1995 racing machines

Racing sports a new breed of go-fast machines designed for ditches and ovals. Here are three of the major players you'll be seeing as soon as the snow flies.

All Terrain Warfare

Arctic Cat ZR 440
Less Weight, More Muscle

Cat struck the first blow in cross-country racing with the upgraded ZR 440. It's said to be lighter, faster and better handling.

Lighter comes from shaving over 30 pounds off the previous edition by greater use of extruded aluminum and other lighter weight components. You'll also find lighter plastic skis. The heat exchanger system was revised. The rear exchanger is history, replaced by integrated heat exchanger/tunnel protectors. The front exchanger remains. Shaving weight meant getting rid of the key and its ancillary wiring.

Faster comes from reworking the engine. Because the new Pro 500 requires smaller 34mm carburetors, Team Arctic technicians had to replace last year's larger 38s but still get more power out of the same basic 440cc package. Enter a new blown pipe and new intake and transfer port timing. Team Arctic spokesmen claim that the package delivers similar horsepower to last year's ZR 440, but low end has been improved. That'll be good news to Cat fans, because the ZR 440 needed a boost on the bottom end.

Better handling comes from substantially reworked suspensions. Up front, the ski stance maxes out at 41 inches (1.5 inches wider than before) due to lengthened chrommoly A-arms. Extruded aluminum on the spindle housing reduces unsprung weight. Adding lighter plastic skis further reduces the front end load and should prove to be more slippery in certain snow conditions. Also factor in new "clicker" Fox® shocks, which are easier to adjust. Now, with all the front end changes, you add up a weight savings of more than 10 pounds overall.

At the rear, Cat counters the opposition's skid frames with a longer-travel version of its own. The new skid frame features a stamped aluminum rail with greater adjustability. The Easy-Adjust front arm adjuster is retained. The rail profile remains the same, but the front and rear arms are both longer and now of chrommoly steel. The front arm has been extended to a full 14 inches to improve machine stability.

But the real genius in the suspension re-do doesn't come on the skidframe but from tilting the rear of the tunnel to allow greater travel at the rear axle. Team Arctic engineers discovered that it wasn't the suspension bottoming out, but the rear wheels were actually limited by the tunnel. The new Extra Travel Tunnel is tilted, allowing the ZR suspension's rear arm to fully compress. The beauty of this concept is this: the sled gains suspension travel while retaining its already excellent low center of gravity. The overall changes in tunnel redesign and suspension revision account for as much as two additional inches of travel.

If you ask any suspension expert, and if they will give you a straight answer, they will tell you that current tunnel design is a big limiting factor to long-travel suspension concepts. With existing long-travel concepts, suspensions have to work within existing shallow tunnels. When they do, they effectively raise the sled's center of gravity. Add a 200-pound rider and you have a major mass sitting tall in the saddle. Great for comfort. Not great for race-like handling.

Other changes in the racer include a revised bellypan which gives the sled a slippery profile and lower front bumper height.
Cat's new ZR 440 will be showing its stuff at a snow cross near you. Watch the fur fly when the Cat and the Indy tangle.

Polaris Indy XCR 440 Special
Delivering A Little XTRA

It's almost here. Polaris dealers and racers are working on their new 1995 XCR 440 Specials getting them ready for the snow cross and endurance terrain races.

The Special's Xtended TRAvel (XTRA-10) rear suspension is based on the XTRA-12 suspension, but uses ideas designed to provide superior handling and ride quality with no loss in speed. Compared to the XC-101 suspension, the XTRA-10's rear mount for the front torque arm has been raised to optimize the torque arm angle for improved cornering ability. Polaris claims up to 10 inches of rear axle travel, but for racing applications, travel is limited to 8 inches in order to provide balanced travel with the front suspension.

The new rear suspension features a patent-pending Front Rear Scissor Stop (FRSS) which controls the bump attitude of the rear suspension. As the front torque arm encounters a bump, it forces the rear scissor to collapse a predetermined amount depending on the FRSS setting. Engineers state that a lighter spring rate can be used on the front torque arm because it can borrow spring rate from the rear torsion springs. It also sets the rear portion of the suspension to reduce the bump's impact.

The trailing arm IFS front end travel is increased to 8.5 inches and incorporates Polaris' new Controlled Roll Center (CRC) package. Bump steer and scrub are claimed to be virtually eliminated due to computer-designed radius rod locations which control the suspension's geometry throughout its travel. A parallel link steering linkage also contributes to the 440 XCR Special's unsurpassed handling. The CRC design incorporates tie rods of approximately the same length as the upper radius rods. Also, the steering linkage features two pivots rather than one. A "rack" joins them together.

