thinking of buying a mtn viper

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klotzburner

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Mar 16, 2008
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southern mn
I am selling my edge rmk that is a 156 with no sway bar becaus eI dont ride in the mountains all that much and compared to the edge short tracks I have owned this thing rides like crap and is tippy (obviously) I still want something I can ride in the mountains basically I want a mountain sled that is a better trail sled, The first thing that came to mind was a rev summit but I have had issues with my knees and I dont think I could ride a rev. how does the mtn viper compare to a rev flotation wise? I would probobly swap a 144x16 track if you guys are getting them to fit. I dont need anything that is a trail rocket or a extreme mountain sled just something reliable, easy on fuel, and sled that is decent on and off trail, and rides nice.
 
The '05 Mtn Viper might be what you are looking for. The stock skid in the '03-'04 Mtn Viper did not ride that well, and the '05 was a great improvement. However, you may want to get a shorty Viper and extend it, or widen the ski stance on the Mtn if you want it ride flatter and trail better.

I have an '02 Viper with a Mtn Viper tunnel on it and a '09 Nytro XTX rear skid in it with a 15 x 144 ripsaw. I really like this setup for a crossover sled. The next mod is to go with a deeper lug track. Of course you can always improve and an even longer travel front is on my mind as well.
 
I have a 2003 Mnt Viper. Mine has a full sway bar, but not all do as i've found.


The 2002-2003 Came with a longer "Pro Action" suspension set to 144". It came with crappy steel bodied KYB shocks front and back that did not perform well. Sorry, but they weren't very good, and you couldn't rebuild those shocks either. They made your back and knees suffer. Mike Carver had my sled and recommended replacement of all shocks, and he used to be the suspension guy for Yamaha's race team. I trust him.

I've replaced my shocks all around (Fox Float 2's on the front and Ohlins center and rear checks on the skid) and I like it a lot. Night and day better. Gild from TY has even managed to get a Float replacement on his rear shock from a 'Cat skid, which he likes a lot. Awesome mod.

The 2004-2005 Mnt Vipers came with a "Pro Mountain" skid, also set to 144". I'm not too familiar with this skid as i don't know anybody who owns these years Mnt Vipers. Although I was scoping out a red '05 with the Pro Mountain skid at my dealer last winter and the skid looked really, really similar to my '03. Better shocks or different geometry just a little, maybe? There must be little changes that made it better.


Anyways, everybody with Mnt Vipers seems to really, really enjoy them. I love mine, and I doubt I'll ever part with it. With proper set up, they also really can rail on the trail. I bet Ding's sled with the XTX skid and shorter lug track corners like it's on rails. I know I can set mine up for no transfer to keep the skis planted and nobody can keep up. But that's not what these sleds are necessarily for!


You can also set them up for max transfer (this is what I've done) and they are a great off trail sled too. I'm not sure about bottomless powder, as we get very little of that in MN, but I can hit 4-5 foot drifts and my sled goes great. Trenching issues are my biggest bugaboo, but I'm going to experiment with tightening my limiter straps a little next year to alleviate that a tad......


Or be creative and split the difference and find a skid set up that works for you. Whatever your pleasure, I believe you can find a set up and be very happy with your riding style on the Mnt Viper.


Good luck with your sled choice and let us know what you find. I've not seen too many Mnt Vipers for sale out there recently. But parts are easy to find as it seems everybody has the part out itch lately and are killing these great sleds left and right. What a shame.


My plan for next year is to make mine a 151" with rail extensions. The stock tunnel extension is plenty long to accomodate the extra 3 or inches, so I'm good there. Should be slick!




Mike
 
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We own 2 of the 05 Mtn Vipers with the Pro Mountain suspension. They definitely ride better than the old pro action. They also only mount in 2 spots instead of the 3 like the pro action did. If you do a good amount of mountain or deep powder riding, we found the 153" works way better than the 144" does. The 144" does work OK but not like we wanted so we did extend the one by putting a Nytro MTX skid with tipped up rails in it. The Challenger 2" track works just fine running the trails too. If you need dimensions for mountin a Pro Mountain skid I have posted them in about 3 different threads so I could find them easily for you.

