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Judging by the subhead above, you probably could have guessed that we REALLY like this sled. We put over a dozen different riders on the spring package 150+ hp 800R Renegade X, and the overwhelming response was: "Wow, that's just an all-around great sled."
The lightweight REV-XP platform combined with a longer and wider (137x16-in.) footprint made this my personal favorite test sled last season.
Sharper, lighter, betterI've been saying it for years, but Ski-Doo continues to deliver sleds that turn sharper on the trails. With the new XP chassis, Ski-Doo still has trail-handling mastered.
Riding the Renegade you barely notice that there's an extra 16-inches of track under you. The sled absolutely rails through the corners and can hang with nearly every 2008 121-in. sled from other OEMs even in the tightest of technical trails. The sled's Pilot 5.7 skis really dig, and the wide 47-in. front end with sway bar stays consistently flat, even in rough corners.
The Renegade X also is incredibly light. We weighed it, and the rest of our test fleet, totally wet, and the Renegade X tipped the scale at 530 lbs. That made it the second lightest sled - only the Ski-Doo TNT was lighter - in our entire demo fleet, which included more than a half-dozen smaller sleds with 121-in. tracks.
There was plenty of talk of bent tunnels and running boards in online forums this winter, but our sled didn't have any of these problems. The talk seemed to be confined mostly to the snocross track and isolated incidents out West.
I am a big fan of the rebuildable HPG clicker shocks' performance up front, along with the C-36 racing clicker rear shock. Some people complained about having to use the provided flathead screwdriver to change clicker settings, but I didn't mind too much.
The big 2-stroke liquid twin 800R Renegade got surprisingly good gas mileage too with an average of 13.3 mpg, but several test riders got even better mileage.
We also saw nearly 1,300 miles before the hyfax showed signs of significant wear.
Ski-Doo also still has the easiest to use reverse system, even if it does shut the machine down sometimes if you try shifting before the sled is warm. And we all loved the handlebars on this sled, with the hooked ends. The bars aren't too uncomfortably wide and leverage was still ample with just enough extra riser.
First year woesThe Renegade X was not without its first year woes though. There was a fuel tank recall and also a throttle cable interference recall on a few early isolated production batches.
Our sled did not have any significant problems related to either, but there were several credible reports from test riders regarding the throttle cable issue. Check with your local dealer to make sure your machine was not part of the recall.
There was a recall on the handlebar warmers as well. You can check
recall notice details here. This was a significant problem and the most uncomfortable as our testers road several hundred miles with frozen hands before we could get it in to the dealer. The small windshield doesn't help at all either. Try switching it for the medium or high windshield kit and side deflectors unless you prefer feeling numb.
There were also many reports of belts blowing prematurely on the 800R, especially in the mountains. Again, we did not have a problem here as our 800R went nearly 1,200 miles on the first belt, which is standard to above standard these days.
In addition, it was not as easy to quickly take out the QRS secondary and make changes while we were on trips.
We also would suggest that you check the oil pump on this machine as it has a reputation of being off.
Our sled was nearly perfect, but others were not, so we'll hope for more consistency this year from Ski-Doo.
Parting thoughtsThis sled does almost everything exceptionally well. Often a sled just does one thing well, but this one corners well, takes big bumps well, is light in the powder and can handle most any off-trail romp, and it's got power galore.
Even with the first year jitters, this was still the sled I would have bought for myself if I could only pick one sled from the 2008 product year.
2008 Ski-Doo Renegade X 800REngine: 800R PowerTEK liquid twin
HP: 151 (mfg.)
Exhaust: Single tuned baffle muffler
Ski Stance: 47 in.
Front Susp.: REV-XP w/HPG clicker T-A shocks
Rear Susp.: SC-5 w/HPG T-A aluminum front-arm shock and C-36 racing clicker rear-arm shock
Track: 16x137x1.25 in.
Fuel Tank: 10.6 gal.
Dry Weight: 437 lbs. (mfg.)
Wet Weight: 530 lbs. (
AmSnow tested)
Price: $9,949 US/$12,599 CA
REAL WORLD STATS Top Speed: 98.36 mph
¼-mile Time: 12.79 sec.
Avg. mpg: 13.3 mpg
Renegade accessoriesHard and soft bag: We found the soft bag works well on the Renegade. The hard bag was cumbersome to move around sometimes in deep snow off trail. The installation, attachment and detachment of these accessories is extremely easy. There's a ton of room in these bags for tools or the necessities for an overnight trip. No Ski-Doo rider should be without a bag of some type on the back.
+1 seat: This accessory is perfect for those riders who may have kids, or a spouse, or a friend who just wants to enjoy getting out on a snowmobile. The +1 seat is ideal for the Renegade because the longer track makes for a smoother ride for the passenger. The machine also is inherently more stable with the longer track. The +1 seat is detachable so when you don't have an extra rider, just leave it in the garage. The seat can be installed in your own garage with the right tools or you could have your dealer do it during your next service stop.
ODDS & ENDSReal World Factoid: In back-to-back radar runs, the same Ski-Doo XP showed almost a 2 mph better top speed by switching from the super-low X-style windshield to the high shield. For more on sled aerodynamics check out
Tech Notes Xtra for this issue.