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Limited Build Rumors

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Question:

Dear Motorhead,

I hear from some people that there maybe a mid season sled release, but I’m not talking a 600. I’m talking about the rt1000 motor being put into an xp chasis.

There is a large demand for lightweight big displacement over here in western canada. we just dyno’d an M1000 that we built and at 10lbs boost it made 250hp and 195ftlbs of torque at 7100 rpm.

Glen

Response:

Thanks for your email!

As you probably know, nobody is on the limited build stick more than Supertrax. Over the years we’ve predicted the arrival of many Limiteds.

As far as SD is concerned, I think your assertion of an RT 1000SDI powered XP is credible. However, at this moment I’m not sure if it will come as a limited build.

SD along with everyone else is very concerned about carryover – just too many boxes with the wrong model year stamped on them left laying around North America. I believe the 1 litre will be in an XP for MY 09 – I’m just not sure yet if it will be out early for us to test.

Motorhead Mark

Arctic Cat Crossfire 600: Off-Trail Handling

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Arctic Cat Crossfire 600: Off-Trail Handling

Want to know how the 600 Crossfire takes on ditches, untouched lakes and wide open play areas? Read on:

The sled designed as a deep snow ride first is the best in deep snow. The Crossfire just loves ditches and pulling powder hooks in the deep stuff.

In the flatlands you can even imagine you’re riding at elevation when the snow’s waist deep. The Crossfire is a natural at getting up on top and staying there in bottomless fluff.

Another factor rooted in the X-Fire’s mountain sled DNA is the rider’s perch. This sled is roomy for stand-up, running board hopping gymnastics. The bars are way forward, high and a stock grab bar is perfectly positioned. The footrests are the most open among all the sleds here. When snow piles on them they shed the fluff through ji-normous grip/vents.

Flotation is, in the purest sense, a product of mathematical ground pressure. In the real world it’s tightly linked to skidframe attack angles, belly pan design and even clutching.

The Crossfire has all the bases covered well in this equation. It can be driven straight into fluff, stopped, dismounted and then powered up and driven away without incident. You don’t need to park on a downhill grade or loop around to form a track line; this ride loves the deep.

Pull onto an untramped lake and the X-Fire will plane out like a boat elevating itself above the fluff – free from its belly and running boards gliding on the track and the ski tails.

We found the X-Fire’s somewhat twitchy handling at high speed on hard pack to be absolutely perfect when navigating untramped lakes at 60 to 80 mph.

The handling parameters of this mountain based chassis become more prevalent and appreciated the more you venture off-trail.

The Crossfire provides the best rider protection from snowdust and clearly has the best induction system for keeping snow out of the airbox. Again, the sled was designed for powder and it shows here.

Read the whole Crossover Comparo article in Supertrax Volume 19, Number 2!

Nytro Makes its Mark In Grass Drags

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By the end of August, the new Yamaha Nytro had made it’s mark on the NSRA Midwest based Grass Drag tour, dominating in its first outing.

The Nytro owned the podium against tough competition from 600 class competition and has continued to impress in subsequent outings.

Expect to hear cries for a re-classification of the Nytro as a result of its higher published horsepower than comparable 600 2-strokes.

Cleaning Exhaust Valves

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Question:

Dear Motorhead,

I need to know how to clean the exhaust valves on a 2003 Pro X 600.

Thanks,

Mitch

Response:

Thanks for your email!

Exhaust valve cleaning looks like this. Remove the bolts or cap screws holding the power valve body in the cylinder.

Pull the entire unit out exposing the guillotine valve itself. If after removing the bolts the complete unit resists removal – you’ve got some serious grundge holding the guillotine in the cylinder.

At this point you need to be careful how you proceed. Do not use too much prying force to get the entire assembly out. However, you may have to get aggressive. Just don’t damage the mating surfaces or pry and bend on the valve assembly too much.

Once the unit is out and on the bench, disassemble the plastic cap from the valve body and remove the guillotine from the valve body.

If it’s really gucky you might want to use a soft wire wheel to gently scrub off the goo. If possible use a strong solvent like Toluol on a rag to clean the valve up.

If after cleaning the valve still looks bad (stained) use the soft wire wheel method to polish it. Go easy. It is a good idea to replace the paper gasket between the valve body and the cylinder on re-installation. However, we’ve re-used these gaskets with a light coating of grease without any issues.

Put the whole deal back together.

I have made some general assumptions here you are moderately mechanically inclined. If these instructions confuse you – better get your dealer to do this.

In terms of technical service work, power valve cleaning on a Polaris is a pretty simple operation. Issues become increasingly more complicated on Yamaha’s and Arctic Cat’s (Suzuki’s) with cable operated valves.

Good luck,

Motorhead Mark

MORE ARCTIC CAT SNO PRO 600 PHOTOS!

