Polaris has introduced the new 2020 RMK Khaos 155 for riders looking for the most playful and fun—and most flickable—all-mountain sled. The industry’s first all-mountain sled is designed for all riding zones and it delivers easy, lively and dynamic riding.
It is available with the powerful 800 Cleanfire H.O. engine, or, through Polaris SnowCheck, with the 850 Patriot engine.
All-Mountain Architecture
Both of the Liberty engines available with this sled deliver a class-leading power-to-weight ratio, ultimate performance and seamless AXYS integration. The Patriot starter improvements on the 800 engine models ensure the best cold weather performance.
The RMK Khaos 155 has new rear suspension geometry that provides balance for all-mountain fun. Designed with the perfect amount of transfer and traction for light handling and control and the best response in all riding zones.
The track options include the 2.6-inch Series 6 track and the 3.0-inch Series 7, both of which deliver outstanding traction and durability. The PowderTrac XT Running Boards feature improvements for better deep snow performance, and there is increased usable space at the rear of the boards on 850 models.
Rider Balanced Control
The RMK Khaos 155 is the most playful with the least effort, giving a rider the ultimate off trail experience. The AXYS chassis positions the rider for comfort, control and confidence, and the React Front Suspension provides effortless and precise handling with less rider fatigue. The adjustable 36-38-inch stance with sway bar design offers more predictable handling, and there are forged A-arms and spindles for optimized strength and durability.
Immediate Response
The Walker Evans Velocity Hi-Lo Compression Adjustable Shocks are the best of the best for a variety of conditions, as they have proven in dominating hillclimbs and snocross tracks.
The light and rigid design of the RMK Rear Suspension improves weight transfer for more control and to deliver more power directly to snow. The RMK Khaos 155 is available with a choice of Quick Drive and chaincase options.
2020 Polaris Mountain Lineup
Polaris comes to the snow in 2020 with 15 different mountain models. About half the models come with the Liberty 800 powerplant while the other half feature the now-one-year-old Patriot 850 engine.
The 600 is in the lineup as well.
Just know that the Patriot 850 is still a SnowCheck exclusive for Polaris. If you want an RMK with that engine, pony up with some money this spring. The Patriot 850 will continue to come with a 4-year warranty.
2020 Lineup
RMK EVO
600 RMK 144
600 Pro RMK 155
800 Pro RMK 155
850 Pro RMK 155
800 Pro RMK 163
850 Pro RMK 163
800 Pro RMK 174
850 Pro RMK 174
800 RMK Khaos 155
850 RMK Khaos 155
800 SKS 146
850 SKS 146
800 SKS 155
850 SKS 155
The 2020 Polaris mountain lineup has a net gain of two models compared to 2019. We lose the Polaris 800 RMK Assault 155 but gain the RMK EVO and two Khaos models.
Polaris, which celebrates 65 years of designing and manufacturing snowmobiles this year, emphasized the importance of the SnowCheck. While we moan and groan a little about not being able to get certain models—namely any sled with the Patriot 850—in season, Chris Wolf emphasized the importance of the SnowCheck program to Polaris. He said last season’s SnowCheck was Polaris’ best in 17 years, attributing that to the new Patriot 850 engine but also the new front end on select snowmobiles.
Polaris is so invested in its SnowCheck program that it’s going global. It used to be a North American-only program but was then expanded to Russia last year and is going to Scandinavian countries this year.
A much lesser known (at least to much of the general snowmobiling public) program Polaris offers is what it calls “Factory Choice,” which is different than SnowCheck. It’s a program for dealers. Most know that Polaris has offered a variety of options from tracks to colors to accessories to engines, etc., through its SnowCheck program and has done so for the past handful of years.
Wolf tells us that two-thirds of Polaris’ entire snowmobile production is customized. This means several things, including:
- Allowing dealers to tailor their inventory to their customers in their part of the snowbelt.
- Provides unique inventory to each dealer.
- Available to the entire Polaris dealer network.
- Is available on 600 and 800 in season models only.
