Jon, Kellie, Mindy, Adam, and I spent the day Sunday riding the new 800 RMK as well as several other 2008 RMK prototypes. One of the more interesting comparisons up there was the carbureted 600 RMK 144 and the new fuel injected 600 RMK 155. Polaris says there are some internal changes to the injected engine which gives the CFI (clean fire injection) version about five extra horsepower. The power difference between the two engines was hard to tell, but the difference in calibration quality, especially on the bottom end was very noticeable. We rode on a relatively warm day at over 11,000 feet, which is a good place to see how well the fuel injection compensates for tough conditions. Where the carbureted sled ran okay but you could feel the gurgle on the bottom end from being slightly too rich, the injected engine ran clean, without having the lean bog or pop that we’ve fought for years. Typically with carburetors, you end up with the steady state throttle calibration slightly rich so that there is some excess fuel available when the flipper gets quickly mashed open. Otherwise, that big gulp of air results in a momentary lean condition which causes a bog or even a pop, depending on how lean the mixture is. With fuel injection, the system is able to track the throttle position and respond with more fuel very rapidly. Besides the cost difference between carbs and fuel injection, there really doesn’t appear to be any drawback to fuel injection. The argument has been for the last few years that we didn’t want injected sleds because we couldn’t mod them. At this point, with the fuel control boxes, the thought of changing jets seems like a lot of effort compared to pressing buttons. We've tuned a lot on the dyno and in the field with Boondocker boxes and they really do work well.

The 800 Dragon feels, not surprisingly, a lot like the 700. It was hard to assess what state of tune the prototype was in and the Polaris guys estimated the final calibration was only about 85% done. With the spring conditions, there wasn’t really a good spot to really load the engines going uphill. We did line up the 700 and 800 and drag raced several times. We found the 800 to be faster, but not by a huge margin. When we checked the 600 versus the 700, the gap was definitely larger than the 700 to 800. We have to remember, however, that these were prototype sleds and we don’t want to get overly invested in the results. We won't really know how they stack up until next fall when we have actual production units to test. The new shock calibration feels like it stays slightly flatter on the trail and doesn’t seem to have negatively affected the sled in the trees. If your idea of a good day is never having two skis on the ground, the Raw chassis is hard to beat. The engine is glass smooth and the power delivery is very linear. That’s the good news about the 800. The bad news is that they are extremely limited and we’re probably only a couple days from being sold out. Luckily, when you really stand back and look at the choices, the 700 RMK represents a very good price/value proposition. In fact, after riding both of them, Jon is going to order another 700, mostly because he wants to have it early in the fall in order to start putting all the lightweight parts on. He feels like a lightweight 700 with an RMX kit will be very competitive with the 800. I guess that means I’ll have to work on my 800 quite a bit, because the only shot I’ve got to keep up with Jon is to have more power, since he’s always got more stamina. You’d think I’d be smarter than to go riding with folks that live at 9,000’ and go running for fun, but apparently I’m not!

So how does the 800 stack up against the other brands? Based on the sleds we’ve ridden this spring, I would guess the combination of weight and horsepower will mean the new Ski-Doo XPs outrun the Dragons up the hill, but it should be close. The power of the Polaris felt like it will fall somewhere between the M8 and the 800R, although that could improve with final production. We’ve talked a lot with customers over the last month as folks try to decide what to order for next year. At our demo ride in March, we had 96 people sign the waiver and take a ride. The sleds are so close now that finding any consensus was really impossible. It’s sounds like a cliché sales pitch, but in the 800 class, everybody is really building a very good snowmobile. Unless Cat has done some super tuning they’re not talking about, the M8 will be a little short on power compared to the Polaris or the Ski-Doo, but with an RMX kit, they’re right in the ballpark. I think the deciding factor really has to be the chassis. Matching the chassis with the type and style of riding you like is the best way to maximize your fun factor. Some guys like the higher seat and bars of the Polaris, while others find the lower seat of the Cats make it easier to switch sides. Some folks like the feel of the Cats with no sway bar in the front, while others really appreciate the Ski-Doo’s stability. The Ski-Doo really shines in a tough hillclimb when you want to pick and line and stick to it. For those who really like to sidehill and ride the sled on one ski crowd, the Polaris and Cats are easier to tip. In spots where you can't tip the sled, however, and need to have the sled actually steer conventionally, the Ski-Doo is superior. After surviving the '05 and '06 sleds that had more service bulletins than problem free miles, it’s really pleasant to be talking about the subtle differences that make one sled or another work in certain situations, instead of about which sleds work at all. As for me, I’m hoping we have another great winter so I can spend plenty of time and miles making sure I really understand those subtle nuances. Somebody has to do all that hard work!

Thanks,
Donavon