New Pro or Xm

Looking to snow check not loyal to any brand having a hard time deciding between 2014 Pro or Summit XM. From what I read both seem to be really good machines, both seem to have minor issues not totally sure if there fixed yet. Looking for best sled for te best price. Need help deciding pease.

Shovelking780 said:

Looking to snow check not loyal to any brand having a hard time deciding between 2014 Pro or Summit XM. From what I read both seem to be really good machines, both seem to have minor issues not totally sure if there fixed yet. Looking for best sled for te best price. Need help deciding pease.

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The million dollar question. Doo or Poo?

No minor issues with my XM's (yes, we have two of them and we have a son who has one). Fuel nipple recall is all. The 800 etec is bullet proof and you can get a 4 year warranty on the '14's. Easy on gas and oil. The most rideable SkiDoo ever and with the 16" track it has a great foot print for the deep days. The 08' XP was a game changer as far as weight goes and they had some problems so they have beefed it up a little since then. The Poos are the lightest and the problems are showing themselves as the 12's and 13's show their age. The Poo motor is also suspect when the miles add up (in the 2000 km range).

2000 km on my machine and I'm still on the factory belt and plugs. It is stock except for TheThing can in place of the big BRP suitcase.

Good luck and maybe your decision will come down to who is the best dealer in your area; Doo or Poo! But then again, I have a lot of yellow in my veins.

I was in that situation a year ago. I got prices on the Pro and XM, and they were basically the same price. Arguably the 154 XM compares to the 163 Pro, so the XM was actually cheaper. I couldn't justify paying equal money for the Polaris motor versus the etec, so that was probably the biggest deciding factor for me. Got the XM, very happy, planning to keep it for next year as well.

ferniesnow said:

No minor issues with my XM's (yes, we have two of them and we have a son who has one). Fuel nipple recall is all. The 800 etec is bullet proof and you can get a 4 year warranty on the '14's. Easy on gas and oil. The most rideable SkiDoo ever and with the 16" track it has a great foot print for the deep days. The 08' XP was a game changer as far as weight goes and they had some problems so they have beefed it up a little since then. The Poos are the lightest and the problems are showing themselves as the 12's and 13's show their age. The Poo motor is also suspect when the miles add up (in the 2000 km range).

2000 km on my machine and I'm still on the factory belt and plugs. It is stock except for TheThing can in place of the big BRP suitcase.

Good luck and maybe your decision will come down to who is the best dealer in your area; Doo or Poo! But then again, I have a lot of yellow in my veins.

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What he said except... I'm not brand loyal

The new xm got 4 year bumper to bumper warrenty! Give t-team on her a call at Martin motorsports and he will tell you about an upgrade that they are doing that will make you get the xm for sure!

I have a 13 Pro 155 and have had no issues except for self induced ones. 1300miles now this year and love the handling. By far exceeds the XM. The XM is definitely a huge step forward for Doo coming off the XP chassis of 2008-2012. While 2013 Doo is easier to get on edge initially(almost to easy) than its predecessors it still suffers that feeling of trying to lift up on a 4x8 sheet of plywood when moving.

The Pro RMK is effortless for handling. I will disagree on the motor issues for the 13's as we are not seeing "mass" failures......majority of the failures seem to be the Doo faithful who keep bringing this up. If I was riding Doo, I would be asking questions like -"why if my motor has 25hp more than the Polaris are they so close in performance????"

I know I will probably get flamed on here for posting this, but it is just one mans honest review. I have seat time on both this year, and that is what I have seen.

kidder17 said:

I have a 13 Pro 155 and have had no issues except for self induced ones. 1300miles now this year and love the handling. By far exceeds the XM. The XM is definitely a huge step forward for Doo coming off the XP chassis of 2008-2012. While 2013 Doo is easier to get on edge initially(almost to easy) than its predecessors it still suffers that feeling of trying to lift up on a 4x8 sheet of plywood when moving.

The Pro RMK is effortless for handling. I will disagree on the motor issues for the 13's as we are not seeing "mass" failures......majority of the failures seem to the Doo faithful who keep bringing this up. If I was riding Doo, I would be asking questions like -"why if my motor has 25hp more than the Polaris are they so close in performance????"

I know I will probably get flamed on here for posting this, but it is just one mans honest review. I have seat time on both this year, and that is what I have seen.

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You clearly don't have much seat time on the XM to make a statement like that.

Bottom line the pro rmk is a good sled and would be my second choice as a mountain sled. But in reality it's a poor product in comparison to the XM. Fit and finish of the rmk is "fisher price" compared to the XM. The engine lacks horsepower and anyone who says the XM does not perform 10+hp better than the pro rmk hasn't done enough testing. The skidoo XM pops up ontop of the snow like no other machine I have ridden. Yes the rmk does this much better than the cat but it does not pull itself out of the deep snow like a 16 wide sled with good power and the effective low end clutching of the Etec. More benifits like the 16 wide track ( let's face it we are buying mountain sleds trying to float on 3 feet of snow don't kid yourself a 15 wide track belongs on the trails). The Etec power plant has proven durable and is extremely clean and efficient. I can fire 3 of them up in y enclosed trailer and they make less smoke than a cat or pro rmk at idle. Fuel consumption on the Etec is second to none and oil consumption is very good. Not any better at full throttle all day but of you have a mixed day it will barely go down on the reservoir. The summit model sleds now come with a 2.5" proven design track which is basically a replica of the camo extreme. Everyone and there dog puts the camo extreme 2.5 on there sleds as an upgrade including pro rmk owners so why not buy the sled that comes with one from the factory? Save yourself 1500$ right there. The XM is truly the only mountain specific sled on the market. The pro rmk is a stretched trail sled like all brands were up until 2013 with the release of the skidoo XM. The t motion skid and flex track are innovations brought to the mountain segment exclusively and they WORK. The running boards are mountain specific and work wonders. Haven't had to clear my boards all year. Some other features I like about the XM is the warm glove box in the front. Keeps my electronics warm and they work much better and are easily accessible for those moments when you need it right now. Black coated tunnels are very sharp. Pro rmk gets boring aluminum color. One of the key differences is the way the steering system works on the two machines. One steers flat and one moves with your body. The way the flat pro rmk steering functions it works against you for backcountry riding and is not ideal. It is made to work but it is not correct for technical riding. But in reality tons of people like this setup so really I urge you to ride both and see which one feels comfortable to you. If your in valemount drop me a line you can try out my XM. And yes contact Trent at Martin south side he will take care of you if you decide to sway towards an XM. My group picked up 4 XM this season and no issues his far other than the recall which was not a problem for us. The XM will pull your arms off and keep tractoring up the hill like a goat. The sled just works and will get you back to the truck at the end of the day. 3000+km for me this season on the XM and loving every minute. I still shake my head when I look down and see where this machine has taken me.

