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Who owns or has owned a Sidewinder


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One of my sons has a woody for a Sidewinder. He has found an 18 tuned to up to 300hp allegedly. Lots of aftermarket bracing as well as rails. 280 hp on 91 sounds optimistic but I really don't know much about them. Any honest opinions from those that have actually owned one or a Cat would be welcomed.

Edited by J. Jackson
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and honest opinion - I wouldn't touch a molested one with a 10 foot pole.

Some fucking Bhen self proclaimed tuning genius performing mad science on it then pawning it off as the fasted abomination known to man. 

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11 minutes ago, frenchy said:

and honest opinion - I wouldn't touch a molested one with a 10 foot pole.

Some fucking Bhen self proclaimed tuning genius performing mad science on it then pawning it off as the fasted abomination known to man. 

True story  :lol: 

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2 minutes ago, DriftBusta said:

True story  :lol: 

When I was selling the Viper, I had to laugh as I'd get messages telling them me they could buy a turbo'ed or supercharged Viper for the same price as my stock machine. 

I'd tell them go ahead.  That winter, at least 3 of the those people were pissing and moaning on the Viper FB group about the issues they were having with their sleds.  

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13 minutes ago, J. Jackson said:

I've told him to run away from it. Lots of fun and all but he thinks it's a plug and play and no worries. 

That's the kind of mindset that's hard to break.  Don't ask me how I know....:lol:

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49 minutes ago, frenchy said:

and honest opinion - I wouldn't touch a molested one with a 10 foot pole.

Some fucking Bhen self proclaimed tuning genius performing mad science on it then pawning it off as the fasted abomination known to man. 

:owned:

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My buddy’s boosted turbos have been real dependable. 280 hp is not that crazy for the cat/Yam. But they were put together by a guy that knows his stuff. 

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I can’t say that I’d be that afraid of buying a tuned winder or Cat Turbo      depending on some factors and what else has been monkeyed along with a good going over. I went back to an 800 2-smoke but still miss the Turbo a lot. I don’t miss the weight but holding the flipper on a new 800 is not very exciting after riding boosted Turbos on the lakes. 

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3 hours ago, frenchy said:

and honest opinion - I wouldn't touch a molested one with a 10 foot pole.

Some fucking Bhen self proclaimed tuning genius performing mad science on it then pawning it off as the fasted abomination known to man. 

Yup. I’d buy a stock one and go from there 

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8 hours ago, ACE said:

I hear they’re wicked titty fast.  If I get the weight penalty of a 4 stroke I’d want the fastest one 

A buddy of mine had one and said they just keep on pulling. Not sure what speed he got up to but he said when you expect it to start nosing over/running out of power, it just keeps going and going. 

He liked the sled a lot but he updates every 2 yrs so he is now on a big horse Cat but I'm not sure which model?

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9 hours ago, ACE said:

I hear they’re wicked titty fast.  If I get the weight penalty of a 4 stroke I’d want the fastest one 

WIcked titty fast for sure.  Stock would fine for me and perfect for Quebec, New Brunswick or the county saddlebaggers here in the Northeast. An off trailer and one of those would be the ticket.

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13 hours ago, J. Jackson said:

One of my sons has a woody for a Sidewinder. He has found an 18 tuned to up to 300hp allegedly. Lots of aftermarket bracing as well as rails. 280 hp on 91 sounds optimistic but I really don't know much about them. Any honest opinions from those that have actually owned one or a Cat would be welcomed.

I have one (2018) and love it.   Very trailable and extraordinarily fast and fun.    Simple set up for trail was soft spring setting up front and use stiffer dial setting.   Stiff in the middle helps take a bit of weight off the skis.   I'm a pretty big guy and I still have it set pretty soft in the rear without bottoming out much.   Again helps with weight transfer.   Coupler blocks to most transfer setting.    

Not for the inexperienced.   I'm an acceleration guy so I don't spend much time at top speed.   It is amazing how hard they will pull even at 100 mph.    If you want to get the full benefits of the power you really need to stud the shit out of it.   Aftermarket stiffer center spring is suppose to help there as well.   The couple 129 and 137 doesn't weight transfer great.   The 141 uncoupled does.        

I run Hurricane 300 tune with 3 bar map, CAI and Sandale 3".   Got my own clutching done.   Last year ran STM primary and Secondary after I torched the primary and it took out the secondary.   Putting on a TAPP primary this year for the trails and keeping the STM oversized secondary.

Its fun toying with the 800's and 850's.   Its cute when they line up next to you.   First year I had mine a bunch of buddies and I were running on the river and I had my wife sitting in front of me.   She would just waive at them as we went screaming by with the ski's a foot in the air after letting them get a head start.  Yes I know they should be much faster but its still fun.    

Main reliability issue is the upper gear bushing.   Change every 1500-2000 miles. 

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12 hours ago, frenchy said:

and in reality any aftermarket BS is worth 10 cents on the dollar on the resale market unless you part it out and sell it piece by piece

 

I would never buy a sled that had been modified. 

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