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First Impressions: Performance Stud Stars

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It’s not often we come across an aftermarket product that lives up to its promise of not only reinventing the wheel, but actually making it spin better.

When we first laid eyes on these all-new stud retainers from Performance Stud Stars we were tempted to discount them as “track bling”. Wrong! It didn’t take more than one day on the trail to realize these precision-machined backers with a star-like appearance are more than just eye candy.

The lightweight, durability and performance characteristics of the backers make them a worthy upgrade for anyone who studs their track, despite their higher cost.

Performance Stud Stars are an all-in-one (nut & washer) stud retainer, precision machined from aircraft grade billet aluminum. The intended purpose behind the design is to extend stud life by eliminating the critical flex point, which often results in bent stud tips, and can ultimately lead to stud tear-out.

The first thing you’ll notice when you pick up the Stud Star is its light weight. We installed 0.68″ tall x 1.37″ wide backers on our Arctic Cat 6000 El Tigre. Compared to the stock nut and washer, which weighed 16 grams the Stud Star backer was only 10 grams.

With 135 studs in the track this equates to a 1.75 lb weight saving that’s amplified exponentially when your track is spinning at 100 per. The result? Less rotating mass and better acceleration.

Using the installation wrench, which is sold separately, and the help of a buddy we were able to swap-out the old stock backers in a little over an hour, leaving us plenty of time to hit the trails and test them out. The plan was to nail as many road crossings as possible to validate the Stud Stars durability claims while testing braking and acceleration on hard pack.

After a day of hard riding – grinding 30 road crossings – and railing a mix of iced up corners and loose granular snow we came away impressed.

When we changed out the Stud Stars we purposely left some of the old nut and washer backers in place as a test to see if there was any difference in durability. Sure enough, the Stud Stars lived up to there claim of vastly improved support for the stud stem. Proof positive was two of the original studs and backers returned mortally wounded – one severely bent and the other completely torn off.

As for a tangible performance improvement, it’s hard not to notice the benefits of Stud Star backers. Their conical shape with CNC machined-in grooves provided more bite under braking and a noticeable improvement under acceleration – even in loose granular snow where studs usually have less impact.

We attributed the acceleration increase in granular snow to the increased surface area of the Stud Stars which act like miniature track lugs scooping more snow, propelling the sled forward.

So far the Stud Stars have lived up to their claims. We’re anxious to see results from our season long testing so stay tuned – next season we’ll have a full-report on the Stud Stars ability to withstand our unrepentant abuse.

For more information on Performance Stud Stars visit: performancestudstars.com

TEST RIDE: 2014 Ski-Doo MX Z X-RS

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SnowTrax Television Co-Host AJ Lester evaluates Ski-Doo’s ultimate performance, race replica sled featuring a direct injection 800R E-TEC mill and 120-inch skid.

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Hibbert Finishes Historic Season with 3 More Wins

Monster Energy/Arctic Cat’s Tucker Hibbert finished a historic snocross season with three wins at the ISOC Grand Finale in Lake Geneva, Wisc.

Hibbert clinched the 2014 ISOC Pro Open Championship Friday night with an exciting come-from-behind win and went on to claim the top spot of the podium Saturday and Sunday to wrap-up the season with 15 of 17 possible Pro Open final victories.

In his 14th winter racing in the pro class, Hibbert recorded his most successful season-to-date.

In January, he eclipsed legend Blair Morgan’s long-standing snocross pro national win record to become the most-winning racer in the history of the sport.

Later that month, he became the first athlete in history to win seven-consecutive gold medals at X Games Aspen.

With his recent wins in Lake Geneva, he’s on track to claim his 100th pro national victory next winter – a feat nearly unheard of in the motorsports world.

Hibbert will now switch gears to prepare for his 15th summer competing in the AMA Pro Motocross Championship where he’ll continue to chase his goal of a top-10 finish in the premier 450-class.

Stay connected to tucker-hibbert.com for details on his summer schedule and plans for next winter.

