Calendar of Launch Dates for 2013 Snowmobiles
All the manufacturers threaten magazine test riders with piles of confidentiality contracts and are extremely tight-lipped about the new lineup until the launch dates. Add these dates to your calendar when all speculation is put to rest.
February 20, 2012 2013 Ski-Doo Snowmobile Launch
Official Website: www.ski-doo.com, Instant Quotes: www.snowcheckdirect.com/ski-doo
February 28, 2012 2013 Arctic Cat Snowmobile Launch
Official Website: www.arcticcat.com, Instant Quotes: www.snowcheckdirect.com/arcticcat
March 4, 2012 2013 Polaris Snowmobile Launch
Official Website: www.polaris.com, Instant Quotes: www.snowcheckdirect.com/polaris
February 23, 2012 (Estimated) 2013 Yamaha Snowmobile Launch
Official Website: http://www.yamaha-motor.com, Instant Quotes: www.snowcheckdirect.com/yamaha
The manufacturers will have the 2013 snowmobile lineup on their websites these days. Snowcheckdirect.com takes a couple days to get their pricing loaded so sign up for the email list to receive the most up to date information in email notifications. Good luck deciding which sled is best for you next year!
Six Shocking 2013 Ski-Doo Snowmobile Predictions
Ski-Doo Progress and Rumors
The 2013 Ski-Doo 800 Summit SP X is the most widely anticipated new snowmobile introduction for the mountain segment. Look for Ski-Doo to drop weight. With Polaris grabbing up a lot of Ski-Doo’s dominating market share over the past 2 years with the new Pro and Rush models, Ski-Doo will focus on lightweight rigidity in the mountains because it has simply worked for Polaris.
Ski-Doo has a better, stronger, more reliable, more efficient motor in the Rotax 800 E-TEC than Polaris. Ski-Doo will do very minor changes to the engine, and major chassis improvements. Watch for all new body work and a lighter, stronger chassis. Suspension improvements will come with the new platform. Ski-Doo’s new chassis will help them make a comeback against the dominating Polaris Pro RMK and they will look to stop any momentum Cat has with their 2012 models.
2013 Ski-Doo Summit Predictions
Major Steering linkage overhaul with vertically oriented steering
Significant 15-20 pound weight reduction with major chassis upgrade
All new body panels and seat creating a totally new look for the 600 & 800 ETEC
Updated lighter Camoplast track
Front suspension improved with travel increased 2”
Priced at $300 more than Arctic Cat and $500 more than Polaris
2013 Ski-Doo Snowmobile Summary
On February 19, 2012 the world will know if these predictions are true or that Ski-Doo is waiting a year to sell through more of the old chassis. If true, the new Ski-Doo Summit will take one technical wooded terrain with a new level of maneuverability found in the new chassis. Despite the poor economy, Ski-Doo could deliver with the most innovation in one year since their 2008 Summit XP Chassis introduction. This will surprise and delight customers, but with a hefty price tag that may scare gearheads away until a used one is available for the 2014 season.
Finding the Best Pricing on Ski-Doo Snowmobile Parts
Ski-Doo parts and accessories are hard to find online at discounted prices. Most Ski-Doo dealers across the country escalate prices above the Ski-Doo suggested prices, sometimes 150-200% of retail. www.gearhead.com/snow guarantees the best pricing available on Ski-Doo parts and accessories and offers free shipping for most orders.
Shameless Plug for Ordering your 2013 Ski-Doo Snowmobiles
Everyone knows the best value in a snowmobile is the feature-packed X models available at the best prices in the Spring from March – April 10. The easiest way to buy a new snowmobile is online to avoid the games dealers play with pricing and luring you into the store to negotiate the best price. Snowcheckdirect.com is the industry leader in Spring Sled buying. Get an Instant Quote that will have the factory rebates and dealer discounts applied to the price up front! Sign up for the first information available on the 2013 Ski-Doo’s at www.snowcheckdirect.com today.
2013 Arctic Cat Snowmobile Review & Predictions
2013 Arctic Cat Snowmobile Surprises
Watch for some big shake-up’s and subtle innovation enhancements in 2013 snowmobile line-ups from Arctic Cat, Polaris, Ski-Doo and Yamaha. Be ready for some big surprises and brace yourself to be underwhelmed by manufacturers due to budget cuts, emissions regulations and market adjustments due to lack of snow. Overall, you should expect smaller line-ups with less models to choose from unless you pony up $500.00 in the pre-season for a more customized sled.
