how do I get a viper to ride better?

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number1kyster

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Feb 9, 2006
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My girlfriend recently bought an 02 viper and she hates it. She likes the power and the handling but the sled is killing her in the rough stuff. How can i make this sled ride better?
 

Humm a few things you can do!

First of all how much does your girl friend weigh. Mine rides my viper all the time and she just loves it, handles and rides great. First of all you want to let her sit on the sled and check the control rod gaps on the transfer rods. Should be 50/50 (Chances are if it is an 02 viper it could have the harsh shocks in it and the only soultion to that is to have them revalved for her weight) Check the gap thing first. If the gap isn't right move the fra adjuster (bolt on top of the rear shock) Just loosen it off and then use a socket wrench to move it up higher. (should be at the top notch probabily which is the softest setting) Then check the gaps again with her sitting on it. If it still isn't right, you will have to loosen the preload on the rear and centre shock. Make sure you loosen both by the same amount. Once you get this right you will have to tighten the limiters a bit if you loosened the centre shock. Then you should be good to go.
 
If its an 02 Viper then you need to see if the updated shocks were ever put on it. 02's were very stiff, but you could do the upgrade for cheap and get a better ride.

Tod
 
I think she weighs around 120 lbs. It is set on soft right now. How hard is it to put a different skid in it?
 
If its an 02 Viper then you need to see if the updated shocks were ever put on it. 02's were very stiff, but you could do the upgrade for cheap and get a better ride.

Tod
 
A revalve is the easiest and cheapest with good/great results. Pioneer Performance does a great job for around 100 bucks and you'll have them back in a week. But It's not too hard to put a new skid in: Doo, Poo or AC. get one used. If in the budget, she'd love the M-10.
 
yup all depends on your budget. M10's are amazing but you will definately pay more than what a shock revalve will cost. Can get a very good ride with revalved viper shocks and proper setup.
 
Really for that weight I would change springs also. The stock Viper springs are simply too heavy on any of the 02, upgraded, or even later year shocks for that weight. I have become a real big fan of the Ohlins linear rate springs. They simply let you use more of the skid travel than any of the progressive rate springs. This lets the spring absorb the bump energy instead of the seat (speaking of which is another topic - the seat is too hard)

One other option that offers a very plush ride is the Works shocks. They are a little too plush for the average 180 - 200 lb guy, but they are excellent for a lighter rider. They are also somewhat the best of both worlds with multiple springs. Each spring has a linear rate individually, but when the lightest spring reaches the limit of it's travel it "crosses over" to a heavier spring.

All that said, the valving needs to match the springs used and the desired setup. Maybe Pioneer would swap springs and change the valving for a reasonable amount. Bruce really know these shocks well.
 
Revalve the front shocks and put an M-10 in it. Check teamfast.com, they usually have great deals on M-10's at the end of the season. They are well worth the money since you can put it in your next sled when you trade. I've had one in my 02 since the day I bought it (8500 miles ago), and before that put about 3000 miles on it in my 97 sx700. The M-10 and a covered trailer are the 2 best investments I've ever made for snowmobiling. (Besides my Yamahas)
 
If the update has not been done to the sled, you may be able to purchase the updated shocks(and springs) from Yamaha for $190. They no longer include free labor. It's a steal for $190 and you can sell the orig ones. I'm not positive if Yamaha is still offering this deal, but I know they were doing it a few months ago--just call your dealer and give them the VIN #. I did this before the season and it feels like a different sled this year.
 
I have a friend who has the 02 Viper with the original shocks. It rides terrible. Mine had the upgrade, but it still wasn't acceptable for my wife ( about 125 lbs ). I longtracked it with the M10, swapped out the Viper shocks and springs ( springs are different too ) to my friend, and then sold the Viper skid. The upgrade wasn't bad on half decent trails, but not good when it got rougher. You can usually pick up a used M10 on ebay, and if you are mechanically inclined, install it yourself. Look for an 01 or newer, it's a beefed up version. You can identify it my the triangular cutouts in the rails, or the heavier coupler blocks. You would pay ( within a $100 or two ) almost the same for an SC10-2 or 3, and the M10 is far superior for ride comfort.
 
1badz said:
I have a friend who has the 02 Viper with the original shocks. It rides terrible. Mine had the upgrade, but it still wasn't acceptable for my wife ( about 125 lbs ). I longtracked it with the M10, swapped out the Viper shocks and springs ( springs are different too ) to my friend, and then sold the Viper skid. The upgrade wasn't bad on half decent trails, but not good when it got rougher. You can usually pick up a used M10 on ebay, and if you are mechanically inclined, install it yourself. Look for an 01 or newer, it's a beefed up version. You can identify it my the triangular cutouts in the rails, or the heavier coupler blocks. You would pay ( within a $100 or two ) almost the same for an SC10-2 or 3, and the M10 is far superior for ride comfort.
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yeah, i have yet to encounter horrible conditions, but for the conditions I've ridden in so far, the update has been fine for me. I know the viper skid regardless of the shocks doesn't come close to an M10 or Expert -- I had planned on swapping out the viper skid for something else before this season, but I'm pretty satisfied with the ride so far with the updated springs and shocks.
 
Cheapest investment..a 2 inch riser...makes it easier to stand and hold onto the bars
less hunched over...From there if you don't wanna invest in a new skid...send yer shocks to Pioneer...or extend to a 136"...but if you go the 136" route...then upgrade to a new skid like that others are saying...

Good luck..
 
for her weight, i would do a revalve, even the updates are going to be too stiff for her. then set the sled up for her weight. not just set the fra to soft.

if you can find an 04 or newer seat, big improvement.

call pionier make sure you tell them her weight.
 
ajviper said:
yeah, i have yet to encounter horrible conditions, but for the conditions I've ridden in so far, the update has been fine for me. I know the viper skid regardless of the shocks doesn't come close to an M10 or Expert -- I had planned on swapping out the viper skid for something else before this season, but I'm pretty satisfied with the ride so far with the updated springs and shocks.
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Yeah, I didn't find it too bad either, but I'd switch from sitting to standing when necessary, whereas most women I know ( including my wife ) will mainly ride sitting. And I personally bought this machine because of it's extremely low miles with the intention of long tracking it with an M10, so how the Viper skid performed really didn't matter to me. Personally, I found the Viper skid with the updated shocks to be reasonably close to an SC10 2 for ride comfort, in the limited amount of time I rode it last year.
 
So I got he shocks revalved from pioneer performance. I had him valve them for here weight(120lbs) and I took the sled out for a 200 mile ride in rough conditions. The sled did not once bottum out and I found it extremely stiff with me on it(200 ilbs). Next fall I am going to do a skid swap on this sled. Either going to do an edge or zr skid. If she didn't love the handling and motor of the sled so much I would just sell it and buy her something that rides better but she hasn't tried a sled yet that she liked as much as her viper!
 
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