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What If Yamaha Built a 2-stroke Again?

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We’ve been postulating a lot of banter about Yamaha’s unique 2-stroke Direct Injection system the company has been using on its outboard motors for several years.

It’s called HPDI for High Pressure Direct Injection and is a very proven, bulletproof DI design that burns extremely clean, doesn’t smoke and gets gas mileage on a par or close to BRP’s E-TEC system.

It’s technology that hasn’t been used on a production snowmobile yet but is nevertheless very valid and attractive to those other sled-makers who build 2-strokes and would like to get a piece of Ski-Doo.

The question is: Why would Yamaha give up this technology to another OEM when it has invested jillions in perfecting it for itself?

We had thrown the theory out there that maybe a new Arctic Cat 600 2-stroke (if there really is one) could have Yamaha’s HPDI system on it. Although this is a bit of a stretch, we think it makes more sense Yamaha would come up with its own HPDI 2-stroke – probably an 800 or larger.

Why? It would get Yamaha into the burgeoning mountain market in a hurry and end all the complaining about weight in other categories.

Certainly, there’s a growing market for 4-strokes out there, but as both Arctic Cat and Ski-Doo have proven, manufacturers don’t necessarily have to marry themselves to one type of engine.

These companies have successfully targeted 4-stroke and 2-stroke customers and built very strong followings in both segments.

Yamaha has a history of building strong, powerful 2-strokes and although it has established its reputation as a 4-stroke company, it doesn’t mean it couldn’t reverse the trend and jump back into the 2-stroke market.

We could see it happening.

EVERYONE WANTS A PIECE OF TUCKER WINNER ANNOUNCED

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Contest Promoted By Supertrax Media and Arctic Cat Posts Record Entry

(Minden, ON – February 11, 2013) – In what has turned out to be a record setting event tied to Tucker Hibbert’s name, the Everyone Wants a Piece of Tucker Contest concluded this past January with over 26,000 ballot entries.

The exclusive contest provided the opportunity for one individual to win serial #0002 of Tucker’s 2013-limited build Arctic Cat F 800 Procross Race Replica sled. The lucky individual whose name was selected in the final drawing was Doug Bay of Mt. Jewett, Penn.

As if winning Tucker’s race replica F 800 isn’t enough, Doug will also receive an all expense paid trip, this week, to the home of Arctic Cat in Thief River Falls, Minn. for the unveiling of the snowmobile and to spend the day riding alongside ace snocross phenom and first ever six-time Winter X Games gold medalist Tucker Hibbert.

Joining Doug and Tucker will be SnowTrax Television’s Luke Lester who will host the ride and cover the fulfillment for an upcoming special story segment scheduled to air the week of March 18th on SnowTrax Television’s national broadcast network.

“Whenever you can win a snowmobile, you can expect a lot of entries; but to be honest, I was blown away at the response we had. Arctic Cat fans are a loyal group of people and I’m proud to be a part of that club.” Tucker Hibbert went on to say: “With such a busy schedule racing, I rarely get down time to ride recreationally. I’m looking forward to meeting Doug, handing over the key to my RR and hitting the trails with him. It’ll be a lot of fun!”

Managed in association with Arctic Cat and promoted by Supertrax Magazine and SnowTrax Television The Everyone Wants a Piece of Tucker Contest set a new precedent for ballot redemption tallying nearly 5 times the entries of previous contests.

Kent Lester, Co-Publisher of Supertrax Magazine had this to say; “First and foremost, we’re really excited for Doug and the spectacular prize he has won. Supertrax Magazine and SnowTrax Television have reached the number one position in their respective mediums due in part to the loyal following we have with our fans. We’re exceptionally proud of the new standard set with this contest. To have over 26,000 entries come through is equivalent to hitting a grand slam home run in the snowmobile publishing world.”

The idea of this contest was conceived during conversations between Mark Lester, Co-Publisher of Supertrax Magazine and Brad Darling, Vice President of Arctic Cat Snowmobiles.

