Today finally concludes all the dealer meetings. Currently, I’m sitting on another airplane headed back up to Jackson and the World Championship Hillclimb. Dom and I drove the semi up to Jackson on Monday and then I flew down to Salt Lake City yesterday about noon. We’re doing our normal Klim booth at the Hillclimb which starts with a few classes tomorrow. Mom, Dad, and Dom set most of the booth up today, which I really, really hated to miss, but when duty calls…

Most of the Polaris info has been leaking out slowly in the last couple of weeks. It’s interesting, when we went back and looked at our numbers for this snowmobile season, the Polaris business was essentially even to a year ago, Ski-Doo had grown slightly, and Yamaha was level. In addition, we had a good year with Cat, which was incremental business and didn’t come from our existing brands. To be honest, that surprised me a little because one of the reasons we decided to take on the extra complexity and commitment of selling another brand was that Polaris had some trouble in the last couple of years. When the Rev was introduced, the Edge chassis was no longer state-of-the-art. Polaris’ answer was the 900 RMK, but it was plagued by vibration, excess weight, and way too many updates and service issues. We knew almost immediately that the IQ chassis had some promise based on how easy the 900 was to ride, but it wasn’t quite there with the big heavy 900cc engine mounted in the nose. In 2006, Polaris introduced a new 600 RMK which was essentially the 900 RMK chassis with a new 600 HO engine mounted in it. Instead of the laydown engine design the 900 used, the 600 was a conventional Polaris twin with the carbs and airbox on one side and the exhaust on the other, as they had always been. The thing that was immediately striking about the 600 was how easy it was to ride. As I’ve said before, if you’re looking for a chassis that’s easy to tip and loves to be ridden on one ski, the IQ really excels at that. With all the weight of the big engine out of the nose, the nimbleness and playfulness of the chassis could really be felt. For 2007, Polaris built a new Raw RMK chassis which was about 25 pounds lighter than the original IQ RMK platform. The radiator in the nose was replaced with bigger coolers in the tunnel and a lot of excess parts and weight were removed. In addition to the 600 RMK, Polaris also introduced a new 700 RMK Dragon which featured a new engine built on the 440/600 “small block” crank case. If you review our dyno numbers, you’ll see the new 700 made a very similar amount of horsepower to the older 800cc “big block” engines. With good horsepower combined with the new chassis, the 700 Dragon proved that it really performed on par with what we expect from an 800. In fact, if you compare the 700’s dyno numbers with the M8, they are very equivalent. Ski-Doo upped the ante with the new 800R engine, but in terms of historical perspective, the 700 Dragon was quite impressive. In our testing, the Dragon was generally a touch faster in the meadow than the Summit, but you could see the Summit’s horsepower shine when you pointed the two sleds up hill in deep snow. The Dragon and the M8 were also very close in hillclimbing and powder tests. Snowest has a new article about their Deep Snow challenge which shows the Dragon doing very well, in spite of being short on horsepower. My guess is the Ski-Doo would have done better if they hadn't taken an XRS with the Trenchmaster (Challenger Lite) track. We learned early on that the Adrenalines with the Powdermax track worked way better, so it's surprising they did the test with a sled with the bad track. Anyway, it will be interesting to see how it all stacks up next year with the new Rev-XP chassis versus the Polaris 800 engine and their new track.

For 2008, Polaris has another new engine, an 800cc version of the 700 engine. In order to fit those big jugs on the small block case, the cylinders are a monoblock, which saves space by eliminating extra coolant passages. The 800 uses the same four injector Clean Fire system that the 700 was equipped with. Both the new 800 and the 2008 700 will feature single ring pistons, as well as updated oil injection calibration. Additionally, the 800 comes with 48mm throttle bodies. The 700 and 800s will also have a decompression port in the cylinders to allow for easier starting. All said, Polaris says the new 800 engine makes 20% more power than the big block 800 in the mid-range and 15% more at peak. Polaris is putting the horsepower number at 154 hp, although SLP reports they’ve seen more. It should be noted, however, that SLP has been faithfully been backing up Polaris’ numbers for the past few years in hopes of selling more parts through Polaris. I’d take that one with a grain of salt until we actually get to dyno the new engine. My guess is that the Polaris should should come in within a couple horse of the 800R Ski-Doo engine, which is still impressive for an 800cc engine. The new 800 is also only 2.5 pounds heavier than the 700 engine.