Tucker had this to say, “Lake Geneva was awesome this year. The snow conditions and weather were perfect. The track was super challenging. It was cool to see a big crowd all three days. The vibe was awesome and I had a lot of fun. I’m really excited about how the season played out. It’s rewarding to have all the hard work pay off. The team is doing all the right things to reach our goals. I know we have to keep pushing to stay on top and I’m motivated by that challenge. We’ll be working hard to take it one step higher next year. It’s awesome to see snocross growing and moving in the right direction. We’ve seen a lot of progression in the sport the past few years. ISOC is doing a great job putting on good events and to make live TV a reality Sunday was a big step. The sport has a bright future and I’m excited to be apart of it. I don’t have my summer plans finalized but know I’ll be racing motocross and mountain bikes. I really enjoy competing in multiple sports and know it’s best way to be prepared for next winter. It’s going to be another summer filled with racing adventures and that’s just the way I like it.”

POLARIS AXYS: Black is the New Black

In response to overwhelmingly positive feedback for the black color scheme on the 2015 Pro-X models, and to provide our riders with even more choices on the all-new AXYS platform, today we are adding new all-black color scheme models to the 2015 Rush & Switchback Pro-S line-ups.

These new choices will come as a 60th Anniversary Edition models, and will feature black side panels, a black painted tunnel, and red painted rails.

Just like the other 60th Anniversary sleds on the AXYS platform, these new models come standard with an LCD full color gauge and integrated storage.

We heard your positive feedback on the black Pro-X, and wanted to provide additional choice and excitement for Pro-S riders. But don’t delay… like the rest of our 60th Anniversary Editions, these new models will only be available during SnowCheck.

Q&A

Q: So what models will feature this new color scheme?
A: This new 60th Anniversary color scheme will be available for: 2015 Rush Pro-S – either 600 or 800 and 2015 Switchback Pro-S – either 600 or 800

Q: Does this color scheme replace any models in the current line-up?
A: No. These new color schemes are in addition to the rest of the line up; all of the colors and models that have already been released are still available.

Q: What if I already submitted my SnowCheck; can I change it to this new model?
A: Yes. Work with your Polaris dealer to make that change.

Polaris is a recognized leader in the powersports industry with annual 2013 sales of $3.8 billion. Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets innovative, high quality off-road vehicles, including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER and RZR side-by-side vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles and on-road electric/hybrid powered vehicles. Polaris is among the global sales leaders for both snowmobiles and off-road vehicles and has established a presence in the heavyweight cruiser and touring motorcycle market with the Victory and Indian Motorcycle brands. Additionally, Polaris continues to invest in the global on-road small electric/hybrid powered vehicle industry with Global Electric Motorcars (GEM), Goupil Industrie SA, Aixam Mega S.A.S., and internally developed vehicles. Polaris enhances the riding experience with a complete line of Polaris Engineered parts, accessories and apparel, and Klim branded apparel. Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PII, and the Company is included in the S&P Mid-Cap 400 stock price index.

Information about the complete line of Polaris products, apparel and vehicle accessories are available from authorized Polaris dealers or anytime at polaris.com.

POLARIS USXC UPDATE

Polaris cross-country snowmobile racer Aaron Christensen (AC Racing) closed out the USXC season in dominant fashion as he won both Pro classes at the Moondance Jam 100 in Walker, Minnesota, on March 8.

Christensen won the Pro Open race to finish the season with three straight wins in the class and win the points title. He also won his third Pro 600 race of the season and finished second in points.

Polaris racers dominated the Pro classes at Walker, finishing 1-2-3 in both races. In the Pro 600 race, Christensen won, Justin Tate was second, Ryan Faust (Faust Racing) was third, and Spencer Kadlec (Bunke Racing) was fourth.

In Pro Open, Christensen won his third consecutive race, Tate was second, Faust was third, and Bobby Menne (131 Racing) returned from injury with a strong performance, finishing fifth.

In Semi-Pro 600, Polaris racer Dylan Stevens earned his first victory of the season. Alex Hetteen (131 Racing) finished 10th in Semi-Pro 600 and took second in the Semi-Pro Improved race, where Taylor Bunke (Bunke Racing) finished fifth.