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MORE ARCTIC CAT SNO PRO 600 PHOTOS!

2008 Sno Pro 600 – A Whole New Animal

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2008 Sno Pro 600 – A Whole New Animal

Originally published in PRIDE Magazine

For the first time since the 2002 season, Team Arctic racers will enter their battles aboard an all-new race sled: the Sno Pro 600.

The culmination of an intense engineering effort aimed at creating the ultimate terrain racer, the newest Sno Pro continues the long tradition of being both a sled designed to win races and test new engineering concepts.

Notice the emphasis on terrain.

“From the beginning, this sled was designed for both snocross and cross-country success,” said Brian Dick, Engineering Project Lead for the sled and a fiery cross-country veteran to boot. “Other goals included minimizing chassis scrub when going through deep holes, and incorporating a 600 engine to conform to the new Stock class racing rules for the 2008 season.”

A year ago, Team Arctic Race Manager Russ Ebert spoke of the company’s refocus on cross-country, and backed up his talk with a lucrative contingency program in the growing USCC circuit. The new Sno Pro 600 is another example of that commitment.

So what’s it got? Plenty!

For starters, underneath the stylish new hood is an all-new tubular chassis, utilizing a combination of 4130 chrome-moly and extruded aluminum to form a pyramidal structure that holds the motor, in addition to supporting the front suspension, steering posts and tunnel attachment.

The choice of a tubular chassis instead of a traditional bulkhead, and the use of self-piercing rivets instead of welding, is aimed at increasing chassis rigidity against the incredible forces inflicted during competition.

The front suspension is also new, with extruded spindles utilizing ball-joints rather than a spindle and housing configuration, relocation of the shock mounts to the lower A-arm and revised A-arm geometry.

“We went with a single spindle with ball-joint operation was to shed weight, and because it allowed us to use a longer spindle, which also raised the sled’s ground clearance,” said Dick. “The new geometry has the spindle travel in an up/down trajectory, rather than sweeping rearward during compression, for improved cornering.”

Equally important, the rear suspension is mounted two inches forward compared to the previous Sno Pro, effectively shortening the “wheelbase” by the same distance. In concert with increased steering angle, the result is a tighter turning radius. The Progressive Steering System and dual-position steering post mounts return from last year’s Sno Pro. C&A Pro skis come standard.

Out back, the Slide Action rear suspension returns with a new, more aggressive rail profile for increased traction. The track is a new 15 x 128 x 1.7-in. Camoplast hoop, with an optional 1.25-in. Cobra hoop for cross-country. Fox IFP shocks are used on the front and rear suspensions.

The new tunnel is wider to accept the 15-in. track, with revised running boards that are wider and flatter than other models, and that have a snow-shedding, open-hole design. An all-new seat is slightly wider and softer than the previous Sno Pro (a nod to the cross-country racers), while the seat base is now integrated with the fuel tank, available in either a 7-gallon unit for snocross or a 12-gallon unit for cross-country.

Powering the new Sno Pro is a heavily tweaked version of the 600 laydown twin used in the F Series. It features a new crankshaft that’s 5 lbs. lighter for quicker revving and higher performance. EFI is gone, replaced by dual 40mm TM flatslide carburetors (with throttle position sensors) for easier tuning.

The V-Force Reed Valve system is employed, as is a new cylinder head, ceramic-coated exhaust pipe, adjustable timing module and Hot Start button. The engine requires pre-mixing oil, and is capable of running on 92 octane fuel. A front-mounted heat exchanger and tunnel-mounted exchangers provide adequate cooling for both snocross and cross-country.

Transferring the power from engine to the track is an Arctic Cat drive clutch, TEAM driven clutch and Peak Torque Limiting System driveshaft, a combination proven bulletproof on last year’s Sno Pro Mod sled. New, however, is a higher driveshaft location for increased ground clearance.

A new hood graces the Sno Pro 600, featuring a very short nose structure – again, a nod toward reducing scrub/scooping in certain situations. Removable side panels ease accessibility to either side of the engine.

Two windscreens are available, a short (as shown here) and tall version. The sled comes without the standard digital/analog instrument gauge, but it’s ready to plug-and-play.

Racers and engineers who have tested prototypes of the new Sno Pro are unanimous in their praise for its handling, emphasizing its neutral manners in all conditions.

With a rider position that’s nearly identical to the Twin Spar chassis, the ride quality is extremely forgiving and comfortable, and easily adaptable. With a 450-lb. dry weight to meet racing specs, it’s quite flickable. And with two inches more ground clearance, it bashes through the big holes without scrubbing speed.

While there are no plans to make a consumer version of the Sno Pro, it’s clear that the company is using the sled to test new concepts that may someday see full production.

