As we move into the next decade of snowmobiling, there are always predictions as to what snowmobiles will look like ten years down the road.

A couple of factors probably will and perhaps should be taken into consideration by snowmobile OEMs. One is the ongoing work of the EPA to get things that are already environmentally clean, cleaner.

It’s been a long time since the EPA conformity deadlines passed for snowmobiles but that doesn’t mean our sport is no longer under the microscope.

In the automotive world we’ve seen the rapid onslaught of hybrid and all-electric vehicles and as their development evolves, we could realistically imagine a time when these types of cars and trucks dominate showrooms.

Whether or not this new direction would have some effect on the sno-mo-world remains to be seen. However, it could pay big dividends to a snowmobile manufacturer to be experimenting with different or modified versions of what we already have.

What are we talking about? If the Guv decided to tighten standards further than they are, what would be a logical direction for the industry to take in order to maintain the performance appeal of a snowmobile – all while using less fuel, producing less emissions and maintaining similar ergonomics to what we’re all used to?

One proposed solution is to utilize smaller displacement engines that produce similar or better power. This has worked in the automotive world and you’ve no doubt noticed the number of cars and SUVs that once were powered by 6 or 8-cylinder engines now using turbocharged I-4s.

Here’s a thought: What if the industry developed much smaller, lighter turbocharged performance 2-strokes displacing somewhere around 350-450ccs, all while maintaining high torque output and horsepower in the 110-120 range?

There’s more to this line of thinking than meets the eye. Since the auto industry has already proven smaller displacement engines can satisfy customer expectations for sufficient power – and gain a significant advantage in fuel consumption (burning less fuel also means less air pollution), maybe future engine development should focus on this strategy – before we’re legislated into it.

Yes, there are hurdles. For one, any weight savings using a smaller engine would likely be offset by using a turbo. Can’t argue that point. However, if a smaller displacement engine could be used (the example here is less than half the displacement of an 850) gas mileage could be a huge factor and a smaller onboard gas tank could be reduced in size while allowing the rider to travel the same distance.

Let’s suppose you could go from a 12-gallon tank to an 8-gallon one and reduce onboard fuel weight. Since one US gallon of gas weighs about six lbs., that would be a reduction of about 24-lbs – and the tank would be dimensionally smaller, possibly allowing it to be placed more advantageously in the chassis.

The three heaviest things on any snowmobile are 1. The rider 2. The engine and drive system and 3. The fuel. With automobiles, cleaner and more fuel efficient has to do with the size of an engine and the weight of the vehicle. As for the rider, dieting might be the best solution!

We recently put out a story on this website about the Gyroscopic Effect and how it affects multiple cylinder engines in a snowmobile chassis.

Just to review, the Gyroscopic Effect is defined as: “The ability of a rotating body to maintain the steady direction of its axis of rotation”. Both mass (weight) and speed of rotation entered into the discussion.

We specifically asked if a single cylinder sled like the Yamaha Venom or the Arctic Cat BLAST should handle better than a triple cylinder sled like the ThunderCat or SRX. Considering the rotating mass of a heavier 3-cylinder crankshaft, it appears the number of cylinders does make a quantifiable difference.

Keep in mind, we’re talking about a proven and tested law of physics here – not some trumped-up theory we’re trying to sell.

Where are we going with this? Well, it’s interesting if you apply the Gyroscopic Effect to Polaris’ future snowmobile product as far as a new 4-stroke goes.

We’ve been hearing rumblings and rumors for a couple of years now that Polaris has been working on a new 4-stroke for its snowmobile line-up. If that’s true, there are more than a few considerations worth looking at.

Sure, there’s always a lot of smoke and mirrors that goes along with these kinds of rumors but we’ve been roughly tabulating the odds on what type of 4-stroke could be coming out of Roseau, Minnesota.

Here are a few facts to think about:

1. Polaris has hung its hat on superior handling for a few years now. If there’s one aspect of Polaris snowmobiles everyone agrees on and is impressed with, it’s their excellent handling. It has become Polaris’ calling card. Would the extra weight of a heavier 4-stroke, particularly a 4-stroke triple, compromise that rep?

