P
PowderGirl
Well-known member
One thing I consistently see being brought up in here is the weight of the sled and how little of a difference there is in weight between the 6,7s and 8s. Everyone is right in that there is not much difference at all. BUT there is in the rotating mass of the motor - take a child's bicycle wheel off the bike and hold onto it's hubs. Now spin it and move it around - you can feel some stubborn forces going on as you do this. Now do that with an adult's bicycle wheel - it's harder to control. Same concept with a 600 vs. 800 - you've got bigger rotating parts spinning at 1000s of revolutions per second thus more rotating mass in that 800. That's where your difference lies.
BUT, your not really going to feel the RM that much riding certain ways - like when pointing the thing in more straight lines and punching it - it's when your getting in and out of the throttle a lot while carving around or tossing it from side to side. Going into a carve, I let off the throttle, sometimes even grab a bit of break (helps set me up for a hard carve) then I punch the throttle - it's at that instance I feel those G's pulling on me. Not a deal at all first half the day but then I start noticing them last half and I tend to hesitate more b/c I am more fatigued and have less strength to counter and keep that sled going in the direction I want it to go vs. where that motor is pulling to go. (Physics/ Spinning bicycle wheel.) And hesitation is what gets me in bad situations. Of course bigger/stronger poeple may not notice this as much or people who ride more in straight lines but I certainly do notice and so do serveral people that I ride with which is why they prefer the tuned or modded 600/660 and impress the heck out of anyone who rides with them. (I often hear "I cant believe that 600 will do that!!!!" and watch them take the tightest lines or get the most technical places easier than the rest of us on bigger sleds.)
We are not BIG mountain high markers or chute climbers though - we'll gladly sit at the bottom for a second and watch the big bores and turbos high mark each other up big open mountain faces. Seems to be what it's about for a lot of sledders.
Well, way back when I was a tike, that was the only thing sledding was about - that and going as fast as you could go on the trail.
I just have to throw all this out b/c I think the 600 can be severly under estimated - at least for certain brands. I've ridden some terdy 600's so if any of you were stuck on one of those, I can see why the distaste or desire for more power! In fact, Polaris' 600 is the ONLY 600 I'd recommend if your even considering one, I wouldnt go less that a 800 in an AC or Doo model otherwise. But I'v ridden a newer Poo 600 iq that was a terd too! Set up and tuning are key!
But the 600 will never "FEEL" as powerful as the 700 or 800 because it doesnt have punch that they do or as long of range in the stock form.
And like mentioned in here already - a 700 or 800 will be more forgiving b/c it does have more torque to pull a rider out of a hesitation situation so they are probably better for the beginner to intermediate riders from the get go. I'd also recommend a track in the 150's as well. What kind of rider they become and type of riding they enjoy most determines whether they need to upgrade, downgrade or stick with what they got and just tune and modify it to be more suitable. Sometimes I think keeping my 700 and modding it into a 760 (to get better throttle response and faster initial track spin) wouldn't be a bad a way to go either.
BUT, your not really going to feel the RM that much riding certain ways - like when pointing the thing in more straight lines and punching it - it's when your getting in and out of the throttle a lot while carving around or tossing it from side to side. Going into a carve, I let off the throttle, sometimes even grab a bit of break (helps set me up for a hard carve) then I punch the throttle - it's at that instance I feel those G's pulling on me. Not a deal at all first half the day but then I start noticing them last half and I tend to hesitate more b/c I am more fatigued and have less strength to counter and keep that sled going in the direction I want it to go vs. where that motor is pulling to go. (Physics/ Spinning bicycle wheel.) And hesitation is what gets me in bad situations. Of course bigger/stronger poeple may not notice this as much or people who ride more in straight lines but I certainly do notice and so do serveral people that I ride with which is why they prefer the tuned or modded 600/660 and impress the heck out of anyone who rides with them. (I often hear "I cant believe that 600 will do that!!!!" and watch them take the tightest lines or get the most technical places easier than the rest of us on bigger sleds.)
We are not BIG mountain high markers or chute climbers though - we'll gladly sit at the bottom for a second and watch the big bores and turbos high mark each other up big open mountain faces. Seems to be what it's about for a lot of sledders.
Well, way back when I was a tike, that was the only thing sledding was about - that and going as fast as you could go on the trail. I just have to throw all this out b/c I think the 600 can be severly under estimated - at least for certain brands. I've ridden some terdy 600's so if any of you were stuck on one of those, I can see why the distaste or desire for more power! In fact, Polaris' 600 is the ONLY 600 I'd recommend if your even considering one, I wouldnt go less that a 800 in an AC or Doo model otherwise. But I'v ridden a newer Poo 600 iq that was a terd too! Set up and tuning are key!
But the 600 will never "FEEL" as powerful as the 700 or 800 because it doesnt have punch that they do or as long of range in the stock form.And like mentioned in here already - a 700 or 800 will be more forgiving b/c it does have more torque to pull a rider out of a hesitation situation so they are probably better for the beginner to intermediate riders from the get go. I'd also recommend a track in the 150's as well. What kind of rider they become and type of riding they enjoy most determines whether they need to upgrade, downgrade or stick with what they got and just tune and modify it to be more suitable. Sometimes I think keeping my 700 and modding it into a 760 (to get better throttle response and faster initial track spin) wouldn't be a bad a way to go either.
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