I have always been a long time Arctic Cat rider. I currently have an 03 F7. I love the sled, but I am currently unhappy with AC's customer relations. I think they're terrible, so I've decided that when I order a new sled this spring, I'm going to try another brand out. Now comes the hard part. I love the looks of the Vector and the RX-1, and I like the idea of 4 stroke economy and reliability. However, I don't want to get away from not having to rejet when I change altitudes (gotta love EFI) and I'm concerned that the Vector or the RX-1 would not suit my riding style. I ride a lot of groomed trails, but I also like to do quite a bit of ditch riding. Would I really be happy on either the Vector or the RX-1, or should I just get a REV like I've been considering? Any input you guys would have would be greatly appreciated.

We rode Polaris sleds for 11 yrs...This yr we are going to be riding Rev's...Don't be afraid to change brands and try something different...Life is to short to be unhappy....

I am also a long time Cat rider and if I was to change brand I would buy the
Rev with and SDI engine. Like you said "love that EFI" and the SDI would
give you that plus the light weight that the 4 stroke can't offer at the present
time. Personally the only problem with the Yamaha sled is the lack of storage.
I know my Firecat is limited but the RX-1 has none, People have been going
around with a saddle bag on the back of the seat which wears throught the
seat cover. All the sleds at this spring show had this tear, I guess from people
getting on and off the sleds. Great fit and finish on the Yamaha.

i'd kill myself before you find me on a rev lol

You know it's funny, I used to say the same thing about the REV, but then I rode one this winter. I've never been a big ski-doo fan, but that was a nice snowmobile. Anybody have any input on how well the 4-strokes would work when riding ditches? I don't do it all the time, but it does happen now and then.

there was a good story in snotech about the rx and the vecter groomed trails there great..... ditch banging not so great and you think ac relations are bad.......... good luck dealing with ski doo

I think that for ditchbanging, you will probably not like the RX-1 or Vector. The weight is just too much of an issue.
I wouldnt be afraid to try something else. I rode Polaris for many years but always wanted a Yamaha. Ive been riding my Phazer for about 2 years now and it was a good sled that I got for a very cheap price.
However, I want something more. Ive been looking for a good used 600/700 SXr for about a year now and have come up with nothing. All of the used SXs Ive seen were pretty beat up.
I have the chance to buy an '01 Polaris 600 EDGE X. Im probably going to pick it up this weekend. I like my Yammie, and Ive always loved the blue SX/SXr's but I figure why continue to wait for an SX that might or might not ever materialize. I can get this X for a cheap price and have a sled that I can ride for 10 years and when it needs repairs, parts will never be hard to find. Parts for Yamahas that arent current are very hard to come by, and considering the fact that '05 is the end of 2-stroke Yamahas I figure why wait.
Besides, this 600 X is ten times the sled an SXr is. Better suspension, better engine, better clutches; overall just a better sled. All Yamaha really has going for them is fit 'n finish.
Also, Ive had the worst experiences with Yamaha dealers. I live in Wisconsin, so you would think that a Yamaha dealer would know a little something about sleds (especially considering the fact that Yamaha has about 1/2 the models that everyone else does). Wrong! I went to 5 different dealers and all they knew anything about were ATVs and motocross bikes. They carried no sled parts on hand, so if your sled ever broke down it was at least a week untill you could get it fixed. Compare that to a Polaris dealer who usually has most of the common parts on hand and have people who have a fair amount of knowledge about the sleds. I would say that for sleds, Yamaha dealers (at least here in Wisconsin) are pretty pathetic.
To me, having a good dealer network decides about 50% of if you have a good or bad ownership experience.
If you want a sled that is equally good on and off trail, I say go with a Polaris. The EDGEs are very comfy sleds, but yet if you want to ride the ditches hard, you can still do that. Both my parents are in their 50s, and they ride 600 XC EDGEs and they can ride all day long and not be the least bit sore, that shows you how easy to ride those sleds are.
Heck, back when I had my '99 700 XC SP I used to trail ride between 30-100 mph and probably half of time. In fact, I thought that sled was somewhat boring to ride because the suspension was so good and the sled was so easy to predict (in tems of how it would react in any given situation).
Hebi

Well I sure appreciate everyone's info. It's always nice to have as much input as you can. I really like the yamaha 4 strokes, but I guess if they dont' suit my type of riding there's not much I can do about that. Since I'm not doing anything til this spring though it will be interesting to see what guys think of the new yamahas that have the new rear suspension and went on a diet. Be interesting to see what guys think of them in the ditches.