2. Polaris believes in lightness and has delivered the lightest chassis since the AXYS was introduced. Just the fact a 4-stroke could weigh 40 to 60-lbs. more than a comparable output 2-stroke has to have the engineers’ heads spinning.

3. Polaris already makes durable, powerful 900 and 1000cc 4-stroke twins for its off-road vehicles and those engines prowess has been proven with thousands of sales in that market. These engines are available turbocharged or naturally aspirated – boon for what Polaris might be offering in future years.

4. It makes sense that if Polaris did come with a 4-stroke snowmobile engine, the company would save millions by using technology that already exists versus tearing up the existing blueprint and starting all over with something that isn’t as time-proven.

5. The off-road market is a lot bigger than the snowmobile biz and is exclusively 4-stroke. How much sense does it make to build a complex, completely new 4-stroke with the potential for only a few thousand sales.

6. We’d love to be a fly on the wall at a Polaris engineering jam session to hear what the test results of a prototype 4-stroke triple Indy versus a prototype twin Indy look like. Goes without saying we’re pretty sure those experiments have been executed.

So, there you have it. The mystery continues.

However, considering the fact a 4-stroke twin would be lighter, more economically feasible and have less of a gyroscopic effect than a new triple, we haven’t got a clue what Polaris is going to bring to market – that is, if it is going to bring a 4-stroke at all!

In recent in-garage bench discussions here someone came up with this brainism: Do single-cylinder sleds have a better chance of being good handlers than triples – or even twins, for that matter?

You’re guessing it has something to do with weight, right? Wrong. Although a single will inevitably be a bit lighter than a twin or triple – especially over the skis where it counts, history has proven that weight isn’t the key to good handling.

There’s actually a whole mess of sleds that have been quite light that weren’t necessary very precise in the steering department.

Okay, handling is much more complicated than just the size or configuration of the snowmobile’s engine. We get that.

However, given you have two sleds with the same chassis and suspension, and one is a triple and the other is a single, other than weight, why are we thinking the single would turn better?

Here’s where we get a bit weird. Incidentally, weirdness theories account for much more in snowmobiling than you’d expect. We could go into several paragraphs on this.

Our theory has much to do with what is referred to as the Gyroscopic Effect.

The Gyroscopic Effect (GE) is a genuine proven theory in physics and is defined as: “The ability of a rotating body to maintain the steady direction of its axis of rotation”.

Think of a kid’s top rotating on the dining room floor. When it’s spinning, it stands up vertically along its axis or the vertical centerline of the top. It continues this way as long as it’s rotating and then it falls over. However, as long as it’s rotating it resists moving off its axis.

The GE principle is also directly related to mass. The bigger the rotating object, the more it resists moving off its axis. Another factor is the speed or RPM the gyroscope is rotating.

This is where our theory gains some credibility. If you have an SRX with its big 4-stroke triple rotating at 8000 RPM, the Gyroscopic Effect will prove it takes quite a bit of force to move it off its axis – or turn the snowmobile. There are not only three pistons spinning the long crankshaft but there is a cam and valve gear rotating here, too.

Likewise, a Venom, equipped with a 400cc 2-stroke single (no cam, no valve gear) will require less effort or force to do the same thing at the same RPM. Thus, better handling.

We first observed this effect almost 20 years ago when Yamaha started to get serious about snocross racing. At the time, their racing 2-stroke triples accelerated super-fast but they just wouldn’t handle as well as the twins everyone else was using.

Was it the GE or was it just chassis inferiority? Yamaha took a lot of heat for that back then – and maybe it wasn’t all that justified.

Even today, snocrossers remove suspension wheels in their race sleds’ skidframes for the same reason and it’s been proven that 2-stroke freestyle motocross bikes perform big-air maneuvers better than 450cc 4-strokes because of the GE of a heavier 4-stroke.

Back in 1997, a Polaris engineer told us the transition from big triples like the Storm into the XC-Series twins showed a “crazy improvement” in handling because of the Gyroscopic Effect.

There’s another big factor here, too. Any sled’s rotating track and drive axle represents another version of the gyroscopic effect. Although the track spins slower than the engine’s crankshaft, it’s still a lot of mass rotating across the axis of the sled, thus more resistance to turning.

