175 or 165 which one
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maxwell
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you need to consider your riding style. these are two COMPLETELY different animals. the 165 with the extra power and torque of the 850 is an absolute blast to ride and almost feels like a 154 with how playful it is. an absolute blast in 90% of the situations. but it does have its limitations. climbing steep walls is very tricky without having the machine come over on you. yes you can adjust the suspension to better suit those situations however it takes away from the "flickability" if you will....as Burandt would say. the 165 will go everywhere the 175 will but you might need to take a second run at it. In fresh snow on a steep incline as soon as you start loosing ground speed its coming over backwards and heading back down the hill.
NOW.....the 175 is a very purpose built machine. I have spent enough time on it to make a fair comparison. if you want to climb walls and put up silly marks this is the machine. if your a rider that isnt that hardcore and likes to play around in the deep snow without being stuck all the time. this is your machine. The only drawback to this machine is the playfulness fun factor. it will NOT do 200 foot wheelies through the trees or a re-entry on command. when you mash that throttle this sled is going UP and not stopping. what i love about this 175 in the 850 is the extra ground speed it makes compared to the previous T3 174. those sleds were tractors but they were slow slow machines. with the bigger motor spinning that big flipper this new 175 is definitely more exhilarating than the previous 174.
all in all after riding all of the new 850s the 165 is the absolute all around best machine and i think that track length has been for some time in any model. But you really need to evaluate the type of riding you do because that 175 might be your ticket. If you end up going the 165 route consider the freeride. that is the ultimate mountain sled in my opinion. You cant upgrade the suspension on a summit for the difference in price between the two. not even close.
rightsideup
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Nice review but how many wobblie pop's are you into now quoting Chris Burant. Lol. Nice point about the 65 freeride though good value in those shocks. Has been for years. I never got to ride the 175 though some big goof hijacked it for most of the ride. It sure is pretty though.
Big A
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I haven't had a chance to ride the 175 but I Had a 174xm last year and I'm on a 3" 165 850 this year. My vote would be for the 165, with the extra power and chassis changes they will out perform the old 174's, they do require some setting up of the rear skid or possibly an aftermarket rear coupler to really shine though. The problem with the 170's is they do really push you around, if your all about climbing the steep nasty stuff then they're the ticket but if you enjoy smashing the trees the 165 wins hands down
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Doo2015
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I went with 175" because the opinions I was getting from people was that it really shines in the trees, you can take your time if you want to. People say the 165 g4 handles better than the xm 154 and then the 175 is barely any tougher to handle than the 165. It's only 1 more lug on the ground, your barely sacrificing anything for the extra lug. It will push the most on the trail but honestly who cares, your not buying it for the trail. For what it's worth, I was chatting with Norona and his opinion was that the 175 is the easiest sled to ride and he's only 140lbs.
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Bnorth
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From what I've seen and ridden the 165 climbs about as well as the old 174 t3 which is enough for me but it is still playful.
ferniesnow
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I enjoyed my T3 174 but it isn't as nice a sled as the G4 3 x 165 is. The G4 is much easier to ride and with the track on the G4 3 X 16, it gets places easier than the T3 174, IMHO. Would I order the 175? Only if I was in Norona Land where the snow is deep and consistent dumps of powder! This year in the Kootenays, we had maybe one or two days where the 175 would have been great but most years we don't have the snow for the 175" monster.
Doo2015
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ferniesnow
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Just thinking about the number........................a 175 is a "long track" and is it really necessary in most snow conditions other than places like "Norona Land"?
Doo2015
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Norona land is British Columbia. That's the only place I ride. Last time out i could've used a 175". Shovel wouldn't have came out nearly as much as it did. A 175 is not "necessary", neither is a 165 or 154. My buddy has a blast on his 146 in BC. You just lose forgiveness in the stuck department as the track gets shorter.
ferniesnow
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IMO, Norona Land is the west coast of BC. Nothing compares with the mega systems that come through there. I tour a lot of SK peeps who bring out 146's and yes they have fun. Do they have as much fun as peeps on longer tracks? I don't think so because when they push the limits they are stuck too often.
I stand by my words, most places in BC don't require a 175 and the 163-165 will work just fine.
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norona
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I get this question a lot and understand that people are scared of the 175 as they don't want to lose the ability to throw it around. If I can throw it around anyone can, if it hindered me in any place I would not ride the 175, that is the beauty of it in the g4 chassis, it basically rides way easier than a xm 163,(just like if you rode a xm 154 then the 165 is easier) the only time you might feel the push of the 175 is on a boiler plate day, I don't ride those so it really does not matter to me. Of course any sled 146/154/165/175 you can go wrong, they all give you fun. None of them stop you from having fun. And yes the 175 is the easiest sled to ride, if it was not , it would be an impossible sell, it does everything smoother(why big mountain skiers use bigger skis not smaller skis),
Big A
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How about the additional tunnel length? Based on personal experience I would sure like to see some bracing installed in and outside of the chinesium tinfoil to prevent the unfortunate circumstances I had bestowed upon me.
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Doo2015
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For sure. I think an aftermarket rear bumper and rail bracing are must-haves.
The BRP HD bumper adds a lot of stiffness to tunnel and is way safe to tow your other G4 buddies when they run out of belts without buckling your tunnel.
There really really is a big difference and maybe 2# heavier at most.
ferniesnow
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Years ago, before the 174 was a stock item, the big boys in Revy (the chute climbers) had massive rear bumpers/supports on their 174's. They knew exactly what they were doing and or preventing!
Yup. My last three sleds have all had the Hd bumpers and have had up to 7 gallons on the tunnel and 25 gallons in the skidder for the 55km ride to Kakwa cabin for three days stays at the cabin by Kakwa lake.
Never burned a belt either on that Rev or the XP towing at 20-40kph.
Chit load of big pulls in that area right off the valley floor.
maxwell
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chickenman
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My personal thoughts on the 165 vs 175 ( or anything comparable throughout the brands) is rider weight. I'm close to 300 lbs all geared up and the extra little bit of flotation can't hurt! It also helps in my slower than required reaction times!
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