My vote would have to be for the first Arctic Cat that ever had A-arms. Don't know what it was but it has to be considered pretty innovative for EVERY manufacturer to be using them now.
What is the most innovative sled for it's time?
- Thread starter 906th_Airborne
- Start date
im with adrenaline, the phazer was a huge breakthrough, i have snowest mags from back then and you couldnt turn a page without seeing phazer, they had insane power and the shocks were way innovative
I have to agree with that. I'd say the Rev 1st with the RX1 in a close 2nd. If you look how far rider forward has come since 2004, then you'd have to vote for the Rev. All 3 of the manufactures went that way, so they must have been on to something good!
It has to be the XLT with its massive 1.5" paddle track. I can remember the first time I saw one of those tracks. I blew everyones mind that you could get a paddle track from the factory. That was the first step in the right direction for mountain sleds. This industry is full of innovation from every manufacturer every year. You can't forget about bold new graphics. Where would we be without those?
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It has to be the 1976 RXL Polaris put on the oval tracks the old midnight blue express the first race sled with independent front suspension. The chaises may still have come to where they are today but by Polaris dominating oval racing made all the manufactures get on the band wagon
1978 Polaris RXL gits my vote. There's a fellow near me with a 500cc triple. I've heard rumor of a $40,000 offer that was turned down. Knowing the guy, it wouldn't surprize me if he did turn it down.
A couple random images found on the net. Sorry about the size.
A couple random images found on the net. Sorry about the size.
Couple of ideas come to mind..I'm a Doo guy, so maybe a bit biased.
72 Blizzard - First motor ahead of the tunnel Doo built
75 TNT RV - start of the RV ear, very light, very quick, on a flat trail even now I don't know how much would keep pace with that little bugger
77 (possibly 76) TXL - Liquid cooling?
81 TXL - IFS
85 Phazer - Light weight, easy to handle..affordable
91 MX-X - real unknown..first machine from the factories with a coupled rear skid
95 XLT - it was heavy, handled like poop, ate slides faster than 10 linebackers at a buffet, but led to everyone else doing something
95 Summit 670 - big HP (for the time), long track
97 ZR 580 - first with batteryless EFI
03 Rev/RX-1 - changed the rules, still lighter than some of the competition
New Doos/Cats - maybe doesn't look like much, but the advent of Finite Element Analysis, Computer modelling, plastic molding...you could not be as light as we are or as nicely finished as we are without this.
Aftermarket mods - where are the big 4 getting their design ideas from? Drilled tracks, Ported boards, bigger tracks...all from the aftermarket
72 Blizzard - First motor ahead of the tunnel Doo built
75 TNT RV - start of the RV ear, very light, very quick, on a flat trail even now I don't know how much would keep pace with that little bugger
77 (possibly 76) TXL - Liquid cooling?
81 TXL - IFS
85 Phazer - Light weight, easy to handle..affordable
91 MX-X - real unknown..first machine from the factories with a coupled rear skid
95 XLT - it was heavy, handled like poop, ate slides faster than 10 linebackers at a buffet, but led to everyone else doing something
95 Summit 670 - big HP (for the time), long track
97 ZR 580 - first with batteryless EFI
03 Rev/RX-1 - changed the rules, still lighter than some of the competition
New Doos/Cats - maybe doesn't look like much, but the advent of Finite Element Analysis, Computer modelling, plastic molding...you could not be as light as we are or as nicely finished as we are without this.
Aftermarket mods - where are the big 4 getting their design ideas from? Drilled tracks, Ported boards, bigger tracks...all from the aftermarket
Check out vintagesleds.com, its all about the old sno pro stuff, the guy that has the website owns Jerry Bunkes RXL I believe and he knows another guy that owns the Steve Thorsen RXL, there is some pretty cool stuff on his website, if you like vintage ice racing.
skiroule rotory 300 wankel....why hasn;t that technology advanced...i
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S
Shelfrost
Well-known member
What??? No votes for the Kitty Kat! How many little ones out there got their start on one of these units? They held their value for many years and took all kinds of abuse. I still have one in my collection, along with 8 other cats. Grandson is 5 months old now, well on his way to becoming the next sledder in the family!!!
definatley by far hands down, Bombardier changed snowmobiling forever with the release of the rev chassis. BY FAR.
