In response to some viewers requesting an explanation, SnowTrax Co-Host Luke Lester gives a more in-depth explanation to what SnowTrax means when it talks about “throttle lag” inherent to Ski-Doo’s 4-TEC motor. For the record, its still a great motor.
Visit snowtraxtv.com to watch full episodes online and visit snowtraxtv.com/mobile to watch full episodes on your phone!
Sometimes 2 plus 2 adds up to five and we can’t figure out the math.
On a test ride a few weeks ago we took along a fleet of 800 2-strokes – one each of 2013 Ski-Doo, Polaris and Arctic Cat.
As a camera vehicle we added in a Polaris Turbo Touring. This sled has all the 2-up features including a big seat with a backrest and a 136-inch track. We’ve always liked this sled for its plush ride and nice amenities but have never, ever considered it a performance sled.
Hmm, here’s where the math gets messed up. In a couple of impromptu pulls down the lake – you know, where you can really open these ultra-high performance sleds up without breaking any laws or creating any danger, we noticed not one of them was pulling away from the big Turbo. Asked if the other guys were wide open, they were.
You could argue about whether or not all the 800s’ clutches were fully shifted out and were they all at max top speed, but what really impressed this rider was the acceleration up to maximum shift-out. The Turbo literally catapults the sled up past the digits on its speedometer!
The truth here: This sled not only stays with those 2-stroke hypers from low speed throttle roll-ons (20mph) up into the top three-quarters of its power range, those 800s are playing catch-up all the way to the C-note!
Polaris claims the turbo makes 140-horsepower and has a boost feature that allows it to go to 160 at initial throttle tip-in for about 4-seconds. Once again, the math gets very fuzzy when you’re actually riding it. This is ridiculous behavior for a somewhat heavy, sleeper touring sled.
Is the Turbo an overachiever? You bet it is. Our advice: If you meet someone out on the lake riding one of these and they look at you with an evil grin, let them go. You’re not likely gonna catch them.
Earlier this week we took two hypersleds, the Polaris RUSH 800 Pro-R and Yamaha’s EPS Apex (128-inch) for a 130-plus mile ride on a series of lakes near the Supertrax cave.
The lakes we frequently run were about perfect for some high speed testing. Conditions were incredible and everything was packed down smooth and hard for maximum traction and side grip. Temperatures hovered just above zero-degrees Celsius (32F) all day.
We’ve been very impressed with this year’s RUSH and its most recent suspension calibration plus its Cleanfire 800 is a strong, consistent runner that never disappoints. We didn’t expect to be so surprised by the Apex.
The single biggest change to the 2012 Apex was its re-padded seat. There’s now more foam at the front of the seat close to the gas tank and it allows the rider to sit a bit higher. A good modification and one we fully appreciate but not earth-shaking in its scope.
We had installed a set of Yamaha P&A’s aftermarket dual skag skis early in the season and were double impressed how they had completely eliminated the sled’s tendency for darting.
This is a big deal with the Apex and quite frankly, once you install these skis you get EVERYTHING the Apex is capable of delivering in the steering and trail riding departments. Handling is even improved with very predictable turn-in and great tracking through the corners.
As we honed those near-perfect lakes, we were flat-out blown away with the Apex’s fantastic engine. Only one word can describe it – POWERHOUSE!
This mill pulls like a locomotive from top to bottom. The mid range hit is so impressive you become addicted to plying the throttle just to get the vibe over and over again. The engine pulls extremely hard even past the C-note. Incredible – and so consistent!
We rode choppy trails for about 20 miles on our return loop and once again, the Apex impressed, this time with its excellent ride.
For a big sled, its monoshock skid and 128-inch track combo handles trail chatter and washboard so well you don’t even feel the stuff at low speeds. It’s only when the bumps get deeper and the speeds go up you’ll feel it and it’s not that bad.
At the end of the day we would issue a warning to those 800 2-stroke owners who want to pick a drag race with a new Apex. Don’t do it.
+ Click here for specs and details!
Find out about surprising sled #2 tomorrow.
Cupid got me right in the sweet spot this Valentine’s Day, putting me in the mood to take my wonderful lady on a little get-away.
Of course I wanted to mix the right amount of snowmobiling in with the romance and I didn’t have to think too long about where we should go to get the best of both worlds. If you’re wondering how to get your significant other to jump on the sled with you, keep reading.
