light weight sidewinder/viper parts?

chickenman

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Reading all these good reviews on the sidewinder makes a guy really consider jumping ship in the near future (on a T3 right now). had the chance to throw my leg over a 153 BTX and loved the power! Having said that, weight is always going to be something to consider. Ive read guys saying that cutting 50+lbs off the sidewinder isn't really that difficult. So what are these magic weight loss item and what are they worth? exhaust? Battery? seat? suspension? where is the best bang for your buck?

thanks
 

Mountainman52

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Lund ? I have been comparing the Kingcat and Sidewinder and it looks like the Sidewinder will be my choice.

I guess you will be riding the SW told you so !
 

Catman10

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My can on the sidewider was 19 pds, straight pipe was 2, the lightweight battery saves 10 pounds so between those 2 i have dropped 27 pounds. The seat is a couch and quite heavy I suspect 5 pounds there pretty easy and maybe 3-5 pound with the intake. After that it gets more difficult and will be costly in my opinion. I had everything apart yesterday cuz I moved my steering post up about three quarters of an inch and other than the headlight delete there isnt much upfront that a guy can get rid of or lighten up. If i was rich I would put titanium bolts everywhere and build chromoly steering components etc. Maybe some will build a lightweight header someday and possibly a smaller oil tank? I dont carry extra fuel with this sled either which helps a little but we dump the cans off at the cabin anyways. This machine will never be as light as a 2 smoke but the key is that it handles very well and is pretty nimble for what is there. In the end people wont care about the extra weight because everything else about the sled makes up for it.
 

06yamahaapex

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My can on the sidewider was 19 pds, straight pipe was 2, the lightweight battery saves 10 pounds so between those 2 i have dropped 27 pounds. The seat is a couch and quite heavy I suspect 5 pounds there pretty easy and maybe 3-5 pound with the intake. After that it gets more difficult and will be costly in my opinion. I had everything apart yesterday cuz I moved my steering post up about three quarters of an inch and other than the headlight delete there isnt much upfront that a guy can get rid of or lighten up. If i was rich I would put titanium bolts everywhere and build chromoly steering components etc. Maybe some will build a lightweight header someday and possibly a smaller oil tank? I dont carry extra fuel with this sled either which helps a little but we dump the cans off at the cabin anyways. This machine will never be as light as a 2 smoke but the key is that it handles very well and is pretty nimble for what is there. In the end people wont care about the extra weight because everything else about the sled makes up for it.
is it easy to move the post forward? Just a spacer at the top bushing?
 

jrusher

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I got my 15 viper down to 615 lbs wet ready to ride , straight pipe off the boost it turbo, light weight battery, skinz seat, 16 spindles/z broz arms and my own headlight delete. Thing is a blast to ride at 12-14 lbs boost on deep days
 

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Catman10

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It took me an hour or so to shim my post. I just built my own outta aluminum but all you can go is about 3/4" because otherwise it hits the intake. I don't know how much difference it will make but I liked it in my garage carving.
 

LBZ

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My can on the sidewider was 19 pds, straight pipe was 2, the lightweight battery saves 10 pounds so between those 2 i have dropped 27 pounds. The seat is a couch and quite heavy I suspect 5 pounds there pretty easy and maybe 3-5 pound with the intake. After that it gets more difficult and will be costly in my opinion. I had everything apart yesterday cuz I moved my steering post up about three quarters of an inch and other than the headlight delete there isnt much upfront that a guy can get rid of or lighten up. If i was rich I would put titanium bolts everywhere and build chromoly steering components etc. Maybe some will build a lightweight header someday and possibly a smaller oil tank? I dont carry extra fuel with this sled either which helps a little but we dump the cans off at the cabin anyways. This machine will never be as light as a 2 smoke but the key is that it handles very well and is pretty nimble for what is there. In the end people wont care about the extra weight because everything else about the sled makes up for it.
Which battery did you go with?
And which pipe? Was it a lot louder or not too obnoxious?
I was searching for a lightweight better seat and didn't seem to find anything. What's out there?

I'm close to convincing my wife into letting me get one of these. Found a few low mile demos for sale. Hoping in another month there will be a couple more popular up for even less and jump on one.
 
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Lund

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Which battery did you go with?
And which pipe? Was it a lot louder or not too obnoxious?
I was searching for a lightweight better seat and didn't seem to find anything. What's out there?