Terry Gilomen took second in Super Stock, and in the Sport 600 Stock race, Austin Reinertson was second and Michael Feigitsch was third. Jill Tangen and Anne Pladson finished 2-3 in the Women’s race.

Polaris is a recognized leader in the powersports industry with annual 2013 sales of $3.8 billion. Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets innovative, high quality off-road vehicles, including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER and RZR side-by-side vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles and on-road electric/hybrid powered vehicles. Polaris is among the global sales leaders for both snowmobiles and off-road vehicles and has established a presence in the heavyweight cruiser and touring motorcycle market with the Victory and Indian Motorcycle brands. Additionally, Polaris continues to invest in the global on-road small electric/hybrid powered vehicle industry with Global Electric Motorcars (GEM), Goupil Industrie SA, Aixam Mega S.A.S., and internally developed vehicles. Polaris enhances the riding experience with a complete line of Polaris Engineered parts, accessories and apparel, and Klim branded apparel. Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PII, and the Company is included in the S&P Mid-Cap 400 stock price index.

Information about the complete line of Polaris products, apparel and vehicle accessories are available from authorized Polaris dealers or anytime at polaris.com.

POLARIS ISOC UPDATE

Ross Martin (Judnick Motorsports) returned from a mid-season injury with a bang, winning one Pro Open final and finishing second in the other during March 7-8 ISOC National snocross racing at Glyndon, Minnesota, near Fargo, N.D. Corin Todd (Leighton Motorsports) won both of the weekend’s Pro Lite finals and is the class points leader with one weekend of racing remaining.

James Johnstad (Judnick Motorsports) finished second and third in the weekend’s finals in Pro Lite, where Polaris racers stand 1-2-3 in points and hold six of the top 10 spots in the points standings.

Pro Open: Martin Reaches the Podium Twice; Kamm Second in Class Points

Ross Martin suffered a shoulder injury in practice prior to the Winter X Games in January and missed three weekends – six rounds – of ISOC National racing. But he returned to the track at Glyndon and finished second in his first final, then won for the first time this season in the weekend finale.

Martin has competed in just eight of the season’s 14 rounds to date, yet his strong weekend at Glyndon elevated him to 10th in season points.

Also earning top 10 finishes in the weekend’s first Pro Open final were Kody Kamm (Hentges Racing) in sixth, Kyle Pallin (Team LaVallee) in eighth, and Levi LaVallee (Team LaVallee) in 10th. When Martin won the weekend’s second final, Justin Broberg (Hentges Racing) took sixth, Jake Scott (Team LaVallee) was ninth, and Kyle Pallin was 10th.

With one weekend of racing remaining – which will include three Pro Open finals – Kody Kamm is second in points, Kyle Pallin is third, Justin Broberg is fifth, and Ross Martin is 10th. Team LaVallee teammates Levi LaVallee and Jake Scott are 11th and 12th, respectively.

Pro Lite: Polaris Dominates at Glyndon & Controls Points Race

Polaris racers earned five of six podium spots in the weekend’s two Pro Lite class finals, and six Polaris racers are among the top 10 in class points – including the top three in the standings.

In the weekend’s first Pro Lite final, Corin Todd won to lead a 1-2-3 Polaris podium sweep. Andrew Lieders (Team LaVallee) took second and James Johnstad (Judnick Motorsports) was third. Andrew Carlson (Carlson Motorsports} finished fifth and Trevor Leighton (Leighton Motorsports) was sixth.

Todd won the second final and Johnstad was second as six Polaris racers earned top 10 finishes. Zak Mason (Leighton Motorsports) was fourth, Carlson was sixth, Lieders was eighth, and Leighton was 10th.

With two rounds of racing remaining, Corin Todd leads with 517 points and Andrew Carlson is second with 507. Andrew Lieders is in third in points, James Johnstad is fifth, Zak Mason is sixth, and Trevor Leighton is in eighth.

