Weight as you ride VS Dry weight? Pro compared Proclimb/Summit

[sledneck_03]

Whatever polaris could be like the competition couldn't match our weight. So we added a 2 pounds of powder coat to shed snow build up allowing up to 50lbs less ice build up and it wouldn't f*cking matter. Boom still lighter dry and wet.

 

[super6]

Here is a pic of the cooler if you can see. It is way up in there.

Thanks for the picture. Seems like your experience lines up with what AC is trying to do with the different cooler lengths. Never thought about how much structural integrity it adds to have the coolers run the whole length of the tunnel, allowing Pro to have a lighter tunnel.

WJL: thanks for the update on water weight. GEO: great info on your post...good stuff to consider.

Powder Coating weight...any idea how much weight (as was mention maybe less than 2 lbs for rear skid parts powder coated) is added by powder coating? Anyone ever weighed both? Seems like vinyl wrap is a no brainer on this issue as well.

bdoe22: Will have to check out the Motul Shine and Go. $8.21 on Amazon...anyone ever tried Plexus for same purpose...way more expensive, but seems like it would do the same trick.

I am all for any tricks/ideas or trends from the manufactures to the aftermarket. If the guy at Arctic Cat was telling the truth about the 75lbs, then what if just a couple simple steps would lead to 1/2 that or whatever the number? Happier sledding for us all.

Please send pics of your machine loaded with snow...Poo, Cat, Skidoo.

 

[Bacon]

I don't think 75 pds is realistic. That is ALOT of ice and snow. It would be interesting to fill the sleds up at the end of the day, without knocking off the ice and snow and see what they weigh. My guess would be the Polaris will most likely still be lighter. Personally, I'm not a Poo fan, but they do have the lightest 800 out there, and by a good margin.

 

[cateye5312]

Wanna see snow buildup? Go back a couple of years. Yesterday at the end of the day we spent quite a bit of time getting ice and snow off our sleds and we rode all day in very cold conditions, lots and lots of fresh snow. My 2012 had MAX 15 lbs of ice and snow buildup, it was probably more like 10 or so. There was maybe a couple pounds under the hood by the chain drive, a 3/4" vertical layer the full length of the tunnel on each side, an ice cap buildup where the skid bolts to the rear of the tunnel, some amount in the A arms, some on the console, some in the skidframe, some at the back of the running boards and a goodly amount between the various bags and snowbunje on the back of the tunnel. Most of the total was the snow built up on the back of the tunnel. Not much you can do about that as a preventative measure, its just something that you have to clean off once in awhile.

By contrast my nephews 2006 RMK with the short cooler at the back of the tunnel had an ice block almost 4 inches thick that ran from that cooler forward to the front of the tunnel. He had one heck of alot of ice! It was shaved to size by the track or who knows how big it would have gotten. Plus both running boards full, the top of the tunnel full, etc. And of course that is on top of a sled that has a dry weight of 497 lbs. But even at that I doubt seriously that it weighed 75 lbs.

If you packed the skid completely full when getting stuck and it never fell out you might get to 75 but that isn't real world since as soon as you take off or hit the first bump all that snow is gone.

 

[byeatts]

417 lbs dry...no shock oil, no brake fluid...nothing. Very impressive! Talking with a high level AC engineer about a test they recently did from their testing area near Island Park. Cat took a '13 Proclimb, '13 Pro, '13 Summit. Weighed them all before they left. Rode them...each loading up with snow from the powder...then weighed them again out in the field. The Polaris had over 75lbs added from the "wet weight at the shop" (i.e. dry sled full of gas/oil/coolant etc). The coolers in the Pro go all the way to the back. Cat's stop way up by the tank (somebody please post some pics of this, especially if you are swapping tracks). Because the Pro has coolers that go all the way to the back of the tunnel, huge amounts of snow and ice build up the entire length of the tunnel. Cat's tunnel stays cold, so the build up is not near as bad. Cat and the Summit both start out with a 50+ lbs weight disadvantage. Cat engineer did not say (curiously) the amount of weight the Proclimb or Summit gained...and I had to seriously restrain myself from turning into a total sled nerd and picking his brain like it was a formal FBI investigation.

Fellow Pro riders...noticing any "seems excessive" build up? Anyone ride with a group that has a '13 from all 3 mfg's so you can take some pics in the field. Seems pretty interesting to me, especially with all the mileage the PRO is getting out of the amazing 417 number (SLP can and you are at 413...yeeeaowww). Maybe out in the pow, the sled weights are a lot closer than we all think? Hmmmm.....

So you guys are taking all the sno off the mountain!

 

[cateye5312]

The most accurate test would be to ride all 3 sleds in the same conditions at the same time, ride them into a heated shop, put each one into a kiddie pool or something and then weigh the water after they each melted off. Then you would have a fairly decent comparison between the sleds although even then there are alot of variables that can't be controlled, i.e. riding style, who hit what for bumps, all kinds of strange stuff.

 

[cateye5312]

So you guys are taking all the sno off the mountain!

Hey I tried to leave mine in the parking lot!

 

[poorider]

Correction Water weighs 8.34 lbs per gallon
Link: http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/56355.html

We want to keep things accurate
I do not see 10 gallons of ice on my 2013 Pro? (ice weights less than water air bubbles trapped inside)
The build up on mine is by the rear suspension brackets and the center of the rear tunnel. This should go away since a tunnel wrap has been installed.
My 08 xp had a lot of ice on the outside/inside of the tunnel and in the running boards until Air Frame install. Cooler ran down the center.

