2016 RMK 800 155 review after 800 mountain miles

[jhurkot]

Have 800 miles now on my 2016 axys. For a first year model and second year engine I am very impressed so far. This sled has completely ruined the PRO chassis for me. Running a 14 pro as a back up sled and now it feels wide, heavy, and slow. The new 155 2.6" track will easily beat the older 163's and is a blast to ride. Haven't done much with clutching and gearing yet but I think there is some to gain there yet. Despite how awesome I think this machine is there are a few issues that need to be addressed for 2017...

Corrosion in the electrical connectors. I took a few apart (the ones going to all the handle bar controls) and saw quite a scary amount on a brand new sled that has never seen road salt.

A-arms and spindles... Now before everyone starts telling me that I'm riding too early or don't know how to ride I understand that the a-arms need to bend to protect the bulkhead and tunnel. However if you're side hilling and tap a rock with the side of your ski lightly that really should not bend your ski back 4". The a-arms either need to be redesigned and slightly beefed up at the bend point with a really small rib (like the upper a-arm) or something. Or make them $75. They are super light and lots of people won't bend them. Aftermarket has a solution thankfully.

Spindles... busted a spindle clear off. Not sure what quality of metal they are using but to me a spindle should bend not shatter like glass.

Belt life has been not so great (6 belts in 800miles) but I am hard on belts on any machine so I'll have to look for clutching and gearing to help with that. Did have a roller that seized up so that probably wrecked a belt on its own. Also lots of deep snow so far this winter.

Most of these issues are pretty easy to fix so for the first year of a chassis I have to say I'm really happy so far and look forward to the refinements made in 2017. Polaris did a great job and it's hard to believe that with an SLP pipe you can have a 170hp sled that weighs under 500 lbs!

 

[AKFULLTHROTTLE]

6 belts!!!!! Holy WTF!

Have not been through one yet

 

[Solarguy]

6 belts!!!!! Holy WTF!

Have not been through one yet

He rides Revy and the deep deep!!! No relief for your belt lowing through 4' of new all day))

 

[SRXSRULE]

6 belts!!!!! Holy WTF!

Have not been through one yet

Same thing I was thinking!
12 rides, 350 miles all back country riding. Still on the same belt, have made one slight adjustment to the belt clearance. Stock weights/helix do allow for some belt slippage at low speed. You either need more heel weight or more helix angle. Eric

 

[Jaynelson]

He rides Revy and the deep deep!!! No relief for your belt lowing through 4' of new all day))

It's just as deep here and that is definetly not the norm...he either has 0 mechanical sympathy and/or somethings not quite right.

Thanks for the review!

 

[AndrettiDog]

Do you mean the previous five belts blew? Or just wore down? 250 miles on mine and buddy has 450 and we are on same belt. I just looked at mine today and it looks good (no cords, wear marks, cracking, etc).

 

[CO Powder]

Just over 100 miles per belt? So you just put them on the sled, pin it through the powder for a couple of days, then throw it away?


I thought I was hard on them at 500-700 miles...


Mine is at 250 miles or so. I did have to adjust the deflection before the last ride but the belt looks pretty good still.

 

[Solarguy]

I have 240 miles now, half of it in the deep. Original belt is still fresh. SLP stage 2 with their clutching.

 

[milehighassassin]

Your clutching is not setup correctly if you have gone through 6 belts. Seriously.

 

[jhurkot]

I blew one up completely and then replace the rest when threads come out. I broke one in very incorrectly (bottom of a ravine in neck deep) and also probably wrecked one with a seized primary roller. I will probably gear it down to 2.42 with a Tki kit and also look into some clutching. I'm more aggressive than most riders and don't see too many other people having issues. Out of all the different types of belts I've tried the Polaris stock belt appears to last the longest and the cat 048 belts the shortest.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Thurel]

A arms

When I bent my first a arm I thought maybe the hit was harder than I thought. When I bent the second a arm I'm starting to think Polaris got a little to aggressive with there weight loss plan. I'm thinking of getting after market arms, I hope the sled can handel stronger arms. 3 rides, 2 bent arms come on Polaris. Rode my 2012 pro 4 years and bent 1 arm. I'm not an aggressive rider, I can't imagine anyone trying to jump this sled as the arms would bend on take off with aggressive pre load.