All I here guys talk about is the F7 and how light it is. Also about how twins are better than triples because the triples are so heavy. Then all of a sudden a sled comes around that is "sled of the year", is selling like crazy, and is heavier than anything we have ever seen before.

My point is, why are lightweight twins so popular over the heavier triples but alot of people are buying the even heavier RX1. I am a big triple guy and cant understand this BS marketing hype.

:D does sound like BS when you look at it that way.....

Look, this whole sled of the year thing is bogus. All it is, is that particular magazines PAID opinion. Heck, we can all pick our own sled of the year becuase it means about as much as the magazine editors opinion.
PS I am not coming down on the RX-1, just the magazines that print this crap and try and spoon feed it to us. :angry:

PH is right. All that is bought and paid for, means nothing. In the beginning of my career I worked at Campbell-Ewald, a large ad agency that handles Chevy/GMC. Every year we had to put together several extensive proposals of what we would do if car X would be chosen as Motor Trends Car of the Year, you know the little trophy with the calipers. The proposal had to include sample creative but most importantly how much $ would be spent promoting the fact that car X was chosen. Of course none of that was supposed to affect their decision . . . It's all about the money.

I have just read magazines that say the ZR will outhandle the Firecat. But the Firecat is better in bumps.

The magazines dont have a clue what there talking about.

Weight doesnt mean crap. Look at the Hummer. Ive driven one a few times and i bet it would out corner my Grand prix but it weighs probably more then twice that of the car.

The RX-1 if it had a triple engine in it would be dubbed the biggest POS to hit the snow. Even if the triple made the same emmitions, same power, and weighed less then the R1 motor.

But becasue its a 4 stroke, Magazines are all over it. You have to understand that most of the writers that write these arcticles have probably never driven half the sleds they write about so dont belive them until you see it for yourself.

The RX-1 is Sled Of The Year for a reason, INNOVATION!!!!!!!!! Accept it people, the sled will rock. It just isn't a mogal masher and most riders don't try to throw a sled around, they just cruise. The rx-1 does so many things well except jumpbig all the time. No other sled deserved the award more than the rx-1. It has totaly changed sledding forever, whether some people like it or not. And all magizines are not saying the new light weight twins are better. In fact most of them have stated that the zr 800 efi or zr 900 is the sled most guys should buy unless they ride 120 miles or less a day and or are mashing mogals all day because it's so light you'll have to man handle the sled. Whereas the 800/900 have a enough extra weight to keep the front end planted. They've also stated that the ZR 900 is the best trail handling sled around, and flat cornerer. So it's really Manufacturers hyping theere newest and lightest twins. Especiallly selling to the new riders and young ones.
Caleb

I disagree sled dogg.

From what I have read (And i dont belive all of it) The RX-1 will be a poor handling sled, It has problems with inside skilift, And with a strong front end push like the CK3 did before presison skis.

Yes it looks amazing but i think it has a poor rear suspention that will not offer a ride such as a REV, or Firecat.

I also think for a sled built today it should weigh less then that. The dry weight of this sled is probably just around 600 Lb. When wet it will be right over 600.

The way I look at it, It has a heavy out of date chassie with a 4 stroke motor struggling to make the same power of current 2 stroke twins which are cheaper and have no where near the emount of money and research put into them.

IMO no sled desirves this award more then the REV. The REV has truly changed sleds and the way sleds will be built and designed in the future (Not the RX-1). When riding the REV you dont even feel bumps or mogles that might dislodge you from a regular machine, The REV has also won its share of snowX races last year and is doing really well in the drags this year.

It also has RER reverse which is a revloution all on its own. It has the ability to turn into a comfortable 2 up riding machine, It has the biggest trunk space ive ever seen, And it has the best handling I have ever ridden and it has bombardiers list of high tech features such a DESS security and all the digital stuff.

If you disagree with me, Prove me wrong, Because I dont see how the RX-1 desirved this award in anyway other then the fact that it makes good power from a 4 stroke and looks good.

This is not ment to bash or offend anyone. I just dont agree with the magazines.

well yamaha finally has their day in the light, i'm not saying that i agree but who cares and good for them that they have conquered the politics to get there.

Yeah I agree with that. What I was posting about was my Personal opinion of sled of the year. As for the mags. Its obvious that the manufactors buy that as part of there add campaign.

machzzzz1,
what i have question with is why not the rev ? ???

I dont really care who is the sled of the year. This is not about yama, cat, pol, or doo. Its about people being so darn confused about which sled to buy because of this BS hype and phony bolony printed in the mags. All I hear is ski doo and cat argueing over which sled is lighter. But along comes MR RX1 weighing 6 hundy and now all of a sudden its a popular sled. But wait a minute I though being lighter was why twin sleds are supposed to better than triples. All I hear is triples are way to heavy and for that re3ason they are being phazed out. Well I guess yamaha has proved that theory wrong!!!!! Screw lightweight, screw twins, give me a nice BIG triple and put the money and technology that is being put into the development and advertisement of these other sleds. Seems to me with all these new high tech sleds coming out snowmobiling is really going downhill. Why dont they give us what we snowmobilers really want? Am I the only one that feels this way?