After learning of the final ballot entry total, Brad had this to say; “This contest had a lot of great things going for it. Tucker’s explosive popularity and the opportunity to win a truly iconic Arctic Cat snowmobile was key. But equally important was the ability for Arctic Cat to execute and promote this contest. The circulation strength and readership loyalty of Supertrax Magazine and SnowTrax Television’s fan base were instrumental in achieving such an impressive number of entries. We are very pleased with the response snowmobile owners of all brands have shown.”

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Published four times seasonally and distributed to over 195,000 recipients each issue, Supertrax Magazine is North America’s most circulated and most read snowmobile publication. Affiliated with national broadcasters OLN and Wild TV in Canada and the Outdoor Channel in the United States, SnowTrax Television is the most watched snowmobile show in North America.

For more information on Supertrax Magazine visit www.supertraxmag.com and to view the complete broadcast schedule for SnowTrax Television visit www.snowtraxtv.com

SETTING UP YOUR rMOTION

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Since we first tried it, we’ve been amazed at the quality of ride Ski-Doo’s rMotion skidframe delivers and it just seems to keep getting better the longer you ride it.

We’ve had some readers asking us about the ideal setup and last week we took a 137 Renegade version and a 120-inch MX-Z for a long ride. Here’s some input.

The first thing we noticed is that the usual tendency with riders is to crank up the damping settings to avoid any possibility of bottoming out the sled. You needn’t worry. We’ve tested this suspension with aggressive riders from 190 to 250 lbs and the skid flat-out did not bottom.

What’s important to understand is that those same sleds were set up with the damping adjusters (tunnel mounted versions) set at the very low setting of “one”. The heaviest rider would sometimes, depending on whether they were riding the 120 or the 137 version, set it up to “two”. No higher. High numbers are stiffer, low numbers are softer.

Initially we noticed some steering numbness and darting with one of the sleds. When we checked the front shocks we found someone had cranked up the compression damping clickers to their highest numerical settings. Wrong!

Once we dialed the front shocks back to “zero” or, at most, “one” in combo with the softer rear damping settings, the sled not only rode better but the darting issue mostly disappeared. (the caveat here with darting is to add the second carbide runner to the Pilot skis – Ski-Doos only come from the showroom with one runner per ski in most cases).

Once you get your front shock and rear shock dampening settings correct, you can fiddle with the other side of the tunnel – the preload adjuster.

Frankly, we found preload makes the least difference in ride quality and only affects the ride over stutter bumps while adjusting the amount of ride-in the suspension will take when the rider is aboard.

Preload is where you can fine-tune rMotion for your weight and riding style. Once again: DO NOT GO NUTS WITH TOO MUCH PRELOAD! We found softer is better here, too.

Once again, you will not bottom out this sled even at high speed when the settings are soft.

If you’re having problems with handling or ride compliance, back everything off front and rear to the softest settings, even if you think you ride like Tucker Hibbert (you don’t). Do this and you’ll be amazed at how well this skid can work.

Byers On The Box at Amsoil Kawartha Cup

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The Supertrax/ Byers Motorsports/ Polaris team headed an hour east of their home town to Lindsay for the CSRA Kawartha Cup Snowcross National Round 3 this past weekend.

With little to no snow in Central Ontario, the CSRA opted to make snow to pull off the event. The track was similar to past years, being tight but lacked a base of snow in some areas and starts were very important.

The fans filled the grandstands for Saturday’s races and Jamie pulled off a 5th in Moto 1. In Moto 2, he grabbed the holeshot and battled with 5-time Champion Iain Hayden, passing back and forth before Jamie was able to pull out a bit of a lead.

Unfortunately, Jamie made a mistake in the rhythm section and went off the track coming back on and finishing in 3rd. Jamie didn’t get a good start in the final and rode to an 8th place finish.

The sun came out shining on Sunday and Jamie felt good after practice. The qualifying heats had been combined on Sunday therefore each race was like a final competing against the whole class.

Jamie grabbed the holeshot in Moto 1 before the race was restarted due to a downed rider on the track from a collision off the start. Jamie was mid pack off the restart and came across in 4th at the finish. He finished 8th in Moto 2.

In the final, Jamie lined up in the center and was able to grab a good start coming around in 4th on the first lap. He stayed close to 3rd place for 4 laps waiting for the right opportunity to make the pass. Jamie made the pass in the bottom section of the track and from there pulled away to comfortably capture his first Pro Podium in 3rd.

