Best skis for Viper?????

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voodie

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Suggestions on the best after-market skis to put on my '03 Viper?
 

I have C&A's....not bad.........I have some shaper bars I am going to put on to solve the darting issues.
 
I just put some slydog trail skis on my viper - wasn't sure about them at first but after getting some miles on them I am really starting to like them a lot! They have 6" carbides on them. The things I like about them are: zero darting and the skis seem to up the ante if the rider does. If I'm cruising they are a mellow forgiving ski - if I'm really on it they seem to really grab and rail the trail. I like them a lot.
 
Slydog skis

thanks for the lead on the slydogs. I ordered a set today and hope they work as well as you descrtibed. I like the pricing better than the C&A or Simmons and like that they price including everything, even carbides. Plus, they use standard carbides and n ot the custom Simmons carbides that are huge $$$$$.
 
xsivhp said:
I just put some slydog trail skis on my viper - wasn't sure about them at first but after getting some miles on them I am really starting to like them a lot! They have 6" carbides on them. The things I like about them are: zero darting and the skis seem to up the ante if the rider does. If I'm cruising they are a mellow forgiving ski - if I'm really on it they seem to really grab and rail the trail. I like them a lot.
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Is there any certain model Slydog to get for the Viper? I have RX-1 skis on mine right now. I tried the C&A's for awhile. They cornered real good, but they also hung up alot in low snow conditions resulting in poor traction.
 
I ordered the Trail model skis. They also have a powder ski (wider) and a race ski (stronger/heavier). Hope these work as good as they look!
 
Here's what I found out, installing Slydog Powderhounds on both a 2007 Apex and a 2002 Viper....

The mounting through the spindle is exactly the same with those two machines. When you order the skis, make sure you get the Apex mounting kit. It comes with the long collar/bushing that slips through the ski spindle, and which the mounting bolt goes through.

The Apex skis came with that collar, the Viper skis didn't. The problem for me was that the mounting bolt on the Viper OEM skis had corroded into that collar and that sucker ain't coming out of that 6 year old sled...not with heat, hammer, nor PB Blaster. Fortunately, those same collars slipped right out of new Apex, so I could use Slydog's supplied collar on the Viper.

Also, I note that with the Viper skis, I had to pry the saddle of the ski apart to get it to fit over the spindle, not so with the Apex skis - the Apex spindle is exactly the same dimensions as the Viper, so the ski is either different, or the Apex ski took the appropriate set of the UHMW because it was shipped with that collar in place from the factory.

Moral of the story: If you're going Slydog, get the Apex ski model for your 2002 Viper.
 
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To those who own the slydogs...do you notice a difference over stock?..are they lighter?...Floatation in powder over stock?...Just curious...I was gunna pickup a set
of USI X2's and when I ask the dealer a question he recommended the sly dogs...now
I'm back to doin more homework...Don't want C&A's or other...curious is all...
 
I put Slydogs on my Apex the other day, but only took the sled out yesterday for the first time. Groomed ditch trail, also the lake that I live one which has about 6 inches of settled snow on it.

I was very impressed with how the skis handle on the hardpack groomed trail. Hard to explain, but they bit well in the corners, no pushing, but steering effort wasn't really increased. We'll see how they do in looser snow in West Yellowstone in a couple of weeks, but so far, I think they're really nice skis. I'm a believer.

BIG difference over stock. I find the Slydogs to have a more precise feel, more predictable.
 
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S.S.Viper said:
Any other opinions towards Slydogs vs Stock skis?..
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My son and I also put a pair of Slydog Powderhounds on his 2002 triple-piped Viper. The installation was a little problematic due to some rusting of the ski-pivot/spindle components. The problem was compounded a little bit by the fact that the dimensions and parts required for the Viper-specific Slydogs are identical to my Apex, yet the skis are different in their mold and in the supplied mounting hardware. Not sure why. In the end, they fit fine and work well, but it took a little prying and swearing on the Viper, whereas the skis for the Apex were a 10 minute drop-in. If I had used the Apex-skis on the Viper, that would have been a drop-in too.

Both my Apex and his Viper are headed to West Yellowstone in a week. I should be able to give a better opinion of the skis after a week of trail and powder riding. I can already tell you that they provide better handling on groomed trails than the stock skis.
 
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Well, I went and installed the Slydogs today. The only mod I had to do was to carve some of the rubber off the new mounting. The sleeves came out of the old ones okay, pretty rusty but okay, and then they fit on pretty well. No dang snow so I couldn't test ride them yet. May do some lake riding next weekend to see how they handle! I put on the 7.5" carbides.

They do look kick a$$ on the sled, only hope they perform as good as they look!
 
The Slydogs look kind of good to me. Other than their website and Ulmers website, are there other sites that show ALL the different color combos? I think I might buy some trail models. Probably from Allen @ Ulmer's. With an unstudded 1.25" track, what should I get.........6 inch carbides?
 
journeyman said:
The Slydogs look kind of good to me. Other than their website and Ulmers website, are there other sites that show ALL the different color combos? I think I might buy some trail models. Probably from Allen @ Ulmer's. With an unstudded 1.25" track, what should I get.........6 inch carbides?
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I put 4 inch 90 degree carbides on my unstudded Ripsaw Apex and my son's unstudded Viper with 1.25 Predator. They bite well, don't push. I think steering effort would go up significantly with 6 inches of carbide and I just don't feel I need that much.
 
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