Exactly. Thats one of my big points.

lol finaly someone said it i was going to make post on this...........lol. there all talking weight of the tripples and now the yamaha is the heaviest but its unreal,.......lol. all sleds are still when u realy look at it still not that far off when it comes down to weight. what is the heaviest and what is the lightest. what is the difference hp-weight ratios?

No Bigdude, I think you're of the majority!! Don't get me wrong, I really love my ZR, but it would be so easy to update the triples so everyone has a CHOICE. It has to be about profit, as stated many times before, cheaper to build the twins, sell them at triple prices...voila!!! More profit. But hey, let's be positive...I'm sure they're going to use the majority of the profit from the twins to bring out new and improved triples in a year or two...RIGHT!!!

One thing no one has mentioned as for as the twins being the only choice by the manufacturers....TV. SnoCross is televised now...we think that's good because we get to watch our sport on TV, but the people that are turned on to snowmobiling due to it's TV exposure will look for the sleds they see on TV...all those models happen to be twins. As we all know, TV does shape what products are offered to the public. Mr. Joe Public goes down to the local sled shop after seeing them on TV and says, "what's the sled that I saw on TV this weekend?", and never even is offered a triple. Kinda makes you wish it was still a well-kept secret, huh?!

..........LOL...... i just had to say we have spent millions$$$$ in building trails flat and smooth and now there building sleds to get to 80mph and to ride mogules,,...lol i will stay with flat,smooth,fast..............hehehehe :devil:

u boys wanna talk about changing sledding forever. i think the REV did just that. wowee a 4 stroke motor in a sled, its nice to see but i dont think its the "best thing around"

Its like sled dogg said INNOVATION. If you read the article in the snogoer mag it explains how they came to name the RX1 as sled of the year. There were a few other things that they mentioned and I will post those later as my mag is at home. :doh:

That's fine ZERT, but it's still the mags doing the rating, not the public.

Exactly, I dont care what the mag says its all BS. Yeah I am sure some of the print is legit but let the real world decide for themselves. Personally I dont get the mags. all they are good for is making me buy stuff I dont need and making me crazy when there is no snow. :p

Like mentioned before, now with snowcross being televised people will want the sleds they see on tv.

I dont have a problem with that, but how come they wont give us an engine option. In the automotive feild there are some models that are offered with both 4 and 6 cylinder engines. Why cant they have that with sleds. A ZX with 809 triple is all most of us triple guys want, and it would be so simple for them to do. But there not doing it. I feel that the reason there not doing it is because the Magazines dont want them around.

It could be becasue the test riders for the Magazines are all hardcore snowX wannabes that weight 102lb. I saw pictures of them trying to drive a MachZ they were standing up and driving it all wrong. Its not a sled that was ment to stand up on. I think Magazines should get test riders from all angles and styles not just the SnowX guys that cant stand weight and dont understand how to handle a sled thats not ment to catch 5 feet of air.

All of this reminds me of a ATV test for the yamaha kodiak. The kodiak is a Utility bike yet the magazine had pictures of it doing a 4 meter jump. WHY, I have owned a kodiak and I can bet that opon landing the axle and frame was screwed up. But the fact is that the mags dont understand that all we want is a good honest review from everyday drivers that are a bit more open. And I also cant stand some of that new attitude crap that supertrax has going on. "Handled like a buick roadmaster", "Looks like a 90s hyundai" sure it sounds funny but common how many people are going to buy a sled after hearing that. No wonder the triples are dead.

lol.....u make very good points. myself i am a drag racer. i race on ice,snow,grass and asphalt. so for me to take out the smaller lighter snox type just dont cut it for me. they should get some guys like mike knapp to do the tests.......lol :D :p

Why is the RX1 sled of the year? As I recall, there are other 4 stroke snowmobile's out there and the've been there for a long time. Where's the innovation? Is it really better handling, more power, better emmisions then other sleds or is it just a regular sled with a 4 stroke that weight 600+? Bombi made a 4 stroke alpine some 15 years ago and I don't think it was the first 4 stroker even then.

Most of the early sleds were 4 strokes. I think J A Bombardier used JLO & Kohler 4 stokes before he came upon Rotax.

Its not about weight its about suspension geometry. The RX-1 has the same geometry as the Viper except the front suspension is better. There is no reason why it shouldn't be comparable to the Viper. The weight will be a factor but not as big as everyone seems to think. My friend put an SXR skid in his SRX and now his SRX handles exacly like his SXR 500. Before we all thought the SXR handled differently because of the weight but this swap has proven otherwise since now they feel exactly the same.
I agree that the magazines are full of it. I think that everyone has a good machine out, its just that they all cater to different needs.
Lets face it, the greatness of the RX-1 is really a matter of opinion. The only thing that is really revolutionary about the REV is the seating position as far as I am concerned, other than that its just a refined MXZ.
Machzzz the chassis is impressive but not as you say it is. We had this discussion before on the mach z post in the ski-doo forum.