Arctic Cat Progress and Rumors
The 2012 Arctic Cat twin spar “Pro” Chassis with tapered tunnels and extreme front suspension was a big hit for some and a miss for others skeptics that didn’t get to test ride on the pre-season 2012 Pretend snowmobiles. Believers and haters have been won and lost one at a time in rides throughout the 2011-2012 season.
After some initial engine seizures due to air bubbles in the oil lines, hearts were won with surprisingly great handling, a light weight feel on the M800 and F800 models and the gut wrenching power of both the 800 and 1100 Turbo engines. And then there were a dozen more updates and service bulletins to work out the bugs. Starting Line Products helped the M800 the most in 2012 with a single pipe that dropped 20 pounds.
2013 Arctic Cat Predictions
Fifty or more subtle “bug fixes” from the all new chassis.
15 Pound (much needed) weight reduction in the Mountain Segment (M800 & M1100 Turbo)
Elimination of the ugly orange and white color scheme.
Base Model M800 and F800 with lower price point.
Vertically oriented steering standard on M1100 and M1100 turbo.
Arctic Cat launches their revised 2013 Arctic Cat snowmobile lineup on February 28, 2012. Signup to get the quickest price quote online at http://www.snowcheckdirect.com. If you chose not to be the guinea pig, congratulations; the 2013 model will be ready to go. Arctic Cat OEM Replacement Parts and Accessories are available at www.gearhead.com/snow with options for free shipping.
2012 Arctic Cat Snowmobile Test Ride
@gearheadjared
2012 Arctic Cat Demo Ride – Island Park, Idaho
It was 9:15 am and 27 degrees in Island Park, Idaho at the Arctic Cat Mountain R&D facility. Over the past 24 hours, they got 6 inches of fresh snow and 10 inches of fresh powder at the top. There are 14 riders and 14 2012 Arctic Cat mountain sleds.
As a representative for Rexburg Motorsports www.rexburgmotorsports.com, the highest volume Arctic Cat snowmobile in the Western US lower 48 states, we were selected to ride the 2012 Arctic Cats. Heaven. I would feel the weight, responsibility and privilege of being one of few that would ride these sleds. Rexburg Motorsports carries all 4 brands and frankly, we don’t care much if our customers buy Arctic Cat, Polaris, Ski Doo or Yamaha. We want our customers to be satisfied so they’ll buy from us.
To my knowledge, no other all-line dealer has ridden these sleds. Other than the top dealers in the country, only media and a select few get to ride them. Media seems too full of politically-correct analysis because they don’t want to lose the advertisers’ dollars.
So, in my Ride Report, I have no hidden agendas and no prejudices. I just want to call it how it is. So here we go.
My Concerns
First: I was concerned from the get go. Before riding them (just looking at the pictures), I was very skeptical about the giant spindles attached to those wide spaced racer style a-arms. Why on a mountain sled? Won’t they get hung up in the deep powder on the side hill?
My other concerns were 2) Weight: Did they ruin the M8? Is it 20 pounds heavier? Surely the M1100 is about the same as the fat Nytro MTX Super Charged with a little more power than the pump gas MPI. That’s fine, but don’t mess up the M800!
Finally, 3) Did Arctic Cat sacrifice power to somehow comply to the EPA restrictions for 2012 snowmobiles? The 2010-2011 M8 absolutely rips. Please don’t mess it up!
The Real Scoop on the 2012 M1100, 2012 M1100 Turbo and 2012 M800
2012 Arctic Cat M1100. In my humble opinion, the M1100 is a big, bulky, underpowered hunk-o-sled. Put a 4 cylinder Cavalier engine in my Powerstroke. Torture.
I will miss the M6. I don’t mind the 2-stroke smell and sound. In fact I love it. I don’t want to trade 80 pounds for the 4-stroke supposed benefits.
For you guys and gals that want to ride “through” the mountains on trails and not over and up them, then this sled is for you. I may just be bitter about losing the M6, so I should say that it feels lighter than the Nytro MTX, has about the same power, but steers much better, tighter and easier than the Yamaha Nytro MTX. In addition, the suspension is the best of any of the mountain sleds which says a lot considering they were a tie for 3rd in my book with the stock Yamaha sleds last year. Arctic Cat suspensions were awful in 2008, and they have come a long way in 2011, but the 2012 Pro Climb Chassis really works like a full mod suspension!
So, if you want the reliability, quietness, smoothness and odorlessness of the 4 stroke and you won’t be doing the big climbs, this is the sled for you. It has a good enough footprint and power to float through the mountain meadows and climb moderate hills a little more clumsily than any 2-stroke but better than any 4-stroke I have rode.