I'm close to convincing my wife into letting me get one of these. Found a few low mile demos for sale. Hoping in another month there will be a couple more popular up for even less and jump on one.

I'm been using Antigravity batteries for 3 years now and they are awesome. I highly recommend them. Have one in my Nytro and we put one in the SW, also have them in my adventure motorcycles. Approx a 10lb weight lost, extremely compact and superior cranking power over the conventional batteries, they can also be installed in any position.
You do require a special charger if you were to recharge them. They come at a price though.

There are 2 pipes available through CR, straight and resonator. The straight is loader and its not like an annoying 2stroke. Both are nice, they have that cool 4stroke sound. If your around civilization i recommend the resonator style.
 

Catman10

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Lund answered your question, the other thing I have is the CR boards which are much better than stock. I have not found a seat but this summer I will be building something myself. I may be selling my boards so that I can go with the liquid cool ones from CR and run a water to air intercooler but that all depends on the cash situation. I also wanna wait to see how much cooler they run with just a fresh air intake, these are all the joys of buying an all new engine it takes time to figure out the tricks.
 

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Lund ? I have been comparing the Kingcat and Sidewinder and it looks like the Sidewinder will be my choice.

I guess you will be riding the SW told you so !

What differences did you find? I have been trying to figure out what is different, some places I read that the Yamaha skis are, others that they are the same, why go Sidewinder instead of Cat?
 

Lund

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What differences did you find? I have been trying to figure out what is different, some places I read that the Yamaha skis are, others that they are the same, why go Sidewinder instead of Cat?

I'm both a Cat Yamaha type of guy, alway's have been. You need to pay attention to the fit and finish. Yamaha is head and shoulder over anything made in US or Canada. This is the biggest reason i would choose a Yamaha. You know when such quality goes into something like a sled it will run deep into the heart of the sled.
Just a simple yet over looked thing like the wiring harness on the Yamaha is routed and mounted with better care.
The stand out things are the clutches, Team on Cat vs Yamaha's YVXC, Yamaha clutches IMO are the best clutches in the industry they flat out work better then anything out there, can handle big power and last longer then any other clutch system made. Plus a bonus of drive belts costing you 1/2 of the cost of any other makes out there.
Better clutches and cheaper belts that go for many miles, the only bad part about these clutches......they never get hot LOL.
 

Eldereldo

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So did some more digging and it looks like the AC has a better shock package, Fox Evol fronts Evol and Evol R rear, vs Float Three and HPG on the Yamaha. And the Cat has the dropped chaincase. And right now you can get a deal on the Cat but not the SW. Difference in price would more than pay to install the SW clutches on the Cat if the Boss clutches turn out to not be optimal. (I am assuming that is possible)

guess you you can't do anything about the wiring harness
 

Catman10

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I am a Cat guy much more than Yamaha and I decided to go for the sidewinder, The differences are quite noticeable if you have 2 together side by side like I did. I did not like how vulnerable the drop and roll was and the little gains that I have experienced over the years on drop and rolls didn't make it worth it to me. The boards on the Cat are far too skinny and not easy to change with the plastics that are narrower. The wiring is better and if you look Yamaha put bolts in lots of places that Cat put rivets. The clutches are amazing and that was the finisher for me but I did negotiate on my Yammie and got a very good deal, dealers are willing to drop on price especially this time of year.
 

Got boost want snow

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The yamaha clutches to my understanding will not just swap over to the cat. They changed it up so the stub on the engine is different, and the boss well it explains itself.hahaha
 

gsteve

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i see many bs weight posts , what is the actual difference between 800s and the sw?
 

Xmrider163

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From what I've filtered through the posts and pics on scales seems to be this:

2 Stroke 800's various track lengths/brands have been posted from 535lbs - 565lbs ready to ride with fuel full and oil full. The only way you should be measuring weight unless your the dry weight garage rider.

The Sidewinder/King Cat posts that I have seen range from 600.4lbs - 643lbs as the heaviest I've seen.


So I guess the ranges are 35lbs to 108lbs difference. But I would like to think comparing a 162/163/165 should be the best comparison and a fair average of 80lbs different would make sense. No question the sleds heavier but the balance of the weight is very nice and the power of the factory turbo setup sure is nice.


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Xmrider163

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IMG_0845.jpg IMG_0846.JPG IMG_0844.JPG



Just to help in case people haven't found the post aswell I will put a link to the 10 pages of info these pics came from.


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