AC
03-06-2002, 07:08 PM
Yesterday, I had the chance to try out the new Rev 800.
The first impression that I had is Holly #### is this ever high and small! This impression intensified rather quickly when I started to speed up. It took about 30 sec. to get used to the feeling and new seating position. Since we were on a lake to start with, I decided to push abit more. I got to 100 mph on speedo which felt more like 60 because of the suspension. The surface of the lake was covered with 10" bumps which would otherwise render most snowmobiles out of control but I just couldn't feel the bumps! We went in an area of the lake which was flat and had 1" of hard packed on the Ice, in other words, perfect conditions for top speed http://www.snowmobileworld-s2.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/thumbs-up.gif I squeezed the gas until I reached 117 mph. I then discovered that The Rev was not going to be a lake racer. The light front didn't stick to the ground and the whole sled was shaking violently. It would of most certainly go faster because the speedo kept climbing but the sled was just too unstable even with my weight (230) so I backed off. I tried again and each time I would go faster than 100 mph, it was nearly impossible to control. We were then led to some small, ungromed trail, which had about 1 to 1 1/2 sled width. Prior to this, we tried it with our snowmobiles so we could feel the difference. It was VERY bumpy, washboard for a whole 15 km's with bumps ranging from 4" to 24", not the worst trails I've seen but pretty close. We couldn't go really fast because the trail were twisty and skis were bouncing off the bumps making it hard to impossible to steer at *high speed (70 + kph). With the Rev, it sliced through like a knife in butter *http://www.snowmobileworld-s2.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif *I just couldn't feel the bumps, it was as if we were ridding on a groomed trail. My brother, who was behind me with his Formula STX (modified susp. for moguls) couldn't keep up and I wasn't even ridding close to aggressively with the Rev. The cornering of the Rev was also incredible. I was taking the turns one by one going faster in them every time and expected the skis to lift but it never happened. In no time, I was doing 100 kph in that trail and still the sled wasn't pushed to it's limits, in fact, the G force was so great that it pulled my outside the corners and the sled was still hooked on the ground somehow. After the 1 hr of trial that I was allowed, I still didn't achieved the limit of that sled both in cornering and in bumps. I also tried a few jumps. The first one scared me as hel, it seemed that I was going to nose dive but the sled landed flat horizontal. The other that followed did the same thing. The sled automatically goes horizontal when you lift off a jump. I wondered why Blair Morgan was always horizontal in the air, now I know why. As for comfort, I could ride that sled longer than any other, the seating position feels so natural that your muscles don't need to work (except for thumb muscle) http://www.snowmobileworld-s2.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sly.gif *
My overall opinion is that the Rev is an incredible leap forward for twisty trails, moguls and cross country. In normal trails, I would still prefer it to any other sled because of cornering and seating position unless the trails are really straight. As for lake racing, it's probably the worst sled out there. I would of liked to try a 600 HO which wasn't there because since this sled is not made to go 100 mph + I don't think it's necessary to buy an 800. One of my major concerns was the performance in powder but with the bad weather we've been having all winter, it wasn't possible to test it in more than 6" of snow:( *
I tried to get some info from the Rep. but either he didn't know anything or he didn't want to say. He hinted that with the poor sale numbers of mach Z's this year, it might be the last year of the tripples at bombardier. And as for those who wanted to know if a long track version of the Rev would come out, he simply said to wait for next year.
ZRT600, It doesn't seem that the Rev will come in a blue color but you can always custom paint.
The first impression that I had is Holly #### is this ever high and small! This impression intensified rather quickly when I started to speed up. It took about 30 sec. to get used to the feeling and new seating position. Since we were on a lake to start with, I decided to push abit more. I got to 100 mph on speedo which felt more like 60 because of the suspension. The surface of the lake was covered with 10" bumps which would otherwise render most snowmobiles out of control but I just couldn't feel the bumps! We went in an area of the lake which was flat and had 1" of hard packed on the Ice, in other words, perfect conditions for top speed http://www.snowmobileworld-s2.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/thumbs-up.gif I squeezed the gas until I reached 117 mph. I then discovered that The Rev was not going to be a lake racer. The light front didn't stick to the ground and the whole sled was shaking violently. It would of most certainly go faster because the speedo kept climbing but the sled was just too unstable even with my weight (230) so I backed off. I tried again and each time I would go faster than 100 mph, it was nearly impossible to control. We were then led to some small, ungromed trail, which had about 1 to 1 1/2 sled width. Prior to this, we tried it with our snowmobiles so we could feel the difference. It was VERY bumpy, washboard for a whole 15 km's with bumps ranging from 4" to 24", not the worst trails I've seen but pretty close. We couldn't go really fast because the trail were twisty and skis were bouncing off the bumps making it hard to impossible to steer at *high speed (70 + kph). With the Rev, it sliced through like a knife in butter *http://www.snowmobileworld-s2.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif *I just couldn't feel the bumps, it was as if we were ridding on a groomed trail. My brother, who was behind me with his Formula STX (modified susp. for moguls) couldn't keep up and I wasn't even ridding close to aggressively with the Rev. The cornering of the Rev was also incredible. I was taking the turns one by one going faster in them every time and expected the skis to lift but it never happened. In no time, I was doing 100 kph in that trail and still the sled wasn't pushed to it's limits, in fact, the G force was so great that it pulled my outside the corners and the sled was still hooked on the ground somehow. After the 1 hr of trial that I was allowed, I still didn't achieved the limit of that sled both in cornering and in bumps. I also tried a few jumps. The first one scared me as hel, it seemed that I was going to nose dive but the sled landed flat horizontal. The other that followed did the same thing. The sled automatically goes horizontal when you lift off a jump. I wondered why Blair Morgan was always horizontal in the air, now I know why. As for comfort, I could ride that sled longer than any other, the seating position feels so natural that your muscles don't need to work (except for thumb muscle) http://www.snowmobileworld-s2.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sly.gif *
My overall opinion is that the Rev is an incredible leap forward for twisty trails, moguls and cross country. In normal trails, I would still prefer it to any other sled because of cornering and seating position unless the trails are really straight. As for lake racing, it's probably the worst sled out there. I would of liked to try a 600 HO which wasn't there because since this sled is not made to go 100 mph + I don't think it's necessary to buy an 800. One of my major concerns was the performance in powder but with the bad weather we've been having all winter, it wasn't possible to test it in more than 6" of snow:( *
I tried to get some info from the Rep. but either he didn't know anything or he didn't want to say. He hinted that with the poor sale numbers of mach Z's this year, it might be the last year of the tripples at bombardier. And as for those who wanted to know if a long track version of the Rev would come out, he simply said to wait for next year.
ZRT600, It doesn't seem that the Rev will come in a blue color but you can always custom paint.