The Rev is more then just a seating position.

Its 600% stiffer.

It totally isolates you from bumps.

It turns like its on rails.

The way it transfers the weight of the front suspention impact to the whole chassie instead of just the front is in it self impressive.

Not to discredit anyone but if you cant see that the REV is the future of sled design your wearing blinders. Why do you think polaris scrambled to make a sled simular. And Cat and Yamaha will follow.

Just wait till you drive one. Go find the meanest, roughest, hardest trail possible and pin it. Then write back about how the REV isnt REVolutionary.. :)

So whats the big deal with the RX-1? So it's got a geared down 5 year old motorcycle engine in it, woopie!
Now were right back to those bad bad heavy weight tripple type sleds again, but now it's allright?
A 140H.P. 4-stroke is impressive but so is my 400 H.P. 1970 SS Nova. Why not drop in a twin turbo 300 H.P. V-6 in a MachZ, probably would'nt weigh any more than the RX-1?

Look at the suspention, it's jacked up so high with a 121 track that it cant have over a 20" footprint! With all the tourqe it has, all it will be doing is spinning forever while a stock 340 spanks it. The mags will print whatever the manufactures tell them, after all, it's there bread and butter!

Tell me this. What does the Rx-1 4-stroke offer that you can't get with a 2-stroke triple??


I won't take the "emissions" as something better, because the technology to make a clean 2-stroke triple is right at the fingertips of Ski-Doo

Sled of the Year is NOT meant to be the best sled out this season

We are talking about a 135-145hp 4 stroke with a a new chassis(yes the skid is the same).Know even thought it would be possible to get a 100+hp 4 banger let alone a 135+

Poo/Cat and Doo 4strokes are in there older chassis Edge/ZR/ZX vs the ProX/Rev/Fcat and they put out 45-80hp and weight about the same as the 135+hp RX-1

The Rev also could be argued to be SOTY

Why are you all getting your panties in a bunch over the Sled of the Year?? :p :hallo1: :withstupid: :hallo7:

Side note What ya think of the GSXr 1000 Cat coming out mid season? :sly: :hallo1:

Ok I found the article and here it is in breif. I guess like some of you said it is the magazines picking and not the public.
The criteria that they look for in naming a sled of the year is stated as follows. "The Snowmobile Of The Year is about innovation and technology. This machine breaks new ground. It's a trendsetter. It represents the future of snowmobiling. It offeres a unique and positive impact on the sport." I posted this another post as well.

My point is there are not any new sleds this year that should even qualify as "sled of the year". All the sleds this year are shiat. Put a big triple in a lightweight F-cat and then you would have a sled of the year. Or maybe a big triple in the lightweight Rev chassis. In my opinion the manufacturers are pinching dollars by offering these "lightweight" twins which is doing nothing but bad for our sport. All I hear aboput is lightweight this and lightweight that. The triple will no longer be available becuase it is just too damn heavy and the lightweight twins are taking their places. Meanwhile we have a HEAVY azz RX1 taking sled of the eyar honors???? Even if it wasnt sled of the year (who realy cares) how can it be so popular when it is so heavy and that is supposedly why the triples are longer here???? :cussing: :hallo1:

The problem is snowcross is big right now, and what do they use in snowcross? lightwieght twins. If drag racing was more in the spotlight right now, you'd see a lot more new advanced tripples and maybe even more 2 stroke 4 cylinders in advanced chassis.

OEM's go where the money is, and right now, it's the publicity from snoX.

Good point! Totally agree with this. Its just a shame! I/m 250lbs and dont do much snoX. :D

SNO GOER................ha ha ha :D

I feel sorry for all of the flatlanders on here. The same things you guys are complaining about getting now, the western riders have been complaining about not getting for years. We love the lightweight twins and everything else lightweight so we can get up those mountains. You're not getting what you want and we're finally getting what we want.

As for the magazine issues go, I love SnoWest. People complain that they are biased towards the RMK, but its hard to argue with when it has been the best mountain sled for quite some time now with little challenges from the others until the last couple of years. It is a very good mountain sled magazine in my opinion. I don't read the other magazines all that much because all they talk about is short track sleds and after riding both short and long track sleds, I'll leave the shorty at home.

Just my two cents worth...

I think the REV should be Sled of the year because they changed the way you sit on the sled, something that hasn't changed since the invention of the snowmobile! The Rx-1 is a great machine but its just another sled with a different engine. The best sled will (maybe) be decided at the end of the riding season. And I am a Cat rider.