Our last poll asked you how much does EPA certification mean to you when considering a new sled purchase?
The results were as follows:
50% Not important at all
18% A definite consideration
17% Wouldn’t buy unless EPA certified
15% Fairly important
Cast your vote in our latest poll!
Question:
Which is the best ultimate 1000?
1. Yamaha Apex
2. Yamaha Attak
3. Ski-Doo Renegade
5. Arctic Cat F1000
6. Crossfire 1000
Scroll down the page to vote!
Did you know Yamaha has a worldwide patent on the location of a snowmobile 4-stroke exhaust system? True.
As it turns out, the company’s move to secure a patent on underseat 4-stroke exhaust routing has been a distinct advantage for Yamaha engineers. Why? 4-stroke exhaust systems produce a lot of heat.
This heat is difficult to manage in the confines of a typical snowmobile engine bay. While 2-stroke exhaust pipes can be located in the front and right side of the belly pan with little problem, 4-stroke pipes and silencers require tons of shielding and insulation to contain heat and keep it away from temperature sensitive areas.
Yamaha’s system not only eliminates the under-hood heat issue entirely but adds a cooling component by exposing pipes to snow in the tunnel. Cool, literally.
Question:
How come you guys (and other mags) don’t get on Doo’s case more about their lack of rebuildable shocks?
I have to get an X or a XRS to get rebuildables (way too much money when an adrenaline or Blizzard with rebuildable shocks will do). Every other OEM has rebuildable shocks way down the line.
I owned a 2003 Rev8 adrenaline (with rebuildable shocks)…and loved it. I wanted to get a 2006 Renegade but to get rebuildable shocks I would have had to spend $2000 more (for an X) than the regular Xfire7 that I did purchase.
I have no regrets (love the Xfire too), but want Doo to be an option for my next sled and I don’t see it if I have to spend so much more to get rebuildable shocks.
Kerry L. Johnson
Response:
Thanks for your email!
Your issue is one which affects a relatively small number of owners but, as you have so clearly stated, is important to those riders who know the difference. I am forwarding your comment on to Ski-Doo so they’ll know how you feel and how it affected your purchase decision.
Thanks,
Motorhead Mark
Reply:
I’m not trying to argue, but it appears to me that this issue affects pretty much every Doo owner (or prospective owner) who doesn’t own (or want) an X or XRS.
The possible fact that those who don’t own Xs and XRSs don’t care is another matter. It appears to me that Doo is selectively de-contenting their line-up where they can because they are No. 1 by a pretty good margin from what I hear (I believe the latest Xs have steel rebuildables with no piggybacks instead of aluminum rebuildables with piggybacks on previous year Xs) .
Anyways, they have every right to offer whatever they want and I guess the people will decide. I’m just disappointed because I’d love to have a Blizzard with rebuildable shocks……Oh well, thanks for your response.
Kerry L. Johnson
Response:
Hey Kerry,
I won’t argue with you. Here’s the deal, most consumers don’t know when their shocks need re-building – it’s true. Ski-Doo has likely concluded the hardcore, more aware owner will buy the higher performance model – the XRS – because they do know the diff.
For someone like yourself, I can understand what you’re after. Unfortunately, we do not dictate to the OE’s what they should offer. Actually you do – you vote with your wallet!
Good luck!
Thanks,
Mark
Comments:
Your review of the XRS refers to how close it is to the race model. When I saw it, the chassis was basically the same as the X.
I believe it had extra stiffeners by your feet but it was not the same tunnel with braces that the racer has.
It may have the racing shocks/calibration but without the chassis it seems a bit phony to me….like all racer replicas have been.
Kerry L. Johnson
Response:
Thanks for your email!
Wow, the XRS sure has created a lot of controversy since we first saw and rode it last January as a pre-production proto.
Yes, in the very first iteration SD used what we call a “Roller” chassis – essentially the platform used by race teams for building an Open Mod Sno-X sled.
The Roller had an 800 Powertek underhood and the graphics, colors and hood you see today on the production version.
It would seem SD decided to scale back a few chassis details when they pushed the big button on the side of factory to begin building the models you see at dealers right now. We’ve ridden our XRS almost 200 miles in early December.
Do the changes make a difference to the way the sled works? Nope, not that we could tell. AJ Lester, who wrote the story in the current issue of Supertrax has sampled the XRS and gives it a hearty thumbs up.