Best bet is by the seat of your pants...get out and try some tests on your buddys sleds.....I am a very loyal Yamaha guy but cant believe how fun the Rev is....my damn wife wouldnt get off the thing.....

that's exactly what I plan on doing this winter sometime. Only problem is I'll actually have to find a dealer who's got an rx-1 or a vector to demo cause I don't know of anyone in my area who owns one.

Every sled out there has good pionts and bad, there is no clearly the best. I think you would be happy with a RX-1, cruising, ditch banging or what ever, they are a dam fine sled. Just remember why you are leaving Cat. Customer Relations!! I think I could drive most any kind of sled today, they are all good quality, but I insist on a good dealer behind me and the sled. Make sure you spend some time across the desk from him and try to talk to some of his customers to see how they have been treated.

That's a good point smclean. However, I think that the company itself is just as important as a good dealer. In my situation, it was really Arctic Cat itself that let me down, I really don't have any problems with my dealer. But you're right, having a good dealer will make all the difference and I'll have to be sure to pick my new dealership carefully.

I agree...it the Dealer that really make the customer happy....

Well I've been doing some research on the internet just to get an idea what I'm looking at for weights, and I've found that the listed dry weight for the 04 RX-1 was 553 lbs. The 05 is supposed to be 30 lbs lighter, so that puts me at 523 lbs. Right there that's only around 50 pounds heavier than my F7. Now this won't be cheap, but I could easily shave another 20 - 25 lbs off of the RX-1 by adding things like lighter shocks, aftermarket silencer, boss seat, ect... I'm kinda thinking that if I can get a sled with 4 stroke reliability and economy that's only 30 lbs or so heavier than an F7 it would be kinda foolish not too do it. But there's still plenty of time to figure it out. I'm not going to do anything til this spring, plus who knows what the companies will come out with for next year either.

True, you could spend all that money to make an RX-1/Vector lighter. However, you could buy a 600 REV or a 600 XC, put all those lightweight parts on it and have a sled that is even lighter yet.
You still have the issue of inside ski lift on the RX/RS that you really cant get away from. Im sure that if you ran an RX-1 vs. any of the 600s, the 600s would easily win.
Im not at all saying that the RX-1 or RS Vector are bad sleds, in fact they are great sleds. It will be interesting to see what Yamaha replaces their 600 triple 2-stroke with. Im guessing it will be a 950cc 3-cylinder, but we will just have to wait and see.
Also, you have the problem of Yamaha's customer service. If you can find a good Yamaha dealer, then you might be OK. As Ive said, here in Wisconsin, our dealers are pretty pathetic.
Another thing to about Yamaha is ease of service. All of the Yamaha's that I have seen close up (ranging from my '90 Phazer II, to 600 and 700 SXs to RX-1s) are very, very cramped in the engine comparment. Contrast that to Polaris or Ski-Doo, when are very easy to work on. I was going to take the brake pads off of my Phazer just to check them. In order to do this, you must take the chaincase apart, and then you can get at the brakes. This is at least a 2 hour job. On all of the Polaris' Ive owned, the brakes are right at the top. Take out 2 allen screws and they pop right out. Its a 5 minute job. The best way I can describe it is this: Yamahas are well-made (meaning they are very reliable and have great fit 'n finish) but are poorly engineered (poor suspension and hard to work on). Compare that to a Polaris, Cat or Doo; which arent as well-made but are engineered a lot better.
Again, Im not trying to push you away from a Yamaha. I just want you to understand my experience.
Also, dont be so quick to write off the other OEMs as far as 4-strokes go. Polaris has a watercraft with a 140 hp 4-stroke. Considering the fact that the other engines Polaris has "transplanted" from the PWCs to the sleds have gained about 20 hp, if Polaris ever made such a sled it would be a real RX-1 killer. I dont think you will see this in the next year or 2, however. I believe Polais is headed down the "cleanfire injection" 2-stroke route for as long as they can, then they will go 4-stroke. Doo also makes some wicked 4-stroke PWCs and Im sure Cat could easily go to Suzuki and do the same thing Yamaha did with the RX-1. Could you imagine the Hayabusa engine in the Firecat chassis??? Yikes!
Hebi

