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"You can have this sled back when you pry it from my cold dead hands.” Yep, one of our test riders liked our 600 Rush demo sled so much he refused to let anyone else ride it one day.
Although many of our test riders were not totally sold on the pre-production Rush we had tried at the end of the previous season, the production version convinced non-believers that the sled is every bit the machine that Polaris told us it was.
Pre-season, only one of our test riders proclaimed that this sled would more than hold its own … but for the life of me, I can’t remember who that was. (See p.32 of our October 2009 Buyers Guide to find out.)
Squabbling aside, our full season demo sled flat out performed, even if it was a bit thirsty at the gas pump.
Daddy likes! In all honesty it wasn’t only the guys who liked this sled. One of the most impressive attributes was that a wide range of riders liked the Rush, from 110-lb. female riders to aggressive 230-lb male riders.
The biggest source of enthusiasm and skepticism surrounding the Rush was the entirely new Pro-Ride rear suspension. This uncoupled, large rear shock design brought the back-action outside of the tunnel for the first time in snowmobile history. The front track shock is more traditional and sits inside the track and tunnel. Most importantly Polaris claims to be able to give a 100% progressive rate with this new rear suspension. From our many miles of testing in the whoops, stutters, and g-outs, this rear end worked well for everyone that we had ride it.
Setting this suspension properly is ultimately important though, and it’s not always taught correctly to the consumer. Rebound in the rear is set simply by turning the spring collar on the rear shock. (Make sure to use the tool in the storage case under the seat.) Again, correct measurement should be from the collar to where the threads end and the red end-cap of the shock begins. We found that although the collar is not easy to turn (even without any load on the shock/spring) once you find the “sweet spot” for you it works extremely well.
My personal favorite setting, and one that seemed to work for a wide array of riders, was to set the skid’s front shock for about a 180-lb. rider (with gear), and then set the rear spring at about 190 lbs. and click up 5-clicks from the softest setting.
Set the front suspension up for 180-lb rider and then click 5-up from the softest setting on the clickers. This total set-up seemed to work for several riders from about 160 to 210 lbs. The point of this suspension is its high degree of customization, but we came upon riders with their sleds so far out of whack that they were ready to return them. A quick 5-minute discussion, setting change, and test ride with a different setup satisfied 95% of the riders we encountered. There also are 3 rear springs available now at your Polaris dealer; a soft spring, the standard spring, and a big boy spring. The range of these three springs is made to accommodate riders from just less than 130 lbs. to more than 230 lbs.
In addition to Polaris’ famously easy engine reverse and nice warm handlebar grips, this sled also featured a surprisingly comfortable seat. We were told by Polaris reps that an entirely different foam and density is used in the Rush seat vs. other Polaris sleds.
Revisions Of course, we’ve got a couple revisions we’d like to suggest. While we like the warmth that the mid and tall windshields provide, there is an exorbitant amount of wind buffeting around your head with both windshields. At 70-80 mph it feels like you are having a couple of 4 year-olds play patty-cake with your helmet and we’d like to see that addressed. However, both the mid and tall shields provide more than adequate hand and torso wind protection, which we love.
Second, removing the sled’s side panels can be a chore. We learned that even though the tab should pop right off, you often have to get it in exactly the right position and then muscle it out. This circus act is not the most fun thing to be trying when it’s 10-below outside. It’s also not easy to remove the belt on this sled, especially in cold temps.
From an economics and environmental point of view we’d like to see better gas mileage here too. We managed just 11.01 mpg for the season, and the 600’s oil tank also needed to be topped off about every other time we stopped for gas.