new sled next year. can't decide...

[polemite.productions]

i wanted to post this question here rather than the cat or polaris forums cuz i'm hoping to get a somewhat less biased opinion here, and i also want fellow snowmoboarder's perspectives.

first off, don't even bother saying XP. i have my mind 100% made up that i do not want an XP. same goes for yamaha.

it's between the pro climb m8, and the polaris pro 800. i've ridden both, i know i like riding them, but its the finer details that are going to decide which way i go. the things that you don't find out about till you've owned one for a while.

so what i want need help with when weighing these 2 up, is things like:

does polaris have their motors figured out yet?
which is easier to work on when you have to?
which is cheaper/easier to find parts for when you need them?
does one have more/better aftermarket support than the other, in case i wanna start modding motor/suspension?
is it possible to double on the cat seat? (polaris one looks way better for doubling)
is one better than the other for carrying boards?
anything i'm overlooking?


at this point, i'm impressed by the polaris, and i like the seat. but i'm nervous about the motor, and i have almost no experience working on any polaris at all.

but, i've been riding an M for 5 years now, and its been great to me. i think that all the experience i have working on my m will somewhat transfer over to a pro climb if i got one. and i don't think anyone is making a better motor than cat right now. but the pro climb is something different, so i'm not sure exactly how it stacks up to the polaris in the long run.

same dealership for both sleds, so that's not an issue. just need some help. thanks.

 

[Carbon77]

Sorry I cant help weigh your decision, but it seems like the new Pro-RMK's are the way to go, I rode a proclimb too but I want to ride a P-RMK to weigh the differences. I think as an overall, the M motor in the cat has been proven for years to be a very stable platform.

I'm curious though, how come you do not want an XP?

 

[polemite.productions]

where do i start with the xp...

i feel comfortable on my M of course, cuz its my main ride. but once in a while, when out with buddies, we swap sleds for a quick boot. i can jump on the pro rmk, the pro climb m8, a zx summit, or a yamaha apex, and ride any of them decently well. give me an hour or 2, and i'd be even more comfortable.

the rev platform feels a little more strange, but i can get by on one. the xp however, i am almost completely lost on. it feels great in a straight line and over jumps, but i can't get it on 1 ski for the life of me. usually comes back down on both skis so quickly when i try, that it almost throws me off in the opposite direction. the narrow ski stance of the etec doesn't seem to make any different for me either.

now i know that's not fair, because the people that own them can ride them just fine. but i just dont feel like re-learning how to ride a snowmobile just because doo made one so much different from from the rest.

but to expand on why i don't like the feeling of it, i also can't stand the width. it feels like wrapping your legs around a big fat bull. just doesn't feel comfortable to me at all. the etec is slightly better (i think the seat is narrower), but not by much.

i've also noticed that the skid of the xp likes to collect snow. a few times now i've seen my buddies xp's get so plugged with snow that the suspension couldn't travel at all. not even sure how they were still moving with all that extra weight. maybe its because they are constantly losing weight in other areas, as body panels and seats are continually falling off as they go (etec might be better. not sure).

moving on to the mechanical side of things, any work on the motor requires an almost entire teardown. i've been helping out 2 friends with working on their xp's, and i can't believe the lack of access, and how cram packed everything is. something as simple as changing a throttle cable requires you to tear down to the point where the motor is unbloted from the chassis so you can rock it forward enough to wiggle your fingers under the motor to do the oil pump line. it's a 3-4 hour job... FOR A THROTTLE CABLE!!!

with that said, i have no idea how the new rmk or M compare in this department. BUT, i'd be willing to bet that the cat laydown motor is way easier to to access in an enclosed space compared to the doo stand up motor.

and lastly, they are weak. i watched an xp take a hit that should have only cost my buddy a pair of a-arms, but instead it twisted and broke the bulkhead (e module?).

so anyhow, all of these factors together have me uninterested in the xp sleds.

i really like the feel of the pro rmk, but if the motor is burried in there like the xp, and it runs as reliably as previous polaris motors, that would be enough to make me stick with cat.

 

[Carbon77]

Thanks for the info, Its nice to hear an honest outside opinion. We rode with a guy yesterday with a 2011 Etec and said he's already on his second motor and tunnel. He also said his CFR rack broke his old XP, and I've heard of that happening on the XP's alot since they have very weak tunnels. It seems like where we ride everyone has one of the new Pro RMK's.

 

[polemite.productions]

holy crap, 2 motors and tunnels? crazy. i've seen the running boards on the early xp's get pretty warped, i know of a few that have had the y pipe bolts back out on them, and one that managed to snap a motor mount bolt. but i don't know of any that have lost a motor yet. not sure if they are still using the single ring pistons either... i know kelsey from rkt believes thats the reason why they usually only last 3000kms. a friend just showed me something else interesting with his rev motor (not sure if its the same with the xp)- his burned down after he blew a belt. cords got jammed up into a retainer behind the clutch that goes around the crank seal, and opened it up. slowly the crank seal went, and then leaned out the motor. good to know. i'd be checking for sure if i owned one and ever lost a belt.

mechanical issues are one thing. every sled needs work eventually. but when they make it so hard to accomplish that work, i'd rather find something a little easier to access.

 

[James T Kirk]

Buy a 162 M1000. Best doubling sled ever. You can still find em new or close to it and save a ton of cash. Lots of torque is awesome when there is 400 pounds on the sled...

 

[polemite.productions]

Buy a 162 M1000. Best doubling sled ever. You can still find em new or close to it and save a ton of cash. Lots of torque is awesome when there is 400 pounds on the sled...

i've often thought of that, and i think its a hell of a good idea. but i'm already on an M chassis and i'm just in the mood for something different. i do kinda like the idea of the pro climb with rkt's 925 kit... but now i see they are making a kit for the polaris too.. this isn't getting any easier to decide.... demoing the pro this weekend, so hopefully that helps.

 

[polemite.productions]

also just remembered about the dataloggers on the xp's... not sure if the others have them now, but doo has for a few years. another reason i don't like them. dealers interpret that data however they like.

 

[polemite.productions]

rode the polaris some more this past weekend, and spent a little extra time opening it up and looking around... over all it seems awesome. underhood access is great, a nice long tall seat for doubling, and effortless riding in the pow. cat is really gonna have to impress me to keep me loyal... and right off the bat i don't really like the seat or the track... gonna be interesting. gotta get out and ride one soon!

 

[tomx]

Anyone put some boards on a Polaris tunnel yet? Wonder how they fare. I'm pretty much sold on the pro anyways. Cat blew it, know of dudes already selling theirs with heavy regret.

 

[sledsurfer]

What's the deal with the new cats?

 

[polemite.productions]

Anyone put some boards on a Polaris tunnel yet? Wonder how they fare. I'm pretty much sold on the pro anyways. Cat blew it, know of dudes already selling theirs with heavy regret.

didn't try it, but specifically looked at that rear foot brace/foot rail that goes back to the tunnel. on the polaris it only goes part way up the sude of the tunnel, and if memory serves me right, it goes right to the top edge of the tunnel on the cat.

in my mind, a board is gonna clear that brace easier on the polaris.

 

[polemite.productions]

What's the deal with the new cats?

in the cat forums it seems like hit or miss. some guys are having bad issues with belts/clutching, and some guys just love it with no problems to report. in any case, it seems like they were in a rush to get that sled through the production line.