Be sure to grab the latest issue of SUPERTRAX to get the scoop on all the 2009 sleds!
Check out Cat’s new Turbo, the Yamaha Nytro XTX, Ski-Doo’s MX-Z XR 4-stroke and the Polaris IQ 800SP!
Plus we cover all the engines we’ve known and loved throughout the years, plus a few we didn’t.
Get your copy today!
Our last poll asked what feature is most important to you on a new sled. From 694 votes the results were as follows:
42.80% – Reverse (297 votes)
26.51% – Hand/Thumb Warmers (184 votes)
12.82% – Warm Windshield (89 votes)
10.23% – Electric Start (71 votes)
04.61% – Storage Capacity (32 votes)
03.03% – 2- Up Versatility (21 votes)
Our latest poll asks:
Which 2009 will be the biggest hit?
1. Yamaha Nytro XTX
2. Ski-Doo MXZ XR 4-Stroke
3. Polaris IQ800 SP
4. Arctic Cat Z1 Turbo
Scroll down to the bottom of this page to take part in our latest poll!
Press Release –
Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII), the leader of Ride and Handling in the snowmobile industry for over 54 years, today announced its 2009 line-up of sleds featuring more models with the powerful Liberty 800 HO Cleanfire engine, an expanded selection of high-value Shift models and the first Utility model built on the Polaris-exclusive IQ Chassis at its annual dealer sales meeting in Reno, Nevada.
With Slednecks riders Randy Sherman and Paul Thacker on hand, Polaris continued its support of the Free Ride segment with the introduction of the back-country-dominating 800 RMK 146 Assault.
With its 2009 model line-up, Polaris has once again answered the call of snow enthusiasts with the latest innovation, technology and rugged reliability that separates its sleds from all the rest. Nearly every model is built on the Polaris IQ Chassis, an ideally balanced platform whose ride and handling are optimized by premium IQ suspensions and shock packages and complemented by high-performance engines.
Through its dominant snocross and cross-country racing program and the most demanding testing program in the industry, Polaris has developed efficient, durable, high-performance snowmobiles for every type of rider.
“The history and tradition of Polaris snowmobiles is built on the ride and handling experience and driven by a company with a passion for riding,” said Bennett Morgan, President and COO, Polaris Industries. “The new, innovative products demonstrate our Company’s commitment to providing the ultimate in quality, performance and value for every kind of snow enthusiast.”
Nine models in three distinctive model segments will feature the compact, efficient and extremely powerful liquid-cooled twin Liberty 800 HO Cleanfire4 engine in 2009.
The 800 engine will be used in two Performance models (800 IQ and the 800 Dragon SP™), two Crossover models (800 Switchback® and 800 Dragon Switchback) and five Deep Snow models (800 Assault™ RMK 146, 800 RMK Shift 144, 800 RMK 155 and the 800 Dragon RMK 155 and 163).
In addition, Polaris will offer six Shift models in three model segments (550 IQ Shift™ and 600 IQ Shift in Performance; 600 IQ Shift 136 in Crossover; 600 RMK Shift 144, 600 RMK Shift 155 and 800 RMK Shift 144 in Deep Snow) that deliver outstanding performance and the industry’s best ride and handling — all at an incredible value. Snow enthusiasts will continue to have the opportunity to personalize and customize the all-black Shift models to their taste, and enjoy the sleds’ powerful Polaris twin-cylinder engine and Polaris IQ Chassis across all segments.
Polaris also unveiled the new 2009 WideTrak IQ, the industry’s first Utility model built on the IQ Chassis. With its long-travel IQ IFS (Independent Front Suspension), it gives riders easy responsive handling on- and off-trail.
“Polaris riders have demanded and will get the ultimate riding experience in 2009,” said Scott Swenson, vice president and general manager, Snowmobile and Pure Polaris Divisions. “Our new snowmobile lineup delivers the industry-leading quality, ultimate performance and features and exceptional value that riders want.”