Quebec Again?
It might seem like we’re jamming the Quebec snowmobiling thing down your throat lately, however Quebec has an abundance of snow again this year and trips to Quebec are always an experience simply unmatched by any other destination in the world.
When our friends in the Chaudiere Appalaches region of Quebec (Chaudiere Appalaches borders the state of Maine and is in close proximity to one of North America’s finest cities, Quebec City) invited us to visit, I immediately put two and two together and knew this was the ideal situation to impress my wife and her discerning tastes.
Start Your Trip the Right Way
We began our adventure at the Four Points Sheraton in Levis, Quebec which is just a short drive from the Quebec City airport.
The Four Points Sheraton in Levis is a special hotel with an energetic and creative General Manager who truly understands the finer points of tourism.
The meticulously clean and modern hotel highlights 5-star amenities and often features special events, whether hosting outdoor concerts, snocross races or building outdoor arenas worthy of hosting an NHL hockey game.
As a snowmobiler, one of the best parts about starting your trip here is that you can park your sled in the heated underground parking garage, drive it out and hit the trail immediately. Pretty sweet.
We arrived early and enjoyed a day at the hotel, taking advantage of the heated pool, gym and local amenities. A terrific restaurant, called Cosmos, is attached to the hotel and we had an incredible dinner that evening followed by a breakfast to die for the next morning before we departed.
Visit www.fourpoints.com/Levis
Come back soon to read about our adventure and see photos and video shot with our GoPro HD Hero2 helmet-mounted camera. These photos are worth a thousand words.
Bill Rader, the long-time racing coordinator for the Polaris snowmobile race program passed away Monday, Feb. 20, 2012, after a courageous battle with cancer.
He was 54. Rader played a major role in the resurgence of the Polaris snowmobile racing program over the past dozen years. He worked closely with Racing Director Tom Rager, Sr., a close friend of Rader’s for more than 20 years.
“He was extremely well-liked and everyone in the industry knows how instrumental he was in rebuilding this Polaris program,” Rager said of Rader. “His specialty was working with young talent, the father-son race teams, nurturing them to get them to the next level. He worked with people like [Pro racers] TJ Gulla and D.J. Eckstrom and helped them as they rose through the program.”
In the early 1990s, Rager was managing the Ski-Doo racing program and he hired Rader as his race program coordinator. Rader and his family – his survivors include his wife Tammy and daughter Dana – moved from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to Wausau, Wisconsin, at that time for the job.
When Rager was hired as racing manager by Polaris in August 2000, he immediately hired Rader as racing coordinator. The two men led the rebuilding of the Polaris racing program back to the championship level program it is today. “Billy took care of the B Team programs, assisted me with outside sponsorships and he dealt heavily with the ISR,” the racing sanctioning body, Rager said.
The two men developed an incredible friendship over the years. “They always say you meet one person in life who is truly your best friend, and for me he was truly my best friend,” Rager said.
A Great Sportsman
Scott Judnick, co-owner of the Judnick Motorsports snocross racing team, said Rader was a great influence on racers of all brands. “I can remember when we were racing for Arctic Cat – this is our 10th year with Polaris – Bill would always come up and talk to you at the track, give you encouragement. He was a great sportsman. He worked with the Sport-class guys and he’d go trailer to trailer and make sure everybody had what they needed and give them input… Bill was a big part of our team and our success and the championships we’ve won over the years.”
Judnick said Rader contributed to the spirit and technology of racing. “He made it fun. He was always willing to help, whatever you needed, he was there for you,” Judnick said. “He came up with ideas, he would run for stuff – nothing was beneath him. He was a big part of the success of this program. On a lot of different test trips Bill would be there and his input was always fantastic. The guy would be talking to you and he was so smart, and you’d be like, ‘what did he say?’ He’s get into the chemistry end of things and he loved to study and read and figure things out.”
Rader was unable to attend races while battling cancer, and he was missed. “The snowmobile racing world was very concerned about Bill,” Judnick said. “Every single weekend people come up and ask, ‘how’s Bill doing?’ I can’t tell you how much we’ve missed not having him at the track, and now that he has passed, how much we will miss him going forward.”
Judnick said commemorative decals were being prepared for racers to put on their sleds in Rader’s honor.
