It was a cold, sunny day, the lake was frozen hard and since we had the two sleds along with us we wanted to put them through their paces.

The question had long been looming about which of the two was fastest. And if one was, which one and by how much?

We decided to evaluate based on out-of-the hole acceleration, mid-range pull-away and top speed.

After a couple of tries, we quickly concluded we couldn’t get a fair appraisal from either sled by trying to take off from a dead start. There just wasn’t enough traction on our particular lake – there had been recent snowfall, and although long stretches were nicely tramped down and by all appearances pretty hard, there was still too much track spin to get a fair comparison. We decided to do 20 mph roll-ons and allow the sleds to work where they could get the most grip.

ATTEMPT 1:

We lined the sleds up beside each other about 20-feet apart and feathered the throttles until we reached the magic 20. One rider did a 3-count, dropping their arm to signal it was go-time. The throttles on both sleds were mashed pretty much simultaneously and the 650 VR1 pulled ahead almost a sled length and then kept building its lead by inches.

When the two got into the midrange, the Polaris shot ahead significantly. Its lead extended by at least a couple of lengths and as the two sleds approached 85-mph, the Polaris was clearly ahead and continuing to pull away.

ATTEMPT 2:

Same routine and the same result but this time the Ski-Doo driver got a jump on the start. The Renegade pulled ahead about a sled length and then the VR1 took over. Somewhere between 35 and 40 mph its larger displacement shot the 650 past the 600R decidedly. No looking back as the Polaris continued to stretch its legs and finger-walk its lead until both riders backed out of the throttle at about 90.

ATTEMPT 3:

Same again. This time the sleds left very evenly but the Polaris was still ahead at the end of our run. The Polaris rider commented that when he nailed the throttle each time, even though he was seated far forward and hugging the tank with his knees, the sled transferred so hard it pulled a throttle wheelie, keeping the skis off the snow about 6-inches for over 100-feet.

CONCLUSION:

The results speak for themselves and although the sleds were super-close, the races ended the same – every time. The statement we have to make is this: Why wouldn’t the results end up like they did? The mathematics don’t lie. This square bore and stroke Polaris has a lot of torque plus the benefit of larger displacement. It should win and should be faster than the 600. Just makes sense.

It’s been a strange year in the snowmobile business. So many things have been affected by COVID 19 – not the least of which is the way it has altered supply and demand.

Frankly, this year’s seemingly bottomless demand for both used and new sleds is unprecedented. We haven’t seen demand like this in over 30 years.

On the supply side of the equation this situation has caused a number of problems. OEMs are pretty challenged just to deliver sleds built for MY 2021. The problem stems from the adjunctive companies that supply parts to the manufacturers.

With those businesses under their own COVID protocols being taxed to the max to make shocks, electrical components, gears, tracks and a zillion other pieces that go into making up a snowmobile, the sno-mo-OEMs have been hard set to supply the sleds their dealers ordered in the spring of 2020.

With the spotlight clearly on delivering product this year, it sheds some light on what we can expect next year. It’s getting very close to the time we start getting wind of what’s in the future for MY 2022. This year we’re mostly drawing a blank – and it’s because of the above situation.

We’re looking at the industry from a different perspective right now. Rather than taking stabs at hoped-for new technology, we’re thinking about what we’re not going to see.

Here’s our list:

RADICAL UPDATES

We won’t be seeing a new and radical chassis change from any OEM. We’ve mentioned before that Polaris is probably in the best place here because it introduced its all-new Matryx chassis this year.

The other three, although due for a chassis change or at least a radical modification, probably won’t be doing it this year. Why? They just don’t have to. They’ll sell everything just leaving things the way they are.

Keep in mind, big things like chassis revamps usually are in the pipeline for at least three years. Whether or not the OEMs that were scheduled to bring new stuff in 2022 will spend the millions to actually tool up changes next year, is another thing.

A NEW 650 2-STROKE

No more new 650 2-strokes. Simply stated, Cat, Ski-Doo and Yamaha just haven’t had enough time to respond to Polaris’s 650. Not gonna happen in 2022.

ANYTHING LARGER THAN A 850 2-STROKE

No 2-stroke bigger than an 850. There has been talk of Arctic Cat bringing a 900cc 2-stroke twin to market to one-up the other 850s. Not gonna happen in 2022. Cat’s market share is not growing fast enough to warrant a change like this and its 2-year-old SDI 800 twin is still relatively new. It’s also a very competitive engine.

A NEW 4-STROKE

We’d love to see a Polaris 4-stroke but we wouldn’t bet the mortgage we’ll see one this year. Polaris has its hands full bringing more models into the MATRYX platform next year and besides, a 4-stroke goes against the company’s philosophy of providing top performing sleds in all classes at the lowest possible prices.

Likewise, Yamaha, Cat and Ski-Doo are already providing the market with a wide range of 4-stroke product.

Never fear, we have some ideas on new models we think have a good chance of appearing in 2022. We’ll fill you in on those in another series of stories. Stay tuned.

We’ve scanned the sales brochures looking for the best deals in new sleds and have come up with the four best equipped full-sized sleds at bargain prices.

These sleds all fall very close to one another in standard equipment and power output – and their prices are very low – and close to one another.

ARCTIC CAT BLAST ZR 4000 ($7,695.00 US)

The 7/8 sized Blast features a reed valve 397cc liquid cooled, counterbalanced single with EFI, CVTech clutching, wide spaced A-arm front end and adult-sized ergonomics.

The track is definitely downsized at 114 wide by 121-inches long but handling is very crisp and light-feeling. The sled feels nimble and easy-to-ride both in powder and on trails. Reverse and electric start are standard but there’s no swaybar up front. Cat claims the BLAST makes 65-hp and we wouldn’t disagree.

POLARIS 550 INDY 121 ($7,899.00 US)

This steadfast Indy isn’t the latest-and-greatest but does a good job with the now-three-generation-old Indy Pro-Ride chassis. Power comes from a 65-hp twin carbed 550 fan-cooled twin using CVTech clutches (Invance secondary). Track is a full-width (15-inch), 121-incher with one-inch lugs and the 550 has Ryde FX MPV shocks all around. A bonus with the 550 Indy is its fully coupled skidframe – and it does produce a very good ride for a sled in this price range. Handling comes from the non-parallel A-arm design Polaris has perfected and there is a swaybar.

YAMAHA VENOM ($7,999.00 US)

Since we’re all pretty aware the Venom is the mirror image of the 65-hp Arctic Cat BLAST, we don’t need to go into too much detail. Needless to say, the big news on this sled is the fact it is a 2-stroke Yamaha and balances out Yamaha’s product line with a nice mix of both 2 and 4-strokes.

SKI DOO MX-Z SPORT 600 EFI ($8,649.00 US)

Yes, this is the most expensive sled in this comparo, but it also offers the most goodies of the four. First, at 85-hp, its liquid cooled 600cc EFI twin makes 20-hp more than any of its competition and it uses a full 129 x 15 x 1.25-inch track.

Reverse and electric start are standard but the skidframe is not coupled. The Sport offers a good selection of comfort and convenience features and its extra power makes it much more comfortable running with more powerful sleds on lakes and other wide-open spaces.

The biggest news is this: You don’t have to give up much to own a sled in this group – and pricing puts you right in the hunt with late model used sleds you’d be shopping for without full factory warranties.