Polaris’ industry leading innovative products are available to riders now via the pre-season Snow Check order. Customers who order their 2009 800 model snowmobile through the Snow Check program between now and April 7, 2008 are guaranteed delivery by November 15, 2008.
In addition, buyers will have the choice of electric start on select on select models or $500 U.S. ($800 CDN) in Pure Polaris AND a 2-year engine warranty OR a 3-year Extended Service Contract.
“Polaris has delivered an impressive array of high-quality snowmobiles for model year 2009 and paired it with an equally compelling Snow Check offer that will excite customers and translate into sales” said Cassandra Murphy, Marketing Manager of Snowmobiles and Pure Polaris.
Visit PolarisIndustries.com to see the entire lineup.
Press Release –
Tucker Hibbert and his Monster Energy/Arctic Cat will compete at the Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) AMSOIL/Ryde FX Double-Header National this weekend.
Hibbert was set to finish his snocross season at the World PowerSports Association (WPSA) Snowmobile Tour’s Eastern National in New York but the event was canceled due to the lack of snow.
This is an unscheduled event for Hibbert but with his rich racing history at Brainerd, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to squeeze in one more snocross race before heading to motocross.
Hibbert entered his first snocross race at the Brainerd Fairgrounds and won countless district and state races in the area as a semi-pro. Last year, he competed in his first-ever pro national at BIR and won both Stock finals.
This is his first event since his back-to-back gold medal performance at ESPN’s Winter X Games 12. Although he missed round five of the national tour, he has the most pro wins of the season with four Super Stock victories and one Open victory.
Hibbert’s been laying down dominating rides every time he hits the track so expect another winning performance this weekend by team Monster Energy/Arctic Cat.
Tucker Hibbert – #68 Monster Energy/Arctic Cat says, “This is my first race since the X Games so I’m really excited to get back on the track. We’ve had an awesome year so far and I’m looking forward to having another opportunity to put my Monster Energy/Arctic Cat on-top of the podium.”
A Match Made in Heaven
By: Matt Lester
If what you’re about to read sounds familiar, it’s probably because year after year we keep returning to the Lanaudiere region of Quebec for incredible hospitality, breath-taking scenery and seemingly endless, groomed snowmobile trails.
This year was even more special as we explored new territory, found an incredible “hidden gem” to lay our heads down and were blessed with more snow than we’ve seen in years.
Just an hour and a half drive north of Montreal is the picturesque Quebec town of Ste.-Emelie-de-L’Energie and the charming resort, Auberge du Vieux Moulin. If you can’t pronounce the town or the hotel, no worries, however you still need to do yourself a favor and visit.
If wide, peanut-butter-like trails, an abundance of snow and snowmobile-friendly surroundings are right up your alley then make your next trip one you’ll never forget and visit this unique destination. It looks like they could have snow well into April so there’s still time to book something this season.
Auberge du Vieux Moulin is a hidden gem and may be one of Quebec’s best kept secrets as far as snowmobile destinations go. Owner and Chef-extraordinaire of the Auberge du Vieux Moulin, Yves Marcoux, and his vivacious wife Sylvie serve up hospitality like no other place we’ve visited to date.
These snowmobile-loving owners work with the throttle wide open day and night, seven days a week in order to give each and every guest a memorable experience. Yves serves up some of the best food you’ll ever taste while Sylvie cheerfully goes out of her way to make you feel as comfortable as you do in your own home.
A recent renovation includes an indoor salt-water pool, indoor hot-tub and three more outdoor hot-tubs. Each room has a gas fireplace and satellite television. You can rent sleds (we rented new Ski-Doo REV XP 600’s) right there and Yves has even prepared several different snowmobile routes of varying distances that begin right at the resort.
You can always do what we did and grab a Lanaudiere snowmobile map and make your own tour. The trail leaves right from the door of the Auberge du Vieux Moulin and ample signage will bring you back with a smile on your face when you’re ready to call it a day.
