Skidoo xm with 3 inch track

[Catman10]

I have never lied on this forum and maybe I should now and post false things about that p.o.s XM but I am not built that way. Dooski and I rode for 3 days together in bottomless powder and different weather conditions, from sunshine and clear skies, to 0 visability and stuck in the trees all day. I have absolutely hated the Xp chassis and have rode many of them with alot of seat time on them and every time I got off one I thought it was an absolute tank. To me it was the heaviest light sled I ever rode, I always thought the front end felt like my RX1 I owned many moons ago and the geometry just didnt work for me at all, no big deal I love my M and it feels like home to me. THAT BEING SAID my friend Ron put a 174 track under his with a shockwave clutch and we spent some time dialing his machine in. I rode it quite a bit and was surprised at how much different his sled felt compared to any other one I rode, in the end I still did not like how the bars were in relation to the post but I have heard that you can modify them and get the post 2" higher which I would have to do as I am 6'4" tall. In the bottomless stuff his machine floated much better than mine and was very good in the trees and would be less tiresome at the end of the day for sure. When he did get stuck it came out of the hole much better as well. On the sunny days we hit the hills and with the snow being about three feet deep I could only beat his machine by 5 or 6 feet with me riding both and making marks side by side, I was impressed. If we poached trails there is no comparison as the torque of the m just killed it but his machine still did very well and I was impressed. There is no comparison in power with all of my mods and in my defense I felt that my trackspeed was quite low compared to where it wasat the end of last season and I am not sure why yet. What is frustrating for me is that you can mod a heavier machime all you want but it is hard to make up for 100 pound difference with a sled. The 16 wide track also is MUCH better than a 15 wide, I don't care what anyone says, you are fooling yourself if you think a 15 will be close just because you can spin it a little faster, there is a huge difference. So did the XM beat my M up? No it did not which is very impressive for a stock engine but it came so very close and with a little fine tuning and in the bottomless powder it will beat me all day long and it will be a great machine to ride. I am not in the position to buy a sled right now and as much as I hate to admit it the XM is on the top of my list right now. In the next ride we will be playing with a 13 800 cat with a 174 and some motor work to put it in the 185 hp range so I will be anxious to see what it does as well. Sorry for the long winded post and to get back to the subject the Xm will handle the 3" no problem and I highly recommend it to anyone after seing the results, just do your research on them first as there is issues with the 7 tooth drivers so maybe there is a better brand to buy. Please dont start bashing machines now, I gave my opinion and told it with no exagerating and I am sure dooski will agree, it is hard for me to admit that I like the doo!!!!

 

[dooski]

It didnt take much convincing with my sled to make catman10 to change his mind. If his sled was stock like mine other than the track and minor clutching I dont think the m1000 would keep up because of the weight difference and the deep snow as well. If I modded mine (xm) like catman10 did to his m1000 I would definately close the gap in any snow condition just goes to show you how well the 800s go, i mean all of them cat poo doo they are all working better. I used to fide an m1000 myself but I got tired of the weight of them, Im only 5'7 tall and cant handle the sled the the same as a 6'4 guy would. I love my new sled so far.

 

[FranktheTank]

Remember to,the 3" track is awesome now cause the snow is deep and ridiculous, but come spring/set up snow it also has its disadvantages. The 2.5 is an all around better track.

 

[Caper11]

Remember to,the 3" track is awesome now cause the snow is deep and ridiculous, but come spring/set up snow it also has its disadvantages. The 2.5 is an all around better track.

I agree.


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[thegeneral]

other than cooling issues, what are the disadvantages ?

 

[FranktheTank]

other than cooling issues, what are the disadvantages ?

the paddles seem to bend/fold easier with the 3" on the hard pack rather than bite. Which just causes you to lose traction needless spinning when climbing on the hard pack. 3" paddles are ridiculous when its deep but dont work as well in the spring snow. Think of the 3" paddles like a mud tire works well for mud but sucks for all the other driving you do. The 2.5 is more like an all terrain tire does everything "ok" but dosent excel at any one thing really well.

