Viper or Vmax ????

Y

Yamaha44

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Im going to be looking at three sleds and wanted some advice on which one could be better thanks.

1997 Yamaha vmax 700 triple, 5000 Km. Mint Condition, Electric start, reverse, new skis, mirrors. Track is fairly new with 96 studs - $2,500

2002 Yamaha sxviper 700 triple,7900Km.This snowmobile has electric start, reverse, handwarmers, thumbwarmers, heated visor plug in,sharp looking sled. Comes with 2 belts, yamaha tool kit, yamaha saddle bag, track is a 1 inch camoplast energy staggered paddle - very good condition- $3,500

2002 Yamaha sxviper 700 triple, 9800km. Has electric start and reverse. Track is not studded and will need to be replaced in the next year or so. The snowmobile is in good condition- $2,300

None of them have triple pipes.
 
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I would go for the low miles viper. You definitely want hand warmers and a thumb warmer. Replacing a track is around $500.00 US without labor. I would also look at the hifax(s) (plastic piece between track and rails) to make sure there good. On the hifax there's a wear groove that runs it's distance. If it's worn up past that mark you need to replace them. They can be replaced somewhat easily if need be.

Vipers are good machines however they need to be taken care of. If you buy it I would look into putting an SRX torque limiter on it, and also an opticool head gasket. The head gasket lets the engine cool more evenly and the torque limiter keeps the engine from misaligning and causing problems with the engine mounts and belt wear. Another thing I would ask is how is the sled jetted. Good jetting will prevent a burn down and help it run correctly. If it's stock jetting then it's probably running real rich which is conservative.

my 2 cents
 
One thing I forgot to include and it's probably the most important is to do a compression check and/or a leakdown test before buying any used sled. The leaddown test is a better indicator of engine life. However the compression test is easier and it can show a troubled engine also. The tech section in this site shows how to do either of them.
 
i personaly would go with the v max and buy my own warmes and put them on. my last v max ran till 19000 miles with no engine problems what so ever.

But the sx viper is a very nice sled and has it advantages aswell. all depends which one appealt to you more. Another thing to check on all the sleds wouls be the wheel bearing as they go bad after a while if the are not replaced. you can shake the wheel and if it is loose then they need to be replaced. its just something i do as a quick check to kinda know the condition of them
 
YAMMI, 19000 miles! That's impressive! You must have known that sled pretty well having that much time on it. Were some of the V-Max sleds four cylinders? Maybe I'm thinking of another sled.

:2strokes: :letitsnow
 
I would prob buy the vmax.
If you buy the viper that needs a track its easy to do yourself especially with all the experts here at ty!
I can walk you through it no worries.

Cheers,
Rick.
 
The 97 700's can have problems with the mag side crank bearing. It is a double ball bearing and if it fails you can upgrade to the larger 98 roller bearing but it requires some machining of the cases.

Personally I'd go for the lower miles Viper, make an offer. Check and see if it has had the rear heat exchanger installed and if not they sometimes spit coolant when it is warm out. Also check and see if the shocks have been revalved or if it's had the factory updated shocks installed. The original shocks in 2002 were pretty harsh but you can have then revalved for around $200 and tailored to your weight and riding style. The factory updated shocks are a bit on the soft side in my opinion.

I would ask if the Viper has ever had it's power valves cleaned and what kind of oil was used in it.
 
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I have 8400 miles on my Viper and it's been pretty much bullet proof. The power difference from the early redhead 700 to this engine is pretty significant. My bro in law owns my dad's old 98 VMax 700 (which is mint) and though it's a solid runner my Viper will walk away from it at any throttle level. That's on a performace level. As for reliability the redhead has been a solid engine no doubt. Olav Aaen swears it's the most bullet proof engine he has ever run in his test cart. The Viper is a more sophisticated motor being it has powervalves which will need to be cleaned from time to time.

As for my choice of the sleds mentioned: the lowest mile Viper I guess. You are getting a newer machine too. If it was a 2002 Viper vs. a 2001 SXR 700 I might pick the SXR. I had that machine the year before my Viper and it was the best redhead version they ever built w/ the 300 watt magneto/ignition. Not to mention I thought it rode and handled better. Typically the last version of a Yamaha model they make is the best.


PS: though some guys had issues with overheating Vipers I never have nor has my father with his 2002 Viper. Never had to run an opticool headgasket or anything.
 
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Yamaha44 said:
Would you say that a 2000-2002 srx is as good or better than a 2002 viper?
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In my opinion for the riding I do YES, Better actually, for the riding I do and intend to do. I looked at several vipers and several sxrs and then went to look at what ended up being my SRX, Went back and bought one of the sxr for the girlfreind. Sleds arent a one size fits all, thats why the make a variety..to appeal to all. Nothing wrong with the vipers or vmaxs, I just prefered the srx as my primary sled and the sxr as back up and let the girlfreind ride it in the mean time!
 
As Journeyman said: "PS: though some guys had issues with overheating Vipers I never have nor has my father with his 2002 Viper. Never had to run an opticool headgasket or anything."

I've never had problems with my vipers overheating either. I'm just adding the opticool gasket for a little piece of mind.
 
Only issue I have with my 02 viper (other than from abuse) is broken mount bolts one year and broken mount one year. Anyone have a torque limiter for sale? Dont have an opticool or rear heat exchanger.
 
Newbee said:
YAMMI, 19000 miles! That's impressive! You must have known that sled pretty well having that much time on it. Were some of the V-Max sleds four cylinders? Maybe I'm thinking of another sled.

:2strokes: :letitsnow
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Yeah we had our fair share of good times and bad times. But mostly good ones she never left me stranded very solid sled. And yes they did make a v max 4 but that was one gen before the triples started in 97.
 
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