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What changed at POLARIS to put them back on top?

B

BigMan

Free Member
What changes did they make that enabled them to go from the dissapointments of 2005 to being back on top of the industry?

New engineers? New management? Anyone know?
 
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Simply put, they gave the people what they wanted. They kind of had to do something after their disaster years from 2005-2010, if they wouldn't have they wouldn't be making sleds anymore.
 
Consumers yes, but also guys like Burant that give feedback and help in the design. All of this helps the engineers to build what works and more of what people want. Another thing is polaris knew they had better do something fast they were losing lots of money and customers.
 
I think it is more of a cycle. Most of the manufacturers have been on top at one point over the years. Polaris has been on top before and it seems like while at the top they get complacent because they feel the consumer will buy whatever they produce. In the meantime the other manufacturers take notice of what works and work to develop something better and are more aggressive to get on top. It seems to be the nature of the beast as they keep leapfrogging to make something better for the consumer or demanded by the consumer. Seems like they were promoting the 13 RMK as the most "flickable" sled ever and then the new XM sleds came out and you don't hear the flickable phrase as much anymore.

I think its mostly a cycle as one manufacturer watches and sees what works for the others and they do their best to improve upon what the other has. Its all good for the consumer to enjoy if it can be delivered at an acceptable price point.
 
snowmobiler said:
Sorry, never seen a polaris "on top".
Click to expand...
Grab Grandma, a sandwich some hot chocolate, bundle up real warm. Now comes the fun part, instead of climbing those big piles of snow in the snow park go out on the trail up the mountain. You will really enjoy it and you will be surprised all the sleds you see, even some dear old Skidoos in between all those POLARIS snowmobiles! I will be looking for you:face-icon-small-coo
 
What FlyingW is describing is the design/produce/profit cycle. Sled manufacturers are a few years ahead in the design phase than what we are riding. It takes them 2-3 years to design it. Then they produce and launch it. Then they have to actually recoup all those costs by selling basically the same model for 3-4 years. If a sled maker had completely new machines each year they would go broke. In that profit phase is when the other makers launch their own sled. Now who's on top right now is hotly debated....
 
89sandman said:
guess it depends on your prospective if being on top is a good thing or not;) gives a whole new meaning to being spanked on the hill...
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yep...willow bushes on the top of the hill or broken stumps on top...either way the riding is good until a coolant leak then the ride is over for a while..
 
Arctic Cat bombed, thats what happened.

If the motor in my '13 stays together this coming season, I'll be a Polaris fan again. If I have any issues with it I'll be back to riding a new Cat or a Skidoo this spring.

With that said.... The chassis is amazing. I'm not really doing anything different on my Pro that I couldn't or wasn't doing on my M, but the Pro requires less effort to do the same things over all and is a lot smoother.
 
Dogmeat said:
Arctic Cat bombed, thats what happened.

If the motor in my '13 stays together this coming season, I'll be a Polaris fan again. If I have any issues with it I'll be back to riding a new Cat or a Skidoo this spring.

With that said.... The chassis is amazing. I'm not really doing anything different on my Pro that I couldn't or wasn't doing on my M, but the Pro requires less effort to do the same things over all and is a lot smoother.
Click to expand...

Bingo! Cat is what happens when you allow the bean counters decide a universal chassis is a good thing and then cat probably put together the worst fit and finish machine I've ever seen (speaking of the 12) not to mention the other issues.

Btw my 13 pro motor is apart and needs pistons and rings... Small price to pay for a chassis that good IMO... Probably the direct result of the bean counters again but much easier to fix than a bad chassis.
 
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How many miles on your 13 Pro motor? Just needs pistons from wear or are they scuffed up from rocking and dragging on the intake skirt? How does the cylinder look? I sure hope the 14' motor with the new pistons finishes the overall weaknesses of the CFI motor. It seems that the 13' motor has been quite a bit more reliable than the previous year CFIs. I know my 13' motor seems stronger too.
 
1350 miles, cylinders look perfect and measures well within spec. (3.3465 +- .0005", in fact above the exhaust port they are exact) Rings are flaked bad on the intake side. Pistons aren't scuffed up but I already have .008" clearance. Ran 35:1 legend oil from day 1.
Sorry for the derail.
 
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