boomer
Member
I wanted to give a big shout out to Kip and his crew at Pat's Motorsports along with Yamaha. Yesterday I decided to pull the trigger on a new 2017 Yamaha Sidewinder LTX-LE that I ordered from Kip. Since this is the first new sled that I've bought in about 10 years I wanted to share my thoughts about the new sled and also why I chose to buy from Kip.....
I decided that next season is the time for me to go for it and add another sled to the stable. The last new sled that I bought was a '06 Yamaha Apex. Up until I bought that sled I would buy a new sled every 2-3 years, but the Apex has been rock solid and with yearly maintenance and some upgrades made to the sled to suit my style of riding there has been nothing to come along since then that has tripped my trigger to buy new............until Tuesday, March 1 when Yamaha released the new Sidewinder's.
The Yamaha 4-stroke performance motors have everything that I want and need in a sled and I think the new turbo 3 cylinder in the Pro Cross chassis is the real deal. I've been riding Yamaha's since I bought my first sled back when I was in high school in 1971, a Yamaha SL338C that had a whooping 24hp. I've never owned an Arctic Cat, and was shocked when I first heard of the "supply agreement" between Yamaha and Arctic Cat with the start of the Viper models. I always thought that Yamaha had some pretty bright folks running the show and thought "I hope they know what they're doing here" jumping in bed with Arctic Cat.
I've always been a "big picture" person and have closely watched how this relationship has transpired over the last few years. After some first year teething problems with the Viper's it looks like both companies have been very pro-active in addressing any gremlins and have made changes and improvements every model year. I've been told that there are Yamaha engineers who now live in TRF. I now look at their relationship with a whole new perspective and actually hope to see them continue to work together in the future to utilize both of their companies strengths to bring better sleds to the market.
While the new Sidewinder's are not going to be the sled for everyone it's got everything that I've been looking for. I'm really impressed with the new motor and drive train that Yamaha has developed. A lot of thought, time, and development has been done to do it right. Chassis and suspensions have not been Yamaha's strong points in their sleds and this is where the Arctic Cat DNA shows it's strength in the Sidewinder. Time will tell just how good or bad the sled turns out to be but I'm all in. I've talked to three people that I know and trust who've had a chance to drive the Sidewinder and they've all said it's the real deal.
When I bought my first sled some 45 years ago the best dealer for me was whoever would sell me the sled the cheapest. That's all I cared about. The snowmobile industry has changed a lot since then and so have the dealers along with where we ride. I've learned that a dealer can either make or break your view of your favorite brand in how they handle any problems and also in how they treat their customers. With the cost of new sleds these days who I buy from has become just as important to me as the sled I'm buying.
There's always been two ways that I've used in how I judge a business: What their customers say about them and how their employee's treat their customers when the manager or owner is not there.
I've seen nothing but praise here on John Dee's site and other websites over the years from Kip's customers. They must be doing something right in their customers eyes. I've stopped by Pat's Motorsports many times over the years that I've been riding in the UP to gas up the sleds and buy some sled parts and was always impressed by the friendly vibes that I got whenever I was there. I finally got to meet Kip a couple years ago when I stopped by on our way back to MN after a week of riding in the area. Last month I stopped by once again on our way back to MN to check out the new addition to the shop and to just say Hi. It turns out Kip wasn't there (he was riding the new Sidewinders in Canada at the time). I was promptly greeted by a couple of his employee's. I asked if Kip was around. When I was told he was gone for a few days I let them know I was just stopping by to say Hi to Kip and check out the new addition. Everyone there was just a friendly as always and I got to meet Lenny for the first time. That last visit really sealed the deal for me as to where to buy my next sled. Little did I know at the time that it would be so soon. I'm glad to be doing business with Kip and his crew and really appreciate how their dealership supports our sport.
I decided that next season is the time for me to go for it and add another sled to the stable. The last new sled that I bought was a '06 Yamaha Apex. Up until I bought that sled I would buy a new sled every 2-3 years, but the Apex has been rock solid and with yearly maintenance and some upgrades made to the sled to suit my style of riding there has been nothing to come along since then that has tripped my trigger to buy new............until Tuesday, March 1 when Yamaha released the new Sidewinder's.
The Yamaha 4-stroke performance motors have everything that I want and need in a sled and I think the new turbo 3 cylinder in the Pro Cross chassis is the real deal. I've been riding Yamaha's since I bought my first sled back when I was in high school in 1971, a Yamaha SL338C that had a whooping 24hp. I've never owned an Arctic Cat, and was shocked when I first heard of the "supply agreement" between Yamaha and Arctic Cat with the start of the Viper models. I always thought that Yamaha had some pretty bright folks running the show and thought "I hope they know what they're doing here" jumping in bed with Arctic Cat.
I've always been a "big picture" person and have closely watched how this relationship has transpired over the last few years. After some first year teething problems with the Viper's it looks like both companies have been very pro-active in addressing any gremlins and have made changes and improvements every model year. I've been told that there are Yamaha engineers who now live in TRF. I now look at their relationship with a whole new perspective and actually hope to see them continue to work together in the future to utilize both of their companies strengths to bring better sleds to the market.
While the new Sidewinder's are not going to be the sled for everyone it's got everything that I've been looking for. I'm really impressed with the new motor and drive train that Yamaha has developed. A lot of thought, time, and development has been done to do it right. Chassis and suspensions have not been Yamaha's strong points in their sleds and this is where the Arctic Cat DNA shows it's strength in the Sidewinder. Time will tell just how good or bad the sled turns out to be but I'm all in. I've talked to three people that I know and trust who've had a chance to drive the Sidewinder and they've all said it's the real deal.
When I bought my first sled some 45 years ago the best dealer for me was whoever would sell me the sled the cheapest. That's all I cared about. The snowmobile industry has changed a lot since then and so have the dealers along with where we ride. I've learned that a dealer can either make or break your view of your favorite brand in how they handle any problems and also in how they treat their customers. With the cost of new sleds these days who I buy from has become just as important to me as the sled I'm buying.
There's always been two ways that I've used in how I judge a business: What their customers say about them and how their employee's treat their customers when the manager or owner is not there.
I've seen nothing but praise here on John Dee's site and other websites over the years from Kip's customers. They must be doing something right in their customers eyes. I've stopped by Pat's Motorsports many times over the years that I've been riding in the UP to gas up the sleds and buy some sled parts and was always impressed by the friendly vibes that I got whenever I was there. I finally got to meet Kip a couple years ago when I stopped by on our way back to MN after a week of riding in the area. Last month I stopped by once again on our way back to MN to check out the new addition to the shop and to just say Hi. It turns out Kip wasn't there (he was riding the new Sidewinders in Canada at the time). I was promptly greeted by a couple of his employee's. I asked if Kip was around. When I was told he was gone for a few days I let them know I was just stopping by to say Hi to Kip and check out the new addition. Everyone there was just a friendly as always and I got to meet Lenny for the first time. That last visit really sealed the deal for me as to where to buy my next sled. Little did I know at the time that it would be so soon. I'm glad to be doing business with Kip and his crew and really appreciate how their dealership supports our sport.
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