I am new to the sport of snowmobiling, i currently own a rev 800 2004 with high miles. I looking around
to replace the 2004 rev. I tried the Xp 800....wow what a sled....handeling & power are unbeleivable. what ever i buy i am looking to keep for at least 3 to 4 years. My friends are pushing me to buy a Yamaha nitro, for reliability reasons. I tried my buddies nytro it had lots of power, but it handled like a truck. Drove the nytro for an hour or so, around corners felt like driving a brick. I am looking to buy a used sled to keep for a while, i know it's the XP first year. Would a XP 800r be a good move?
Thanks

Last spring I was choosing between the same sleds. I went with XP. I love my sled in the powder and the 800R is a nice improvement over the HO.

i went from an 04 rev like you to an Apex last year after debating for awhile between that and a Renegade.Oil and gas mileage were the clinchers for me,i don't do alot of off trail so the extra weight was not an issue but by my caculations between gas and oil on my 04 compared to my buddies apex i was spending $45 to $50 more every 2 days of riding we did

you really have to no6t listen to anyone else and buy what you like to ride,i was in the same position as you and it was down to rx1 and 60sdi ,bought the sdi and still have no competition in the fuel mileage area [apex's nytro's cats nothin],the sdi 's mileage is second to none and skidoo's ride is second to none,but hey after a long day of beatin yourself around at last if you buy a yammi it will be '' reliable'',with the extra cost of yamaha it far outweighs the ''oil costs'',one of my buds was gettin back into sleddin and my other yamaha buddy actually went and bought him a viper and now hes stuck with this gas pig,now he drove a rev on the weekend and hes pissed.....guess who's buyin a new doo next year,we were sittin at the bar and he said no offence buddy but that nytro doesn't compare to that rev

you really have to no6t listen to anyone else and buy what you like to ride,i was in the same position as you and it was down to rx1 and 60sdi ,bought the sdi and still have no competition in the fuel mileage area [apex's nytro's cats nothin],the sdi 's mileage is second to none and skidoo's ride is second to none,but hey after a long day of beatin yourself around at last if you buy a yammi it will be '' reliable'',with the extra cost of yamaha it far outweighs the ''oil costs'',one of my buds was gettin back into sleddin and my other yamaha buddy actually went and bought him a viper and now hes stuck with this gas pig,now he drove a rev on the weekend and hes pissed.....guess who's buyin a new doo next year,we were sittin at the bar and he said no offence buddy but that nytro doesn't compare to that rev

Ski Doo. The E Tec 600 gets better mileage than any 4 stroke, and a tank of oil lasts approx. 2500 miles. Nice and light, no oil changes, no overheating, no hernia when you need to pull it out of a snowbank. And the same price as one of those Yamaha things. There. I just made your decision.

No matter what you buy the cool thing is all the choices we have in sleds! SDI, 4 stroker, 1000cc, what ever it is. But buying a new sled is like being married. You have to like what you ride or your going to ride something else on the side. LOL
My suggestion is ride them all and then make your best desision for you. Good luck

Pick the one that matches you colour. There is no bad choice today, despite the internet hype, yeah, 2 strokes have a bad rep, could grenade on you, driveshaft might break, etc etc, but a 4 stroke, don't blow anything on that, that's costly, heat exchangers, bearings, rods, etc etc.

Do you have all the gear? If you do, then find a sled to match it....less costly for you in the long run, but whatever you do, enjoy riding, it's very addictive!!!

the "extra price of yamaha",i paid 8100 for my 06 apex er with 201 miles on it,i don't think i could get the e-tec for that?

I went through the exact same process in December when I wanted to replace my 2004 F7 Sno Pro. Looked at a Nytro, REV XP, and F8 Sno Pro. After a lot of beating myself to death trying to make the right decision I bought the XP (600 SDI Adrenaline) for a bunch of reasons. I absolutely hated the Nytro when I test drove it (no offense to anyone, just my own opinion) - the handling wasn't there for me and the power was awkward. I couldn't test ride the XP so I bought it without riding it (but loved how comfortable the seating position was).

After nearly 1000 miles on the XP I know I made the right move (actually, I knew after my first 60-mile ride). The sled is bone stock (except for fat boy rear torsion springs added at 500 miles) and the ride quality is unreal, cornering is perfect on the big sweepers and really tight stuff (with stock carbides), gas/oil use is excellent - everything about the sled is outstanding. I was worried about switching from an F7 because it's so light but the XP is even lighter - it's totally effortless to ride. (Because I used to bleed green I will say that none of my Cats had a single problem but my XP needed a new stator at 750 miles. It appears every brand has its quality control issues.) And even though my F7 was a rocket, the 600 SDI pulls like a train and I don't feel like I'm missing any power. I know if I lined them up side by side the F7 would win a straight line race, but with the same rider in a trail situation the XP would be the "faster" sled because it takes so much less energy to ride it hard. I rode my F7 right on the tank and it takes energy to hold yourself there (especially when you grab the go handle) - with the XP you're already in that position and gravity keeps you there, which saves a ton of energy over the course of a day's ride.

And, for what it's worth, every person I've let ride my sled has LOVED it, which wasn't true for my F7. That includes people on conventional-style sleds, a Mach Z, a REV, and an F6.

Don't get me wrong, both sleds are great but I would be willing to bet you'd be happier with an XP. Good luck.
Shawn.

Ride them 1st,I love my Nytro. Some people dont,Its all in opinion!

"my other yamaha buddy actually went and bought him a viper and now hes stuck with this gas pig,now he drove a rev on the weekend and hes pissed."

A viper a Gas pig......that's funny! I get 14-16 MPG with triple pipes. SO there's something wrong with his sled. I rode a rev and was very happy with the viper. Rev was very uncomfortable to me. I feel the XP is a much better seating position though.