A new member of the M-Series suspension family has just been announced for this season. Called the M-12, it’s an ultra long-travel skid built for extra tough for ditch-banging and aggressive riding.

A look at the stats tells us this is the longest travel production rear suspension system in the industry.

Like earlier M-Series suspensions, this new one is made to soak up the whoops and moguls with 11.9” of real travel where it counts: Under your rear.

We’re told Team Fast’s proprietary geometry is tuned specifically for the most aggressive and experienced riders, but the skid retains plenty of cruising character for trail performance, too.

Available now to fit Arctic 2003-2006 Firecats, Polaris XC and Fusion, Ski-Doo Rev and MXZ chassis, and all the Yamaha 4-stroke chassis.

More at www.TEAMFAST.COM

While Skidoo has been relatively tight lipped about its ’07 line-up our satellite surveillance system positioned directly over Valcourt, Quebec has been picking up some interesting info.

Seems Ski-Doo could be readying another SDI engine for next season. We think the Siamesed twin cylinder layout of the Mach Z 1000 engine is likely to be morphed into a smaller platform capable of being shoehorned into a standard REV bulkhead.

Look for a new counterbalanced and Semi-Direct Injected engine in the 650-900cc range.

We’ve heard persistent rumors of the re-invention of the Thundercat. If this is true, we look for an all-new sled with the power potential to run nose-to-nose with Ski-Doo’s potent Mach-Z.

This rumor – while just that – has substantial credibility from a couple of perspectives. First, Arctic Cat has been very possessive of its ownership of the biggest, baddest production snowmobile since the early ‘90s.

The Mach-Z clearly mows Arctic Cat’s grass and it makes sense the Thief River Falls crew would be anxious to win back that turf from Ski-Doo. Our sensors are picking up a 2-stroke SDI or DI powerplant as the motivation for the rumored T-Cat.

This runs counter to what many have been speculating for Arctic Cat’s next top performance sled. If the engine is a 2-stroke it will have to be clean and that means Semi-Direct or full Direct Injection.

Press Release –

Yamaha snowmobiles bagged four wins over the January 7-8 weekend at a pair of North Dakota events.

Corey Davidson led the charge on Saturday at the USCC Cross Country races in Minto, where he won both the Vet 35+ class on an Apex RTX and the Pro Open Mod class on a modified Apex.

The seven-mile course included icy marshes, fields and even a segment of frozen river. Two riders started every 20 seconds, and the one with the lowest elapsed time for three laps got the win.

Davidson launched in the second flight and enjoyed mostly clear riding on his way to his Vet 35+ win. But in Pro Open Mod, he started at the back and had to muscle past nearly everyone in the field – only to tie Josh Davis on time.

Both riders were awarded first-place points, but a coin toss awarded Davidson the trophy. Adding to the positive results for Yamaha Blue and White was Alaskan Chad Gueco, who piloted his Pierce Racing Apex to third in the 100-mile Pro Stock event.

On Sunday the series moved to Grafton, where an eight-mile course covered a frozen river and woodlands.

This time it was Tim Sargent who won the Vet 35+ class on his Apex RTX, while Brad Gebeke took another Apex RTX to victory in the Masters 45+ class.

Press Release –

Two model year 2006 Polaris snowmobiles with the clean and efficient Polaris FS 4-stroke engine have been recognized by the U.S. Department of Interior as having Best Available Technology (BAT), so they are certified for use this winter in Yellowstone National Park.

Snowmobile use in National Parks such as Yellowstone has been closely monitored and subject to stringent operating regulations in recent winters.

With their BAT certification, both the 2006 Polaris FS IQ Touring and FS Classic may be ridden on the scenic snowmobile routes throughout Yellowstone National Park this winter.

The FS engine used in both models is a smooth, quiet and fuel-efficient 4-stroke engine with a sophisticated engine management system.

This liquid-cooled, 2-cylinder engine with 4 valves per cylinder already exceeds EPA emission standards set for the year 2012.

“We are proud to have earned BAT certification for our newest generation of efficient 4-stroke engines,” said Polaris Snowmobiles General Manager Eric Lindquist. “This marks the fifth consecutive model year in which Polaris 4-stroke technology has earned BAT certification, and we continue our commitment to developing 4-stroke technology that meets Polaris riders’ performance standards and is environmentally friendly.”

Earlier Polaris snowmobiles that were certified and continue to meet BAT requirements include the Frontier Touring of model years 2002 through 2005 and the Frontier Classic of 2003 and 2004.