 

[thegeneral]

the paddles seem to bend/fold easier with the 3" on the hard pack rather than bite. Which just causes you to lose traction needless spinning when climbing on the hard pack. 3" paddles are ridiculous when its deep but dont work as well in the spring snow. Think of the 3" paddles like a mud tire works well for mud but sucks for all the other driving you do. The 2.5 is more like an all terrain tire does everything "ok" but dosent excel at any one thing really well.

Makes sense to me, thanks. Hoping to ride in the spring this year.


Thegeneral

 

[tstams]

Y cooling problems and don't ride alot In the spring so not worried about that?

 

[thegeneral]

It seems like anytime we ride on the really packed crusty snow at least one in the group ( with 3" ) has to use scratchers and/or pack snow on the tunnel. I personally haven't had any issues but I do have cable scratchers as well as home made bolt scratchers for the skis.

Y cooling problems and don't ride alot In the spring so not worried about that?

 

[popcorn popper]

I have my old 3" of 1000 sitting in shop, was wanting to get more seat time on xm before swap but it sounds like xm handles it well. Maybe change sooner than later. Good review thanks!Has anyone compared the 2.5 and 3" together ?

 

[maxwell]

Ya the 3" basically destroys the way the XM handles i wouldn't do it. It does climb a bit better still tryin to do some more comparing

 

[FranktheTank]

Ya the 3" basically destroys the way the XM handles i wouldn't do it. It does climb a bit better still tryin to do some more comparing

I was wondering how well the XM handled that 3" track. i have very little time on an XM but was blown away how well it worked and handled but this machine was completly bone stock. I couldnt figure out if it was the track, the t motion or where my feet are on the running boards, or if it was all of them together that made the xm such a different animal all together from the xp.

 

[Foxstar45]

So the XM handling has a lot to do with the flex edge track and not t-motion. Seems strange I can't see the outside 2-3'' of track flexing much or at all when you/re in any kind of fresh snow.

 

[snopro]

So the XM handling has a lot to do with the flex edge track and not t-motion. Seems strange I can't see the outside 2-3'' of track flexing much or at all when you/re in any kind of fresh snow.

I believe that the T motion and the flex track are equal partners in the success of the system. Havent talked to anyone that has just done the kit but not the track though.

 

[oler1234]

So the XM handling has a lot to do with the flex edge track and not t-motion. Seems strange I can't see the outside 2-3'' of track flexing much or at all when you/re in any kind of fresh snow.

correct.... why would the track flex where the paddles are?? you cant even get them to flex on concrete let alone snow. In between the paddles it flexs. To me the flex edge track seems like a gimmick, but the duro or rubber and design layout definately works. I think it has more to do with the t-motion and the whole sled setup as a whole.

 

[Caper11]

So the XM handling has a lot to do with the flex edge track and not t-motion. Seems strange I can't see the outside 2-3'' of track flexing much or at all when you/re in any kind of fresh snow.

As Snopro mentioned, the whole setup works with each other. Putting a 3" on changes this setup, yah have to think of the steeper attack angle that the 7t drivers gives you, the negative handling characteristics of the 3" as well, along with other things, in low snow conditions I felt the 3" was putting me as a disadvantage when running with 2012 doos.
The flex edge track works well in all conditions.


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[maxwell]

I am speaking in marginal and hard pack snow conditions the 3" is not helping what so ever and makes the sled feel much heavier. With my stock sled I can lean left on hard pack and it will balance there with me sitting on the seat with virtually no input. With the identical sled and 3" track it takes serious effort to get it there and it does not stay. Wants to plant itself flat. I'm going to break the Rods on the 3" sled and see what that does. Also like mentioned the smaller drivers may also have something to do with this

 

[thegeneral]

I am speaking in marginal and hard pack snow conditions the 3" is not helping what so ever and makes the sled feel much heavier. With my stock sled I can lean left on hard pack and it will balance there with me sitting on the seat with virtually no input. With the identical sled and 3" track it takes serious effort to get it there and it does not stay. Wants to plant itself flat. I'm going to break the Rods on the 3" sled and see what that does. Also like mentioned the smaller drivers may also have something to do with this

Hey maxwell before you do that, can you use a small scale and pull each sled over on its side on a level surface and see if there is any more effort required for the one with the 3". I did this before and after installing the 3" without the scale mind you, and it felt the same.


Thegeneral

 

[maxwell]

Good idea

 

[T-team]

Tighten up the limiter straps.........All I can say.