First Ride Review – Steve Janes
Although the early part of this winter didn’t offer too many days of good deep snow riding, it just so happened that the night before we were to ride the 2019 Polaris 850 Pro RMK a snowstorm rolled through the area and deposited more than a foot of fresh powder.
The morning we mounted the Polaris 850s for the first time was bright and sunny, with a blanket of snow covering the landscape. There was no evidence of hardpacked, mogul trails. It was a fresh start on a new snowmobile.
Wow. What a perfect introduction to great new model.
Just like the Polaris sleds of the past, the 850 Pro RMK weaved its way with ease through the deep snow. It was so light and nimble we weren’t concerned with having to cross a meandering creek down the middle of a valley. We just pointed the sled and let it do its thing—jumping the gaps, floating through the deep powder and powering through the ever-changing terrain.
This isn’t an 800cc engine ported-out to 850. It is an all-new Polaris engine, designed to offer the power-to-weight expectations of a mountain sled. It engages smoother than the 800. Its powerband is much more linear—continuing to pull hard well beyond that of the 800.
It felt so much lighter and stronger than the 800 that when you hopped off it and got on an 800, you could feel the significant drop in power and performance. It could climb hills that the 800 couldn’t. It could navigate at much slower speeds through the trees, yet still have the oomph to explode out of a hole and get back on top of the snow.
Throughout the day we continued to put the 850 through the test of climbing, sidehilling and tree riding. And throughout the day the 850 continued to impress.
Not only was it a perfect day for snowmobiling, it was a perfect day for testing. And the 2019 850 Pro RMK proved to be the perfect sled.
First Ride Review – Ryan Harris
I could wrap this review up in one sentence. The Pro RMK needed more power and a narrower front end to get higher on my list. Check that off the list.
Here’s a few more sentences. I always start a new model intro ride on the old model whenever possible. Polaris had a 2018 800 Pro RMK 163 with a 2.6 track, so I asked if I could start out on it instead of the 850 prototype. That’s always good for a few weird looks from engineers. “Oh, you have this cool new 850 for us to try? I’d actually like to ride the old 800 instead.”
It’s something I’ve always done to establish a baseline before riding the new product. I don’t care if it’s a new chassis or new shock calibration… I need to establish the feel for the old before jumping on the new. So I rode the 800 for the first half hour. From the R&D shop to halfway up the mountain.
The snow was the deepest day of the season thus far. it had just dumped two or three feet overnight, and now the clouds had blown out and we were left with blue skies and deep powder. Perfect!
So after working up the ridge and drainage on the 800 Pro RMK, I finally jumped on the 850. I noticed two things right off the bat.
- The narrow front end changes the handling significantly, and for the better. The rigid chassis doesn’t need a wide front end. It needs this narrow front end. It suits the narrow body perfectly. The only downside to the narrow front end is that your bottom side pan will contact the snow on a steep sidehill sooner. Big deal. It won’t slow you down or keep you off any gnarly lines. Burandt, Adams, Entz and most of the backcountry RMK riders run narrow front ends on their mods. Get it. You’ll love it.
- The new engine has power. Serious power. Bottom and and mid range that will blow the Liberty 800 twin away. Polaris engineers explained to us how they got so much more out of 40-some-odd ccs more than the 800, and it has to do with stroke and a bunch of math. But it’s almost mind-blowing how strong this sled feels compared to the 800. Where the 800 would get on the snow and work its way through deep snow, the 850 launches forward and carries the front end around like it’s a purse dog.
Interestingly enough, the next time we got to spend a day on the 850 Pro RMK was even deeper conditions, with even more new snow (minus the blue skies). This Patriot 850 twin is impressive. The narrow front end is exactly what I wanted out of the next Axys RMK. The lightweight shock springs are icing on the cake. You can still buy the 800 this fall, but I don’t know why you would unless it’s just a price point.