polaris iqr 800 mountain mod race rebuild

Anyone who watches my YouTube channel may think I’m a little rough around the edges, a ‘get ’er done’ kind of guy, and admittedly I am, so I figured it was time to build a custom sled that could be polished and could pass for a “show” sled... if even for just a day.

I love the Polaris IQR. It's nimble and tough, capable of taking some serious abuse in the rocky backcountry of Ontario and Quebec. You might wonder why I’d build a mountain sled in eastern Canada and the answer is quite simple, we have snow and lots of it. Just a mere 1-2 hours north of Ottawa will get you 3-4 feet of a nasty dry powder with no layering, and the Gaspe region of Quebec will get you 6-12 feet from sea level to 3,000 feet – oh, and that also means useable hp for all 3,000 feet – so no power adder needed.

The Sled
This whole project was made possible by Andre Laurin’s OTSFF Rockstar Energy Racing with 7-time Canadian Snowcross champ Iain Hayden’s unfortunate accident at Duluth when he was T-boned on his new IQR. His IQR was mangled and his loss was my gain. I got a 2012 bulkhead, bent tunnel and a few other parts but that was ok because I was basically building this sled from the ground up.
Chassis

I wanted to give this sled some traction and a good footprint so I went with the Van Amburg Boondocker tunnel powder coated in Polaris red. The Camoplast Peak 2.5 soft lug track was perfect for the type of snow conditions we encounter here – and it does perform. C and A Pro BX skis were used to take the abuse of the ever hidden rocks in this nasty Canadian Shield riding. The C3 Powersports Synchrodrive belt drive gives the IQR instant throttle to track response with Avid Products anti slip drivers keeping the track in check.

Suspension
Just about every sled I ride here has a bent rail or busted suspension from rocks and tree stump interaction, so in true PowerModz style I wanted to test some suspension products in the field to see if they were really what they were purported to be. If you aren’t familiar with Nextech Industries here in Canada, I suggest you make yourself familiar as this company makes the most advanced, toughest, lightest and effective suspension I have ever ridden – the Carbon Fibre Nextech Monoflex suspension. Coming in at just over 30 Lbs. this suspension provides superior handling on the trail in the whoops, the ability to keep you on top of the snow with no trenching and its unique FOX monoshock and parallelogram articulation allows for consistent track tension.

And if you think carbon fibre is weak and won’t take the abuse, think again. It is stronger than aluminum and Nextech over engineered this suspension over and above the tolerances of industry counterparts. If you ever get a chance to ride a Nextech suspension, abuse it and try to destroy it – you’ll love trying but will fail miserably.
For the front suspension I had to go with the Elka Stage 5 Shocks and the Alternative Impact 36 inch stance chromoly A-arms. Elka Suspension is just a short drive from PowerModz HQ, and if you watch the video of my visit to Elka we actually design, build and install my own shocks right on the IQR at their facility.

The craftsmanship and quality control as well as attention to rider style and sled design all come into play when Elka is designing and building custom shocks. The shocks feature spring preload, rebound, and low/high speed damping. When you ride a custom shock like this designed for your sled your mind will be blown. This sled rides like a dirt bike in the powder.

I use Alternative Impact (AI) A-arms on all my sleds now. It sounds bad to say, but they are the weak link in the front suspension, which is extremely good. I hit rocks and trees hard here every year which used to result in bent nuns and bulkheads with long downtimes. The AI arms are built to bend on impact to save your sled and they work! I had two major impacts with planet earth last winter and the A-arms saved my sled – and Dan at AI shipped new arms within 24 hours each time so I could be up and riding in less than 72 hours. It’s almost impossible to find service like that!

Engine
Here’s where things get a bit tricky. The IQR comes with a 600 carbed motor and an adjustable timing box with computer. What that means to you and me is that I have no reverse, but I get to adjust my timing with a flick of the switch on race day (Yeah, I try my luck at hill drags). But the beauty is the simplicity of carbs and the ability to install the 800 top end on the 600 bottom.

Indy Dan at Indy Specialty Motorsports is an engine/machining magician. Not only is his work an art form but very effective as well. Dan has decades of experience with Polaris motors and motor issues from the factory that need fixing. The 800 Polaris motor suffers cracked cylinder skirts and piston issues because of the short rod stroke and some driver error, admittedly with poor warm up times. So Dan installs longer rods and uses a thicker base gasket to raise the cylinders to account for the longer stroke and not affect the port timing. Everything he uses is factory Polaris or Polaris compatible, so if you melt a piston, head, cylinder, etc. you can be up and running fast with parts from your local dealer.

Greg Balchin, the owner of Jaws Performance, built the pipe for this sled. His prototype for the 800 platform is soon to be released this season. This pipe brought the IQR to 155+ hp on a very conservative air fuel and timing setting, so I can ride for long distances with no jetting concerns. And the pipe doesn’t lose power on long pulls. This is a true 155 hp pipe on a motor that runs on Shellbourne Fuels 91 octane and Evans Waterless Coolant. All my pipes get a military-grade extreme temperature ceramic coating to insulate, reflect and reduce heat radiation from Fireball Coatings. It actually has a low heat signature – great for staying under the radar!

Outcome
The combo of track and suspension give this sled an effortless riding feeling. It makes my powder Rev feel like its bolted to blacktop. The engine and Team Aftermarket/Startingline Products clutching is a perfect combo for my snow conditions here.

When I weighed this sled it came in at 528 lbs. wet, which is about 70 lbs. heavier than my lightweight Rev. I’ll be honest, the Rev is just going to be a backup sled now as this 800 IQR is the nicest and most fun sled I’ve ever ridden.

The bad news is the custom show room look is disappearing because I am riding this thing like I stole it. The good news is this sled is losing the custom show room look because I’m riding it like I stole it. That’s the PowerModz way.