Lol, told ya I would get flamed. Didn't take long either.

Seriously though like Sean said, try both and form your own opinions.

First off, take everything you read on this site with a grain of salt. Your best bet will be to ride both '13 model sleds, hell ride the Cat too (you'll be surprised), and buy what works for your riding style. Then look at the dealer. Me and two buddies just finished a weekend on a '13 from each and based on our riding styles, its looking like our dealer will be getting an order for three '14 Pro's. The Cat was a very close second. By the end of the day, the XM was the last sled to get jumped on. Nothing against it, just not my style. We have two great dealers in our area that had no problem giving us the sleds for the weekend which helps with making the right personal decision. Go find a good dealer and get some seat time.

JCasino said:

First off, take everything you read on this site with a grain of salt. Your best bet will be to ride both '13 model sleds, hell ride the Cat too (you'll be surprised), and buy what works for your riding style. Then look at the dealer. Me and two buddies just finished a weekend on a '13 from each and based on our riding styles, its looking like our dealer will be getting an order for three '14 Pro's. The Cat was a very close second. By the end of the day, the XM was the last sled to get jumped on. Nothing against it, just not my style. We have two great dealers in our area that had no problem giving us the sleds for the weekend which helps with making the right personal decision. Go find a good dealer and get some seat time.

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This is probly the best advice. Ride them all. Then weigh out which dealer treats you best and is closest to help weigh your decision. THEN take the opinions on this site in to consideration.

I have been lucky enough to ride all 3 this season, my biggest surprise was how nice they all are! Very close in most areas, I did find that the 800 Pro Climb limited was most powerful and stayed lightest all day, no ice buildup on the tunnel or running boards. It does come in pretty cheap at around $13,500 but a good dealer is very important so price isn't always the main concern, the bar has been raised for all sleds and Yamaha is soon to follow! Good luck with your decision!!

just doo it....

15 vs 16 wide - no noticeable difference. Ability to get on the snow has more to do with clutching, skid setup, rubber hardness and attack angle than marginal increase in surface area of the track. The Challenger Lite came in 16 wide and it was one of the biggest trench diggers ever due to hard rubber durometer.

The XM has a terrible steering geometry, and its one of the reasons lots of guys are swapping to the SLP spindles to make it handle like....a Pro. o:

You will like both sleds, but try before you buy and pick a good dealer. And don't believe anything you read on the internet.

Modman said:

15 vs 16 wide - no noticeable difference. Ability to get on the snow has more to do with clutching, skid setup, rubber hardness and attack angle than marginal increase in surface area of the track. The Challenger Lite came in 16 wide and it was one of the biggest trench diggers ever due to hard rubber durometer.

The XM has a terrible steering geometry, and its one of the reasons lots of guys are swapping to the SLP spindles to make it handle like....a Pro. o:

You will like both sleds, but try before you buy and pick a good dealer. And don't believe anything you read on the internet.

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and the meadow muffins are awake! LOL!

but seriously who changed there spindles to slp? no one i know around here? must be a calgary thing he he he and how would a spindle effect how the steering works AT ALL?

we did a set of slp spindles on a 2009. what a joke that was. never again.

When in doubt....buy canadian

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm first I here of spindles, maybe buy the slpit skis they keep advertising.............

maxwell said:

and the meadow muffins are awake! LOL!

but seriously who changed there spindles to slp? no one i know around here? must be a calgary thing he he he and how would a spindle effect how the steering works AT ALL?

we did a set of slp spindles on a 2009. what a joke that was. never again.

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Just talked to our parts guy. Not 1 enquiry for SLP spindles at our shop. We sell a lot of sleds into Calgary as well. I know 1 guy that did them for his 08 XP. I 'm surprised as well at Modman's comment?

I agree try them all, for me it is dealer, find one who has your back, even when a big issue comes up, I get a demo, no down days. Warranty comes down a lot of time on how much your dealer will go to bat for you, mine has even done things out of warranty no charge, sucked it up because they agreed the part should not have failed. Hard to beat.

to be honest with you i have not ridden a 13 pro yet but i have a hard time believing they get up on the snow like a hovercraft !!Why do so many poo owners ditch there stock track if there sled gets up on the snow so well?The XM rides on top of the snow all day long....maybe not as good as the Poo but i doubt it.Nobody has a stronger motor than Doo !!!4 yr warranty!!can't beet that!!I wouldn't believe stuff on the internet either and the pro isn't as good as people make em sound..even if the polaris sleds had no issues ie driveshaft ,a-arms,belt on the cvt ...lack of HP motor...the DOO was and still is a better sled. Reliability is a huge issue and skidoo has that along with performance.