I agree. The latest REVolution was the Rev. But I think the Blade really got the "fab 4" thinking on snowmobile function and performance.
Made them Sharpen up their game.
Super Phazer!
Another vote for the phazer, I remember even back in 1987 when I bought my phazer dlx. ( brand new for like $3600) there where guys still running around on elans sayin "this is all the sled you'd ever need"( saw those same guy's some years later riding 700 polaris lol) I'll always remember carving that sled weight on one running board a little heal pressure on the other side of the tunnel ....... ahh....good times, excuse me I have to go put on some vintage Def Leppard
honorable mention;
rotax motor?
wedge chasis?
Raider or(Manta?)
Rev chasis
RX1
my .02
Another vote for the phazer, I remember even back in 1987 when I bought my phazer dlx. ( brand new for like $3600) there where guys still running around on elans sayin "this is all the sled you'd ever need"( saw those same guy's some years later riding 700 polaris lol) I'll always remember carving that sled weight on one running board a little heal pressure on the other side of the tunnel ....... ahh....good times, excuse me I have to go put on some vintage Def Leppard
honorable mention;
rotax motor?
wedge chasis?
Raider or(Manta?)
Rev chasis
RX1
my .02
callin Deff leoppard vintage....How dare you. next your gona say Mullets are out of style......
R
rev440alaska
Well-known member
1992 wildcat 650 looks like a sting ray
Until someone stops mounting the top of the shock onto the chassis and starts linking shocks together you won't get the best handling sled available.
Until someone goes directdrive gear to gear.(That's 2 only) we won't see maximum power transfered to the snow(doesn't happen automatically)
Until we see the perimeter frame incorporate the rear suspension, we won't see a indestructable sled.
The rev, the F-Cat, the IQ and the Nytro all come close, but just miss the mark.
The Rev was only revolutionary because the masses could afford it. (I know I'm gonna get a lot of flack for this one but...) If you had the money you could buy a truly revolutionary sled before for the rev was out.
The RX1 was definately a turning point in snowmobiling. The Rev on the otherhand was a race to build the first major OEM sled based on what everyone had been advertising for years. Mass centralization, lighter(dirtbike) feeling sled.
Don't get me wrong, I've ridden revs for years and now an XP. But I'd still put a Blade head to head with any sled on the trail today. And other than the fact there's only a 700 mill under the Blade I'm used to, it would go toe to toe with the first 900 Cat and the first rev and other than straight up pulls(in which it kept ahead by a ski each time) I'd rather the Blade in pretty much any situation.
But we can thank BRP for coming out with something reasonably priced and changing the thinking of the other OEM's(Yammi was already on their own path)
Until someone goes directdrive gear to gear.(That's 2 only) we won't see maximum power transfered to the snow(doesn't happen automatically)
Until we see the perimeter frame incorporate the rear suspension, we won't see a indestructable sled.
The rev, the F-Cat, the IQ and the Nytro all come close, but just miss the mark.
The Rev was only revolutionary because the masses could afford it. (I know I'm gonna get a lot of flack for this one but...) If you had the money you could buy a truly revolutionary sled before for the rev was out.
The RX1 was definately a turning point in snowmobiling. The Rev on the otherhand was a race to build the first major OEM sled based on what everyone had been advertising for years. Mass centralization, lighter(dirtbike) feeling sled.
Don't get me wrong, I've ridden revs for years and now an XP. But I'd still put a Blade head to head with any sled on the trail today. And other than the fact there's only a 700 mill under the Blade I'm used to, it would go toe to toe with the first 900 Cat and the first rev and other than straight up pulls(in which it kept ahead by a ski each time) I'd rather the Blade in pretty much any situation.
But we can thank BRP for coming out with something reasonably priced and changing the thinking of the other OEM's(Yammi was already on their own path)
Not to be a smart azz, but the '92 Wildcat was a 700, and was simply a larger heavier version of the '90 prowler.
Honestly a '92 EXT was a far better sled than the "WildPig"
No doubt the Rev was a quantum leap, but in comparison to existing technology at the time, there were sleds in the 70's & even 80's that were more groundbreaking. (For example most any '76 cross-country racer)
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