I'm still riding my EDGE – they're still great sleds even if they're generally outmoded (plus they make the new sleds look like botched plastic surgery recipients). Would be fun to swap an 850 into one, but Dan's definitely right about the mounts – look at how the 800 with 30 less HP eats motor mounts. I'd find a way to make the newer mounting system work in the EDGE if I were to attempt such a swap. Not something I'd attempt unless I had a lot of time and money though. Either way, it would be cool if Polaris sold crate motors – not that we're likely to ever see that.
I think getting an 850 to run on carbs would be interesting, even if it's impractical. I wonder if the wet bottom end would improve bearing life: I think it was Dan talking earlier in this thread about how the rod bearings are basically starved for oil on a cold start. I've got plenty of experience with carburetors on sleds, cars, and trucks, and I've had few issues (once I learned to work on them). I'd say they take a more proactive approach to get peak performance and reliability, but once you take the time they're just as reliable as EFI. The biggest downside is economy – that and (more so) emissions are why they've been replaced on most sleds. Not trying to pick a bone, I just don't see where carbs are anywhere near the biggest hassle with getting my sled on the snow.
Anyway, I'm interested to hear what Dan finds from his testing. It'd be really telling to buy an identical 850 and run it bone stock for comparison, but that's asking a lot. I'd also like to know the story behind the extended WOT behavior. Maybe it's a break-in thing; if it's part of the basic program, it's the kind of thing you'd like to see explained in the owner's manual. Also, maybe getting into the weeds a little, but if you're doing a slash of pre-mix, would it make sense to run a different oil than the rest? I'm guessing synthetic either way because it'd be less likely to flash off, but just guessing. Finally, it just happens I weighed an 800 VES a month or so ago. It had the recoil, flywheel, and all on the front, mounting straps, boots and reed cages, but no clutch, y-pipe, VES assemblies, or carbs. Just a hair under 80 lbs is what I saw.