For the 600 cc class, I highly recommend the 2012 Polaris 600 Pro RMK 155. This sled will be about 100 pounds lighter and reliable smooth power.
2012 Arctic Cat M1100 Turbo demo ride
This thing is a beast. In fact it’s a pig compared to the 2-strokes. But its a powerful beast and I was pleasantly surprised with how agile and how smooth the 177 claimed horsepower was delivered to the powder. Yamaha will have to make engineering upgrades to catch up to this new sled.
The Yamaha is actually a little smoother at the bottom end, but the Arctic Cat Turbo doesn’t have as much lag as the Yamaha which makes it nice boondocking through the trees.
This sled doesn’t pick through trees like the M800, but it’s a monster up the hill and kept up with the M800 on the hill. I was surprised how heavy it wasn’t. The suspension is incredible and the chassis is more rigid than the 2011 M1000, but not as rigid as the glued-together Polaris PRO RMK’s.
The horizontally-oriented steering post stinks compared to the 2012 M800. I can’t believe they didn’t just put the M800 SnoPro telescoping steering post on all M1100 Turbos. It’s ridiculous. Plan on an extra $500 to $600 if you get this sled to buy the Arctic Cat steering conversion kit.
I have no hesitation in recommending this sled as long as you buy the vertically-oriented steering accessory kit to make it like the M800 and you know this is a beast and it’s the best way to get to 250 horsepower. Boondocker should have a box to bump the boost to get significantly more power than the stock settings which will be a couple thousand less expensive than a comparable Yamaha.
2012 Arctic Cat M800 demo ride
I think the Polaris PRO RMK is still a little easier to navigate in technical riding conditions. It responds so well to rider input. But so does the 2011 M Chassis. But, Polaris delivered a more flickable sled than the M8.
My analysis is this, in the almost perfect riding conditions we were in. 6 to 12 inches of fresh powder on a great base; the 2012 is easier to ride, easier to sidehill and responds better than the 2011 M8. It’s really close to the Polaris PRORMK. In fact, I was more comfortable as the day went on and didn’t want to get back on the 2011 M8. The 2012 M8 was more powerful. (I don’t know if they de-tuned the 2011’s to make it seem like the 2012 had more power) The Pro Climb suspension is what really surprised me. The front end stayed down on the climbs with excellent balance and control, but would easily pack the skis when I wanted to. I never noticed getting hung up with the huge spindle and didn’t notice any “drag” when sidehilling. Whatever it is, that suspension rocks.
I can’t wait to get on the Cat again next season. I highly recommend the M800. I think the Ski Doo 800 ETEC has the best engine on snow, but it’s hard for me to ride. I think Polaris had the best chassis in 2011. This year, chassis options are close. I would say the Polaris is still easier to ride, but the Arctic Cat has a better suspension and is much closer to the rideability of the Polaris than the 2011 Arctic Cats. I just can’t ride the XP chassis very well so I won’t go there.
The vertically-oriented steering with the telescoping handlebars on the M800 Sno Pro’s and Limted’s are the only way to go. This sled steers tighter and easier than anything on the snow. This was a nice surprise.
The weight felt about the same and maybe a little lighter than the 2011. The engineers claim when final materials for production sleds are made, the sleds should be a little lighter than the 2011’s. That’s great, just don’t add 20 pounds. If I want that, I’ll eat more cheese burgers and fries over the summer.
Overall 2012 Arctic Cat Mountain Sled review
Overall, I’m convinced the Pro Climb chassis is leaps ahead of the 2011-prior M- Chassis. Thanks Arctic Cat for not messing it up. However, please get the correct steering set up on the M1100 and M1100 turbo! I’m not that impressed with replacing the M6 with the M1100, but it will work for some. The turbo has lots of potential at a great price. The M800 will be a world class fun to ride sled and I can’t wait for snow next season!
Thanks Arctic Cat for the ride and thanks for letting us beat the crap out of your sleds. We rode them like rentals and they turned their heads. If you are offended, too bad, I’m just calling it how it is!
The Perfect Ride
Order your new 2012 Arctic Cat, Polaris, Yamaha or Ski-Doo mountain sled on www.snowcheckdirect.com. For snowmobile parts and snowmobile accessories for 2012 snowmobiles, go to www.gearhead.com. They have parts for snowmobiles, motorcycles, ATVs and UTV’s, from what I have found you can’t find any other site online with their expertise in sleds and still get the selection of motorcycle parts!
2011 Polaris 800 Pro RMK in the wild
Photos from readers riding the new 2011 Polaris RMKs have starting coming in. When asked how the ride was all we got back was “amazing!”.
