bad boy replicas

If you want to ride a sled that looks like a "bad boy" 600 class snowmobile but costs a couple of grand less, the fan-cooled bogus bad boy racer is your ticket. Cat's Z440, Polaris' Indy Super Sport and Ski-Doo's Formula SL look like their more powerful brethren and even offer many of the same features. But, to keep costs down, these "profile" sport sleds feature tried and true fan-cooled twins and less expensive nitrogen gas or hydraulic shocks instead of Fox® or Fox-like racing dampers.

The Cat and Indy come with 440 twins that are upgraded versions of fan-cooled engines powering more modest trail sleds like the Jag and Indy Sport. Ski-Doo's Formula SL relies on the 503 series twin which displaces 497cc and was the source of power for the Blizzard 5500 generation of Ski-Doos. Adding an extra carb, creating a freer flowing exhaust and upgrading the clutching helps to keep these replica racers ahead of their touring-oriented cousins.

All three of these profile sleds feature the better suspension packages. The Cat gets the full AWS-IV treatment, including the ZR-type aluminum chassis. The Indy has a wide 41-inch ski stance up front but gets the top line XC-100 trail suspension instead of the higher performance XC-101 package. Ski-Doo's Formula SL enjoys the benefits of the new aluminum chassis and the Indy-like DSA front suspension. Because this machine will also compete head-to-head with the Indy Trail and Yamaha Phazer, Ski-Doo equipped the SL with its new dual shock, rear suspension which provides a claimed 10 inches of travel.

The going price for a trail ready "profile" sport sled is right around $4,300. You'll need to add up to $2,000 more for the real racer versions like the ZR440, XCR 440 or MX-Z or Formula Z. For the money, though, these fan-cooled replica trail racers are true bargains.

Arctic Cat Z440 ($4,399)
The Z440 retails for $4,399. The ZR440 retails for $6,199. Both are built around the same aluminum "ZR" chassis. Both come with the latest AWS-IV front suspension. Both come standard with Cat's hydraulic disc stopper.

Of course, instead of a liquid-cooled 440cc twin, the Z440 sports a hotter version of the 431cc fan-cooled twin. Dual 34mm Mikuni carburetors and revised tuning give the Suzuki twin more punch than the single-carb version used in the Jags and Panthers.

With fan-cooling, you'll notice a difference in weight over the liquid-cooled ZR models. While Cat hesitates to list weight, we'd guess that the Z440 will weigh in under 450 pounds without liquids.

We had a chance to test ride the Z440 in the company of other ZR chassis Cats. The handling is as good as the Indy Super Sport. The steering is very light. Credit that to the lack of liquid-cooling. The braking was every bit as good as the ZRT. Why not? The brake is essentially the same.

We were less than enthusiastic about the overall performance. Adding an extra carburetor to the Jag/Panther twin isn't enough. We found definite throttle lag, which some additional tuning will help cure. Overall, we thought the Cat Z440 offered the least engine performance when compared to the Indy Super Sport and Formula SL.

Feature-wise, you won't find a better equipped fan-cooled sports sled for the money. The AWS-IV chassis and front suspension are right out of the ZR spec book. The similarities include the double-wishbone set-up, chromoly A-arms, progressive rate spring, and sway bar. To control costs, Cat swapped basic gas shocks for the Fox® floating piston shocks found in the ZR models. At the rear, the Z440's version of the FasTrack extra long travel suspension uses gas shocks instead of Fox® shocks.

You will get the same 9.9 U.S. gallon fuel capacity, halogen head lamp, tach, speedometer, hand warmers and ZR styling cues as the real bad boy ZR models. Saving about $1,800 in the process, the Z440 gives a real ZR with better-than-Jag performance.

Polaris Indy Super Sport ($4,199)
Frankly, this sled surprised the heck out of us. We expected less and found more. Sure, the XCR gets the race-bred XC-101 rear suspension and Fox® brands shocks all around, but the Indy Super Sport makes due very well with the XC-100 standard cruiser suspension and nitrogen shocks front and rear. The 41-inch wide ski stance makes a subtle and positive difference in the overall handling with the swaybar-equipped Polaris independent front suspension. We found this XCR replica handled as well as the Cat Z440 with the basic ZR package.

We also thought the Super Sport's 432cc fan-cooled Fuji-built twin delivered more performance than the Cat's similar displacement Suzuki engine. By using a freer flowing exhaust, Polaris is able to get three to five more horsepower out of the Super Sport than the basic Sport, which has essentially the same engine. Lighter clutching also lets the Super Sport twin rev to 7,200 rpm versus the Sport's 6,800 rev limit. With this modest increase in power comes a very noticeable increase in performance.

Quite honestly, we didn't care for last year's fan-cooled Super Sport. It didn't do anything for us. It was a mediocre handling sled and didn't seem to have much motor. It looked like the XCR sports machines and that was about all that we could say positive about it. This year's version is a real treat to ride. It has better corner-to-corner power than the Cat, very good torque out of the turns, and adequate top end.

While the Cat's braking is the best, the Indy Super Sport's hydraulic disc is not far behind and way ahead of the Ski-Doo mechanical disc used on the SL.

