ON-THE-SNOW RIDE IMPRESSIONS: 2016 AXYS-PRO RMK ... OUR DAY IN APINE WYO.

[Scott]

Just speaking generally, not categorically, I can see the guys in the Midwest etc buying something like the ProRMK with the front bulkhead cooler and lower CG, and able to chose from the 144, 146, 155 mountain or comp tracks.

It handles better on those trails at home.

But the guys who exclusively ride the mountains and spend 90% of their throttle where the groomer not only doesn't, but CAN'T go, will be very happy with the Axys RMK.

I know that Sahen, Dan Adams and crew were SO JACKED about this sled. Giddy might be a better word. The booning, tree riding and off trail thrashing are what this was made for.



It's like a stand-up jetski instead of a sitdown.

 

[mtnpull]

Nailed it. If I cared about trail manners I'd move east and buy a yamaha. I understand trails are an unavoidable evil for some to get to the mountains but I'm far more interested in the 90% of time off trail than 10% on. I also don't care what new riders think about on trail handling of a mountain sled.

I agree as well for my personal preference. However, off trail set up snow this may still be a concern in snow that is not 100% perfect soft snow. It may be a sortable issue resolve by some tweaking to the suspension, or it may be a characteristic of the higher center of gravity. Time will tell as people get on the sled and get to tweaking the suspension.

 

[diamonddave]

Do the floorboards allow the rider to stand further forward?

Is oil tank the same?

Is the secondary clutch a team clutch?

 

[Scott]

Team secondary.

Can't remember about oil tank.

What I remember about footwells is that my feet can come out easier.

 

[milehighassassin]

To add, this chassis is rigid. I know it's been said and that word is now infused into chassis marketing nowdays.

But this chassis does not flex as much as my 13 Pro. It responds to input and doesn't absorb my input into the "flex".

Think of it as riding a fully suspended downhill mountain bike. When you stand on the pedals to go up an incline, it SUCKS really bad. You can't build speed. Most of your energy is absorbed by the shocks and doesn't make it to the tires. Horsepower is lost in the flexibility of the bike chassis.

The more rigid the chassis, the more efficient your rider input will be.

*cough* T-Flex *cough*

 

[icr]

I agree as well for my personal preference. However, off trail set up snow this may still be a concern in snow that is not 100% perfect soft snow. It may be a sortable issue resolve by some tweaking to the suspension, or it may be a characteristic of the higher center of gravity. Time will tell as people get on the sled and get to tweaking the suspension.

I think this sled is aimed at the same crowd who is interested in the T3, it's understood you'll sacrifice trail and hard pack handling to gain deep snow perfomancee.

 

[FocusJR]

Just curious, but were most of the people invited either a dealer or rental company?

 

[phatty]

Well guess I better put in my two bits...

I'm a big fan

Oh you want more?

Cons:
Lets get this out of the way first. The shox are absolute garbage. Sorry Polaris but you can do better. All I could think the whole ride was how sick will this sled be with proper suspension set up and good shox. Mtnpul is correct though that 80% of customers wont do it or dont know how. One huge difference between the 2014 m8000 and the 2015 m8000 was suspension set up. Felt like a whole new sled. ok im getting sidetracked...
Elevatoring is dead. This sled holds an edge extremly well and its super hard to panel out. So if you like to tip on to your side panels and slide downhill you are out of luck. Twice I got into spots I would usually slide downhill a bit and get around a tree and twice the sled bit on the edge. Its a great thing and a bad thing.
Im not sold on the rails. this is purpose built mountain sled for deep snow. Creek crossing, log bouncing, rock hopping might be too much for it. Time will tell. For now I will stick to my ice age bomber rails even if it costs me couple of pounds.
Speaking of pounds. The muffler weighs in around 17lbs. So should be easy to go to sub 400lbs on this with an extra $300.

Pros:
Light throttle pull. Super snappy, and doo and cat like power. This sled gets from A to B in a hurry. As others have stated it gets up and out of the snow. The handling is razor precise. It responds and does what its told immediately. That's key for any off trail rider.
The brake. Since nobody has mentioned this yet, the brake its lightweight and effective. Maybe I am the only one using it at the same time as the throttle but I was sure happy with the brake.
The track. I have long advocated the 2.5" camo over the 3". I still think there will be a 3" option come march 2, but this 2.6 polaris track is straight awesome. Not pushy, moves a ton of snow, hooks up on hardpack and floats on powder. Does well with braking on steep down hills too (part exhaust valves but the track hooks up to help stop you)

Final thoughts:
I've got a golden ticket and I'm gonna own one. This sled is built for the exact type of riding I do. It will open up terrain for the less skilled riders and push experts deep into the gnarliest of places. Lets just all pray its 12k and not 14k.

Well done Polaris. Only wish we had it last year!

 

[phatty]

Oil tank is designed for the midwest rider who does 200 miles in a day. (shared parts for the axys chassis)

As a mountain rider I would look to put in a smaller tank, or run it half full to 1/3 full. It seriously looked like it could hold 2 gallons of oil.