Sport Class Racers Grab Half of Weekend’s Podium Spots

Ryan Springer (Carlson Motorsports) finished second in one of the weekend’s Sport class finals, and Jacob Yurk (Team Vermillion) and Braydon Love (444 Motorsports) both earned third-place finishes.

Ryan Springer is currently second in Sport points, and seven Polaris racers are in the top 10. Braydon Love is third, Durk Roper (Roper Racing) is fifth, Cole Cottew (Cottew Motorsports) is seventh, Evan Daudt (Daudt Racing) is eighth, Jacob Yurk (Team Vermillion) is ninth, and Adam Weiler (Weiler Racing) is in 10th.

The final event on the ISOC National schedule is the March 14-16 weekend of racing at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. There will be Pro Open finals all three days and two final rounds of Pro Lite racing.

Polaris is a recognized leader in the powersports industry with annual 2013 sales of $3.8 billion. Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets innovative, high quality off-road vehicles, including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER and RZR side-by-side vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles and on-road electric/hybrid powered vehicles. Polaris is among the global sales leaders for both snowmobiles and off-road vehicles and has established a presence in the heavyweight cruiser and touring motorcycle market with the Victory and Indian Motorcycle brands. Additionally, Polaris continues to invest in the global on-road small electric/hybrid powered vehicle industry with Global Electric Motorcars (GEM), Goupil Industrie SA, Aixam Mega S.A.S., and internally developed vehicles. Polaris enhances the riding experience with a complete line of Polaris Engineered parts, accessories and apparel, and Klim branded apparel. Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PII, and the Company is included in the S&P Mid-Cap 400 stock price index.

Information about the complete line of Polaris products, apparel and vehicle accessories are available from authorized Polaris dealers or anytime at polaris.com.

VICTORY PARADE FOR TEAM ARCTIC TERRAIN RACERS

Team Arctic terrain racers continued the season-long victory parade with another batch of wins, this time at the season-ending USXC cross-country in Walker, Minn., and the penultimate stop on the ISOC National Snocross tour.

The cross-country in Walker saw yet another impressive house-cleaning by Team Green, with 12 different racers winning a total of 13 classes on a twisty 6-mile course characterized by massive, unrelenting moguls and big berms. Arctic Cat racers showed their depth by taking 35 podium positions and sweeping six podiums.

“Our racers and machines win in all terrain and conditions – from the early season lake events to the gnarly ditch events and now at a lower-speed short-course event that had elements of a snocross course,” said Team Arctic Race Manager, Mike Kloety. “We ended the cross-country season exactly like we started it: with great racers and teams competing in all the classes, and with the most impressive results of any brand.”

One hundred miles to the west of Walker, Team Arctic snocross racers showed similar depth at the ISOC National double-header in Glyndon. Tucker Hibbert scored another Pro Open win during the Friday program, but a first turn bump in Saturday’s final put him on the ground, in last place and chasing back to claim fifth.

Team Arctic’s Cody Thomsen claimed a pair of third-place finishes, while Logan Christian of the Christian Bros. Racing team notched a second-place finish.

Team Green showed similar domination in the other classes, with Travis Kern and Tyler Adams exchanging wins in the Sport finals and Marica Renheim staying undefeated in Pro AM Women.

“By claiming four of the top-5 positions each night, this was the most powerful performance we’ve seen from our team in the Pro Open class all season,” said Kloety. “Plus it’s just as satisfying to see our racers taking wins in the Sport, Junior and Transition classes.”

The final stop on the 2014 ISOC tour is this coming weekend in Lake Geneva, Wis., where a triple-header concludes the 2014 season. The next RMSHA event is Jackson Hole World Championships March 20-23 in Jackson, Wyo.

Arctic Cat Inc., based in Thief River Falls, Minn., designs, engineers, manufactures and markets all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and snowmobiles under the Arctic Cat brand name, as well as related parts, garments and accessories. Its common stock is traded on the NASDAQ National Market under the ticker symbol ACAT.