“I’ve struggled the past couple races and it feels great to have our luck change this weekend and to grab my first Pro podium!” Jamie said pumped after the race. “It was a fun weekend, had some great battles and felt good on the track, and to end the weekend the way we did is awesome.”

The team returns to the Lindsay Fairgrounds again this weekend for the Royal Distributing Cup National Round 4, which was originally scheduled to take place in Barrie.

Thanks to All our Great Sponsors: Supertrax Magazine, Byers Equipment Motorsports – Polaris, Dayco Belts, Gamma Sales- Fly Racing, Coldwave, Dragon Optics, Amsoil, Woody’s, Creechers Design, CMSports.com/Clean Media – Photography, Powermadd, TekVest, Digatron USA

What’s The Ideal Horsepower?

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Without question, the sleds that leave showrooms first every year are the big-inch hypersleds either in 121 or 136-plus configurations.

A large number of these snowmobiles are early-ordered and the owners have been salivating to get their hands on them since spring and early summer.

Do these sleds actually outsell high performance trail sleds in the middle of the range, though? These would be 600 2-strokes and 120-130-hp 4-strokes in all track configurations.

Buyers in this mid-performance category tend to hold onto their sleds a bit longer and so the numbers are misleading.

Certainly the big-power people who want engines in the 150-plus range tend to keep hypersleds for a shorter time and move up, sometimes yearly, to the latest, greatest and fastest.

Another consideration is these ultimate power snowmobiles are usually ridden harder and faster and many of the big-sled buyers who own them don’t want to push their luck with reliability.

These are the same people who are putting on significant miles every year, often in far-away places and they just don’t want to be left behind or on the side of the trail with mechanical problems, so they buy a new sled every year.

Another factor is the very strong mountain market. The vast majority of hill country sleds sold are big-inch iron. Altitude riders can use all the power that’s available and usually won’t settle for less – especially if the price is close anyway.

Our current supertraxmag.com poll indicates the highest percentage of first-time buyers buy a used mid-performance sled, not a used high performance sled.

We’ve always maintained a good indicator of the market is to check out what is being sold used, not new.

It appears the popularity of 110-130 horsepower sleds is very high and it’s where not just a lot of new-sled riders are looking, but those who are making a stab at entering the market, too.

We think it bodes well for companies building sleds in this range to offer models with less technology and lower prices to keep new people coming in.

MOTOVAN OGIO’S New Canadian PS Distributor

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Motovan Corporation, Canada’s leading distributor of Powersports parts and accessories, adds another outstanding brand to its offering. From now on, throughout its dealer network, Motovan will be able to share the unique benefits that Ogio offers.

With a wide range of backpacks, travel bags and kit bags infused with multiple functions, Ogio creates products ideal for Motorcycle, MX, ATV and Snowmobilers. Founded in 1987, Ogio alone revolutionized the design of powersports bags.

Motovan is proud to be the new distributor of OGIO’S products. “For Motovan to add a recognized brand such as Ogio will no doubt lead to a successful partnership!” Says Michael Paladino, Marketing Director of Motovan; “This addition is consistent with Motovan’s quest of becoming a one stop shop for our dealers. Ogio products complement our extensive offering perfectly.”

Furthermore, Motovan will be exhibiting at the Motorcycle shows in 2013 throughout Canada, starting with the one in Calgary from January 4th to January 6th.

About Motovan Corporation – Motovan focuses on building and maintaining the largest Canadian dealer network, strong leadership and customer service excellence. These key elements, paired with exclusive Canadian distribution rights on some of the most prestigious brands recognised in the powersports industry are what have ensured Motovan’s position as the industry leader for the past 30+ years.

All reference material, catalogs, industry information and product features can all be found on-line for your convenience at: www.motovan.com.

Logan Christian Scores Podium Finish At Deadwood

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It was something that had proved elusive so far this season for Christian Brothers Racing Pro Open snocross rider Logan Christian – a podium finish.

Christian, a top qualifier at most every event so far this season hasn’t been able to find a step on the box, but the ISOC National Deadwood Snocross Shootout this past Saturday, February 2, proved different.