The Auberge du Vieux Moulin is truly a snowmobiler’s paradise however there’s also a long list of winter activities like skating, tubing, skiing and ice fishing to mix up the entertainment. One thing’s for sure; they love snowmobilers here and snowmobilers love this place.
We’ve already made arrangements to return next year.
Visit http://www.auberge-lanaudiere.com and call Auberge du Vieux Moulin at 1-866-884-0211.
Visit Tourism Lanaudiere’s web site at www.snowmobilecountry.ca.
Press Release –
Things couldn’t have gone much better for the Team Arctic cross-country racers this past weekend at the USCC AMSOIL Triple Crown 300 race in Hayward, Wisconsin.
Not only did Arctic Cat riders come out on top in Pro 600, Pro Open, Semi-Pro 600 and Semi-Pro Open, D.J. Ekre locked up the points and took home the Triple Crown title.
The Hayward track was described by USCC President Pat Mach as a “snow lemans” course.
It was about four miles in length, filled with bumps and packed with right- and left-handed switchback turns. Going into the Pro 600 final, Ekre was focused on the Triple Crown.
“I knew I just needed to finish near the front and get the points,” said Ekre. “I wanted to win, but I wasn’t about to take any risks out there. We had our setup dialed in and the 600 Sno Pro ran as strong as ever this weekend. I don’t want to say it was easy, but things went really well for us.”
The Hayward 300 was the final race in the Sledhead 24/7 AMSOIL Triple Crown series and Ekre notched wins at the first two events, so he had a hefty points lead in the class.
“Winning the Triple Crown is quite an accomplishment,” he said. “Arctic Cat has always been serious about doing well in cross-country and I’m happy I was able to bring home the title for them.”
Not only did Team Arctic riders sweep the Pro and Semi-Pro classes at Hayward, they swept the top four spots in Pro Open with Ryan Simons in first, Ekre second, Jesse West third and Brian Dick fourth.
In Pro 600 Simons took the win with Dick in fourth, Ekre fifth, West sixth while Dan Ebert made his Pro debut after winning both Semi Pro classes, finishing seventh.
Semi-Pro riders Bryce Buchanan and Brandon Gerszewski made it a Team Arctic podium sweep in Semi-Pro 600.
“Team Arctic had a huge weekend in Hayward,” said Assistant Team Arctic Race Manager Mike Kloety. “Sweeping all these classes on the new Sno Pro 600 speaks volumes for its durability and what can be accomplished on it by our racers.We hate to see the season end when you have this kind of momentum. But if it has to end, then going out on a high note with Ryan sweeping the Pro classes, Dan sweeping the Semi-Pro classes and D.J. winning the Triple Crown is the way to do it.”
Other Team Arctic wins included Jolene Bute in the Women’s class, Cole Lian in the Junior 10-13 class and Sara Larson in the 120 Stock class.
In all, Team Arctic riders won 7 out of 18 classes at Hayward.
Press Release –
Polaris cross-country racer Aaron Christensen won the Ryde FX Pro Open Class on his Polaris IQ® race sled at the United States Cross Country’s (USCC) BIR 200 held at Brainerd (MN) International Raceway on February 23-24.
Christensen, who is from Metiskow, Alberta, Canada, also finished third in the 20-lap FXR Pro 600 class at Brainerd. The Pro 600 race was the second of three events in the “Amsoil Triple Crown Driven by Polaris.”
Christensen’s strong finish in the Pro 600 class should put him among the point leaders heading into the final event of the series, March 1-2 at Hayward, Minnesota. (Updated points standings were not available when this was written.)
Another Polaris racers who is in an even stronger position to challenge for the Triple Crown title is Gabe Bunke. The Moorhead, Minnesota, racer finished fourth in Pro 600 at Brainerd. He headed to Brainerd third in Triple Crown points.
