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The goods and badsLike to lake race? There's more than ample speed here. We got the Dragon to 97.25 mph in the ¼-mile and it was quickest of our long-tracks this past season at 12.84 seconds in the ¼-mile, Yamaha's Nytro XTX was just behind it at 12.90. Polaris' Switchback also did 1,000 feet in 10.55 seconds and reached 93.83 mph in that distance.
That said, the gas mileage wasn't spectacular. At our Real World tests we managed 11.42 mpg, one of the lowest figures for our demo units.
Over the course of the entire season though, that number improved slightly to 11.97 mpg.
Also reliability was extremely good, we had zero down time with the Switchback this past season.
What off-trail riders will enjoy, in addition to power, is the sled's ability to maneuver in deep snow. Having a 15x136-inch RipSaw track with 1.25-inch lugs helps push you through even the deepest Midwest snows. The coupled 136-inch track makes it better for riding on rough trails too, plus it handles nearly as well as a 121-inch track.
Some of our riders though still preferred the former 144-inch Switchback with its tipped-up rail system. Yet this shorter unit may be more popular for riders who run their sleds on tighter tree-lined trails and we can attest that the sled is well balanced, a benefit off trail.
This being the high-end Dragon model you also get lightweight RydeFX Pro Series Air 2.0 shocks up front, which make the bumps seem to disappear when hitting moguls hard. There is some softness to these when you first hit a big bump, but it won't bottom out, which makes for better ditch riding too.