Not Board With This
A couple of new features for select 2020 RMK models include PowderTrac XT Running Boards (exclusive to 850 Pro RMK 155 and 163) and new lightweight XT Hyfax. As for the running boards, they’ve been redesigned to allow the rider to lean further in deep snow or while sidehilling while still having traction. This traction is especially helpful for the rider at the back of the boards.
Legendary Polaris INDY Celebrates 40 Years On Snow
At Polaris, passion for snowmobiling drives the company to develop and deliver the ultimate performance, ride and handling. Some 40 years ago, Polaris innovation and manufacturing excellence led to our breakthrough independent front suspension—IFS—and it became the foundation of the most legendary model name in snowmobile history: Polaris INDY.
INDY models have carried more riders down twisty trails, to new heights and to race wins than any other sleds. INDY models have helped Polaris make countless winter memories together, and further fueled our passion for the ride.
Polaris celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Polaris INDY and look forward to riding exciting, ever-evolving INDY models into snowmobiling’s future.
40th Anniversary Edition
One way Polaris is celebrating 40 years of INDY heritage is with the limited-edition 2020 Polaris INDY 40th Anniversary Edition. The 40th Anniversary graphics package will be available on all MY20 SnowCheck models.
40 Years of Superior Ride & Handling
In the 1960s and 1970, most snowmobiles used leaf-spring front suspensions. They were an improvement on older, solid-mounted skis, but limited the possibilities of what snowmobilers could be experiencing.
In the early to mid-1970s, the Polaris racing program was experimenting with independent front suspension technology. The innovative spirit and passion for the ride shared by the race teams and Polaris engineers led to an IFS that was tested on ice oval race sleds. Don Omdahl was the first Polaris racer to pilot a sled with IFS in a race, and it was a modest 250cc-powered prototype, but it handled better than the leafers he ran against.
In December 1976, Polaris factory racers—The Midnight Blue Express—begin their incredible run of Sno-Pro domination on RX-L models, the first Polaris race sleds with independent front suspension. In 1977, Polaris racing legend Steve Thorsen won the first of his two-straight Eagle River World Championship titles on Polaris RX-Ls with IFS.
In the late-1970s, Polaris cross-country racers on prototype TX-L Indy models helped further develop and refine the Polaris IFS. TX-L Indys finished 1-2-3 in the 1979 Winnipeg-St. Paul I-500, and a TX-C Indy finished fourth.
An INDY For Consumers
In 1979, Polaris introduced its first IFS consumer snowmobile, the outstanding 1980 TX-L Indy. The IFS provided 6 inches of travel, and was powered by a 333cc liquid-cooled twin. (For comparison: The 2020 600 INDY SP 129 has 9.3 inches of travel.)
The snowmobile world would never be the same. Trail riders experienced an incredible improvement in ride and handling. A ski could absorb and manage an impact by itself instead of that impact energy being transferred throughout the sled’s entire chassis.
The second INDY production model ever, introduced for model year 1981, was the Centurion Indy. It had a powerful, large-for-the-time 500cc engine. In 1981, this 500 INDY won the first-ever Snow Goer Shoot-Out of high-performance snowmobiles, and in 1989, SNOWMOBILE Magazine named the Polaris 500 Indy the “Snowmobile of the Decade.”
A Legendary Heritage
Over the years, INDY models have been powered by a wide range of engines, from the 244cc-powered INDY Lite to the 850 Patriot-powered SnowCheck models of today.
By the 1980s, snowmobilers were in love, understandably, with liquid-cooled engines and the consistently outstanding performance they could deliver in all conditions. Skeptics said an INDY model with a fan-cooled engine would not succeed.
But the legendary INDY Trail, introduced for 1983 with a 432cc fan-cooled engine, proved them wrong. The Trail, as it was known, delivered the legendary INDY ride and handling along with tremendous value. It later was powered by a 488cc fan twin, and was a hugely popular model.
Polaris made more snowmobile history with its 1991 snowmobile lineup, the first in industry history to be comprised solely of models with independent front suspension (no leaf spring models).
Polaris INDY models have carried more happy riders more miles than any other model name in the sport’s history. And they continue to do so, pausing to celebrate 40 great years on the snow, then riding into snowmobiling’s history with what remains the sport’s best ride and handling.