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Pros and Cons of Xtra-10 and Xtra-12

9K views 14 replies 12 participants last post by  KazooDaddy 
#1 ·
I have only owned Xtra-12s and found them to be quite good for trail riding, but now I am looking at a 1999XLT SP with Xtra-10.

Which one do you prefer and why?
 
#2 ·
the 12 is a falling rate suspension when it compresses it loses resistance. it soaks up the small trail bumps very well, but when you hit the big stuff it bottoms out pretty easily. the 10 on the other hand is a rising rate setup, as the suspension compresses the resistance increases, not as nice for trail but still good and alot better for the big stuff because it is less prone to bottom out. my xlt has a xtra 12 set up and its ok till i try to jump anything. so it would depend on what your gonna do, if your gonna stick to trails it will be ok but maybe not as nice as the 12, its not that bad though if you set it up right.
 
#3 ·
Depends on how you ride. You'll probably get alot of different answers just because everyone rides different. Personally I just swapped out an extra 12 for an extra 10. I ride more aggressively and the extra 12 felt heavy to throw around. Just found out that the extra 12 is only 7 pounds heavier but it feels like more when throwing it around.
They are a totally different suspension and it really depends on how you ride.
 
#4 ·
Maybe it's because the sag is much bigger on the 12? My XCR has the 10 and my XLT has the 12. With both tracks off the ground, the 12 hangs much lower. Since it's lower when you're throwing it around, you don't have as much leverage swinging it around?
 
#5 ·
I have a 95 with the 8 inch, a 96 xcr with the 10, and a 95 XLT extra 12. The best performing, ride all day, and fall off at night suspension is the 96 xtra 10. It takes the beatings, Ive followed it, and followed the same track with my extra 12, and my knees are shot trying to keep up. the extra 12 after some nice moguls, has me gritting my teeth at oncoming moguls, hoping it wont hurt as bad as the last one. Im just thankful that the xlt has alot of padding in the seat!!!!
 
#6 ·
Originally posted by pinkpower33
[br]I have a 95 with the 8 inch, a 96 xcr with the 10, and a 95 XLT extra 12. The best performing, ride all day, and fall off at night suspension is the 96 xtra 10. It takes the beatings, Ive followed it, and followed the same track with my extra 12, and my knees are shot trying to keep up. the extra 12 after some nice moguls, has me gritting my teeth at oncoming moguls, hoping it wont hurt as bad as the last one. Im just thankful that the xlt has alot of padding in the seat!!!!
my X12 goes like a champ through the rough stuff, so far so good, now if i could only keep the ass end from landing on end and breaking bumpers we'd be all set
 
#7 ·
XTRA-12 had more issues with the engine overheating because of how much taller it sat and it made the sled more tippy because of its taller center of gravity.
Basically, if you are a casual touring type ride the XTRA-12 is great for the smooth ride, but if you an aggressive rider who love to attack the big bumps, XTRA-10 would be the better setup.
 
#8 ·
Wow, its a toss up for me. I want the smooth touring type absorbtion for the trails. But also want to pound out the moguls to the next corner. Im running the old 8 inch, seems okay actually this setup seems to take it like it was made to do. Anyone tell me anything about it, good or bad its all good I can dig it.
 
#9 ·
I have an entire thread relating to my installation of the 12 into my '99 xcr800. I bought an x-10 to put into it because I couldn't seem to get it set up right.

Yesterday I re-installed the 275#/in. rear shock spring, turned the torsion spring blocks to medium and put in about 1.25" pre-load on the front track shock. I called a buddy of mine and we went ptarmigan hunting for six hours. Driving across the frozen tundra is like driving across a field of bowling balls frozen into the ground with six inches of snow on them. Extremely rough. I could do this without feeling the rear suspension. Like on smooth snow. Speed was 15-20 mph. We saw a fox and decided to get a little close so we could watch it. This entailed driving up to 40 mph to catch up to it. While I had difficulty holding the handlebars, the rear just floated.

If you are joe-racer wanna-be racing from corner to corner, or enjoy jumping your sled whenever the chance arises, go with the x-10. I have seen no difference in overall speed with the 12, as it is low enough when sat upon the track angles are about the same as the 10. I have noticed the increase in height, but am skilled enough I take that into account while riding; it doesn't concern me.

The suspensions do feel quite different. If you can find someone willing to let you ride their machine so you can get the feel of the 12 or 10, I think that'd be the best way to go. Base your decision upon what you feel about thier driving differences.
 
#11 ·
i always thought a 95 xlt sp only had the xtra 12, so the 10 is news to me, however i have the 12 in mine, and i dont bottom out anymore now that i stiffened the rear end as much as it can be, however i did this because of some of the jumps i did, and i dont really ride trails and if i do then its wide open and along a highway or a straight powerline, my shocks need to be rebuilt for sure on my front end, but i hevent bottomed out in a long time, and then before i put a 1.5'' track on i managed 110mph with a gps, but i lost a good 10mph with that track, although in powder its very very hard to get stuck now, and throwing it around is fun, i guess it just depends on the rider right
 
#13 ·
Originally posted by Octane
[br]and it made the sled more tippy because of its taller center of gravity.
I disagree. FYI There are 2 versions of the xtra-12 on the XLT-SP, and one has a 48" stance on the front. Before I rode my 95 XLT-SP I thought the same thing - it would be tippy. But this past weekend ACHotrod took it out and tried to carve with it. Granted there wasn't much snow - but he still could only get the outside ski up about 2-3 inches. With my big a$$ on there I could only get it about 6 inches up. It's a very stable machine in fact. Rides very nice - Only thing I would change about it is the top end - it goes to 75 really quickly then it's like a Yugo trying to get to 85ish.

Bryan
 
#14 ·
mine has the stock gearing and helix, and i have a green/yellow primary spring, and a blood red secondary in the 4rd tower, and with an 1.5'' track i can still get 100mph out of it, so i dont know why your only getting 75-85ish, ^^^^ i also went carving yesterday, and had no problem spinnin her around on her side in the powder, and i do have the wider stance, although that was in a 12''+ of snow
 
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