Christian came out second off the start and and quickly took the lead in Saturday’s Round 2 Pro Open final, setting the pace on the extremely rough, tight course set up in the middle of downtown Deadwood on the Days of ’76 Rodeo Grounds.

In setting the pace the first time around Christian did something no other rider had done all weekend – he doubled over “The Wall,” an intimidating, momentum-stopping wall of snow track builders had set up just before turn 3. It was a move every other rider behind him would have to attempt if they hoped to stay with Christian.

Seeing his example, other riders copied Christian’s leap over the The Wall. Three laps into the 16-lap race in Christian fell back to second place but began a charge to take back the lead and started putting time on the first place sled.

But Christian’s pace led to him getting caught up with a lapped rider, his sled tipped on its side and he fell back to third place before he could re-mount and give chase again. The race went by quick on the small track and before any more drama could play out it was over with Christian finishing in the third and final podium spot.

It is Christian’s first Pro Open podium of the season and his first podium since he finished second at the Michigan National Snocross held inside the Pontiac Silverdome last season. It brings Christian’s career Pro podium count up to three. His first podium came at the Hayward National in 2011 when he finished second in Pro Stock.

Meanwhile, the Christian Brothers Racing cross-country riders Ryan Simons and Brian Dick were competing in one of the biggest races in snowmobiling, the prestigious Soo I-500 in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Qualifying for the race started on Tuesday and the team arrived early in the week to start putting time on the sled.

The team used the same simple formula that landed them second place in the race last year – take a stock Arctic Cat Sno Pro 600, install a Speedwerx mod engine, block the FOX shocks to lower the sled, install Stud Boy traction products and do little else other than basic cross-country/ice racing prep.

They qualified 27th out of 42 sleds and, when the green flag flew to start the race on Saturday morning, lead rider Simons began moving the sled to the front of the pack. By the halfway point the team was in third place but a lap and a half later they had to drop out because of a mechanical problem.

“It was running good until we had a problem with one of the cylinders,” said Simons. “But that’s how this race goes, attrition is definitely a factor in success. Our team worked hard getting the sled ready and basically took the entire sled apart the day before the race, but you can only control so much and sometimes things happen that are out of your hands.”

“After finishing second last year we had high hopes this year,” said Dwight Christian. “But this isn’t a 10-lap race, it’s 500-laps, and that’s why it’s so hard to win. We’ll be back next year and we’ll be ready.”

TEST RIDE: 2013 XF1100 Turbo CrossTour

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SnowTrax Television Co-Host AJ Lester evaluates Arctic Cat’s 2013 crossover touring sled – the XF1100 Turbo CrossTour.

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Polaris Racing Teams Dominate Soo Enduro

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Polaris snowmobile race teams totally dominated the grueling Soo I-500 enduro race on Saturday, Feb. 2, as the Gabe Bunke-led Bunke Racing 1 team won for the second year in a row and nine Polaris teams finished in the top 10.

Gabe Bunke teamed with Aaron Christensen and Spencer Kadlec for the victory, the team’s second straight Soo win and the fourth of Bunke’s career.

Bunke, a Polaris cross-country racing specialist, was also a successful team owner in the 2013 Soo race, which was shortened to 455 miles from the usual 500-mile distance on the 1-mile Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, ice oval. The Bunke Racing 2 team finished second with Ryan Faust and Travis Faust sharing driving duties. Finishing third was 131 Racing, with Bobby Menne (Bunke’s cross-country racing teammate), Mike Babcock and Ivan Hanson piloting a Polaris sled.

Polaris race teams finished first through seventh and took ninth and 10th places as well.

The Bunke Racing 2 sled driven by Ryan Faust was leading as the race passed the 440-mile mark in the early evening darkness. Gabe Bunke, aboard the Bunke Racing 1 sled, had to work his way through the pack after a pit stop, and he drove masterfully, powering through traffic despite the blinding cloud of snow dust that hung above the track.

Bunke took the lead on lap 451, and four laps later a caution flag flew. Race officials stopped the field on the backstretch, discussed the racing conditions – most notably the poor visibility for the racers – and they declared the race was over.

The 2013 Soo I-500 was a race determined by Polaris reliability and durability, as well as the top teams’ excellent teamwork and on-track skills.

