SX vs SRX

BroncoDave

BroncoDave

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Joined
Feb 6, 2005
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45
Location
Shelby Township, MI
I need the advice of you TY people. I've been a Yamaha 2-stroke MC devotee for a long time ('84-'85 RZ-350's particularly), but a Polaris guy on snow for reasons that seemed rather obvious until about 1997. I twisted the crank in my old Polaris on Monday, and having long desired a 2-stroke triple I'm looking at the SX and SRX. Polaris bailed early on triples so when I compare a '97 or '98 Polaris Ultra to the 700 SX or SRX, well the Ultra pales in comparison. The question is, which one do I want? The SX or SRX? That's where I hope you can educate me in all things Yamaha 2-stroke triple.

I do most of my riding in Michigan's UP; primarily trail riding but I love to play in the powder when I can and don't want to have to avoid jumps for fear of breaking something.

As for the motor, I want some serious grunt coming out of slow corners. Obviously the top end isn't likely to be a problem, but I'm concerned about throttle response and low-speed grunt. I assume the sound will be sublime - I can't wait.

When it comes to suspension, I want it to go where it's pointed even at high speed - slot car style - so these 15" travel Sno X suspensions really aren't my cup of tea, but like everyone else I also want to be able to ride when the groomers are broken.

So, which sled has the best throttle response and low end grunt - SX or SRX? Which sled handles the best? Which sled is the best mogul eliminator? Are there years to avoid or particular years that are best? Based on looks I think I like the 1999 and 2000 models the best. What are the common failure modes to look for? When do the bottom and top ends go south (and which one goes first?). Are there certain options that are considered must have that I should hold out for?

Basically I'm looking for a buyer's guide to Yamaha 2-stroke triples. Any and all information will be greatly appreciated and applied to the impending purchase of my next sled.

Thanks for taking time to give me your input!
 

well the SRX mill has alot in common with the RZ, infact I would say that the RZ mill is the granddaddy of modern yamaha 2-strokes, SRX uses guillotene style powervalves instead of the roller style ones found on the RZ, SRX's lower COG makes it generally be regarded as the better of the 2 sleds in the corners, but they're certainly not made to be ditch bangers, once you're into 00+ in the SX line you're actually into SX-R's which feature the long travel suspension, more than capable of sucking up the moguls, and they corner damned well to. just don't have the same grunt as an SRX gear the SRX down and clutched properly it's a ballistic missile corner to corner, the problem becomes traction. I suppose the same can be said for the SX-R's tho. really it's all in how long a straight you are hitting and how much you care about ride quality

SRX motor's are virtually indestrucible, mine had 20,000kms + 2 seasons of grass drags with the speedo out of it before I disassembled for a blueprint and everything was still inside factory specs.

if I where you I would try to get a test ride on an SX700R, they are very fast corner to corner, hook up well and are hard to touch across a mogul stretch.

your best bet is to go out and ride both, they are both awesome sleds, but VERY different animals, like comparing a hayabusa to a YZ250
 
Junior, thanks for the info. 20K on a stock SRX!?! That's great. Just out of curiousity, what oil did you use? I had hoped that the SRX would provide factory-stock reliability with triple pipe power and based on your experience that appears to be the case. However, some have said that the SX motor is considerably more reliable than either the SRX or Viper which surprised me a bit.

Ideally I'd love to get a ride on both, but I don't know anyone with either model so I may not get the chance to run them both by the seat-of-the-pants dyno. I rode a '97 SX a few years back and was impressed, but I'm probably going to have to make this call based on what I can gather here.
 
previos owner used amsoil synthetic, the SRX motor is bulletproof in stock form, the issue is that most SRX owners. stock isn't good enough, alot of lean burn downs, vipers have alot of there own issues, including the lack of a rear heat exchanger, the staggered ignition timing, the staggered compression, staggered cooling. it's more of a 1+2 set-up thjan a true triple cylinder set-up.