I know that I could do that to a REV 600 or something like that, but the point that I was trying to get at was that if I could have a 4 stroke snowmobile that isn't really that much heavier than a REV or an F7, then I think that would be a great deal. I checked on weights and according to manufacturer specs, if I put all those parts on an RX-1 it would be about the same weight as a ZR 900 which I think is pretty good. I think that's probably the direction that I'm going to go, but who knows for sure what this season will bring. I'm just planning ahead and doing some early shopping. Plus it's fun to dream! :-)

I understand. If thats the direction you really want to go, I say go for it! However, remember why you want to leave Cat (customer relations). I think that Yamaha could go a long way to improve as well.
I dont know if you ever go on yamahainfo.com, but you should check out that site. I have read posts by a lot of people on there and I have talked to many Yamaha owners who dont like the direction that Yamaha is going.
A lot of Yamaha owners would like to see something like a REV/Firecat/Pro-X. By this I mean they would like to see a lightweight, twin-cylinder 2-stroke with a lot of suspension travel. The fact remains that Yamaha is pretty much ignoring a large part of the snowmobile market by not making any "ditchbangers". Yamaha is basically in the "touring" or "trail luxury" market. Thats fine for some people, but Yamaha is really missing the boat, in my opinion.
Every year, Yamaha is slowly but surely losing customers because of this. However, Yamaha either doesnt know or just doesnt care. So, be careful with what sled you choose to buy. Not that Yamaha makes a bad sled, but in terms of customer relations and support of older sleds, they could be a lot better.
Again, Im not trying to push you away from a Yamaha, I just want to make sure you are well-informed.
Hebi

If you really want some good questions answered, go to www.rx1.info, they will put confidence in any doubt you may have about Yamaha 4 strokes and the direction Yamaha wants to go.

I would agree that the RX-1 is too heavy forditch riding. Have you considered a left over 04 Viper? It's much lighter, reliable, 120 HP with plenty of mod room, DSC so you won'y blow it up, decent suspention, smooth power. It's probably the cleanest and quietest two stroke out there, not to mention bullet proof reliability.

I agree with that!!! The 04 SXviper S is one of the best 2 strokes Yamaha ever built next to the SX700.

Since I have both I guess I can chime in here. The RX1 is a great sled for what it was produced to do. If you want the most reliable sweetest sounding high speed trail/lake sled out go with it. The weight does not even enter into the conversation unless you are stuck and with the Ripsaw track you don't get stuck very often. You can also cruise forever if that is your style. If you are a ditchbanger forget it as that is Firecat/Rev land.

Owning a Cat requires a great dealer as they have more problems where a good dealer can intervene with Cat for you BUT THAT IS IN THE PAST. The dealers are getting fed up with Cat and their new lack of support attitude on warranty claims.

Some Yamaha dealers are not up to the Customer Attitude of most Cat dealers because they never had to as YAMAHA MAKES A MORE RELIABLE SLED.

I but a sled from the mfg. that makes the sled I LIKE without any bias or brand loyalty. My 02 ZR500 will be traded on a REV when they get the ring issue solved and not until than. The RX1 and F5 will be replaced when some one comes out with something better.

Forget this BRAND B.S.

Jim

It's just a shame they don't make them anymore, but I guess everything changes in time. My neighbor has an 04 RX-1. I do have to say it's power is impressive, but I can't really kick it around like a two stroke. I read in snowtech that the RX-1 lost some more weight.