Qualifying well did not prove beneficial this year as few of the top qualifiers finished the race, and only one sled that finished in the top 10 had started in the top 10. The winning Bunke Racing team had started 12th, while the runners-up started 17th and the third-place 131 Racing team started 15th.

In recent years, Gabe Bunke has played a key role in the development of Polaris cross-country and enduro race sleds. The Polaris Racing program has struck on a winning sled setup for the Soo, and Bunke said success at the famous track always requires hard work as well as strong sleds.

“We certainly worked hard in the off-season, and we came out with three bulletproof sleds,” he told i-500.com after the race. “There were a lot of Polaris [sleds] out here today, and they did pretty well. Hopefully we can carry it along next year and other years. The Faust boys ran a heck of a race, and Bobby Menne, we built the [131 Racing] sled in our shop. We didn’t have the same program for him, but he didn’t do bad for his first time. It was an awesome day. It’s the 45th [Soo] race, and it was dedicated to my good friend Leroy Lindblad. It’s pretty special,” Bunke said.

Lindblad, a Polaris cross-country star who raced in the 1970s with Bunke’s late father Jerry, passed away in the past year. Lindblad was on the Polaris team that won the Soo I-500 in 1974.

All Polaris racers at the Soo, as well as snocross racers who raced in an ISOC event in South Dakota, raced with heavy hearts after the Jan. 31 death of Polaris snowmobile freestyle star Caleb Moore.

Polaris Announces Changes to Board of Directors

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Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII) today announced its Board of Directors voted to elect Scott Wine, Polaris’ Chief Executive Officer, as Chairman of the Board. Wine succeeds Greg Palen, who has been Chairman for 11 years and has nearly 20 years of service on the Board.

“I would like to congratulate Scott on his election to serve in the additional capacity of Chairman of the Board. Under his leadership, Polaris has delivered consistent and profitable growth while successfully executing the company’s ambitious strategy, generating record results and shareholder returns. Scott has accomplished tremendous things since he started in 2008, but I am convinced that the best is yet to come for Scott and the Polaris team. Scott’s stellar track record as CEO of Polaris, coupled with his experience sitting on the Boards of Polaris and Terex, leaves me confident that the role of Chairman will be in good hands,” said Palen.

Scott will assume the role of Chairman effective immediately. Palen will step down from the Board following the Annual Shareholders meeting on April 25, 2013.

“Greg has been a beacon of leadership and wisdom on our Board of Directors for nearly 20 years, and his contributions were instrumental to the unprecedented growth Polaris enjoyed under his direction,” said Wine. “We thank Greg for the steady guidance and keen insight he provided as Chairman, and he can take great pride in the legacy he leaves, embodied by Polaris’ record of product, geographic and shareholder value expansion. While we will greatly miss his presence on our Board, we wish him the best as he enjoys a few less challenges and more time with his family and friends.”

In addition to changes in the Chairmanship, after nine years of service Bob Caulk announced his decision not to stand for re-election at the 2013 Annual Shareholders meeting.

Caulk’s board experience across several industries, as well as his strong background in mergers and acquisitions, proved invaluable in ensuring that Polaris maintained a trend of profitable growth even as the Company expanded its portfolio in recent years.

“During his time on the Board, Bob has supplied valuable insight into strategic marketing and complex acquisition transactions, contributing significantly to our recent ability to accelerate growth,” said Wine. “We are extremely fortunate to have had access to Bob’s experience, and we greatly appreciate the guidance he provided the Company throughout his service on the Board. We wish Bob the best of luck in his future endeavors.”

Finally, the Board also announced it has elected John Wiehoff as Lead Director. Wiehoff, who has served as CEO of C.H. Robinson Worldwide since 2002 and as the company’s Chairman since 2007, possesses an extensive background managing complex corporate financial issues.

This experience, along with John’s many other talents, has contributed significantly to Polaris’ success during his time as a member of the Polaris Board, which began in 2007.

About Polaris – Polaris is a recognized leader in the powersports industry with annual 2012 sales of $3.2 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, and internally developed vehicles. Polaris enhances the riding experience with a complete line of Pure Polaris and KLIM branded apparel and Polaris accessories and parts.

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 www.polaris.com.