Quick Ulterra Review

Got my 112/60"/36v motor installed today and just tested it a bit out of the water. Some points:

1. This thing is a chunk. Weighs a ton and then some. The head is a lot bigger than the Terrova also.
2. I tried to install the Panoptix transducer (weighs about 1.5 lbs) and it bogged down the trim and deploy. It also made the trim mechanism smell funny so I removed the transducer. It's going to be very very difficult to run a different transducer on this set up. I was able to get the cables to stay out of the way about 70% of the time. The other times the cables would get caught under the shaft and jam the unit.
3. I didn't get the Link model, but the I pilot remote is nice.
4. On my other motors I always had a RAM mount to keep the shaft from bouncing around when the motor was stowed. I don't think I will be able to use that with the Ulterra as the belt goes all the way up to the head and I am worried it would get damaged.
5. The motor has an on/off switch. When you turn the motor off there it turns off the remote. I think my old Terrova 101 did something like this but I don't remember for sure.
6. The skeg and the us2 transducers are not lined up to the armature. So when you look at the motor from behind you can see nothing lines up. Just weird considering it's a $2200 motor.
7. I could see where there could be all kinds of problems with the trim mechanism if you get any dirt in there. Not sure what Minn Kota has done to keep this area clean but you would think if you get mud or any other solids on the belt, it could be trouble.
8. If something gets in the way of the motor while it's trying to stow or deploy, it will stop and sound an alarm. But sometimes it will keep trying and you have to hit the deploy button to stop it.

I should be hitting the water later this week.

Nice report Diel! We need to hit the lake soon!!!

I just ordered a 80# 60" I wonder if it is lighter. I was planning on mounting a lss2 on it.

Thanks for the inputs and infos on it brother. I was looking into getting one but wanted to wait until all the bugs are worked out.

Whoa' Looks like a beast ..... They makin a salt water model yet ? Call me when you wanna go run it...

I don't know if they are going to make a saltwater model. It just seems like the salt would cause all kinds of problems with the belt and stow/deploy system.

On installing a transducer, the biggest problem I see is you have to stay on top of the cable while stowing it, so it defeats the purpose of the motor. You would have to go to the bow, grab the cable and then hit the button. I'm still trying to think of other ways to keep it out of the way, just haven't come up with anything else yet.

Doesn't sound like a great review so far

Nice report Diel. Surprising, but honest. Thanks. Glad I bought that Terrova from ya. She's a beast!

Thanks for the update Diel. I wonder if there is a way to run a cable through the shaft for transducer? Hope you get it figured out

As of yesterday, I had a Ulterra on order from Tackle Warehouse but it has been delayed twice. After much thought, I decided to cancel the order and just buy the Xi5 after I saw how it worked with the Lowrance HDS units. I think I would like that better than the self deploy. I felt unsure of my decision until I read your review. I wanted to add a Hydrowave speaker to the trolling motor and it sounds like one more wire to get hung up under the motor. I sure hope I made a good decision. Thank you very much for posting an honest review.

Thanks guys. C worthy, wait until you see how fast the Xi5 head spins. And in my opinion the anchor feature is much better than the Minn Kota. I'll update once I take it on the water.

I will do the same when I get a chance to try out the Xi5 connected to the Lowrance HDS. Eager to see how it works. I do wish that they had a shaft shorter than 54" though.

One should never wish for a shorter shaft...

Diel is that the same slide bracket you had or did you order the skeeter bracket?

That Xi5 is as smoooooooooth as butter!!!! so quiet too.

Does the Xi5 have the channel for a transducer cable like the terrova?

That's the skeeter bracket. Made by R&R Design in Terrell.

That's how I've been running my Xi5. I have the gateway connected to the NMEA network and running it with a HDS12 Gen3. It works really well, just has a bit of wondering when you're going from waypoint to waypoint. Still really smooth and great anchor. Only draw back with the Xi5 is the top speed. It's about .5mph slower than my old 112 Terrova.

No sir. The Ulterra doesn't either. The Ulterra has a belt on the side that groove was at.

I thought you went with the motorguide?

Do you have two space ships! I am so confused? lol Bassthumb said yall were out a couple weeks ago and u had the xi5 and loved it, why did you switch back?

I have both. I bought 2 brackets from R&R so I could use one top plate on each motor. Now I can change them in about 2 minutes. I just wanted to see the Ulterra on my own.

If Motorguide would make their motor faster and their remote with a screen, it would be hard to go with anything else in my opinion.

there are no words for the boat toy envy that I have lol........

Diel1, I bought that $200 external gps antenna too with the money I saved. Do you think that it is worth the extra expense. Argh, never mind, that ant is for the HDS and has nothing to do with the Xi5 if I remember right.

Correct, the Point 1 is for the head unit but you didn't waste your money. It's much better than the internal GPS since it has a heading sensor also. I even use it with the Garmin stuff as you can share information via NMEA2000.

Too cool...... I should have mine by this weekend I hope. Thanks for all the help. You are just a one stop shop for information.

Did you just call r&r yo get bracket? What's the price tag? Is it better than MinnKota you had?

Diel11 - Why do you think the anchor feature is much better than the Minn Kota? Does it keep you on the spot better? My Minn Kota seems to have problem sometimes with the spot lock.

GMB

I called them and asked for the Skeeter slide trolling motor bracket. Much better than the minn kota as it has a spring loaded pin on the side. You don't have to screw anything in, just pull it, slide the motor and it locks by itself. Runs $150.

Ive ben a min kota fan for several years now but when i saw that Xi5 in action i was sold. i like auto deploy feature on the ultra but it will be hard to beat the pin point accuracy of the Xi5.

On the water today. The Minn Kota is just so much more powerful than the Xi5. It got my boat up to 3.4 mph no problem, and if you turn it fast enough it will send you into the water no problem. Spot lock is still inferior to the Xi5, lots of hunting and moving around with only a 5mph wind.

Man, the auto deploy/stow is really nice. So is the auto trim. We were throwing for shad in 1.5-2 feet of water and it's nice to just trim the motor barely out of the water and still be able to move. And of course, if you want to get going, no running to the bow to stow it.

The motor is quieter than my old 112 Terrova, both on full power and also while turning the head. It's not whisper quiet like the Xi5 but it's much better than it was.

Only weird thing it did today was it would not unwind itself. The cable got wrapped around the steering mechanism and instead of unwinding itself like the Terrova, the spot lock would kick off and an alarm would sound.

I am not sure which one I am going to keep. They both work well...