I have only made one trip to the mountains with my xp and sp far I love it. I have only rode the d8 and only for a couple of pulls. I found that it pulled over quite easy almost to easy. I was still on My 06rev at that time so I don't have a direct comparison to the xp. I like the xp personally. JMO
THANK YOU ReTodd and Winter Brew!!
That is the kind of answer I have been looking for!
You guys know what we deal with out here in mashed tater land, and I'd have to agree with everything you've stated.
Winter Brew, Your not just trying to talk me into a XP to get my buisness now are you?? KIDDING!
I'm VERY happy you said something about the seat. That is the main thing that turned me off from the XP was that thing jabbing me in the sides of my knees, I had no idea the race seat was skinnier!
I'll be at your shop for a roosterbuilt setup before you know it. Thanks for the great input!
That is the kind of answer I have been looking for!
You guys know what we deal with out here in mashed tater land, and I'd have to agree with everything you've stated.
Winter Brew, Your not just trying to talk me into a XP to get my buisness now are you??
KIDDING!I'm VERY happy you said something about the seat. That is the main thing that turned me off from the XP was that thing jabbing me in the sides of my knees, I had no idea the race seat was skinnier!
I'll be at your shop for a roosterbuilt setup before you know it. Thanks for the great input!
do you guys think that some sleds handle different types of snow better than others. been ridding mt baker for 5 years and it seems like the cats might do better in the wet cascade snow but this could just be my bias (born in MN ) or the 162. anyways both the xp and m8 are amazing machines.
I have spent a lot of time on all three sleds XP m8 and dragon 8. Both the dragon and the M8 seem to hold a side hill better and in my opinion climb better in deep wet snow. The XP definitely gets better track speed and climbs well on hard pack days. Personally I would look at an m8 or dragon. But then again I guess I would miss out on the rider forward stance of the XP. (Not sure what that does for me) You will not see any posts about how to reinforce or bend the m8 or dragon 8 tunnels back. It is hard to ignore how many sleds Arctic Cat sells compared to Polaris.
Like others said, something was wrong. I'm not knocking your riding or mechanical skills, just something was wrong to go through belts like that. I went through one last year after 800 miles of deep powder riding. Not bad.
G
Going West
Well-known member
belt life has a lot to do with how you ride and what you ride in. You can have the same sled and with one person the stock belt will last forever and if you let my buddy ride on it the belt won't last two days, and it doesnt matter what sled he rides.
Personaly where we ride if you dont go through at least 3 belts a year (tipicaly more) your not really riding. There is no sled that will take windshield deep snow and WFO all day long and not suffer some belt issues. Lots of people ride in different conditions and everyone rides differently. Just because someone has a situation that not the same as your does not mean that they are wrong or you setup is better. Try to think of a bigger picture then just your experience.
G
Going West
Well-known member
As far as what sled is best, you wil never get the real answer on a fourm, most will boast their brand, which makes sense cause they must have thought it was the best if thats what they bought. The best advice you can get is to ride them and see what you like. I would not assume that the xp will ride simular to your rev. I have a few friends that made the switch and they had to learn the sled all over again. All the new sleds work really well and you wont hate any of them. I personaly ride cat and i love them. Iv rode the revs and the xp's some and didnt care for them, but they handle a lot different and i didnt ride them long (two days maybe). From what ive seen the new cats seem the handle the real deep fluffy stuff a little better, and the xp it way smoother on the trail, most every where else there equal so its mainly comes down to which one your comfortable on.
Good luck with the new sled
Good luck with the new sled
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XP you get free stuff if they have enough parts, but if you have to pay $$$ hope your pockets are deep cause their part are EXPENSIVE. Dragons you get new top ends (sometimes couple a year..lol)? Arctic Cat you dont get anything....except horrid colors!!!
I vote M8 pull the cord and go...but then again you have a real good polaris dealer right down the street??? Post in WA who is THE dealer (anybrand) north of Seattle is!!! And you gonna be buying a dragon which sounds like what you want anyways!!!!
all new chassis rock and matter what you end up buying there is always something better..
SO if you cant get seat time you should really consider what dealers are gonna take care of you, cause they all break.....also call all the dealers and ask about demos days...wait to buy till you got seat time..you not gonna miss the SALE!!!
my 7 pennies,
Christian
I vote M8 pull the cord and go...but then again you have a real good polaris dealer right down the street??? Post in WA who is THE dealer (anybrand) north of Seattle is!!! And you gonna be buying a dragon which sounds like what you want anyways!!!!
all new chassis rock and matter what you end up buying there is always something better..
SO if you cant get seat time you should really consider what dealers are gonna take care of you, cause they all break.....also call all the dealers and ask about demos days...wait to buy till you got seat time..you not gonna miss the SALE!!!
my 7 pennies,
Christian