No matter what you say on here there's always someone around to correct you haha, so Pardon me, I should have specified I live in Canada where we use imperial gallons, which are larger than u.s. and if I'm not mistaken an imperial gallon of water weighs 10 lbs.
Either way 75 pounds is ridiculously exaggerated

 

[jakey-boy]

Ya'll are sure confident. I love my sled but I also ride with a few cats and I can tell you that this test is pretty accurate with what I see. Do i have a scale in the middle of the wilderness that I way the sleds on... no. But just looking at them the polaris holds way way more snow than the cats do that's a fact. Now how much of a difference does that make I dunno but there is truth to these results. and those cats can flat out climb a mountain too. Honestly with a few refinements to the handling of those sleds and I would say they are a better all around sled than the pro. I love my sled for pulling tight technical lines but try jumping it and it crumbles and for straight hill climbing it looks like a 600. ha. Carry on now.

 

[poorider]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallon
There you have it, one imperial gallon = 10 lbs at 62* farenheight
I love being corrected by 'mericans

 

[racerjb]

Maybe Snowest should include this "snow wet weight" test in their Shoot out they do every year. I really cannot imagine 75lbs maybe the guy misread the scale and it was 15lbs or at most 25lbs. Only time I could see there being 75lbs is in the cascade concrete where the skid gets packed easily...but all the stock sleds have the same style skid.

I wish Polaris would paint the tunnels but I think they will just continue to offer their accessory wraps..

 

[Leaf27]

Ya'll are sure confident. I love my sled but I also ride with a few cats and I can tell you that this test is pretty accurate with what I see. Do i have a scale in the middle of the wilderness that I way the sleds on... no. But just looking at them the polaris holds way way more snow than the cats do that's a fact. Now how much of a difference does that make I dunno but there is truth to these results. and those cats can flat out climb a mountain too. Honestly with a few refinements to the handling of those sleds and I would say they are a better all around sled than the pro. I love my sled for pulling tight technical lines but try jumping it and it crumbles and for straight hill climbing it looks like a 600. ha. Carry on now.

Your sled crumbles??? It climbs like a 600? Maybe it's the rider, that could be a fact also?

 

[R44guy]

I ride both and have noticed more of a ice build up on the poo but I think this is more about the tunnel finish or lack of coating and obviously with the poo the whole tunnel is transferring heat which could explain more ice build up.

The powder coated tunnel on the AC seems to resist the ice build up and Alum. poo tunnel seems to get much warmer in the rear but seems to cool or flash cool much quicker and can build some small blocks of ice.

I also believe a wrap or polished coating on the poo could help with this issue but 75 pounds seems very exaggerated and after riding my assault for 5 days straight with out a good thaw it is hard to believe it could carry more then 6-8 pounds.

If my Assault had 75 pounds of ice build up it would still be lighter then my 4 stroke AC with Ice built up.

 

[Ken Climb]

The ice build up on my pro tunnel is bad. They Need to address this!
My buds 2013 proclimb limited doesn't have any ice build up at all. The tunnel is clear, the suspension barely has any snow stuck to it at all.
My new Klimb boots treads are chewed to sh!t already from busting ice off the back of the boards. (fronts always stay clear)
The pro climbs coolers are set in from the edge of the tunnel so it keeps the tunnel sides really clear as well.
Question : did the 2012 hcr's overheat on hard pack last spring?

 

[89sandman]

a few years ago snowest did do a weight test with clean sleds and then after they had been ridin' to see how much snow they held.

i'll tell you i love my doo best when its carrying a heavy load of fresh pow

 

[Bacon]

The ice build up on my pro tunnel is bad. They Need to address this!
My buds 2013 proclimb limited doesn't have any ice build up at all. The tunnel is clear, the suspension barely has any snow stuck to it at all.
My new Klimb boots treads are chewed to sh!t already from busting ice off the back of the boards. (fronts always stay clear)
The pro climbs coolers are set in from the edge of the tunnel so it keeps the tunnel sides really clear as well.
Question : did the 2012 hcr's overheat on hard pack last spring?

Maybe just take a rubber mallet with and knock off the ice. I know my limited, which would be the same as an hcr, has to have the scratchers down on hardpack or the temp light comes on.

 

[Jaynelson]

If an engineer thinks a sled can have 75 lbs of ice buildup....he should have his licence revoked. If he is referring to other fluids....well, unless cats don't need oil, coolant, grease, etc I'm guessing those weights are quite close.

If he thinks he can make up 75 lbs difference mostly in ice buildup, lets put that into perspective. 75 lbs is 9 f'ing GALLONS of water, let alone ice or snow. Even cat owners aren't dense enough to think you could melt the snow/ice off a sled and get 9 gallons of water. I hope no one is or I want my tax money back for whatever math they teach these days.

By that logic...my boots and snow pants could weigh 35lbs extra from being saturated and caked with snow/ice by the end of the day.

 

[Leaf27]

Even cat owners aren't dense enough to think you could melt the snow/ice off a sled and get 9 gallons of water.

You just never know here on Snowest.

 

[CO 2.0]

For snow build up on the rear tunnel, the front cooler is the best in early season, cold dry pow. Later when warmer and wetter snow the opposite is true. LE owners will find that out too.
.

I noticed the same thing on my '12 proclimb and my buddies '12 HCR. Early winter the HCR had no snow buildup but in the heavy spring snow it was caked all over. Total opposite with my sold PC sno pro, Pro RMK, and M sleds.

My buddies PC HCR has definitely overheated more than all the other sleds in our group.

I've been taking a rubber mallet with me for years. Very nice to have instead of kicking ice off all the time with bad knees.

 

[Taylor]

Remember that guy named "383" or whatever his name was who claimed his old RMK was 383 pounds.... he posted pictures and didn't have a hood and had a corrugated drain pipe with a T on it for an air intake?

Oh god I miss that guys threads.... some of the funniest crap I ever heard. He said he made his living in the wintertime going to ski doo fan boi rides and riding behind them picking up parts and selling them on ebay.