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Daniels Summit, Utah - A new level in sled design, groundbreaking, redefining, a metamorphasis, brilliant, a Mike Tyson return punch… these are just a few of our reactions when we were introduced to the new 2010 Polaris Rush snowmobile this January. Centered smack dab in the middle of the meat of the market, this 600cc Cleanfire 2 (2-injector) 2-stroke is poised to be the next Indy 500 as far as its importance to snowmobile ride and handling is concerned.
The new Pro Ride chassis is a total re-design from top to bottom the main talking point is the new Pro Ride rear suspension. This is a truly progressive-rate rear suspension with Walker Evans front track shock and W.E. compression adjustable needle rear shock. This uncoupled suspension has 14-inches of travel and behaves with positive attributes of both an uncoupled AND coupled suspension, due to its design. The rear shock and spring are actually location above the tunnel, directly under the rear of the seat. The rear of the suspension can easily be seen working independently from the front.
Set-up on the new Pro-Ride suspension is critical. Adjusting pre-load or setting for rider weight on the rear suspension is done via a small tool that measures the distance from the spring collar to where the silver ends on the shock body and the red begins on the cap. The tool easily shows rider weight so by simply turning the spring collar you can dial in or out the pre-load for your weight. The very glove friendly 16-click adjustable clicker in the rear allows you to quickly dial in or out damping.
The 2-piece bulkhead can be removed separately and is easy to replace, and can actually help lower insurance costs because the sled will not be 'totaled out' as easily in an accident. The engineers at Polaris used a structural bonding system to bond or assemble together dissimilar metals instead of traditional methods of holding the chassis together. 144-inches of welds were eliminated in this process and there is less twisting and flexing with the new process. Engineers dubbed some of the early projects 'Elmer' because the process is not unlike gluing the sled together.
Cooling on this light 459-pound sled is also extreme with a top-of-the-tunnel 3-chambered, 2-pass in the center and a heavy duty tube/fin heat exchanger that is obvious on the lower front of the sled. Overheating should not be an issue and neither should puncturing of the heavy duty front cooler. Above the front cooler, the front bumper is also structural and lightweight. Steering of the new Rush will come via new skis.
The 600 CFI-2 in the Rush is also changed slightly from last year with a new pipe and can and slightly different timing making the sled more torquey. The Rush has a lightweight magnesium chaincase cover too and a tubular jackshaft and driveshaft as well. Extrovert drivers can be used on this sled as well. The snow is churned by a new 2.86-inch pitched, 2-ply, 15-inch wide Camoplast track with 1.25-inch tall lugs.
Finally, the new Rush gets an all new all digital gauge that has lots of options including a playback feature which will capture 3.5 minutes of performance.
You will be able to see the Rush and more of Polaris' 2010 lineup at numerous dealers across the country and Canada this spring and also ride the Rush at 13 different locations where Polaris will be doing demo rides. For information on this and other new Polaris sleds visit
www.polarisind.comSee the full article in the March magazine!