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SNOWTRAX TV 2020 – Episode 5 Sneak Peek

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Coming up in the next episode of SnowTrax TV…

Luke heads to Quebec’s winter playground, Eeyou Istchee Baie-James to take advantage of the abundance of snow, over 1,100 km (680 miles) of well-groomed trails, limitless landscapes along with an amazing diversity of culture and wildlife!

In TRAIL TECH AJ turns his attention to creating the perfect multi-purpose two-up touring sled as he transforms our Ski-Doo Renegade X-RS into a family rocket by adding some quality Ski-Doo accessories such as the LinQ 1+1 Seat system, adjustable windshield and the adventure tunnel bag.

Then in TEST RIDE, Luke sets out to rediscover Yamaha’s Sidewinder XT-X SE with its new ARCS Front Suspension, Gen2 body work and narrower ski stance. Powered by the Genesis 1049cc Turbo High Performance Engine the Sidewinder XT-X is the most powerful crossover sled on the snow.

2020 Ski Doo MXZ X 600R Walk Around and Ride Impressions

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Motorhead Mark give an in-depth overview of Ski-Doo’s MXZ X featuring the Rotax 600R engine and shares his opinions of this sled after having the opportunity to log some serious miles on his home turf.

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FINALLY, A QUIET PERFORMANCE EXHAUST

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Snowmobilers with performance sleds have always been interested in accessorizing their rides – especially when they’re new. One of the most popular accessories has adding a “performance” exhaust silencer. For many years this meant, quite simply, “noise equals power”.

While that last statement might be true, the social acceptability of an aftermarket exhaust that generates increased power at the cost of increased sound (db) is dwindling – fast.

Many snowmobile jurisdictions in the US and Canada have simply outlawed all exhaust modifications. While this scrutiny does seem biased against the snowmobile industry, it’s time for a better way to get more power and lighter weight.

My point about unfair or unbalanced scrutiny of the snowmobile industry when it comes to exhaust noise, is 100-percent rooted in the reality over 80 percent of all Harley Davidson motorcycles are fitted with performance, low restriction (read: ultra-loud) exhaust pipes and for the most part, nobody seems to care. Go figure.

Enter the MBRP Quiet series exhaust. MBRP and its talented crew of exhaust designers have come up with a piece of sno-mo performance genius. After riding an 850 Polaris with an MBRP Quiet Series silencer this past weekend I’m very optimistic about the future of this product.

The Quiet Series silencer is a complete no-brainer to install on a Polaris AXYS 850 and a little more work on a Ski-Doo G4 850 or 600R. The stainless steel exhaust is beautifully made and comes highly polished and with everything needed for the install.

The net HP gain is not heroic , but is a legit one horsepower. However, the Quiet Series scores big points in weight reduction – it’s a full six pounds lighter than stock.

Here’s the beef. The Quiet Series silencer is just that – much quieter than any aftermarket silencer we’ve ever tested. At idle, through engagement and at trail speeds there is no, zero, zip obtrusive crackly or annoying resonance. None.

When you crack the loud handle out on the lake there is a definite difference in the exhaust note from stock.

Think of it this way. Corvettes come with legal-quiet stock exhaust systems. Despite this, Corvettes have a sweet, throaty, imposing tone all of their own. That’s the best way to describe the MBRP Quiet Series Exhaust silencer.

The time has arrived, my sno-mo-accessory-crazed Buds, to live in the now and get an MBRP Quiet Series silencer. For sure – you’ll make more friends and contribute to protecting our sport’s future.

MORE YAMAHA ENGINES

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By its own admission Yamaha is first and foremost an engine company.

Not hard to see how this is true. In its $15 billion annual profile Yamaha outboard engines are the largest group of products the company builds. We’ve often said Yamaha will forget more about 4-stroke engines than the other guys will ever know.

So here’s what I’m thinking. Why doesn’t Yamaha build a 95-hp 4-stroke variant to compete with Ski-Doo’s wildly popular ACE 900?

For sure Yamaha’s 1049 triple is a credible competitor against the legion of 125–130-hp 2-strokes out there but Yamaha is definitely leaving market share on the table by not addressing this important 95-hp 4-stroke segment carved out by Ski-Doo.

Hey, wait a minute! The gone-but-not-forgotten 80-hp 500cc Phazer 4-stroke twin would be the perfect match for the ACE 900 if it had a small uptick in horsepower, wouldn’t it?

Okay, here’s another twist. With Ski-Doo hooking a hairdryer to the ACE 900 and boosting its output to 150-ponies there could very well be an opportunity for Yamaha to do some head-to-head warfare with the market leader.

Let’s be honest, we’re all big boys and girls and no one really believes the current 998cc Yama-turbo puts out a mere 180-stallions. That engine is so convincingly, overwhelmingly fast it has to be closer to 200-hp.

Here’s what I’m putting down if you’re picking it up: There’s room for Yamaha to offer a 150-hp version of the current 998 turbo and mow some yellow grass.

Yeah, we know the cost to produce a 150 versus a 200-hp 998 turbo would be virtually identical. If that was the only way of thinking, no one would ever build variant output powerplants on similar platforms.

Why not do a 150-hp turbo and take some sizzle off Ski-Doo’s steak while potentially selling more sleds? Hey wait – I think that’s called capitalism, isn’t it?