More information about Arctic Cat and its products is available on the Internet at arcticcat.com.

First Ride on The 2015 Polaris AXYS

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We get our first ride aboard the 2015 Polaris RUSH and Switchback in the all-new AXYS platform and look at what Polaris has on deck for next season.

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2015 AXYS – RUSH or Switchback?

Dear Motorhead:

Just wondering about something and needing your opinion since they don’t let us buyers ride sleds before we buy them and I trust your opinion.

First off I’m a very experienced rider of 30 plus years, I’m 43 years old 6’3″, 250 lbs and ride very aggressively on Lower Michigan trails. I rarely ride off trail and 99% of time its groomed trails.

I’m definitely going to buy a new Polaris AXYS, but can’t decide between a RUSH or a Switchback. My last 2 sleds were a 2012 F1100 Turbo for 4200 miles and a 2014 ZR 8000 LXR for 2200 miles this year. I really like the 129 length for my style, but 137 might be too long and 120 I think is too short.

I know I want lightest weight and best handling, cornering as possible without giving up top end. I was wondering what difference in top speed and cornering etc between the 2 you experienced. I know I want light weight and fast as possible.

Thanks,

Luke G.

Luke:

Thanks for your email!

The choice between a Switchback and a RUSH is more difficult in MY2015 with the new AXYS chassis. Here’s why.

The previous Pro-Ride platform displayed a much greater difference in ride quality between the 120 Rush and 137 Switchback. The new AXYS Rush 120 rides so good compared to the Pro Ride 120 that moving to the SB 137 is not as big a deal.

Conversely, the former Pro Ride Switchback was head and shoulders better in the bumps than the Rush 120 with virtually no compromise demanded in handling. The new Switchback rides great however I have to say honestly the difference in ride quality with the new Pro-XC rear skid is almost undetectable unless you’re in fairly large square edgers the 137 can bridge better.

So…you need to ask yourself if the longer track has value in terms of flotation in fresh untramped snow or on lakes. Our experience has shown us the length of the track affects WOT speeds very little – simply put a snowmobile does “know” how long its track is – it just drives through the track.

What will affect top speed is lug height – if you go beyond 1.25 inches you will notice some lowering of the sleds top speed. However, deeper lug tracks provide improved acceleration under many conditions.

Sorry I don’t have a definitive answer – hopefully these observations will help you decide.

Thanks,

Motorhead Mark

THE 2015 YAMAHA WE’D PUT OUR MONEY ON

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Time for a little fantasy buying. We’re often asked which particular model sled we’d invest in if we were buying one with our own money.

When it comes to Yamaha this year we’ve put some thought into which model spins our crank the most and it comes down to the new DX series Vipers.

Just to be clear though, Yamaha has really messed up our minds by offering that early-season deal on the orange and blue Viper LE series. Those sleds just may be the coolest looking snowmobiles we’ve ever seen.

However, eye candy aside, we just can’t ignore the appeal of the DX series, particularly when it comes down to the RTX (129) and LTX (137) versions.

Why do we like these sleds so much? Actually, it’s all about shock calibration. After riding Vipers in both track lengths for a full season now, we’ve confirmed our thinking that the coilover shocks on this base model Viper are just about perfect for trail riding and occasional off-trail ventures in powder.

The skidframe shocks are pretty much the same as the more serious SE and LE versions of these sleds but the compression damping is set about 30-percent lower and ride compliance is flat-out excellent.

We’re not experiencing bottoming or any bad behavior even with the selection of Supertrax and SnowTrax wild men (and women) who put in seat time on these sleds.

Just to ease our minds, this year Yamaha is offering the DX Vipers with very cool red-white paint and graphics – actually cooler looking than the SE models had last year.

Oh, and we need to talk about windshields. The DX series Vipers all come with a real windshield. It’s just about the perfect height and keeps the rider warm and protected while looking very slick, too.

Hey, why wouldn’t we love the DX best? It’s warm, it rides great and has the same power package as the pricier Vipers.

This is the one we’d buy – probably in the 137-inch version. Just sayin’.