Carrying this thinking forward, you could surmise the new Venom or its Cat counterpart, the BLAST, with a 14-inch-wide, lightweight 121-inch track and a single cylinder engine, should handle better than most sleds out there. Hmm.

You be the judge.

It was the early 1990s when snowmobiling decided it was time for an all-out, tailor-made dual passenger snowmobile to come to the market.

The earliest purpose-built 2-uppers were Arctic Cat’s Pantera and the Ski-Doo Grand Touring, based on the PRS “bull-nose” chassis. These sleds had unique features for that time – a backrest and a comfortable 2-passenger seat with handholds and footrests.

The idea was to give the long-distance passenger a nice place to sit where they had good vision without the fear of falling off the back should the driver suddenly forget someone else was “back there”.

As other OEMs rapidly got onboard, track dimensions became established at the 137 to 144-inch length and more amenities were added. 2-passenger-tuned suspensions, plusher, raised seats, more elaborate backrests and passenger hand warmers became the norm. Even storage space was upped and some models sported classy, well-engineered luggage equipment.

The last few years we’ve observed the manufacturers have started to put less focus on these 2-uppers and there are fewer pure touring models in the sales brochures than there have been in the past.

Yamaha and Ski-Doo lead the fray with the most 2-up selections, but Polaris and Cat (this year there are almost no 2-passenger touring-designated models from Cat) have vastly reduced the number of 2-place sleds they offer.

This trend is interesting because, in our observation, there are just as many riders as ever out there on the trails who are riding with spouses and children aboard.

Obviously, consumers are keeping these sleds longer and not visiting showrooms to shop for replacements enough to justify the OEMs investing in new technology. Perhaps the fact there’s been a big trend toward offering 4-strokes in these models may have caused consumers to get extra lifespan out of them so the necessity just isn’t there to buy a new one every couple of years. Dunno.

The result seems to be going in two directions.

First, there are a number of sleds being offered that have long tracks and excellent floatation that can be equipped with an accessory 2-up seat and other touring features. Although the sled is being marketed as a single passenger trail/boondocker, it can also be a good 2-upper.

The Indy Adventure is a good example of this type of sled, as is Yamaha’s SideWinder S-TX with a 146-inch track. Likewise, the Ski-Doo Renegade Enduro can be converted into a 2-upper taking advantage of its 137-inch track and air suspension.

As good as these sleds are, however, they do not fit the old profile of maximum comfort on long distance tours for the second passenger.

This brings the second trend into focus.

Quickly evolving snowmobiles like the Polaris Titan and Ski-Doo’s newly revamped Expedition SE and LE series are providing ultimate comfort for two riders and yet have really good handling, ride and performance for long distance touring.

Yes, these sleds were once utility stump-pullers but both Polaris and Ski-Doo have evolved them to the level they fit the touring category like a new pair of doe-skin FXR gloves. They even look really good with aggressive styling and cool paint and graphic treatments to amp up their sex appeal!

With 20-inch-wide tracks and an abundance of onboard storage, they are truly tempting tourers and are quickly overcoming the stigma that would make someone point and them and call them workhorses.

They just aren’t. They are premium 2-up snowmobiles that easily exceed the narrower, shorter 2-uppers we rode a decade ago.

After riding the new 650 Patriot twin, we have little doubt it will dominate what was once the 600 class. Simply stated: The competition will have to go bigger to catch up.

So, supposing that Arctic Cat and Ski-Doo come with new 650cc twins in a year or two. Where will that leave the trail class we’ve all come to love so deeply? We say this because the Patriot 650 has the kind of power that makes it pretty competitive with some three or four-year-old 800s. It’s that fast.

Once there are three 650’s available – maybe even four if Yamaha continues its trend toward offering 2-strokes in its line-up – there will be an incredibly large power gap between anything 650 and trail sleds that make tamer power in the 80 to 95-hp category – still a popular power range.

True, the existing 600 class sleds already spread the gap pretty well with engines cranking out about 125-hp on average. However, strong sales of Ski-Doo’s 95-hp 900 ACE 4-stroke tell us there’s a big demand for sleds producing 95 to 120-hp. Some riders will confess they just don’t need more power and actually prefer the output of sleds below 100.