A Vintage Mopar Enthusiast
William E. “Bill” Rader grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where he loved racing snowmobiles and stock cars. He worked for a time in the mines and served as technical inspector for the USSA snowmobile racing circuit, where he was exemplary in his fairness and his concern for racer safety. He was operating an industrial supply company when Rager hired him to work with the Ski-Doo racing program.
Rader was focused on his family and his job, and he enjoyed restoring old vehicles. “He loved building old hot rods,” Rager said. “He rebuilt a ’70 Road Runner, and his latest project was a ’73 Dart. He loved the old Mopar stuff. He also did an incredible job refurbishing old Polaris snowmobiles, and his latest was an old StarFire sled.”
A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 24, 2012, at Saint Andrew Lutheran Church, 3200 N. Mountain Road, Wausau. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 23, at Brainard Funeral Home, 5712 Memorial Court, Weston, WI, and again from 9:30 a.m. until the time of services Friday at the church.
If you’ve been reading the recent news releases on Polaris’ new Pro-RMK 155 mountain sled you may not have realized this sled has some very ground-breaking new technology.
The top headline is its incredible reduction in weight – the engineers have gotten the sled’s mass down to 417 lbs, dry.
Pretty impressive to say the least, and it makes this sled the lightest in its class by a considerable margin.
However, we think even bigger news is its use of a rubber belt drive in lieu of a chaincase to transfer power to the track.
This is a pretty big development considering nearly every snowmobile for decades has used a “wet” chaincase with heavy gears, tensioners, drive chains and castings to get the power transferred from the jackshaft down to the drive axle.
Without question the belt system is way lighter and long-term engineering and testing on motorcycles has proven a belt can be just as reliable as a chain in this application.
Naturally, our minds are exploding with the possibilities of this tech being used on more sleds in the future.
We spoke to some engineers and they told us the main problem with using it on existing sled platforms is space in the right footwell. Due to the placement of the large bottom pulley there are limitations with current design layouts, especially when different gear sets (pulleys) need to be employed.
Nevertheless, we think this technology is highly valid and could be put into play as new platforms are brought out.
We’re not sure who actually owns patents on this idea but it’s a good one and the massive weight reduction to be gained makes it pretty tempting for use as a drive system on all sleds.
Dustin Wahl from Greenbush, Minnesota, won his third Grand Prix Ski-doo of Valcourt on Sunday when he crossed the finish line ahead of two-time Valcourt defending champion Nicholas Van Strydonk of Tomahawk, Wisconsin and Malcolm Chartier of Marine City, Michigan.
Wahl inherited first place on the restart, after race leader Joel Diamond went off-track on lap two. He never looked back. Dustin’s third Grand Prix victory on the ice oval feature race, also increases the number of wins by the Wahl family, to 13.
His father David won four times between 1988 and 1994, and his cousin Terry a record six times between 1995 and 2003. Local favourite Jacques Villeneuve retired with a mechanical problem from the race at the halfway point of the 15-lap affair. He was in fourth place.
In the other grand finale of the Grand Prix, Robbie Malinoski of Lino Lake, Minnesota, ran away from the rest of field to score his first ever snocross Pro Open class victory in Valcourt.
While there was a scramble for second place between Darrin Mees, Matt Morin and Tim Tremblay, the eventual winner was able to build a lead that enabled him to ease his way to the finish line.
Tim Tremblay of St-Jeanne d’Arc, Quebec, dropped to fourth place from his pole position at the start, but he battled his way back to a second-place finish after passing Matt Morin from Val-d’Or, Quebec, on lap seven and took second place away from Darrin Mees from Long Island, New York, on lap 10 of the 15-lap race.
Tremblay, the defending race champion, ran out of time. The top four finishers in the Pro Open are all regulars in the ISOC series.
Lucas Brunelle of Boucherville, Quebec, who is a regular in the East Coast Snocross series, earned his first win of the weekend ahead of Canadian Snocross Racing Association riders Jamie Byers from Orillia and Devin Wilson from Hillsburg, Ontario.
Next year’s Grand Prix Ski-doo of Valcourt will be February 15-17, 2013, the next Xtreme event race fans will not want to miss.
Whew! The weather gods provided just enough snow and ice depth to pull off the 22nd Annual “World’s Largest” classic snowmobile event in the Twin Cities of Minnesota the last weekend in January.