However, if you were buying the sled to go racing for a year (and you could only race the 600 under ISR rules) you might want to add the missing tunnel and bulkhead braces. This advice would only apply to a Pro level racer – for a casual Sport class rider the chassis is more than adequate.
The rest of the stuff on the sled is pretty much racer grade equipment except for one issue which disappointed us here – the aluminum throttle block was replaced with a plastic piece – not good.
That’s how it goes in the world of prototype evaluations. Sometimes things change – actually, more often than not, things do change before production.
Thanks,
Motorhead Mark
Volume 18, Number 3 of snowmobiling’s most read, most widely circulated magazine!
Grab the latest copy of SUPERTRAX – landing in mailboxes and on newsstands very soon!
This issue features a 7-sled shootout between the 1000cc, 170hp rockets. Plus, check out the first picks of the Scarab – the latest offshore offering!
Also, take a rewind to the days of John Deere and read about new tech 2-strokes – light, clean, efficient.
By: Thayne Hallyburton
The race weekend started off with the X Games final Saturday afternoon and it was one for the ages.
The holeshot went to Mike Island on the Bourque Auto/Royal Distributing Polaris. Island Mike went down at the end of the first lap after tripling a very tricky section of the course which handed the lead off to Joey Sagan who’d remain out front for the next seven laps.
Mike VanDolder and Peter Raymer were right on him coming back down the hill and on lap 8 Joey found himself in 3rd place. In the last corner Raymer tried to block VanDolder’s pass attempt and found himself on his lid, letting VanDolder take the checkers in first.
The final order of finish:
1 – #999 MICHAEL VANDOLDER ANNAN ON SKI-DOO
2 – #098 MIKE ISLAND BARRIE ON POLARIS
3 – #202 JOEY SAGAN ELMVALE ON SKI-DOO
4 – #036 PETER RAYMER KESWICK ON ARCTIC
5 – #712 TANNER ROSKO KIRKLAND LAKE ON SKI-DOO
In Pro Stock VanDolder would take it home. Peter Raymer was right there in second and the unflappable Mike Island would round out the podium. Lee Butler came in fourth, but was racing awesome all weekend. After an off in a heat on Saturday that saw him fly over a berm, he had a great Sunday. One of the Michigan racers, Josh Zelinski rounded out the top 5 with a good race.
The final order of finish:
1 – #999 MICHAEL VANDOLDER ANNAN ON SKI-DOO
2 – #036 PETER RAYMER KESWICK ON ARCTIC
3 – #098 MIKE ISLAND BARRIE ON POLARIS
4 – #073 LEE BUTLER STOUFFVILLE ON SKI-DOO
5 – #079 JOSHUA ZELINSKI EAST LANSING MI SKI-DOO
In the last race of the day Joey Sagan again got the holeshot but Mike Island had something to prove and was right on him at the top of the hill with Raymer and VanDolder not far behind. Island overtook Sagan on the first lap and began to check out but the real battle heated up for second with Raymer, Sagan and VanDolder again all batting one another.
Raymer would overtake Sagan on the third last lap and that’s how they’d finish. VanDolder grabbed fourth and 43 year old Ric Wilson rounded out the top 5.
The final order of finish:
1 – #098 MIKE ISLAND BARRIE ON POLARIS
2 – #036 PETER RAYMER KESWICK ON ARCTIC
3 – #202 JOEY SAGAN ELMVALE ON SKIDOO
4 – #999 MICHAEL VANDOLDER ANNAN ON SKIDOO
5 – #004 C RIC WILSON HILLSBURGH ON SKIDOO
Semi-Pro racing saw lots of action all weekend with some impressive heats and finals. The semi-pro finals though were dominated with Michigan racers who will not be joining the CSRA regularly all year. The final results in stock and mod are posted below.
Congrats to Jeremy VanDolder, winning the open modified race on his Parnell Motorsports Ski-Doo in his inaugural semi-pro weekend.
440 Stock results:
1 – #101 KIP RUTLEDGE ALANSON MI ARCTIC
2 – #524 ANDY ZARKOVICH DEWITT MI SKIDOO
3 – #023 JONATHON SLOOT GUELPH ON SKIDOO
4 – #128 JAMES HICKS CEDARVILLE MI ARCTIC
5 – #075 RICK TIEDE KAWKAWLIN BC POLARIS
600 Open Mod results:
1 – #333 JEREMY VAN DOLDER ANNAN ON SKIDOO
2 – #355 JEAN-PAUL PRICE SAULT STE MARIE ON SKIDOO
3 – #128 JAMES HICKS CEDARVILLE MI ARCTIC
4 – #045 COLT PICKLES NOBEL ON SKIDOO
5 – #889 TREVOR BURROUGHS GAYLORD MI SKIDOO
There was tons of snow and Sault St. Marie’s Searchmont Resort made a stellar track. There were many riders from the Michigan area that came up and tried their hand at beating the CSRA regulars.