We’re wondering if the future may see a return to the 500 class. Not long ago these were capable, price conscious sleds without a lot of the new electronics we see today – items that inevitably drive up the retail prices.

A good example is the 600cc Sport series Ski-Doo has come out with this year. These sleds don’t have all the bells and whistles – no exhaust valves, simple throttle body EFI and minimal computer tech – but you get a cheaper sled that looks like a more powerful one and generates an honest 80-hp.

Although we personally think maybe that power range might be a bit low, it opens the door for Ski-Doo’s competitors to give you a bit more – both in net horsepower and maybe even a few tech tricks like reeds and mechanical exhaust valves.

Maybe even an 80-hp 500 would do the trick. In days of yore that was pretty much what a carbureted Indy 500 or a Twin Spar 500 Cat brought to market. Frankly, we recall Yamaha and Ski-Doo had pretty potent 500s back then, too.

Resurrecting sleds in a lower performance range certainly isn’t a common trend in snowmobiling. Usually, it’s all about bigger and more powerful. However. We honestly believe there is plenty of room – and demand – for sleds producing power in the above ranges.

We also wonder if the new 650, since it’s so quick, may actually take away some of the 850’s customers. A 650 this powerful really changes all the rules. We’ll see what happens.

What are we wondering about? Well, the three sleds we’re looking at are pretty good as is and we’re trying to look down the telescope and figure out how they can be improved – and, if they can be – when?

The three we’re looking at are: The present Ski-Doo G4 850 series, the 9000-series turbo Cats and Yamaha’s SideWinders.

We didn’t list any Polaris models here because this year is the year of the all-new MATRYX. It’s pretty obvious Polaris will start to evolve all of its models off this most recent platform and although it will likely take five or six years to get to completion, the company will whittle down the number of platforms it currently is using to either one (MATRYX) or two (AXYS & MATRYX).

However, looking five or six years down the road with the others is a more complex appraisal.

There’s no lack of enthusiasm surrounding this snowmobile season. Sales of new sleds have been heroic and most dealers are sold to the bare walls.

Used sleds are in such high demand several dealers we know have waiting lists. For those on the waiting list, better get ready to spend inordinately high sums for a good, late model ride.

So it would seem there’s a ton of riders (and possibly many new riders) chomping at the bit to head out onto the trails and enjoy some freedom from the city and the constant COVID threat. That’s good and for the most part, in most jurisdictions, the trails will be opened and groomed in line with past year’s timing, depending on winter’s arrival, of course.

Here’s one thing that isn’t so easily understood or guaranteed as we stare down the beginning of the 20/21 season: Food. Maybe more specifically, “on-trail services”.

In a number of North American jurisdictions restaurants are only allowed to open on a reduced capacity basis or to provide take-out food service. Where we ride, this likely means bring your lunch. During a normal season, popular on trail pit stops are most often packed to the walls with hungry, cold and in-need-of-a-washroom sledders.

If what appears imminent materializes this winter there will be a run on the OEM’s factory luggage and backpacks. It’s also going to be important for snowmobile clubs to increase the number of comfort stations at trail heads.

So get ready to pack some power bars, a sandwich, some bottled water and a thermos of coffee in the event your lunch destination is lined up out the doors.

There might be an upside to this challenge. What about food trucks at trail heads and busy trail intersections? They could provide enough extra food service to get everyone topped-up with a burger and fries and warmed-up with a hot drink.

A thirty-below day might present some challenges but we’re snowmobilers and we are tough, right?

We needed to do a little research on why this engine so wildly outperforms the rock solid 599cc Polaris engine the company has used for the last decade or more. One thing to keep in mind is this new engine is all-new and Polaris didn’t just bore out the old 600 to make it a 650.

Frankly, the 650 is a clean sheet of paper. Polaris started over with a whole new design (for a 650 twin) and it shows up with the dimensions of the engine. The still-in-service 600 has a 77.25mm bore and a very short 64-mm stroke. The 600 is very oversquare by even 2-stroke standards and loves to rev but compared to the new 650, its torque numbers seem a bit anemic.