With winter weather the warmest in recent history, the Ride-In Committee fretted. However, in the nick of time, a cold snap increased ice depth to at least 12″ and provided adequate snow cover on the ice for the trail ride, ice drags and ice oval racing.
On the lake, it was clear that many participants were out for their first vintage ride of the warm winter. Although the trail ride was shortened to stay on the lake, some 426 antique and vintage riders made the circular circuit, many several times around!
Speaking of the trail ride, we encountered three Moto Ski machines having fun and visited them when they stopped for a rest on the ice. Here it was three gentlemen from Boston, Massachusetts. One remarked that this fun on Lake Waconia was another check off on his “bucket list”.
Another example of a long distance visitor was a real friendly guy who journeyed from Newfoundland, Canada. He explained that he lived farther east than any other state or province on the North American continent. This Canadian may well have garnered the long distance award!
There were vintage and antique machines of all makes and colors. Waconia is well known by those who want to see the rarest and ‘odd-ball’ brands – all having fun in the cold crisp air.
Big smiles were seen on all the racers. Whether it was straight line ice drag racers on Saturday or oval racers on Sunday, these guys were happy to be racing.
With so many events canceled previous to Waconia, these racers were tickled to be able to try their latest clutching combination and share some real ice racing competition.
Likewise at the swap meet. There were more sellers than ever, simply because for most this was their first opportunity to sell their wares. One vendor proudly reported greater sales than any other year at Waconia.
The LOUD snowmobile contest was enhanced this year. The contest was broken into two categories – Megaphone and tuned exhaust. Winners received special trophies.
This year Chaparral was the featured snowmobile. The Ballroom display included many factory racers, prototypes that were never put into production and a 1968 SnowBirdie, the precurser to the Chaparral brand name.
On Saturday night, a charity auction was held for a gorgeous 1972 Firebird with 650 Hirth engine. The restored sled sold for $5,400 (a record) donated to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Next year, the featured snowmobile brands will be Brut & Scorpion. See you there on January 26 & 27, 2013!
Tucker Hibbert has arrived in Russia and is prepared to compete for the FIM Snowcross World Championship title this weekend.
The reigning US National Champion is known as one of the world’s top snowmobile racers. Hibbert will put that theory to the test Saturday against 33 riders from six countries at The Technical Sports Centre Semigorje near Ivanovo.
This year marks the first time in the nine-year history of the FIM Snowcross World Championship that the event will be held in Russia. The 2010 World Championship in Sweden was Hibbert’s first event outside of North America.
He quickly adjusted to the longer, rougher European-style track winning two of the three main events to become the first American to be crowned champion. Last year in Finland, he was the heavy favorite to win but after suffering a mechanical issue in the second of three races, he finished third overall.
Unlike the sanctioning body in the US (ISOC), FIM has sound and fuel restrictions and does not allow the use of traction products in the rubber track of the snowmobile. Hibbert will spend the coming days adjusting to the unique race conditions while his crew executes fine-tuning on his Arctic Cat Sno Pro 600.
On Saturday, a round of qualifying will cut the field down to 22 riders. Those top riders will all compete in three separate 15-minute, plus two lap main events. The rider with best average finish after the three races will take home the 2012 title.
Fans can watch the event free and live online. Qualifying begins at 10 a.m. with the final races from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Be sure to adjust the times to your local time zone. (Example EST: Qualifying 1 a.m. / Final Races 3:30 – 8 a.m.)
For live updates from the event, follow Hibbert on Twitter and Facebook.
Polaris Terrain Domination will be showcased by several teams competing in the grueling Iron Dog race across Alaska, and by the Iron Dog Ambassadors, a Polaris-sponsored group of four riders who will run the racecourse to promote the event and thank volunteers in remote towns and villages.
The Iron Dog Ambassadors will start the race with Trail-class teams in Big Lake, Alaska, on Friday, Feb. 17. Pro teams will start in Big Lake two days later.
The Ambassadors will run the racecourse on Polaris PRO-RIDE performance models ahead of the Pro teams to promote the event and spread goodwill across Alaska.
They will visit schools and civic groups and thank residents in remote towns and villages for volunteering with the race.
