trail performance class roundup our initial impressions

The Final Word
The Trail Burner class is extremely close. "Choosing between these sleds is a lot like choosing between Ford, Chevy and Dodge," said Jerry. "They are all good, dependable machines that performed to our expectations. It will ultimately come down to deciding which one best fulfills the little things you like in a sled. Things like how you feel sitting on it, how well does it protect you from cold and wind and how it fits into your budget."

Obviously, we liked them all for one reason or another. But in our post-ride debriefing session, the conversation kept coming back to how much better the 2000 MX Zs are, compared to last year's sled. The combination of lightweight chassis, good suspension and potent engines made them the early favorite in our book. Polaris and Yamaha came in too tight to call, based on our witless banter. Arctic Cat has many things we liked, especially the ZR 600 EFI, but the other three outshined the ZRs, in our opinion.

So there you have it. An early impression roundup of the Trail Burners. They are close, no doubt. At this time, we haven't had a chance to tabulate the Scorecards from our test crew to see exactly how close they really are.