A local dealer called me and asked if I would like to Participate in a Polaris Challenge Pro-RMK 800 4 hour demo ride. I thought, why not.... I get to ride a new sled on Polaris's nickel and see how they compare to the Arctic cat M series. How bad could it be?
Our "Guide" on the ride was Dan Adams of Slednecks fame. He was riding a Polaris Assault and after a basic rundown on the sled and some other guidelines for the ride, he basically brought us to a huge area on the east side of Priest Lake Idaho and said I'll see you back here at 3:15. He rode with us and unfortunately biffed it pretty good while dropping off a cornice. There were plenty of sleds cartwheeling back down off the hills (fortunately, I wasn't one of them). Amazingly, I didn't see one sled that showed any sign of damage either, weird. We were riding in an old burn area with a lot of dead standing trees and the snow was powder but, it had a base 6 or 8 inches down. We call that "hero" snow around here. It was a no holds bared ride. I would even call it extreme by the stuff we were doing but, as I stated earlier with the snow conditions we were saddled with you could darn near go anywhere. The snow conditions may color my findings.
Here are my impressions.
The sled is very lightweight. To me it felt kind of long and slender compared to my M8. It accelerated very well and hooked up very good. I couldn't feel a lack of power compared to my M8. In my opinion it's not quite as "playful" feeling as the M series. It is flickable but more solid than the Cats and has an almost industrial feeling to me. It feels like it's all business, and this sleds business to kick your a$$.
The sled is rock solid. They have a pyramidal setup over the engine compartment (ala Skidoo Rev) that makes the steering post rock solid (I'd hate to eat the bars on this sled). Although, it sure was nice to have bars that didn't move like the ones on my adjustable steering post (yes, I do have the BDX antislop kit on mine).
The narrowness of the sled made sidehilling easy because there were no side panels dragging in the snow while sidehilling. The front and rear suspension was amazing for a mountain sled. The trail up to the riding area was trashed and we were going mach 2 to and from the riding area and I was glad there weren't floats on the sleds. The handlebars were fine but, felt a little weird. The seat was very nice feeling and very forgiving but firm. The engine ran well, although I did hear (I don't know if it's true) one of the sleds on the earlier ride that day lost a cylinder. The clutching was spot on everytime. There was no searching going on when climbing it locked at a set RPM and just climbed. Speaking of climbing. This sled can climb! OMG. Expect them at least there with you if not outclimbing you. They are really that capable. You had better bring your "A" game when you run into one of these sleds.
I'm not ready to rush out and buy one but, if they can keep the engine together and perhaps eak a few more ponies out of the sled, this would be a dam fine sled to own. If you get a chance to go on the demo ride I would highly recommend you do so. It's clear Polaris has made huge strides on this sled and has taken the best attributes from all the mountains sleds (ours included) and combined them into one new super ligthweight (431 lbs) chassis. From my short experience it's a great sled and I do think Polaris has just raised the bar for all mountain sleds. That's good for everyone and I wish them the best of luck with this new sled.
PS: Yes, interstingly enough, it seemed most of the riders were Skidoo guys as witnessed in the fourth picture. I rode with these guys most of the day.
Our "Guide" on the ride was Dan Adams of Slednecks fame. He was riding a Polaris Assault and after a basic rundown on the sled and some other guidelines for the ride, he basically brought us to a huge area on the east side of Priest Lake Idaho and said I'll see you back here at 3:15. He rode with us and unfortunately biffed it pretty good while dropping off a cornice. There were plenty of sleds cartwheeling back down off the hills (fortunately, I wasn't one of them). Amazingly, I didn't see one sled that showed any sign of damage either, weird. We were riding in an old burn area with a lot of dead standing trees and the snow was powder but, it had a base 6 or 8 inches down. We call that "hero" snow around here. It was a no holds bared ride. I would even call it extreme by the stuff we were doing but, as I stated earlier with the snow conditions we were saddled with you could darn near go anywhere. The snow conditions may color my findings.
Here are my impressions.
The sled is very lightweight. To me it felt kind of long and slender compared to my M8. It accelerated very well and hooked up very good. I couldn't feel a lack of power compared to my M8. In my opinion it's not quite as "playful" feeling as the M series. It is flickable but more solid than the Cats and has an almost industrial feeling to me. It feels like it's all business, and this sleds business to kick your a$$.
The sled is rock solid. They have a pyramidal setup over the engine compartment (ala Skidoo Rev) that makes the steering post rock solid (I'd hate to eat the bars on this sled). Although, it sure was nice to have bars that didn't move like the ones on my adjustable steering post (yes, I do have the BDX antislop kit on mine).
The narrowness of the sled made sidehilling easy because there were no side panels dragging in the snow while sidehilling. The front and rear suspension was amazing for a mountain sled. The trail up to the riding area was trashed and we were going mach 2 to and from the riding area and I was glad there weren't floats on the sleds. The handlebars were fine but, felt a little weird. The seat was very nice feeling and very forgiving but firm. The engine ran well, although I did hear (I don't know if it's true) one of the sleds on the earlier ride that day lost a cylinder. The clutching was spot on everytime. There was no searching going on when climbing it locked at a set RPM and just climbed. Speaking of climbing. This sled can climb! OMG. Expect them at least there with you if not outclimbing you. They are really that capable. You had better bring your "A" game when you run into one of these sleds.
I'm not ready to rush out and buy one but, if they can keep the engine together and perhaps eak a few more ponies out of the sled, this would be a dam fine sled to own. If you get a chance to go on the demo ride I would highly recommend you do so. It's clear Polaris has made huge strides on this sled and has taken the best attributes from all the mountains sleds (ours included) and combined them into one new super ligthweight (431 lbs) chassis. From my short experience it's a great sled and I do think Polaris has just raised the bar for all mountain sleds. That's good for everyone and I wish them the best of luck with this new sled.
PS: Yes, interstingly enough, it seemed most of the riders were Skidoo guys as witnessed in the fourth picture. I rode with these guys most of the day.
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i was just laughing about that