 

[wellfed777]

WELL WELL you dirty dogs !
my hats off to all you rat bastards that got to ride em and then came back one here for some teaser hints ha ha ha nice work

she looks very intresting i'm looking forward to more to come
lighter ! more track ! more HP! ooooh yeah

thanks all

let it snow PLEASE

ps mntpull good reveiw your honesty is great
sleds are such a personal preferance deal hopefully there will be demos to try
example: i've got some time on a XM and i've yet to feel at home on one
don't know why different strokes

 

[Scott]

Just curious, but were most of the people invited either a dealer or rental company?

It was a cross-section.
No dealers, reps or Polaris employees.

 

[sledheader]

It was a cross-section.
No dealers, reps or Polaris employees.

How were you guys invited? Was it like randomly one day a guy said "Hey want to come test ride the new sleds before they are released? Gotta keep your mouth shut!" Or do you have some connection to Polaris?

 

[XP Summit]

For years the manufactures praised the idea of a low CG. Back in the 90's and early 00's it was the talk of the town. Having said that lowering the CG has it's effect's on the current mountain riding trends. I praise the idea that Polaris has said... "yeah that low cg works on the trail out but not so much when it really counts for off trail riders". You want a stable sled around corners and bashing down a rutted out area on trail. It was a constant fight when long travel suspensions came into the mix. How would all that travel effect the cornering ability.... the manufactures said "not too much as we lowered the CG 1/2 inch and the sled is now 48" wide!" Those manors work good climbing a hill, to an extent, and the trail ride out, but not so much on edge or in situation where you want the sled to transfer weight side to side with as little effort as possible.

The idea that a trail based chassis, because that what all of current sleds are based on, feels tippy or squirmy on trail, but feels much more agile or flickable off trail, benefits all of the experienced backcounty riders is great news! We might be entering an era, where the buyer understands it's not a one sized fits all market. My awesome mountain sled might not work for the average rental, just like a trail sled might not work for us. The mountain riding industry/ backcountry rider might have carved out it's own niche . I am excited for the things to come.

Cheers
Shawn

 

[Scott]

This might be asking a lot from one ride impression....

Would you guys rate this as big a jump as the Pro was over the dragon? Or more of a refinement of the Pro? Or something in between?

Thanks for all the info sharing! Makes for good reading!

Fair question.

I tried to come one up with some verbage to describe that difference when I was on camera in Alpine, but struggled under the spotlight. LOL. Not used to that.

In the trees:
Dragon to Pro, was REALLY significant. It hink we can all agree on that.
Given that benchmark, the Pro to Axys is almost as much of an improvement. Time will tell when we get some winter conditions again.
I think scoring a deep powder day in the trees, will give us a much clearer understanding of the differences.


As you are probably sensing from everyone who's ridden it and posting here, the snow wasn't favorable to putting it through some really good paces. And beings that it was in January when we did this, we all wished for January conditions. LOL So all of this has a bit of an asterisk by it because...

*but the snow sucked.

 

[Scott]

PART 2: ON-THE-SNOW RIDE IMPRESSIONS: 2016 AXYS-PRO RMK ... OUR DAY IN APINE WYO.

Let's continue to bring comments and discussion into a new thread so that all the basic members can still participate.

 

[Scott]

How were you guys invited? Was it like randomly one day a guy said "Hey want to come test ride the new sleds before they are released? Gotta keep your mouth shut!" Or do you have some connection to Polaris?

Invitations came via someone that Polaris authorized to contact perspective riders.

We all signed Non-Disclosure Agreements and they actually collected our cell-phones upon arrival.

Why?





This thread has reached the 75 post count and basic members will no longer see any more in this thread.

So, we'll go here to continue this conversation.

http://www.snowest.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3790988#post3790988

 

[sledheader]

Let's continue to bring comments and discussion into a new thread so that all the basic members can still participate.

Well that sucks, two days ago I threw down my money for premium membership JUST FOR this sled. And that was snowcheck money, mind you!!!

 

[geo]

Pics show they didn't just take a AXYS trail front clip and add a longer tunnel.

 

[Scott]

Well that sucks, two days ago I threw down my money for premium membership JUST FOR this sled. And that was snowcheck money, mind you!!!

LOL, get in a couple extra overtime shifts and you're right back in the snowcheck game.

Pics show they didn't just take a AXYS trail front clip and add a longer tunnel.

Definitely not.
I was looking at a 2015 short track Axys mountain conversion last night at HM Turbos. They are definitely different. DEFINATELY!!!!!

 

[sledheader]

LOL, get in a couple extra overtime shifts and you're right back in the snowcheck game.


Definitely not.
I was looking at a 2015 short track Axys mountain conversion last night at HM Turbos. They are definitely different. DEFINATELY!!!!!

You keep saying that, but what exactly is different? Honestly, it really does just look like the axys front end with a pro track. Different A arms too