The 2012 Iron Dog Ambassadors are:
– Mike Bedard, Polaris Snowmobile Engineering Manager, Trail Performance and Race
– Lt. Col. Joseph Lawendowski of the Alaska National Guard, the race’s main sponsor
– Evan Booth, who won the Iron Dog in 1992 and 1994 aboard Polaris Indy snowmobiles
– Dan Zipay, a five-time winner of the Iron Dog – all on Polaris Indy models – who is a member of the Iron Dog Hall of Fame.
Bedard, 43, is a long-time Polaris rider, a former snowmobile racer and a veteran of the U.S. Army and Army National Guard. He joined the Polaris snowmobile engineering team in 1991 as a development technician operating engine dynos. He has played a significant role in the development of numerous Polaris snowmobiles, including the snocross race sleds of recent years and the 600 Switchback Adventure models that the Ambassadors helped introduce last year.
Bedard was an Iron Dog Ambassador in 2011, the first year of the outreach program, as was Lt. Col. Lawendowski. Booth and Zipay are first-time Ambassadors but both are familiar with racing in and winning the Iron Dog. Booth and Zipay won the race as teammates in 1992 and 1994, and Zipay won it with John Faeo as his teammate in 1986, 1987 and 1988.
“It was an honor to take part in the race last winter, and we look forward to spreading goodwill and appreciation to volunteers as Iron Dog Ambassadors in 2012,” said Bedard. “The race runs through some extremely remote areas, and the residents of those towns and villages are vital to the racers’ survival and the race’s success.”
The Ambassadors won’t officially compete for the Trail-class victory, but will maintain a competitive pace. Their plan is to arrive in Nome on Feb. 21, service their sleds and leave the next day to run the second half of the racecourse ahead of the Pros, spreading goodwill all the way to the finish line in Fairbanks.
In 2011, the Ambassador team left Nome headed for Fairbanks but a fierce winter storm near the coast forced them back to Nome, which they reached only after a harrowing overnight battle through sea ice and ocean overflow.
Sixteen of 31 Pro teams and nine of 17 Trail teams will race on Polaris snowmobiles – including Trail Team 51, the Iron Dog Ambassadors.
The Polaris Pro teams include Team 6, which has two-time defending race winner Tyler Huntington paired with Tre West. Team 10 has two-time defending race winner Chris Olds paired with Mike Morgan.
Last year, four of the top seven Pro teams to finish were on Polaris snowmobiles. This year’s Pro teams includes Team 2, comprised of Polaris racers Ryan Sottosanti and Andrea Zwink, who finished sixth in the 2011. Polaris racer Arnold Marks, Jr., who was on the team that finished seventh last year, is teamed with Archie Agnes on Team 40.
The Pro teams will start in Big Lake on Sunday, Feb. 19, race to Nome, the traditional half-way point for Pro teams, then restart in Nome and race to the Feb. 25 finish in downtown Fairbanks. The race course covers slightly more than 2,000 miles.
It’s easy for Polaris dealers and their customers to follow Iron Dog teams online as they race across Alaska. Every race team – including the Ambassadors, Team 51 – has GPS units on their sleds so they can be tracked and, if necessary, located by search teams.
Polaris in Iron Dog History
The first Iron Dog race was run in 1984, and was won by the Polaris team of John Faeo and Rod Frank. Faeo has been part of six winning Polaris teams.
The Iron Dog has been run 26 times (it was cancelled in 2003), and Polaris teams have won it 13 times, the most of any brand. Those wins include the past three races, as Polaris racers Chris Olds and Tyler Huntington won in 2010 and 2011, and Todd Minnick and Nick Olstad won in 2009.
Teams that have won the Iron Dog on Polaris sleds are:
2011: Chris Olds & Tyler Huntington
2010: Chris Olds & Tyler Huntington
2009: Todd Minnick & Nick Olstad
2001: Tracey Brassard & Ken Lee
1996: John Faeo & Bob Gilman
1995: Todd Palin & Dwayne Drake
1994: Dan Zipay & Evan Booth
1992: Dan Zipay & Evan Booth
1991: John Faeo & Bob Gilman
1988: John Faeo & Dan Zipay
1987: John Faeo & Dan Zipay
1986: John Faeo & Dan Zipay
1984: John Faeo & Rod Frank
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SNOWTRAX has established itself as the most watched snowmobile TV series in North America.
Each season, the SNOWTRAX crew guides viewers through informative and entertaining content; revealing the inside scoop on the latest snowmobiles, accessories and riding destinations that make snowmobiling winter's greatest adventure sport.
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