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MOUNTAIN SLEDS Get Long and Lean
Is it longer? Yes! Is it skinnier? Yes! Is it more capable? Yes!
That is the story behind the new 2016 Viper M-TX. We had a chance to see these up close in the Rocky Mountains and Western Editor Stephen Clark has also had his hand at testing them a bit (more from Stephen in the October issue). The biggest news is the new 36-inch ski stance in the front SRV-M suspension. The idea is the M-TX will lean over much easier on side-hill maneuvers and be easier to do more skillful moves like the famous ‘elevator’ or turning into a downhill side-hill. This new stance comes on all the 162-inch length M-TX sleds as well as the 153-inch M-TXs.
The second big story here is the addition of a 3-inch lug PowerClaw track for the LE spring Power-Surge sleds. The new 162 LE also comes with the new FOX Float 3 Evol front shocks and the new Float 3 Evol center/Evol R rear shocks in mountain rear suspension. The super short windshield ONLY makes sense on this sled. It makes it easier to roll over in the deep powder if you get yourself stuck in neck deep powder. That kind of POW is what you’ll be looking for to test this huge 3-inch shoe! But the LE has more new goodies on it too like a new heated mountain seat, rear storage bag, new lightweight ski, and lightweight brake disc.
So far, we are most impressed with the shocks and track on this sled, but since this is just an intro, we will save most of our riding impressions. Needless to say though, a turbo on this sled makes it a contender in the mountains, especially with all these awesome extras on it. We are still sticking to our guns though that we feel the factory-approved turbo is a necessity for anyone other than an intermediate mountain rider on this machine. All the M-TX 162 sleds get the new mountain ski and short windshield, but only the LE and SE get the light brake disc. Same goes for the 153 M-TX sleds as the LE gets the new shocks, stance, windshield, storage bag, heated seat, 3-inch track, skis and brake disc. But the 153 SE and standard models only have the new stance, windshield and ski. The SE and LE 153 utilize the light brake disc, but exact poundage of the ‘lightweight’ was not available at press time.
Finally, the X-TX 141 LE from 2015 that came with the big 2.25-inch lugged track has been re-badged for 2016 as the new M-TX 141 SE. Truly this was a mountain sled last year with its big track, but now it is rightly placed and has the 40-inch ski stance, not the narrower 36-inch stance that the rest of the mountain lineup has. It also has the short shield, new mountain ski and lightweight brake disc. Oh, and the novice Phazer M-TX is still unchanged.