Polaris actually reduced the bore on the 650 over 3-mm to 74.8-mm (compared to the 600) but increased the stroke 10-mm to 74mm. Thus, the 650 with its longer stroke generates the level of torque you’d usually experience with a bigger displacement engine.

This further backs the Polaris claim this engine is “built on 850 architecture”. Actually, the bore/stroke dimensions on the Patriot 850 indicate an 85-mm bore by a 74-mm stroke for a total of 840ccs. The rest of the details of the 650 closely mirror the 850.

You’ll note the stroke numbers for the 650 are exactly the same on the 850… 74mm. This is no accident and it’s one reason the free-revving 650 feels much bigger than a 650. It’s square dimensions, with a fairly long stroke and almost the same bore diameter help it deliver juice in the 135-hp range.

This “long stroke” twin makes impressive torque numbers and you don’t have to ride it far to feel that torquey power delivery in the seat of your pants.

Unquestionably, Polaris has had to revise clutching and gearing to make the most of this kind of grunt in a mere “mid-size” engine. However, it really works and one ride will sell you on the difference.

A snowmobile engineer, now retired, once told us about the mystery of some 2-stroke engines. He told us “some engines simply outperform their displacement. You can work and fret over a new engine and it just won’t make the kind of power it promised from its engine size. However, another one will surprise you completely. It will outperform every competitor and if you reduce it by 50ccs or up the displacement another 50ccs, it becomes a complete dud in its category.”

Thus, this new Polaris engine is already starting to prove it’s surprising buyers utterly and completely!

We’ve heard so many varying opinions on Arctic Cat’s decision to deliver a single cylinder BLAST this year, our collective heads are spinning!

First, let’s clarify something important: The BLAST couldn’t possibly be more aptly named. Simply stated, it’s a genuine blast to ride and our platoon of test riders last January at SNOWSHOOT in Montana, to a man, came away impressed with it. Actually more impressed than they were with some very high-end, high tech sleds they rode there.

Why? Our riders told us it was incredibly maneuverable and felt as light as a feather no matter whether it was being ridden in powder or on trails. Although a few felt it would be nicer if it was, say, 70 to 80-horsepower instead of its claimed 65, the majority felt it’s power range was perfect – especially considering the type of rider it’s targeted at.

This liquid cooled, counterbalanced, 397cc EFI 2-stroke single has machine gun throttle response and almost no vibes considering the size of its piston. Very important to its torque delivery is an electronic 3-stage exhaust valve. It also uses an electronic exhaust pipe sensor and detonation sensor to adjust timing on the fly to keep emissions low.

Power is driven through a CVTech PowerBloc primary and a matching Invance secondary – quickly becoming known as the best clutch combo for sleds in this horsepower range. What you may not know is this primary clutch design requires virtually no maintenance and is so cheap to purchase in the aftermarket, you can pretty well trash it and install a new one in five or six years – probably longer.

The BLAST also comes with electric start and reverse on most models.

We expected this engine to be hugely undersquare (piston stroke longer than bore diameter) but Cat has obviously relied on its 3-stage exhaust valve setup to keep the torque numbers high. As it is, the engine has an oversquare 85mm bore and a 70mm stroke. These dimensions are important because they mean this is a single that likes to – and can be revved.

Okay, enough about the BLAST’s tech details. What the heck made this relatively small displacement single cylinder sled so appealing to our hardcore, power obsessed riding group?

Why the interest now? After all, there have been a few (very few) single-lungers in the biz over, say, the last 20 years.

You need to go back a few decades further and realize that there was a time when single-cylinder sleds were the most common configuration in the snowmobile business. Many snowmobilers cut their teeth on this type of sled and those initial thrills have never left them.

What makes the BLAST so appealing is the fact it’s in a really good, up-to-date, full featured chassis. You can immediately tell from its looks this is a trimmed down ProCross chassis with weight taken out of the track, tunnel and skid-frame (it uses an uncoupled skid and a one inch-deep, 14-wide track and there’s no swaybar up front).

The net effect is agility and nimbleness from the driver’s seat and an engine that feels much larger than it is when you’re playing in deep snow or running trails.

If going back in time to another era is what it takes, the BLAST is a winner in every area – and especially in today’s market.