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I would not be surprised if it's heavier, but you are going to love it. I went from an 07 Apex GT to an Apex XTX, and it was night and day above the 07. Even though they look the same, Yamaha improved every year of them. And yes, put a bigger lug on the track and some wide skis. The simmons skis work, I had those on my GT. My XTX I run the Apex mountain skis. Any sort of floatation is appreciated, as my XTX is over 700lbs. You get it stuck, and you will be making no friends that day. But with wise skis, and a 1.6" lug track, I can usually go through more snow than much lighter sleds. Enjoy and report back!

Chassis are nearly identical. I am sure you are aware that the Viper and 7000 class are nearly the same sled other than some component changes. I have a Viper LTX (137) and ride with friends with AC 6000 and 8000 class as well as the 9000 class machines. Components, ergos, seats, lighting, skis are all the same. Weight and setup are the main differences. And the 6000 is where a person really notices that. It will feel like a much lighter sled as it is. Performance is on par with other 2-stroke 600's. The Viper/7000 class sleds will ride solid on the trail when setup correctly. If you are only a trail rider, many like that weight as it actually smooths out the ride, but it will be more work in the shoulders to handle it around the tight and twisty trails. That being said, the viper is my daughter's primary sled. I put my wife on a 600 class sled this past weekend, instead of the viper, and she was very pleased. If I were to do it again, I would probably go with a 600 2 stroke. But the 1049 is so smooth, but it's hardly a differentiator anymore. Fuel mileage used to be a thing, but the 600 Etecs in our group will do better. Now the 8000/9000 class sleds are a different story. Again, ergos, features etc are mostly all the same. But additional power will make an occasional rider nervous as they will have to do more feathering of that throttle. The 800 has near four stroke power band and the 9000 is over the top. Along with that 9000 is the weight, but again, that's all in the setup. I don't think you can go wrong with 6000/7000 class sleds for her. Once setup the 7000/Viper can be very light feeling on the trail as well. The engine will run forever. There are many happy couples trail riding a pair of vipers and don't ever care to give them up. There is a chance that the EPS may come down to the Viper for 2023, but I would not hold my breath. And AC has dropped the 7000 class. But the used market is strong on those sleds too. One of my buddies bought a ZR7000 years ago, and had no idea it had a Yamaha engine in it. Some people. (smile) Good luck,

This is a good question, as tips are truly that, tips. These delivery services get paid for delivery, Uber eats etc. Yes, the others are paid min, plus tips. But let's do some quick math, it was a small bag, so not pizza. So if the tab was $32-$40, an $8 tip is 20-25%. I would say I am a frugal guy, but not cheap. 20-25% is not out of line Covid or not. So unless we knew what the tab was, we can't make that call on if it was an appropriate amount or not. On the flip side, assuming she is going to get 20-25%, she should have done the math before accepting the delivery. 12 miles in our neck of the woods takes you 10-15 min to drive. Since she said it took 45 minutes to drive 12, she should have reconsidered accepting the delivery if 20-25% tip was unacceptable. (worst case of course) And again, if it was a food delivery service, they are paid for the delivery tip or not. The distance should not effect the amount tip that would have been factored into the cost of the actual delivery, unless someone went out of their way to get it there in record time. In my mind, if it took a delivery driver 45 minutes to deliver food from 12 miles away, don't expect 20% tip at all. (but I don't live in an urban area, and that timing is unacceptable in this region) maybe I'm missing something

I would agree, for the most part he's pretty accurate. I share my thoughts on these forecasts with my Facebook sled group only after I have averaged the forecasts from 4-5 others. Once I do that, you can get a pretty good picture on what may or may not happen. Keep in mind, up until the day these storms or weather patterns hit, they can always change. But his have been pretty darn close. And guys gotta remember to read the text, the picture is only half the story, as he explains what has the most likelihood of changing

Helping a buddy pick up a "new to him" 2007 Venture Lite for ice fishing. It should be perfect. I am quite familiar with the first year of this engine, as I spring ordered a Phazer FX in April of 2006 and put over 4500 miles on it before selling. What can I expect for first year issues? I am a VIP member over on Totally Yamaha, so I will check there as well. Just curious if anyone has any sound advice. It has over 2400 miles on it, so I am assuming if there were any first year bugs, they have already been worked out. Thanks guys!

I will start the representation. I'm on my 7th Yamaha now. And my skin is thick, so I can take anyone's shit. I drive a purpose built sled for the way I ride. And I respect all other brands in the group I ride with. First Ride in Minnesota!

Thanks for starting this up! And thanks for allowing me to join in.