All in all it was a fantastic weekend. See you guys in Owen Sound and remember, keep the rubber side down!
After an amazing 2007 Twin Spar introduction, could the TRF brain trust have more to show in model year 2008?
While it’s unlikely Cat will offer another new model introduction the magnitude of 2007, we do expect detail refinements and possibly some new engine tech to surface on 2008 models.
Clearly, AC is getting traction on EPA 2-stroke certification with its new 1000 twin, its knock sensor equipped 800 and EFI II equipped 600. However, we suspect another 4-stroke, possibly a variant of the already potent Jaguar twin, is a possibility.
Arctic Cat has had amazing success with turbocharging the venerable 660 triple and consumers are very comfortable with turbo technology. The all-new Suzuki 4-stroke in the Jaguar uses a bottom end stout enough to handle some extra boost. Hmm, wouldn’t a Turbo Jag Z-1 be sweet?
Let’s do the math here. The 660 4-stroke triple without a turbo produces about 65 ponies. With 23 pounds of boost it delivers 110 stallions. If we take this kind of turbo-leap, about 65 percent, and apply it to the Z- 1’s 125 HP you get, ahh, over 200 HP.
If you’ve been fine tuning your sled for maximum power, you probably need to invest in a set of exhaust temperature gauges before you burn down those expensive cylinders.
Contact Westach at 707-938-2121 and visit www.westach.com
Question:
Hi there Supertax team!
Let me first congratulate your team for the high quality information you provide us with the different subjects that you treat in your magazine.
I have a question about some technical data that your technician –specialist might have in files. I would like to know what is the difference with the 800 HO power tek version 2007 vs the 2005-2006.
We’ve heard that the piston rods have been forged for more durability and also that some modifications has been made to the carburetion and-or the mapping to correct the minor issues they’ve experienced with the previous 20005-06 version.
Thanks for your collaboration and have a great holiday!!!
Thanks for your question regarding Ski-Doo’s Power Tek 800 Series III Twin.
I solicited the Brain Trust at Ski-Doo for an answer to this one and as you can see below, you’ve got it from the right guy. Thanks to Steve Cowing at Ski-Doo fro getting the details on this question for an avid Supertrax reader – Motorhead Mark
Response:
The midrange is approx 10% richer via a new jet needle and ECM calibration. This improves acceleration in the midrange or makes the throttle acceleration snappier from corner to corner. It rocks!
Improvements were made to the routing of the TPS wiring harness to ensure a reliable connection and no chafing damage.The rod’s are forged as they have been, no real change there.
Thanks,
Steve Cowing
Competition and Media Relations Manager
Press Release –
The Skywords Network is pleased to announce the launch of the Sledder’s Choice Go Snowmobiling Report across much of Central and Northeastern Ontario.
Made possible through a new collaboration with the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC), the Sledder’s Choice Go Snowmobiling Report is sponsored by the Sledder’s Choice Group Insurance Program from Believer Plus Insurance Brokers Ltd., underwritten by the Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada.
“The Sledder’s Choice Go Snowmobiling Report is an exciting new feature here at Skywords. This program will provide the most comprehensive, up-todate snowmobile trail information in the country, and we are working hard to ensure the report’s accuracy and quality through our new relationship with the OFSC, and its districts and clubs.” said Ed Torres, General Manager, Skywords.
The Sledder’s Choice Go Snowmobiling Report will commence broadcasting on December 18th, 2006 across the Haliburton Broadcasting Group Moose FM stations, as well a number of other station affiliates. Its “Go Snowmobiling” message will help promote safe, recreational family snowmobiling and invite new participants to experience winter fun on OFSC trails.
“The OFSC is pleased to cooperate with Skywords to bring snowmobilers more information about our trails and clubs and to introduce more people to snowmobiling,” said OFSC Trail Programs Manager Mike Farr. “But riders must always take personal responsibility to be prepared for the unexpected, because conditions can change suddenly and unpredictably.”
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