We might have our 144" Pro Mountain skid with the stock 144"x2" 2.52pitch track and the 8tooth 2.52 pitch drivers for sale in the near future. All you would need is a drive shaft to mount these on.
 
klotzburner said:
"how does the mtn viper compare to a rev flotation wise? "


"something reliable, easy on fuel, and sled that is decent on and off trail, and rides nice."
Click to expand...


To better answer your questions:

I live and ride in Northern MN --- Live in Duluth and all my relatives live up the shore, Finland area, where we usually ride. They are all long track 'Doo fans. So I ride with Summit Revs and renegades all of the time. An XP 154" Summit also.


Comparing to a Rev, those sleds are light and fast. Nice sleds actually I think. But they can't go anywhere that I can't go. I imagine my wife's uncle's 154" XP Summit would lose me quite quickly going up the side of a mountain, but we don't have many of those up here. Just lots of deep powder beaver ponds, logging roads, hidden gravel pits, forgotten trails, slashing areas, etc.


The trusty Mnt Viper does just as well as those 'Doos in the type of riding we do. And my heavily modified 2003 Yamaha is more reliable than mnay of those 'Doos, also. Knock on wood, I've never been towed in......


Your biggest gripe may be fuel usage. Triple cylinder 2 strokes can be thirsty. Especially if you put on triple pipes, fuel usage goes down. But they have like 11 gallon tanks, so can bring a lot along!


I hope this is helpful.






Mike
 
Just to point out that the original stock Viper motor in a good state of tune was very fuel efficient for it's day. It is no match for the newer generation sleds ('03 and newer), but in it's day ('02) it was only bettered by the mighty SRX in my experience.

That engine (SRX) when driven moderately could get 15 mpg or better in optimum conditions, where the Vipers rarely exceeded 13 mpg. Of course who leaves their sled stock. Start modding the Viper engine and mileage usually falls off a lot. I will say that many have posted good mpg numbers even on piped Vipers, but I have not witnessed it myself. I have seen many drop below 10 mpg.

Now riding strictly off-trail with mods, I find that the Viper uses more fuel than many other sleds. This is likely what mntvipermn experienced.
 
I would probobly turbo it if I were to mod it for the mountains or leave it stock and tune the jetting and clutching, the jetting from what I have heard is pretty good on these from the factory, I have been able to tune my 700 polaris twins to get very good milage I just dont like the ride of the edge rmk. How would a streched shrty ride compared to a shorty edge or an 05 and up mountain viper? I have noticed you do see alot more shorty vipers for sale, and I have a 156 track laying around I was going to sell...
 
If you stretch a shorty, I would go with a different skid. You can usually find a very good newer skid for around $300. The shorty skid doesn't ride very well, has a poor attack angle, and transfers poorly for off-trail riding.

Triple pipes are the cheapest bang for the buck on this sled.
 
OK so I will probobly just hold out for an 05 mtn if I go that route
I have never owned a yammi but I know the power gains with pipes on these sleds and I might do that someday but I have a couple other sleds that are modded and one build in progress with a turbo so at the moment I want pull the rope and go with this sled.
 
You might have a somewhat hard time to find an 05 Viper Mtn, I don't see them come up for sale much anymore. Triple pipes definitely wake the Viper motor up but then they like their fuel. We are running a set of Speedwerx triples on one of ours. Also a good porting job also helps but I haven't done this yet. Not a big fan of turbo'd 2 strokes. Also the Viper's are know for their lean midrange from the factory, and also make sure when you find one the oil cable is within spec.
 
viper mountain

I have an 05 mountain, it is only the second sled that i have owned but i have had it for 4 years and I love it. The 05s actually have the same suspension that the older apexs have so I bought a set of stock 162 rails and lengthened mine out. the one big thing about this sled is if you do make it longer gear it down. I didnt believe that it would help that much but I geared mine way down from stock and got the clutching pretty close now and wow it is a totally different sled. I know it might not have the power that some of my friends sleds have ( 800 rev, and 900 polaris ) but I can go about anywhere they can just have to work for it a little more. I think that the ride on this sled is great and it is very easy to handle in my opinion.
 
Mtn Viper

I have an 04 with LOTS of mtn mods; love it but am gunning for a turbo. For Sale; all MPI mods, rolled chain case, low comp heads, pipes, mtn tunnel, mod air box, boss seat, mesh hood, light weight arms. Pm me if interested. Will post on for sale thread.
 
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