the SX-R engine is also very reliable, the 97's had some issues with bearing sizes that where resolved for 98 with a change to case and crank. also a very bulletproof engine tho, we ran a 97 SX700 for 13000kms that was sunk at 3000, then bought as an insurance write off from water damage. pull it up, tore down the motor, filled the cases and crank with oil, left cylinders and pistons in an oil bath for a few days, milled the heads 0.020, reasembled and ran it for the remaining 10000kms, plus 2 seasons of grass. in MY 02 that sled walked all over the vipers in a straight line. less maintenance to as powervalves don't need to be cleaned, and it was plenty fast (would pin the 180kph speedo) with just the cut head and minor clutching (stock gearing) that sled would run next to an SRX until 150kph. it was sold last season and I honestly miss it, it was an awesome little sled, some days I would take it over the SRX, very flickable in the air (by comparison). O I also had the rear shocks rebuilt around 12000kms.

hope this helps!
 
I dunno, I've seen alot of SRX's with fried pistons, but I've seen ALOT of SRX owners playing with them.

on the other hand, I've seen a fair few SX's with CATASTROPHIC failures (ie. sawn in half cases, monohead smashed apart, cylinder knocked into quarter size pieces) without much interference on the part of the owner. not to say they are a bad mill, I just demonstrated the longevity of the "bad" 97 mill
<shrug>

draw your own conclusions, I don't really care one way or the other, both are great mills, I just prefer SRX's, SX-R are also a fantastic machine
 
A properly set up SRX will blow your mind after coming off an Ultra. They're like Indy cars on the trail (groomed trails only). On rough trails its like an Indy car on a motorcross track (doesn't like to play in the big bumps). I love my SRX, but have never rode an SXR. I would still recomend an SRX to anyone.
 
I think most of the guys on this forum would agree that if you go the srx route, you want a 00-02. I've rode a sx and it's a great sled, but haven't rode an sxr. Imo if you want to go strictly bugget and not so much performance go with an sx if you can find a cheap one. If you just want a cushy ride go with the sxr. If you want pure performance go with the srx. If your not sure go with the srx. Imo the best of the 2 are the srx and the sxr, and it's easier to give an srx ( long travel suspension ,and you seem to be performance orientated ) the benifits of a sxr than vice versa. Oh , by the way I have a mint 01 srx with 334 miles for $3995, pm if your interested.lol Bottom line, you'll probably be happy with any of them, they're all great sleds, just pick the one that suits you best. Good Luck
 
Had a piped 700sx '97 was an awesome trail machine, beat the crap out of it. For 3500 miles only problems were ones that I caused. Insurance Co. ended up with it. Now I have an '02 SRX also a very good sled. One powervalve problem in 2500 miles. If you favor throwing the machine around=SX/SXR Favor power out of the box=SRX. Both the machines have Jokahama tracks that suck. Get one with the duel beam light. SRX seems better on gas and oil. Hope this helps.
 
well i have both a99 srx and the wife's 01sxr if you want to go off trail get the long travel and a good 1.25 track eather way there both very fast
 
bronco, I have a 2000 srx with sxr suspension, which is best of both worlds. I am looking to sell it but not for a couple of months, while I'm looking at some options. let me know if your interested. THANKS GORDY
love the srx :rockon:
 
or put tripples on an SXR...I love mine. Excellent trail manners and you can jump/climb anything. If you venture off trail think twice about the SRX..not the best choice.

You wanna buy another RZ?? How about a Canadian RZ350 (1988.).
 
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Gordy,

Yes, I'm interested. I'm looking for '00 - '02 based on the feedback I've gotten here, but quite a few have popped up here lately. PM me for contact info and please send me any pics and sled info you have, where you're located etc. - keep me in mind if you decide to unload it.

Thanks!

BroncoDave
 
bronco as soon as I take pics and can post them I will pm you, may be a few days real busy THANKS GORDY
 
97 sx 700

hey bronco, if the srx dont pan out, my friend still has that 97 sx 700. he will take 2400 or best, he wants to ge trid of it cause he has an 01 srx now and possibly wants to get a new apex. just an idea
 
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