“There are many elements of the new Sno Pro that we’re evaluating for future use,” said Doug Wolter, Director of Engineering.

Production of the Sno Pro 600 is limited to 300 units, and all have been spoken for by Team Arctic racers. For racers who want an Open class sled, a Speedwerx-developed Mod kit includes revised cylinders, new cylinder head/domes, billet exhaust valves, a new exhaust system, and carb/clutch calibration.

TAILLIGHTS: Volume 18, #4

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NORMAL WEATHER

We recently had a request for CJ Ramstad’s last column before his passing. This is a great read for snowmobilers relating to the weather and false claims made by environmentalists. Below is the article in its entirety from Supertrax Volume 18, #4.

I was mailed an unrequested fundraising 2007 calendar from one of the green groups recently that declared on its cover that the Earth is experiencing the warmest weather in 1000 years. Silly on many levels, this is the kind of trash we hear more and more lately.

Is this a case of a snowmobiler in denial? Fact is, I’ve spent the last 18 months studying the Arctic and the polar ice cap as part of research for my book about the snowmobilers who went to the North Pole in 1968. I know from my studies these kinds of over-the-top statements about our climate and where it’s going are bogus … and I have proof.

First, let’s do the math. A thousand years ago, it was 1007. The thermometer wasn’t even invented until 1724 so any temperatures reported before then are, by definition, approximations and guesswork. It is possible to tell if one season centuries ago was warmer than another by testing for changing values of oxygen-18 isotopes in glacial ice cores. Scientists know warmer weather creates more of the isotope, cooler weather produces less. But the cores don’t tell the ancient temperature.

We know from the Icelandic Sagas descendants of the Vikings were raising rye and ponies in two colonies on Greenland in 1007. Things were different in Greenland then at least partly because the Earth was right in the middle of an era scientists and historians call the Medieval Warm Period.

This is a well-documented climate change event today’s global warming folks would like you to ignore. Starting in about 800 A.D., this was a seven centuries-long time of warm weather on Earth’s northern hemisphere that persisted until the advent of the Little Ice Age that held much of the world in its grip from about 1400 until the mid-19th century. Mind you, this was all happening well before humans were emitting any greenhouse gasses.

It was during the Medieval Warm Period that much of the North Atlantic Arctic was explored or at least defined by sailing ships. The Vikings got started in about 600, plundering Scotland and England and colonizing Iceland and Greenland for the next 500 years.

But with the coming of the cooler Little Ice Age period, human activities in the high latitudes dropped off. The Vikings got religion, the European Greenlanders disappeared and ice choked the northern seas.

Interest in the Arctic picked up in the 19th century when the oceans warmed up again. Whalers sailing the northern oceans as the Little Ice Age was coming to an end reported lots of melting in the high latitudes, similar in some ways to what we hear today.

One famous Scottish whaling captain, William Scoresby, Jr., reported in his Account of the Northern Region that the ice that today blocks the straits between the Nordic island of Svalbard and the northern coast of Greenland was gone, making him believe a passage by ship over the top of the island was possible. That melting was witnessed in 1817, less than 200 years ago.

Failed presidential candidate Al Gore has been on TV showing movies of glaciers calving in Greenland, saying this is proof of global warming. Increased calving is actually proof of increased snowfall in glacier areas, but I’ll give Gore this much: It is possible, even likely, the climate is changing in Greenland now, just like it has in the relatively recent past. I mean relatively like during the time we’ve been flying around in airplanes.

It’s known that sea temperatures around the island warmed early in the last century, causing problems for seal hunters. This warming turned out to be short term however, and seas turned cooler again by the 1950s and good seal hunting returned, along with increased Inuit habitation, in southern Greenland.

Just 40 years ago, during a period between 1959 and 1974, exceptionally cold weather was experienced in southern Greenland, particularly along the western coast where the icy West Greenland Current flows south out of the Arctic Ocean. During this 15 year period seal populations again plummeted, this time because persistent summer pack ice prevented the previous migratory feeding behavior.

Mind you, these changes have taken place during the lifetimes of people living today. A warm-up during the Roaring Twenties, a cooldown in the 1950s, a really cold period in the 60s and early 70s, all taking place in Greenland within the last 80 years. This is a place with a volatile climate that has seen many changes in the last 100 years and the last 1000 years, too.

The polar ice cap is also volatile weather-wise, but Al Gore is no expert on this and neither are Americans in general; the U.S. only began collecting data on the ice cap in 1979 just as the second-coldest period in the Arctic in a century was coming to an end. Was the ice abnormally expanded by this cold period and is now shrinking?

But let’s not say abnormal, OK? The weather is always normal … constantly changing in Greenland, Minnesota, at the North Pole and everywhere.

