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Why he did itFor Roskoski, a self-professed Polaris loyalist, it was vital to optimize comfort, handling and agility because he typically racks up 300 to 400 miles a day on the trails.
So the 220-pound rider set up his sled to have a positive, or heavily weight biased, front end to create ultra-responsive steering. That allows the track to break loose at mid corner and pivot around for brisk cornering speeds.
Remaining comfortable on small to large trail bumps was crucial too.
"I didn't want to ride a race sled on the trail. I wanted the best setup trail sled," he says.
Likewise, reliability was paramount because he wanted to minimize wrenching, saying he's too old to be working on sleds in the cold. Since his garage isn't outfitted with a heater, he needed a sled that didn't require constant clutching, jetting and setup changes.
Initially he thought about buying an Indy 700 XC SP, but after comparing price tags with a 600 XC SP, he decided to use the money he would've spent on the 700 to tweak the 600.
"I rode a pre-production model [2001 Polaris Indy 600 XC SP] and it convinced me that was the sled to have," he says.
Originally he left the Indy as a stock sled, but after a season of riding, he recognized an enormous amount of untapped potential in the 600. He conferred with his industry contacts, read magazine reports and shopped the top vendors at Haydays before he decided what to do.
He targeted the fuel system, transmission, steering and suspension for upgrades, but mainly used bolt-on parts for ease of installation and reliability. The upgrades cost about $5,000.