1997 triple play

Welcome to the triple head banger's ball. Ski-Doo's Mach 1 and Polaris' Ultra SPX square off mano-a-mano in 1997, the only choices available in the three-cylinder, three-pipe category.

If you pop for aftermarket pipes and some engine mods, the conservatively ported Vmax 700 SX can make power equivalent to the baseline Polaris UltraSPX and Ski-Doo Mach 1. But, unlike your choice of four 800cc thunder wagons and three 600cc triple-headed, triple-piped snow speeders, there are only two choices in the 700cc three-cylinder, three-pipe category.

The Polaris Ultra SPX comes packaged in a hot purple Storm-style shell.It also includes a two-year extended service contract on the 679cc three cylinder Fuji-built engine if you purchased it under the '97 Snow Check program or prior to Sept. 30, 1996.

The Ultra triple is a case reed inducted design which maximizes the incoming fuel charge acquired via triple 38mm Mikuni slide carbs. You'll find nicasil-plated cylinder walls for added durability and heat dispersion. The digital ignition should maximize the sparkplugs' firepower. Triple tuners should extract strong horsepower from its new porting. Polaris estimates the SPX version of the Ultra triple will produce as much as a 30 percent power gain over last year's single-piped Ultra engine or 10 percent more power than this year's triple-piped 600 XCR. The SPX engine measures a nearly square, 66.6mmby 65mm, for bore and stroke.

With 20cc more displacement from a bore and stroke of 69.8mm by 61mm,Ski-Doo's Mach 1 wins the battle of the tape measure under the hood with its all new 699cc triple. As with other high-output Austrian-built Ski-Doo engines, you expect to see Rotax Adjustable Variable Exhaust (RAVE) port modifiers, crankcase reed valve induction and the Gore-Tex of power, nicasil-coatedcylinders. Our estimate of horsepower puts the Rotax in the 135-plus rangeand the Ultra in the 132-plus range. Ski-Doo has a nicely configured family of three-piped triples: a 796cc with about 155 grunting horses, a 699ccwith about 135 ponies and a 598cc with 120-plus horses. This is a fast family.

In overall performance, our test riders rated the sleds very closely.In the area of engine and clutch response, the Ski-Doo rated 8.6 pointsof a possible 10. The Ultra SPX was equally impressive, wrangling 8.5 points out of the test riders. That's a tie in our book. The response you get whenhitting the throttle at various stages went to Ski-Doo in a narrow decision:Mach 1, 8.6 points; Ultra SPX, 8.25 points.

On snow at Stanley, Idaho, we caught the Mach's best run at 85 mph in just over 10.5 seconds on wet, heavy snow in 40-degree temperatures. Under similar circumstances, we saw the Ultra SPX get to that speed in 12.3 seconds.In getting from 30 to 50 mph, the Ski-Doo needed just 1.75 seconds, while the Ultra took 1.77 seconds. Using our computerized radar gear, we noted that the Mach seemed to have a much stronger holeshot hooking up and launching to 60 feet in under 2.3 seconds versus 2.97 seconds for the Ultra. To get to 660 feet, this Ski-Doo pre-production model hit the mark both faster and quicker. The results from the 1997 American Snowmobiler Shoot-Out should show how real-world production models fare head to head. That will be the fairer test.

Suspension-wise we have very similar philosophies at work. Both sleds feature trailing arm front suspensions, but the Ultra SPX wins the travel battle providing up to 9.5 inches of travel from Polaris' IFS XTRA-10 with Controlled Roll Center. Ski-Doo's Mach 1 trails in travel at 6.8 inches.But while Polaris wins that battle, the Ski-Doo wins the war: our test riders rated both handling and ride higher on the Ski-Doo. Both makers outfit their sleds with performance shocks. Polaris opts for Fox gas shocks with threaded adjusters while Ski-Doo goes with HPG high pressure gas shocks.

Polaris worked hard on front suspensions and arrived at more travel by revising the shock mounting position on the bulkhead and creating a tipped-in design to maximize shock piston travel. The result is a gain of nearly 31 percent true vertical travel from last year's IFS setup. In addition, Polaris went with its "rack" steering design initiated by the Indy 440XCR cross-country racer a few years ago. Polaris reasoned that riders will enjoy less bump steer and ski scrub and more positive steering.

At the rear, the Ski-Doo Mach 1 comes with the high-performance version of the SC-10. Outfitted with Ski-Doo's acceleration modulator, which ties the front and rear action together for more controlled acceleration and deceleration, the Mach is destined to feed the new engine's power to the track efficiently. Ride comfort comes from 10 inches of travel controlledby high pressure shocks on the front and rear suspension arms.

The Ultra SPX also features about 10 inches of travel at the rear (10.2inches to be precise). Polaris uses Fox gas damping to control the XTRA-10's movements. Our test riders rated the Mach's handling well over the Ultra's and also preferred the overall ride of the Mach.

A finely crafted machine, the Mach 1 took top honors when the test riders considered its overall "fit" from seat comfort to footrest positioning.Said one test rider about the Mach, "The seats and footrest position let you lock in for better control." This typically has been a strong area for Polaris. Ski-Doo engineers paid attention.

Based on performance and ergon-omics, our test riders gave the Mach 1a decided edge over the Ultra, rating the Mach an 8.11 overall and the Ultra SPX at 6.91. These are your only choices for 1997 in the 700cc triple-piped,triple cylinder sweepstakes. Our test riders tipped their helmets to Ski-Doo's Mach 1.

Ski-Doo Mach 1
Overall Height: 44.1 inches
Overall Length: 107.1 inches
Weight: 552 lbs.
Ski Stance: 41 inches
Engine: Rotax 699.3cc liquid-cooled triple, reed valve, RAVE
Exhaust: 3 tuned pipes with muffler
Clutch:
Drive: TRAC, 3 ramps
 Driven: Formula cam on counter shaft
Suspension Travel:
 Front: DSA, Swing arm/radius rods/torsion-type sway bar, high pressure gas shocks,6.8 in.
 Rear: Long-travel SC-10 High Performance with ACM, high pressure gas shocks, 10in.
Fuel Capacity: 11.1 gallons
Key Features: electric fuel gauge, electric temp gauge, large white-faced speed, tachand trip meter, adjustable hood grills.
Retail Price: $7,899
Riding Impressions:
"It is extremely smooth and powerful. It's real easy to take the Mach on the wild side"- Steve Ingram, test rider

 
Polaris Ultra SPX
Overall Height: 44 inches
Overall Length: 109 inches
Weight: 560 lbs.
Ski Stance: 41 inches
Engine: Fuji 679cc liquid-cooled triple, case reed induction
Exhaust:  3 Tuned pipes
Clutch:
Drive: Polaris P-85
 Driven: Polaris P-85
Suspension Travel:
 Front: IFS XTRA-10, Threaded adjustable Fox gas shocks, CRC, 9.5 in.
 Rear: XTRA-10, Fox gas shocks, 10.2 in.
Fuel Capacity: 10.7 gallons
Key Features: Liquid-cooled hydraulic disc brake, flush style speedo with trip meter,dual range tach, hand and thumbwarmers, high temp and oil lights, integratedfront bumper, adjustable handlebars, hood screens, high beam indicator.
Retail Price: $7,549
Riding Impressions:
"Performance was much better this year, but will that improvement makeit to production?"- Doug Erickson, test rider