In addition to the new 800 engine, Polaris has improved the Raw RMK chassis used in all the liquid cooled sleds (600s, 700s, & 800s). Here’s a summary of the changes or details by model:

600 RMKs:
* 600 155s are available in two versions, the Shift model which is blacked out and carbureted. The “normal” 600 155 will have a white hood with decals and is also fuel injected.
* Polaris says the 600 carb engine makes 120hp and the CFI version makes 125hp.
* Narrower and lighter seat.
* New taillight that’s back on the tunnel where it belongs.
* New spindle with ½” less offset, which reduces steering effort even further than the ’07 spindles.
* 155” track has also been updated to a Series 5.1, which has a slightly different paddle arrangement and provides about 19% more lift in soft snow.

700 RMKs:
* Narrower and lighter seat.
* New taillight that’s back on the tunnel where it belongs.
* Redesigned air intake allows for more surface area.
* New spindle with ½” less offset, which reduces steering effort even further than the ’07 spindles.
* 155” and 163” tracks available, both in the updated Series 5.1, which has a slightly different paddle arrangement and provides about 19% more lift in soft snow. The pitch is still the larger 2.82” track design.
* Updated calibration should provide even better running quality and may result in a couple extra horsepower.
* 700 163s will have a center drive to help ensure the track doesn’t ratchet.
* 700s are available in either a standard or Dragon version. The standard models are white in color and feature standard high pressure gas shocks with springs. The Dragon versions are red with Walker Evans shocks which have been recalibrated for more aggressive performance.
* 700 CFI engine will feature single ring pistons for added durability, as well as a decompression port for easier starting.

800 RMKs:
* Narrower and lighter seat.
* New taillight that’s back on the tunnel where it belongs.
* Redesigned air intake allows for more surface area.
* New spindle with ½” less offset, which reduces steering effort even further than the ’07 spindles.
* 155” and 163” tracks available, both in the updated Series 5.1, which has a slightly different paddle arrangement and provides about 19% more lift in soft snow. The pitch is still the larger 2.82” track design.
* All 800s will have a center drive to help ensure the track doesn’t ratchet.
* 800s are only available in the Dragon version, which are red and and have the Walker Evans shocks. The shocks have been recalibrated for more aggressive performance.
* 800s come with a taller handlebar riser (5.25” vs 3.75”).
* The 800 163 will not have a front tunnel cooler and has ice scratchers instead of bogey wheels in the rear suspension to keep weight to a minimum.
Below you’ll find a summary of all the 2008 mountain sleds, including MSRP. Please keep in mind that if you order a new sled from us this spring, you’ll pay considerably less than MSRP – please call for details.

Trail RMK
$5,799
550cc Fan Cooled Engine
60hp
475 pounds
15”x136”x1.25” track
White

600 RMK 144
$7,999
600cc carb engine
120hp
472 pounds
15”x144”x2.0” track
White

600 RMK 155 Shift
$8,399
600cc carb engine
120hp
478 pounds
15”x155”x2.4” track
Black

600 RMK 155
$8,749
125hp
489 pounds
15”x155”x2.4” track
White

700 RMK 155
$9,199
140hp
489 pounds
15”x155”x2.4” track
White

700 RMK 155 Dragon
$9,899
140hp
484 pounds
15”x155”x2.4” track
Red

700 RMK 163 Dragon
$10,299
140hp
489 pounds
15”x163”x2.4” track
Red

800 RMK 155 Dragon
$10,599
154hp
487 pounds
15”x155”x2.4” track
Red

800 RMK 163 Dragon
$10,999
154hp
487 pounds
15”x163”x2.4” track
Red

When you look at all the changes, Polaris is going to have a good year in 2008. Cat has made some great improvements and obviously the Rev-XP is going to be a great sled. There will be nothing anywhere near as light as the Summit, but Polaris still has a unique chassis feel that’s lots of fun to ride. The 600 RMK is really the 600 mountain sled that sets the pace in the class and the 700 RMK will be the only 700cc mountain sled on the market. 800s are extremely limited, so if you think you’d like to have one of them for next season, now’s the time to get one ordered. I know that sounds like a sales pitch, but in this case, it really is true. There will only be about 1800 of them built, to be spread all over the Western US and Western Canada. When you boil that all down, the ratio of 800s to everything else will only be about 15%, thereby putting them in short supply. The other thing that potential 800 buyers need to be aware of is that production and delivery is slated for late November or early December.

For those folks who Snow Check a new sled, Polaris is offering a 3 Year Extended Warranty or 0/0/0 Financing for 6 Months. In addition, everybody will also receive an eVent Mountain jacket which is worth about $350. If you're a Polaris fan who has been waiting for them to get back on the gas after the 900 debacle, the wait's over.

Thanks,
Donavon