2011 Arctic Cat M1200 or M2000 Turbo?
Do you have the need for 600 HP mountain monster? Or, would a 200 HP stock sled suit your needs?
I’ve been planning on it for 2 years. This is the year. M1000 punched out to M1200 from the factory. 200 HP stock. The end all of end alls. Undisputeded big bore king. What the M1000 was always meant to be, 1200 cc’s of brute force. Or….bold new graphics.
Yep, we’ll have to rely on aftermarket Cat guru’s like D&D performance to wake up the monster Cat for now. Arctic Cat has left the 2011 M-1000 virually unchanged from 2009-2010. Don’t get me wrong…It’s still the biggest bore mountain sled $13,000 can buy….but heck, go for it…you already have a 1000 cc ATV, let’s do it.
This is a picture of the conjoined twin twins. Taking 2- 2010 M1000 162′s and bolting them together with Turbo chargers running 14 pounds of boost with full race gas and you’ve got 600 HP and a ton of traction in the new 2011 Arctic Cat M2000 Turbo. The dual throttles and dual brakes on this baby will take some getting used to. I’d like to see Brett Rasmusen and Chris Burandt have a boondocking competition to see who has the skills to sidehill this 100″ wide beast through the woods!
As for the M1200…looks like we’ll have to wait til year 12′.
Special thanks to photographer at the Arctic Cat dealer launch in Las Vegas!
2011 Ski-Doo Summit Freeride – More horsepower?
We just received word from an anonymous source that is at the Ski Doo dealer only meeting in Orlando, FL. (why the heck would you have a snowmobile launch in Florida?) The dealer said that although Ski Doo is publishing 155 HP on the new 2011 800 E-TEC motor, it has been dyno’d at 163.9 horesepower. That’s a much needed gain considering the upgraded Polaris has announced on their new Pro series 800’s. Ski Doo says they still have the best power-to-weight ratio of any in the mountain class.
The 2011 Ski Doo Free Ride was the big surprise taking BNG (Bold-New-Graphics) to a new level. They have ten, yes count them…10 wild and bursting with color graphics packages available for pre-booked orders only. The 2011 Ski Doo Free Ride has the new 800 E-TEC motor, 154” track, new rear suspension with the rear suspension arm mounted 4 inches back for better ski pressure adjustability and control. (the lightweights were good on the 2010, but this will be more adaptable for the beefcakes riding this at 220 plus pounds wet). If I want less ski lift, I can have it now. The freeride comes with tapered bars and piggy back shocks on the front end to boot.
A lot of speculation surrounds the new 800 E-TEC engine but Ski Doo seems to have done their homework. They are getting more power due to the increased velocity of air they can pump through. This is achieved with dual air intakes on the hood and 52 mm throttle bodies as opposed to the TM40 flatslides straped on the 800 PTec motors. The pistons have thicker piston rings and new ring locating pins. The injectors have a higher flowrate and they are using a different cylinder head. Unlike it’s 600 E-TEC counterpart, they have 4 injector drivers on the 800 E-TEC vs 2.
Another benefit to the 800 eTec motor is the claimed 19 MPG. The Polaris 800 and Arctic Cat 800 are getting about 14 MPG, so that’s a decent increase. It uses hardly any oil with electronicly controlled oil injection. The 800 E-TEC is has 4 injector drivers as opposed to the 2 on the 600 E-TEC. If my math is correct, with a claimed 265 miles on 1 quart of $10 BRP oil, I can ride 1,000 miles on a 4 quart bottle of oil before I run out and burn it down.
The 2011 Freeride is 30 pounds heavier than the Summit X, so I’m assuming the beefed up tunnel with wider running boards, tougher suspension mean that it won’t fold as easy when flying off 500’ cornices. I’ll take the strength and sacrifice a little weight. Maybe I should eat less beefcakes this summer to even things out…can’t wait til the next riding season!
Video of new 2011 Polaris sleds
We just received a video showing the new 2011 polaris sleds. Take a look.
Looks like the photo from out last post was pretty close to the real deal.
2011 Polaris RMK Sneak Peak
We were hoping for some juicy details today on the new 2011 polaris RMK, but our source said they didn’t get the solid info they thought they were. Oh well. But we do have a photo of what another anonymous source claims to be a “leaked” photo from Polaris. It shows the 2011 RMK with a rear shock similar to the Rush. Since we’ve never received images from said person we do not know of it’s truthfulness. Take a look and tell us what you think in the comments.
If anyone has any real info on the 2011′s please submit it in the comment box.
New Polaris Sleds coming out
Anyone have any info on the new Polaris Sleds coming out tomorrow? I hear there’s some changes coming…..
