After a few trips I finally got to compare my sleds stock for stock. On past trips I always seemed to have some minor issue with one sled that didn't let me do a back to back comparison. Today both were running absolutely perfect. Both are jetted conservatively for the altitude because I ride between 5100 and 8300 ft. In the Southern Oregon Cascades. Both sleds are bone stock and the Yamaha clutch spring is set for altitude. Not sure how the Mach clutch is set up. I was worried when I got the 780 I'd fall out of love with the Vmax. It's down 16 hp has Vmax bad brakes and is way down on traction with a 3/4" worn out track. I rode the Mach most of the day because my girlfriend was riding with me. I put her on the 750 because it has totally linear throttle response and smoother/lower clutch engagement. The Mach on the other hand is an absolute beast to ride. It has a much deeper track with studs. Not sure if it's 1.25 or 1.5. It hooks like crazy and will yard the ski's for longer than I'm comfortable with to the point I lifted, dropped the ski's, got back into it and it lifted them again. Then when the clutch really started to move it got sideways at 70 mph. I thought I was sold at that point but on the steep climb to the Mt. Bailey summit (8376 ft.) The Z was right on the red on the temp gauge. Yamaha got it right running an actual radiator on their big motor. On the way down I got back on the Vmax because it can be a handful without traction on a steep decent and I didn't want the girlfriend to have to deal with that. It wasn't a problem for me and I got to ride the old 4 cyl again. I noticed right away how much more I like the sound of it over the violent three banger. Throttle response was way more predictable and smooth. When I opened it up it spun the track for days but in the end it felt way more stable at speed than the Z. It really has sneaky speed. It's so smooth you don't think it's going that fast till you look at the speedo. In the end I'm glad I bought the Mach Z for $350 but it doesn't make me like the Vmax any less. Even though the Z does most things better I still can't get over the 750. I'm Not sure if I'll ever get them side by side from a roll with enough straight but I wouldn't count out the sneaky power of the 4 cyl.
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