We get phone calls sometimes, and they're not always pleasant. Oddly enough, not everyone agrees with us!
For instance, a couple issues back we named our Best of the Best sleds for 2009. If you're a Yamaha fan and we only named one sled to our list, well your motor may start to run a little hot!
If you love your Cat F-sled, you might not like that we were initially concerned with pushing in turns and sharp corners, Ski-Doo guys might not like that we've reported many of their sleds to have way too tiny windshields and Polaris fans were probably sore about the old 900 Fusion reports.
Point is, we call 'em like we see 'em, or in this case, how we feel 'em as we ride our long-term test fleet for thousands of miles each winter.
We don't expect everyone to agree. If everyone did, we'd all ride the same sled!
No, we ride the sleds, test the sleds and live on the sleds to let you know how WE feel. We round up the usual suspects each winter to serve as our test riders, and as our other eyes, ears and butts as they tromp the trails with us.
We don't pick on sleds, or makers. We report what we experience. That can seem subjective, so we also run our Real World Shoot-Out each winter to put the radar gun to work and get us some OBJECTIVE numbers too. Likewise, we weigh our own sleds (full of liquids) and track our sleds' gas mileage, so we can tell you a real number, not a manufacturer's guesstimate!
Will you agree with our conclusions? Heck, we don't know. We're just here to tell you what we've found. We can tell you this though, it's real easy to say great things about all of today's sleds. There's always a lot to like and the reliability, ride, handling, engine technology, electronics and the sleds in general are the best that have ever been built.
So you'll always hear all the good stuff, but we're here to tell you all the OTHER stuff too, whether it's a sled that's had recalls, sucks gas, loses body parts, eats belts, fouls plugs or doesn't do a darned thing to protect you from the wind.
That's our job. It's what we do! ...And we do it for YOU!
Ultimate reader rides!We know YOU love your sled! That's why you work on it all year, add performance parts and accessories and paint it to reflect YOUR personality. It SCREAMS, who you are.
It's your Ultimate Ride. So let all of North America (and a few Norwegians!) see what you've done. E-mail us pix of YOUR Ultimate Ride and we'll run some in the magazine as space permits! E-mail your pictures to
amsnow@amsnow.com and keep watching here, and on
AmSnow.com! Happy trails!