I just finished puting on 240mi of mountain riding in the last week. The snow was about 4-5' deep with a base about 30" down and powder about 18" deep.
Trails- ( I know this sled is not a trail sled but you have to ride trails to get the alpine and meadows)
I found the sled to really want to lift the inside ski in the corners. So I tried removing the stabilizer bar but the shocks were too soft without increasing the preassure, so I put it back in. I left the ski width set the middle as it came from the factory. I did find if you ride the corners standing up I could put enough body influence to counter act the stabilizer bar. Otherwise both the front and rear suspensions were set good for the bumps. I also found out that the steering is heavy compared to other sleds I rode.
Powder- The sled worked good in the deep snow. It carved and sidehilled easily for me at 240lbs but required way more body input then my last sled an 07 summit800 151". It was a lot more work to ride. The suspension set up pretty good for this type of riding, but I would have liked to have more weight transfer to be able to cat-walk the small bumps easier.
Problem Issues- Front suspension sway bar and shock setting.
More weight transfer/less steering effort.
Electrical- Where do I start?
1)The engine sometimes would hit about 7100 rpm then die out, but if I kept it below 7100 then no issues. I could raise the rpms past 7100 by slowly pushing the throttle and not slapping it. This only lasted for about 10mi at 3500' in elev. ( about 22F that morning)
2)The engine shutdown on me 4 times later that day... as it was shutting down I noticed the battery light was flashing ( non elec start) so I lifted the belt and cover off the check the wiring for loose connections. I could not find any so I reassembled it. Then the sled ran perfect all day.
3)On the way out it was dark and my headlights were going dimmer and dimmer, so I shut off the sled and restarted it and the the lights were good again. Then when I revved it up the ligths would go dim again. Further down the trail the dash lights and head lights quit alltogether. So I stopped the sled and restarted and the lights would be good again. Further down the trail the lights went out so I just followed someone and then 5mi further all the lights came on again.
THe dealer has the sled again and said he had one more sled with the exact same issue...Polaris said they have no one else with this issue...figures. They are thinking faulty stators but who knows yet.
Summary:
Even with all of the problems( as long as the dealer can get them rectified) I liked the sled, otherwise I would have sold it back to him and bought something else. We rode with 4- M8's ( 1 with the SLP KIt...good for 14hp???), an 08 M1000 and an 09-xp 154. The xp rider was green so we couldn't compare, it climbed better then my sled when I tried it though. The m1000 beat me no problem but the m8's were not as good...even the one with an SLP Kit.(which should have been equal HP theoretically). I am heavier then the other riders so I think the Dragon worked as expected. If the dealer can't figure out what the issue is then I'll go and buy a M1000.
I'll give them one more chance.
Trails- ( I know this sled is not a trail sled but you have to ride trails to get the alpine and meadows)
I found the sled to really want to lift the inside ski in the corners. So I tried removing the stabilizer bar but the shocks were too soft without increasing the preassure, so I put it back in. I left the ski width set the middle as it came from the factory. I did find if you ride the corners standing up I could put enough body influence to counter act the stabilizer bar. Otherwise both the front and rear suspensions were set good for the bumps. I also found out that the steering is heavy compared to other sleds I rode.
Powder- The sled worked good in the deep snow. It carved and sidehilled easily for me at 240lbs but required way more body input then my last sled an 07 summit800 151". It was a lot more work to ride. The suspension set up pretty good for this type of riding, but I would have liked to have more weight transfer to be able to cat-walk the small bumps easier.
Problem Issues- Front suspension sway bar and shock setting.
More weight transfer/less steering effort.
Electrical- Where do I start?
1)The engine sometimes would hit about 7100 rpm then die out, but if I kept it below 7100 then no issues. I could raise the rpms past 7100 by slowly pushing the throttle and not slapping it. This only lasted for about 10mi at 3500' in elev. ( about 22F that morning)
2)The engine shutdown on me 4 times later that day... as it was shutting down I noticed the battery light was flashing ( non elec start) so I lifted the belt and cover off the check the wiring for loose connections. I could not find any so I reassembled it. Then the sled ran perfect all day.
3)On the way out it was dark and my headlights were going dimmer and dimmer, so I shut off the sled and restarted it and the the lights were good again. Then when I revved it up the ligths would go dim again. Further down the trail the dash lights and head lights quit alltogether. So I stopped the sled and restarted and the lights would be good again. Further down the trail the lights went out so I just followed someone and then 5mi further all the lights came on again.
THe dealer has the sled again and said he had one more sled with the exact same issue...Polaris said they have no one else with this issue...figures. They are thinking faulty stators but who knows yet.
Summary:
Even with all of the problems( as long as the dealer can get them rectified) I liked the sled, otherwise I would have sold it back to him and bought something else. We rode with 4- M8's ( 1 with the SLP KIt...good for 14hp???), an 08 M1000 and an 09-xp 154. The xp rider was green so we couldn't compare, it climbed better then my sled when I tried it though. The m1000 beat me no problem but the m8's were not as good...even the one with an SLP Kit.(which should have been equal HP theoretically). I am heavier then the other riders so I think the Dragon worked as expected. If the dealer can't figure out what the issue is then I'll go and buy a M1000.
I'll give them one more chance.
