155 or 163? I am getting a PRO.

[duc848]

I just sold my 09 M8 153. On most days I wished I would have gotten a 162 instead. I was out of the sled thing for about 5 years before I bought the M8 and have always had the longest track available. I used to ride in Idaho and now I am in the Pacific Northwest which from what I had heard the snow was a lot more set up and you didnt really need a 162. They lied, I always had wished I bought one over the 153.

So my question is should I go for a 163 or a 155? I have read on here and watched all the videos about how well the 155 goes. I ride here in Washington as well as travel to Idaho a few times a year. I am a bigger guy so thats not an issue. I ride it all, trees, hillclimbing, etc...

Anyone ridden both or some honest opinions form real owners out there?

Thanks!

 

[aadougie]

Depends... IMHO, go BIG!!

 

[GMCRMK]

163 will never hold you back. The 155 might. I came off a 155 onto a 163 and love it.

 

[AndrettiDog]

I rode a couple 163's and they felt longer (than they were). I just feel very comfortable on a 155" and it gives me good flotation while still boondocking like CB (well, in my mind). You will proably feel great on either, but I haven't really felt like a 163" would have done MUCH more for me.

 

[2XM3]

163 for sure....good luck finding one tho durn things are gettin hard to find in the 163. i looked all over the west for mine, great sled tho

 

[barry1me]

granted I have not rode a 155 but my 163 is so easy to handle I see no reason not to have the extra track

 

[94fordguy]

I've been very glad I bought my 166 and am definitely a "bigger is better" fan when it comes to track length, it is just a lot nicer for so many things. That being said, I did get a chance to ride a 155 pro and on the snow that day (2 ft of fluff with a very soft base) I was amazed how well the 155 floated... had I not known it was a 155 I would have guessed it was actually a 163. If there's no way you can demo ride one of either length then I would say go with the 155... Even for my fat self, it floated very well

 

[IceCap]

I think you said it in your opening post..... you wish the cat was the 162"

You also mention that you are a bigger guy ....... so go 163"

 

[duc848]

Yeah I think 163 is the way to go after thinking more about it. I went and looked at a PRO yesterday for the first time.

I have to have one! Too bad I will be traveling so much the next 2 months or I would start the search to find a sled right now. If I cant find one then I will just Snow Check one in March. From what I understand a 163 is almost no existent in the Pacific Northwest anyway.

 

[F-Bomb]

duc848 You are right that the 163's seem to be super rare pretty much world wide! I ride alot of different sleds and have had a limited time on the PRO with 163. My daily rider is this PRO 155. I like to tear around in all conditions and free ride more then climb. That is why I got the 155. Easily I would be thrilled with the 163 as it is still far and away easier to ride/enjoy then any other existing mtn sled offering. I was totally surprised on how agile and balanced the 163 is. Not at all tractor/couch like feeling of the iq raw in longer tracks (I have a 155 raw and a 144 raw as well).

My advice to almost every single rider on the planet that is considering the PRO is to get a 163. I even think Polaris would be very very wise to offer the new PRO 600 in 163. Tipped up rails on the 163 gives the sled a feel, balance, and handling very similar to the flat 155 but you can attack stuff slower and with more control.

We rode the 155 demo sleds a lot last year in more setup conditions and they were aggressive and fun. This season so far we've had epic deep conditions that I think most people would do better with the 163 especially since the average rider is a mature adult male and weighs almost 200lbs suited up. It will be interesting towards the end of the year to ride more on the 163 in the setup spring conditions and see if it is as much fun as the 155. I doubt it will feel as aggressive so that will be the slight trade off.

 

[duc848]

Thanks for all the input. i was pretty much sold on a 163 but just wanted a few opinions on it.

F-Bomb your slacking. You didn't once even try to sell me a set of Better Boards for a sled I don't even have yet.....haha

 

[F-Bomb]

I thought you should experience the inferior version first.

..fall off a couple times...crack your noggin...have your new buggy ghost into the trees for an all day fiasco and then off to the new bumper and plastic....THEN GET BETTER BOARDS. You'll be a BETTER advocate them. BRAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAP

ah yea and to get new boot bottoms as well...snicker snicker

but let's leave this to the "experts"

 

[m8sandman]

after riding 160+sleds for the last 10 years i went with the 155. i live to ride the deep and my 155 will stand almost straight up and keep going. my buddie has the 163 and he didn't seem to go any farther in 4 feet of fresh than i did. i'm 200 pounds in my birthday suit, saw a poll of who bought what when i was looking, think 90% bought the 155, so when you go to resale 90% are gonna want a 155...

 

[Insaneboltrounder/sjohns]

Heyyyy i thught they didnt get stuck????

Awesome pic !!!

 

[440dart]

after riding 160+sleds for the last 10 years i went with the 155. i live to ride the deep and my 155 will stand almost straight up and keep going. my buddie has the 163 and he didn't seem to go any farther in 4 feet of fresh than i did. i'm 200 pounds in my birthday suit, saw a poll of who bought what when i was looking, think 90% bought the 155, so when you go to resale 90% are gonna want a 155...


stock polaris track is like driveing a 2wd pickup with bald tires in the snow you really dont know what your missing till you put a camo extreme on

my sled stock with 163 was swaping marks with a stock m8 153 after switch to 174 i was putting 70-100 yards on him easy its just like clutching it dont matter how much HP you have if your not putting it to the ground it aint crap

the first thing that got me wondering about the stock track was when i was rideing with a bunch of nose heavy 4stroke yamis on a road with 1ft of fresh when they would take off they could take off easily and trench just a little bit when i would take off i would damn near get stuck i was thinking wtf as those sleds were way heavier and i had a hard time even getting going

 

[mtproride]

go for a 163 does not make sense doing anything else no matter how you ride.

 

[ryan_625]

I had a chance to ride my dads pro 163 and loved the sled. I bought a pro 155 about 3 weeks lateer and haven't looked back. I am 160 pounds and pretty agressive, I love our PNW tree riding so I went shorter, but the 163 is pretty flickable!

 

[HiWaYman92]

I owned 3 different 162 Cats, and just bought a 155 Pro. I rode the 163, and felt that it might have been a tad better on a highmark, but it was definitely noticeably longer. The 155 felt much more flickable, and they stay on the snow so well, I thought I would go for the 155 and see how it goes, but so far I think I made the right decision, but as seen on this thread it's all personal preference.

 

[mtnpull]

Yeah I think 163 is the way to go after thinking more about it. I went and looked at a PRO yesterday for the first time.

I have to have one! Too bad I will be traveling so much the next 2 months or I would start the search to find a sled right now. If I cant find one then I will just Snow Check one in March. From what I understand a 163 is almost no existent in the Pacific Northwest anyway.

At this point and time I would do the snow check. If you are traveling for 2 months you will miss most of this winter and you can take advantage of some refinements that Polaris makes and produces on the 2012's.