Are there opportunities for the Big Y in the current ultra-techy, high horsepower sno-mo-marketplace? You bet there are!

Tips for Loading Your Marlon Xplore Pro II Truck Deck

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AJ increases the usefulness of our GMC 2500 with the installation of Marlon’s latest sled deck the Xplore Pro II featuring telescopic ramp complete with Superclamp Superglides. Watch as he showcase its intuitive operation and ease of use even for a first time user.

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Full Review: 2020 Ski Doo Renegade X rs 850

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Motorhead Mark Lester gets race inspired and blasts the trails revealing all the details of Ski-Doo’s 850 E-TEC powered Renegade X rs.

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2020 Crossover Snowmobile Shootout!

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Luke takes a closer look at the 50/50 crossover snowmobile market addressing its appeal to its current demographic and comparing four of the top players in this category including the Backcountry XRS 850, Yamaha Sidewinder XTX LE, the Switchback Assault 850 and Arctic Cat’s Riot 8000.

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UNDER-ACHIEVERS FROM THE PAST: LENKO LARVEN

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Down through the history of snowmobiling there have been snowmobiles built that fell short of expectations. At that time, the idea behind them seemed good – but the execution just didn’t pan out…

LENKO LARVEN

The Larven snowmobile (“caterpillar”) in Swedish, was built in Ostersund, Sweden sometime in the 1960s through to the end of the 70s. It was the brainchild of Lennart Nilsson.

His concept was pretty bizarre from the beginning but actually had a really loyal following in Europe. The idea was to build a separate power and drive system from where the rider was perched and mount it at the rear so it articulated vertically, separate from the front “pod” where the rider sat. The handlebars were stationary and moved neither left nor right. The track ran the full length of the structure. Hmm.

Hold on, the best is yet to come. The steering mechanism consisted of a pair of skis attached to the rider’s feet! You steered by leaning and it was only possible because the Larven was so light (it only weighed about 150-lbs.).

You can imagine the kind of liability issues you’d have building a Larven today. Think about riders driving over their own skis or – landing a jump and getting the skis crossed up! There are just an unlimited number of scenarios that could end up badly.

Here’s the biggest surprise: Remember we mentioned at the beginning of this series how some owners would still swear these listed snowmobiles were their best ever? Somehow, Lenko sold over 4,500 Larven snowmobiles!

That’s a lot of broken ankles!

UNDER-ACHIEVERS FROM THE PAST: YAMAHA SRX 500

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Down through the history of snowmobiling there have been snowmobiles built that fell short of expectations. At that time, the idea behind them seemed good – but the execution just didn’t pan out…

YAMAHA SRX 500

1982 Yamaha SRX 500

On a scale rivalling the legend of the Bermuda Triangle sits the mystery of the 1982 Yamaha SRX 500.

In what has to be the only event of its kind in snowmobile history, this gorgeous snowmobile was mass produced but never allowed to be taken home by a group of purchasers and dealers who had ordered up heavy early-season. Folklore has it the entire production run of these beauties was sent to an anonymous Midwest wrecking yard to be crushed. Say it isn’t so!

To explain what actually happened here would be risky. Why? The stories surrounding the SRX 500 are myriad and we suspect Yamaha has not had much to do with any of them.

Imagine building and marketing a new top-of-the-market snowmobile to find out there was something so critically wrong with it the factory decided to pull it from the shelf and make it disappear. We suspect Yamaha really wasn’t interested in explaining what happened. It was obvious – it was something really bad.

Rumors abound of post delivery crankshaft problems, primary clutch explosions, seizures and the list goes on. For what it’s worth, we think what might have been the reason for the SRX 500’s disappearance was underachievement.

It’s possible, after dismal performance from the 1981 440 SRX and the bold promise the new 500 engine and clutches being the fix, the company elected to cut bait and shelve the SRX name – to be resurrected sometime in the company’s sno-mo-future.

It’s no secret the SRX moniker was ultimately dusted off and legitimately and successfully rejuvenated in the late 90’s through today.

SNOWTRAX TV 2020 – Episode 4 Sneak Peek

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Coming up on the next episode of SNOWTRAX TV…

AJ drags the 2020 Backcountry Xrs into the TRAIL TECH shop to make it a little bit more family friendly while preserving its macho appeal with the addition of some key accessories from Kimpex. Key to its multi-use transformation is the popular Seat Jack from Kimpex which includes heated hand grips, adjustable backrest and an RCA outlet which can accommodate the passenger rider’s heated helmet shield.

Further adding to its trail-ability, AJ installs a set of Kimpex RUSH style skis along with Kimpex Rouski Gen3 retractable ski wheels which make steering easy while at the same time protecting your skis and carbide runners from premature wear. Rounding out the transformation are some additional accessories to aid with visibility and comfort along with a review of the CKX Mission helmet with all new AMS technology.

Then AJ turns his attention to EVOlutionizing our Indy EVO to keep up with the growth spurt of our junior sled-head. With the purchase of the EVOLUTION kit from Polaris your mid size Indy EVO can be easily transformed to a larger full-speed 550 Indy.

Finally in TEST RIDE, Luke ventures deep into the backcountry with Arctic Cat’s 2020 RIOT X 8000 and pushes its limits to see if it can really conquer any challenge.