I was up in Northern Maine at The Forks this last weekend, snowmobiling in 50 degree weather. Since my 800 was suffering from a broken primary, I whipped out my spare 500 MXz and rode with it. I gotta tell ya, while it's no 800x, it's still a great trail sled. I was riding with my buddy and his girlfriend and they both have Yamahas, an '00 SRX 700 and an '00 SRX 500. She wanted to try the Ski Doo 500, so we switched. Within the first mile I knew there was no comparison. I mean, not even close. The Ski Doo killed the 500 SRX. I had to almost pry her off the thing after about 20 miles. Now this was much more than the way the sleds are set up. My Ski Doo is adjusted soft for my 110 lb. son, so for her, let alone me, it's certainly not optimized. My buddy was pissed because she was whining so much after that, so I told him to try it out. When he got off, he was incredulous. Yeah, the 700 SRX would win in the end out on the lake, but on the trails, he liked it better. He even commented how the engine and clutching were crisper than his 700. Too bad about my 800x being unavailable, otherwise he'd really be crying.