Fox® internal floating piston gas pressurized shock absorbers are used on the IFS and also on the front and rear torque arms of the XTRA-10 rear unit. An adjustable torsion bar is also standard fare on this terrain racer.

Along with the longer trailing arms from the XTRA-12 suspension, Polaris uses chrommoly and high strength alloys to ensure durability and lightweight. Starting Line Product's Ultra-Lite chrommoly composite ski will also be standard fare on this competition model. The design of the SLP skis causes a greater percentage of the weight to be carried directly below the spindles for an improved bite in turns. The use of UHMW plastic bottoms reduces weight and friction and results in increased top speed. To get the sled through the snow more efficiently, the XCR 440 Special features a refined skid plate with a lower profile to allow for more suspension travel and less deep snow drag.

It will be difficult to quickly identify the new Special from a standard XCR. Key visual cues are: a black skid plate; thinner side pads on the seat for greater driver comfort; and an extended right side hood louver to accommodate the exhaust pipe's fit due to the higher shock towers.

In compliance with this season's race rules, the 439cc liquid-cooled Fuji-Polaris twin is equipped with dual 34mm carburetors. Transfer porting and the exhaust are revised on the '95 XCRs. Nicasil cylinder plating is standard as is a Polaris P-85 drive clutch and 21-39 sprocket ratio. Polaris claims improved bottom end performance and more peak horsepower than on last season's model.

There is also a new "Star" block pattern track which is said to provide superior traction with excellent high speed performance, handling, and durability. Braking comes from a liquid-cooled hydraulic disc.

Suggested list pricing on the 440 XCR Special is $6,199 (exclusive of freight and dealer setup). Estimated dry weight of the new sled is 469 pounds with a ski stance of 41 inches and a fuel capacity of 9.5 U.S. gallons.

SERIOUS BUSINESS MAKES THE ROUNDS

Ski-Doo Formula III
The Hot Rod 600

It's h-e-r-e. Just as we predicted, all the power and performance found in the special three cylinder Formula III racing Ski-Doo will be made available to select trail riders. Appropriately enough (and as we suggested), the new sled is called the Ski-Doo Formula III. An ultra-high-performance sled, Ski-Doo spokesmen claim that it is designed to set higher standards in the 600cc triple class.

Its all-new, liquid-cooled triple is said to be the most aggressive in its class. The F-III's liquid-cooled, 598cc Rotax triple uses reed intake valves and Rotax Automatic Variable Exhaust (R.A.V.E.) valve port modifiers. It will come with three, round slide Mikuni 36mm carburetors on the intake side. On the exhaust side you'll see three individually tuned exhaust pipes. Ski-Doo claims that the new engine produces about 15 more horsepower than the 600cc Polaris XLT triple, which should put the F-III easily into the century range.

The new engine has oil-injection, a capacity discharge ignition and a bore and stroke of 64.5mm x 61.0mm. Power is handled by Bombardier/Rotax's Total Range Adjustable (TRA) clutch that lets riders dial in their engagement and shifting preferences in increments of 200 revs.

Ski-Doo personnel are justifiably excited about the limited edition Formula III. Says Ski-Doo's sales VP, Russ Davis, "This is a true high-tech snowmobile as opposed to other triple. This sled, for example, comes in the crate with a three-pipe configuration compared to the single pipe on the XLT. So you don't have to spend money on aftermarket performance parts to make the F-III do what you should expect a triple to do.

The Formula III will be available in limited supplies to qualified Ski-Doo dealers in the United States and Canada.
The Formula III F-2000 chassis is lightweight yet strong, and it delivers an efficient weight and power transfer. The front suspension features an adjustable sway bar, high-pressure gas shocks, and 6.5 inches of travel. A 40-inch ski stance and plastic skis with five inches of carbide length are standard.

The C-7 rear suspension with its three H.P.G. shocks provides a smooth ride, optimum track hook-up and 7.5 inches of travel. An hydraulic brake is standard as well.

Comfort features include: heated hand grips and throttle lever; progressive throttle lever; a speedometer (with trip meter), tachometer and electric fuel gauge; and indicator lights for oil level, engine temperature and headlight high beam. This sled will stand out due to its dazzling royal purple hood made of resilient RRIM polyurethane. It is also equipped with a full-block, polyester-reinforced rubber track, a copolymer bellypan, a front bumper kit, an 11.1-gallon gas tank and a manual fuel shut-off. Optional equipment includes electric start, forward/reverse transmission, a high profile windshield, high altitude kit, steel skis, shock absorber kits and much more.