FX NYTRO: FROM SKETCHPAD TO YOUR PAD

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FX NYTRO: FROM SKETCHPAD TO YOUR PAD

How the FX Nytro Went from Concept to Reality

Even though the product planning brains of a company know what they want a sled to be in terms of power, suspension and ergonomics, it still has to be styled and designed to appeal and perform.

Yamaha Product Manager, Adam Sylvester explains: “Yamaha has a very involved design process. We start with a table full of concept sketches and drawings and begin to whittle them down and combine elements into just a handful of options. From there, the final concept gets rendered in multiple views and serves as the guide.”

While the beauty techs work on colors, lines, textures and graphics, the mechanical testing team is cranking away on proving designs, testing setups and getting the prototype sled ready for its final approval.

“The whole time each of the teams are working on their respective areas, they communicate necessary changes. For instance, all of the early design work had curved lower A-arms on the front suspension. In the end, the testing and engineering team opted to go with a straight design. The sketches are not iron-clad. It’s a very fluid and dynamic give and take process.”

When the mechanicals are nearly complete, the project enters the ergonomic fitting. Sylvester adds: “We have a number of processes we use to determine the final dimensions and shape of the consumer product. For the FX Nytro, since we wanted it to have a very racer-like feel to it, we brought in two of our racer/test drivers to use as models. They got on the full-scale clay models and moved around as if they were in a race. In that way, we are able to identify any ergonomic issues like hard edges hitting knees or awkward handlebar angles.”

Once the final body sculpting is complete and the color and graphics decisions have been made, the clay model is dolled up and presented for the final approval.

“It’s amazing how close the final product resembles the initial concept sketch on the FX Nytro,” Sylvester commented. “It just shows how much thought goes into product development right from the start.”

Read “THE PERFECT SNOWSTORM: An Exclusive Look at Yamaha’s 5-Year Plan To Launch The FX Nytro” in Supertrax Volume 19, #2.

Polaris Announces Product Updates for 2008

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Press Release –

Polaris announces a few key product updates for 2008 sleds:

800 Dragon RMK 155 / 163

Timing for delivery to dealerships is currently on schedule and Polaris will be sending out a letter to that affect.
• Shipments to Western / Rocky Mountain Region including North and South Dakota will begin the first week of December, starting with 163” models followed by the 155” models. Most shipments should be completed by Christmas.
• Shipments to Midwest and Eastern dealers will begin in January 2008.

MY08 800 IQ 121” Change:

• This model will now be an 800 IQ (base model, not in Dragon trim)
• begin shipping mid-late January 2008.
• Key changes
o MSRP $9,699 USD, $12,599 CND
o Color Black
o Track 15 x 121 x 1 Hacksaw
o IFS Shocks RydeFX HPG, IFP
Note: Other feature changes consistent with IQ vs. Dragon IQ brochure specifications (pg. 8- 9).

• Product enhancements
o IQ graphics
o NEW Lightweight Freestyle seat
o NEW improved ergonomic fuel tank (11.5 gallon / 43.5 Liter)
o NEW Lightweight cooling system – no perimeter (running board) cooling, smaller front bulkhead cooler.

Other MY08 Product Updates:

• 600RR – will come standard with reverse (PERC).
• 600 IQ Touring – will come standard with a single carbide for improved handling / cornering.
• FS and FST IQ Touring models come standard with dual carbides.
• Widetrak LX – will come standard with an 11 gallon / 41.6 Liter fuel tank (same as 2007).
• Clarification – 600 / 700 Dragon Switchback models come standard with a grab (mountain) bar in lieu of hand guards (brochure pg. 14-15).
• Hand guards are standard on Dragon IQ models.

Is There A New Doo Coming Mid Season?

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Question:

Dear Motorhead,

Is it true there is a new 600 power plant for Ski-Doo coming out mid season?

Coop

Response:

Thanks for your email!

Your question is likely coming from the announcement of the new 600 RS XP racer-only platform which uses a hybrid Rotax 600 carb.

The engine is not really “new” but is a conglomeration of pieces from existing mills to create a very potent “new” 600 ISR race spec, stock class sno-X engine. The motor is claimed to produce near 130 HP.

One has to assume Ski-Doo’s competitive nature and their continued use of sno-X developed technology as a test bed for improved trail sled technology would make a reasonable argument for this new mill to show up in a trail sled. However, don’t expect to see it as a limited build this year.

We think you’re on the right track but if this engine appears it will likely use SDI – EPA certification is a driving factor in consumer engine technology. Welcome to the new world of clean-air snowmobiling!

The good news in all this – I suspect – will be a more powerful 600 SDI 2 stroke in MY 2009.

Notice I did not say Ski-Doo will not have a limited build 600 class engine this year. Stay tuned.

Motorhead Mark

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