In riding both the Super Sport and the standard Sport, we would cough up the extra $300 for the better suspension, improved performance and snazzier looks. We would cop out and get a higher windshield, but then, we care more about warmth than style. The low, sport windshields on the Indy Super Sport and Formula SL are virtually useless on a cold day. Cat's windshield actually provides wind protection while retaining a sporty appearance. Why can't everyone else do the same?

As with the Cat, the Indy is easy to ride. You hook into the footholds, put a light touch on the adjustable handlebar and away you go. With the XC-100 rear suspension, you get a claimed eight inches of travel, about the same as the Cat Z440, but a much better ride than last year's Super Sport version. This bad boy replica has more handling than the engine can give the chassis, so you can find yourself holding the throttle right to the handlebar going in and out of wide, sweeping turns. Like all Indys, the Super Sport wants to launch straight and true over bad bumps. And, like all hot Indys, the Super Sport is extremely predictable and very rider friendly.

At $4,199, the Super Sport is the lowest priced of these three replica racers. It would take another $1,500 to put you on a real bad boy, the Indy XCR 440. If you're looking for budget riding that you will truly enjoy, this fan-cooled Indy is an excellent choice.

Ski-Doo Formula SL ($4,399)
Ski-Doo has the replica racer scene covered at both ends. On the lower end, you can order up the Formula S. It's similar to the larger displacement Formula SL, but it uses the 368cc fan-cooled twin and doesn't have a standard swaybar. On the upper end, you can have the Formula SL with the 497cc fan-cooled twin and swaybar. This is a better comparison model to compete with the Cat Z440 and Indy Super Sport.

The Formula SL is actually a cross between a Formula machine and Ski-Doo's new Touring series. It has the look of the bright red Formula line, but it has the engine and suspension package of the Touring line. What you're getting is the best of both.

The SL is without a doubt the best riding of the three "profile" sleds. Attribute that to the new long travel rear suspension. It delivers a claimed 10 inches of travel. Tie that in with the DSA front end and its 6.5 inches of travel and you have a very smooth riding trail cruiser. However, while we found the sled to be the best riding, we would rate overall handling this way: Indy Super Sport and Arctic Cat Z440 virtually tied for first and the Formula SL just a tad behind those two. If we were going to race, we'd opt for a Cat or Indy. If we were going to enjoy a daily 100 to 150 mile ride every weekend, we'd go with the SL.

The new long travel suspension is a winner and will be used in all fan-cooled touring and sport model Ski-Doos for 1995. You definitely want the swaybar on the DSA front suspension. The standard hydraulic shock absorbers need the extra support and ability to transfer shock from ski to ski that the swaybar provides.

We weren't sure about that until we made a point of taking the Formula S (without the swaybar) and the SL out for an extended ride over a particularly nasty section of trail. Without the swaybar, the Formula S "pogoed" on us. Riding the SL over the same trail at similar speeds (and we were pushing the speed thing to prove a point!), the suspension reacted predictably. Under ordinary conditions, no one would have ridden either sled that fast through such a section of rough trail. But we were curious how much difference a swaybar made. Trust us, it makes a difference in keeping the front end under control.

While it was a Ski-Doo DSA that bore the brunt of this test, we feel quite confident in extending our findings to Polaris' Indy Sport versus the Super Sport or any non-swaybar equipped front end. Just as with a car, the swaybar ties the front end together, transferring action and reaction from side to side. Having raced auto slaloms in the past, we've learned about the positive and negative dynamics of a balanced suspension. That's why, if you've been reading American Snowmobiler for any time at all, you've probably noticed us saying that we'd take such and such a sled and install an optional swaybar. Our SL versus S experiment merely reinforces our opinion.

With the SL, you get a fast revving fan-cooled twin. The 497cc twin has been in and out of the Ski-Doo line since the Blizzard 5500 was a featured model. This is a reliable engine with strong torque. A mainstay of previous Ski-Doo touring models, the big Rotax twin will provide the best power of the three replica sleds. It will let the SL challenge the Indy Trail and Yamaha Phazer in the trail cruiser category as well.

The Formula SL has a "look" that grows on you. When we first saw it, we were less than enthusiastic. It had too many vents to compensate for the air-cooling versus liquid-cooling of the early Mach and Formula models. Now, we've actually grown to like the styling. But we would still dump the low sport windshield for a taller one.

As with the other bad boy replica models, the Formula SL is really quite civilized with standard hand warmers, speedo and tach, trip meter, halogen head lamp and generous 10.6 U.S. gallon fuel tank. At $4,399, the Formula SL gives you a good value for sports riding and is an excellent alternative to the Super Sport or Z440.

You Decide
All three of these sleds have their own individual characteristics that might suit one rider better than another. That will be your choice. We don't think you'd go wrong with any of the three. The Cat is a very good handling machine with great ZR-style features. The Indy Super Sport comes with a huge "fun" factor built in. The Ski-Doo Formula SL is a terrific choice for day long cruising over less than perfect trails. What would we pick? Well…what do you ride?