Bunke also won the Scott USA Vet 30+ class at Brainerd, and finished fourth in the Ryde FX Pro Open class. Bunke was second in Pro Open points headed into the Brainerd event, so he is still in the running for the season points title.
Polaris racer Eric Glausen finished sixth in the Pro 600 class at Brainerd. He was fourth in Pro 600 points prior to the event.
The Polaris racers compete on Polaris IQ race sleds powered by Polaris Liberty® engines
Polaris racer Paul Anderson of Lewiston, Minnesota, won the Sno-X Magazine Legends 50+ class. Anderson had a 48-point lead prior to the Brainerd race, so he likely secured the season points title with the victory.
In the SnowTech Magazine 120 Stock class, young Polaris racer Matt Feil of Bemidji, Minnesota, finished first.
Question:
Dear Motorhead,
My 2005 MXZ 800 X is slow to disengage or idle down when you let off on the throttle. Plus its backfiring quite a bit.
My dealer can’t fix it and doesn’t want to. Can you help?
Guy
Response:
Thanks for your email!
As soon as you indicated you have had crank issues with the engine my antennae where up – you better get a leak-down test done ASAP!
Very high idle and backfiring are primary warnings of leaking main seals. If a new seal(s) were installed it/they may not be properly seated.
If air is leaking in and/or out – you will get an overly lean condition and a weird “hanging” high idle. This situation can and usually does cause a piston burn down from being overly lean.
However, you’re engine (I assume it’s a PowerTek?) has a knock sensor which will protect the motor by pulling out timing when the cylinder goes lean and creates knock. Still, you can’t keep running this way.
A leak-down test is needed – pronto!
Motorhead Mark
Dear Motorhead,
I own a 2004 800 HO Renegade and lost the motor at the end of the season last year.
My mechanic said it was due to the bearing on the clutch side coming from the factory with out grease and that he’s seen a number of these over the last two seasons.
I spoke to a second dealer and he said the same thing. I want to know if there is a recall for this as my machine had less than 5000 miles and no hard usage.
Brad
Response:
Thanks for your email!
It is unlikely your engine came with a bearing with no lube – it wouldn’t have lasted for 5ooo miles.
However, we have seen a number of issues with this bearing on Series III 800’s.
There is no recall to my knowledge. However, it might be a good idea to make lubing this PTO bearing an annual job.
Motorhead Mark
Winner: Polaris IQ Switchback
In the last issue of Supertrax we delivered results from our 120hp X-Over Shootout. The Polaris IQ 600 CFI Switchback took the deal by a single point!
We approve of this revamped Polaris because we’ve already ridden the wheels off a limited build 2008 delivered to us late last winter.
The Switchback platform is available with either a 600 or 700cc CleanFire 2-stroke or a 140hp 750cc turbo 4-stroke.
We think buyers in this class want transparent trail prowess above all other traits. If you only want flotation for mountain snow, this is probably not the place to do business.
However, the trail market is shifting profoundly to 136-inch sneakers and the Switchback chassis provides the best trail ride and handling – virtually indiscernible from a 121-inch IQ – without sacrificing deep snow-mobility.
The SB handles impeccably but ride quality is better than a 121-inch IQ.
For whatever reasons, Polaris elected to punish itself for three years using a 144- inch track and skid. With the new 136 Switchback, greatness has returned to the original Snow King concept.
Runner-Up: Ski-Doo MX-Z Renegade XP
Outside of lack of familiarity with this chassis we see nothing stopping it from rising to the top this winter in the hearts and minds of X-Over buyers.
The incredibly lightweight Gade XP is available with two power variations: 600 SDI and 800R PowerTek. These power-to-weight ratios combined with a 16-wide track make the Renegade a formidable performer in deep snow.
To date we haven’t had any time on a full production Renegade with the new vibration isolating “de-coupled” handlepole and a trail-calibrated rear skid, but we think its inherent lightness will pressure Polaris to respond.
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