2004 Viper S W/ M10 or 2006 Crossfire 7

xsivhp

xsivhp

Active member
Joined
Dec 11, 2004
Messages
1,537
Age
55
Location
Eau Claire, WI
Both stock, well, slightly tuned like clutching or jetting, but stock otherwise.

What would ride better and be a better all around sled?

Would the Crossfire be quite a bit faster than the Viper?

What would handle better?

Thank for sharing your opinions / experiences.

Mike / xs ;)!
 
i spent some time on the crossfire and i really liked how they handled. the power is great at 140hp, and i would assume it would "quicker" than the viper, but they aren't geared for topend. the ride was ok, being a sno pro, it really impressed me on hard hits, but was a bit jarring on smaller stutter bumps. i haven't spent any time on a viper, but did put 1500 miles on my old venom, and that thing handled great. the ride sucked due to stock suspension, but it railed the corners.

hope this helps!
 
Viper -
Better built
Better looking
With the M-10 better ride, IMO
Better handling

Cross 7
Faster stock motor
better in the powder
a little more versatile, but most likely not as comfortable


Your kind of comparing apples and oranges...Viper, pupose built trail sled, while the cross tries to encompass both trail and ditch. I guess it really depends how and where you ride. IMO, the Viper, the cross has always felt awkward and looked cheap to me.


Listen to Triple for Cross feed back, I have no seat time on one.
 
Last edited:
I put 3500 miles on my last Viper S and I liked it a lot - except for the rear suspension. Handling wise, I thought it was predictable if nothing else.

Not sure how much I would really need the long track of the Crossfire. I was going to 136 M10 my Viper and the Guys at FAST told me I didn't need to if I was doing it for ride. I've ridden a 136'd Viper and I really didn't care for it in the corners at higher speeds. Maybe I better just throw my M10 in there and keep diggin' my S. I agree though: the Viper is better looking and does seem to be better built.
 
as for the viper better built i have to disagree, both have there advantages.

just look at the suspension mounts and crossmembers on the arctic its bulitproof. oposed to the flimmzy yam ones, also dont forget the W arm.

I do like the look of the viper better and the viper would have a more reliable motor. Im also torn between those to sleds at the moment.

the arctic would be cheaper and easier to mod. It has a sweet suspention and you could ride it all day, if your looking to do some ditching and jumps go for the arctic, if your a groomed trail rider and like lakes go for the viper its a yamaha.

as for the arctic being better in powder, its only better if you put a good track on it, its scinnyer track dosnt float very well.
 
oh i forgot to mention im skeptiacl on arctic cats forced induction, wouldnt this just suck in snow dust and burn your motor. But i guess unless your riding with a srx you would be infront of the pack
 
I thought the hood and side panels were pretty flimsy - and I like the higher seating position of the Crossfire, but the controls and tank and what you're looking at looks cheap - I got off the Crossfire and sat on an Attack and it was instantly noticeable.

The conrols on the Cat are in better positions and the throttle is easier to manipulate because of the EFI.

Another thing I thought of is my Viper goes thru a quart of oil every 200 miles and gets 14+ mpg - I don't know that the Cat will do that.

I'm keeping the Viper and putting my M10 in there.
 
If you can be happy with the power of the Viper, I don't see any other downside. The Crossfire looks good, but has a cheap look to some of the plastic. I read in one of the magizines ( they'll tell you now that they've changed the Firecat ) that the Firecat chassis feels spent by about 3000 miles. Unless someone knows different, I would say that the Crossfire & Firecat are very similar in construction. You will never hear that about the Viper. And if you had the time and funds to do the conversion, a 136" M10'ed Viper would / should win hands down.
 
jaysV-MaxSx700canada said:
as for the arctic being better in powder, its only better if you put a good track on it, its scinnyer track dosnt float very well.
Click to expand...
Crossfire's have a 15" wide track. It's a 136" x 15" Ripsaw (1.25 tall)
 
Yamaha left all kinds of room for mods to make it faster. AC has their engnes runing almost full pin already. Yes the AC suspension is much more comfortable. Changing the Viper skid add some clutching and you have a machine you will love and will be reliable and last longer then the AC.
I had an article at one point showing an independant study on the different manufactures engines. The yamaha tripple won for gas mileage and reliability.
No matter what speed always costs money.
 
Yes I am biased, but put the M10 in the Viper! I just put an M-10 121 in mine with an offset rear axle and 8 inch alloy rear wheels along with a 2 inch riser and I can't wait to try it out. It looks bad ***! Just my opinion though. Yes the Viper in stock form may be a liitle down on power but so many other aspects of a Yamaha make up for it. The fit and finish, quality and durability of these things is way better than AC. And the sound and smoothness of a tripple can't be matched. Whenever we go riding and we stop somewhere and I see a yamaha especially and older one I always try to see how many miles are on it and It just makes me smile to see how many have 8k plus and still run strong. Ok I am rambling now but you get the idea.
 
Stealth800 - I just saw your other 04 viper post and PM'd you - how did your install go? Do you have any pics you could share?? Thanks Much! :)
 
I'll try to get some pics tomorrow of it. The install went well but I am one of those people who is probobly too particular about stuff so it took me awhile but if you follow the M-10 instructions along with the ones in the tech section of TY you should not have any issues. If you are not the mechanically inclined type, not triing to insult, you could have it installed. You need to use the install kit that should have come with the M-10 and do some measuring, drilling, grinding and riviting and lots of it. It is not the easiest thing I have everdone but it was also my 1st time. It is just very important that is is installed correctly in the tunnel. But after all the work when I got to step back and look at the sled it made it worth it. Since the viper S has the black tunnel reinforcements on the outside of the tunnle you need to slightly modify them( drill a hole and clearence for rivits on the back side) if you want to still keep them.
 
Last edited:
lol!! no insult taken - I'm an ok wrench. Although I'm only marginally smarter than a Viper!! lol!!

I also have the too picky and particular syndrome. Damn it's an expensive disease.

I's just wondering if it's going to be worth the time, effort and $$. Look forward to seeing some pics!

Thanks again!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Back
Top