BestBest

ALL THE

618263

A supplement to American Snowmobiler magazine

of the

2012 Ski-Doo MXZ X-RS 800R E-TEC

toP 10 fASteSt of the fASt

For the better part of a decade we have been holding our Real World Shootout each year in the frozen Northwoods of the Midwest. Year to year conditions have varied dramati-cally and so have the machines. We have seen a proliferation of incredible technology in a short amount of time,

but have continued to document the performance of our demo sleds each year in this annual private test ses-sion. In the next few pages we have compiled some of the Best of The Best stats that sleds of the last several years have posted. While this is not meant to be an apples-to-apples com-

parison, as we stated earlier the condi-tions, traction packages, and more change from year to year. This is more or less a recap of what we’ve seen over the course of testing many model years. We are sure it will add some octane to your bench racing discus-sions, but it’s all in good fun. Enjoy!

Real Worldof the

SLED ¼-MILE (SEC.) TOP SPEED (MPH)

2006 Ski-Doo Mach Zx 1000 12.37 110.82

2009 Arctic Cat Z1 Turbo 12.62 103.55

2008 Yamaha Apex LTX 12.68 98.91

2007 Ski-Doo Blizzard 800 12.77 101.13

2008 Ski-Doo 800R Renegade X 12.79 98.36

2008 Yamaha FX Nytro 12.83 96.33

2009 Arctic Cat CFR 800 12.98 97.24

2008 Polaris Switchback 700 12.98 96.45

2005 Polaris Fusion 900 13.05 103.83

2009 Yamaha Nytro RTX SE 13.05 93.97

2 AMERICAN SNOWMOBILER • www.AmSnow.com

Best

2011 Yamaha Apex XTX – Last season our Apex XTX set the top speed at the Real World Shootout, hitting 104 mph. Its time didn’t make the Top 10, but the 2008 model did. Apex XTX also was the top performer in the Stock 150+ hp Long-Track class at our New York Shootout last year.

2009 Arctic Cat Z1 Turbo – The Arctic Cat Z1 Turbo is, and was, one of the all-around fastest sleds at Real World, and is still unchallenged as the most powerful stock sled on the market today. In 2009 the Z1 Turbo finished the ¼-mile in just 12.62. That year the sled also had a top speed of 103.55 mph and garnered an impressive 14.30 mpg too!

2006 Ski-Doo Mach Zx 1000 –This sled still holds the Real World Shootout record for quickest ¼-mile time and fastest top speed. The big twin 2-stroke completed the ¼-mile in just 12.37 sec-onds and had a top speed of 110.82 mph.

Best of the Best • 3

ShootoutReal Worldof the

ISTHEREATHINGASTOOMANYGOODSLEDS?by Mark boncher

toP 10 LIGhteSt of the LIGht

toP 10 ReAL WoRLD MILeAGe SLeDSSLED MPG

2011 Ski-Doo MXZ TNT 600 ACE 28.5

2011 Ski-Doo Renegade Adrenaline 800R E-TEC 17.2

2009 Ski-Doo Renegade 600 H.O. E-TEC 16.69

2008 Yamaha Vector GT 16.0

2010 Yamaha Vector LTX GT 15.7

2008 Yamaha FX Nytro 15.3

2009 Yamaha Nytro RTX SE 15.05

2009 Yamaha Nytro XTX 15.05

2011 Yamaha Apex XTX 15.0

2008 Ski-Doo TNT 600 14.7

SLED WET WEIGHT (LBS.)

2008 Ski-Doo MXZ TNT 499

2011 Ski-Doo MXZ TNT 600 ACE 521

2008 Ski-Doo Renegade X 800R 530

2009 Ski-Doo Renegade X 600 H.O. E-TEC 544

2010 Arctic Cat Sno Pro 500* 551

2008 Polaris 600RR 551

2008 Polaris Shift 561

2007 Yamaha Phazer 563

2010 Polaris 600 Rush** 564

2011 Polaris Switchback Assault*** 568

*Fullystuddedwith136StudBoystudsandShapercarbides.**Fullystuddedwith126StudBoystudsandShapercarbides.***Fullystuddedwith162SnowStudsstudsandSnowStudscarbides.

2008 Ski-Doo MXZ TNT – Each year we weigh our sleds totally wet, topped off with gas, oil, coolant etc. and then weigh them with our professional Intercomp scales. At 499 lbs., the first year TNT was our lightest sled of the last 8 years, however we did not stud our TNT demo sled.

2010 Arctic Cat Sno Pro 500 – Even with a 136 count Stud Boy traction package and larger than stock carbides, the Cat Sno Pro 500 weighed in at a svelt 551 lbs. If we subtract the weight for its studs and carbides, this sled would have chal-lenged for the No. 2 spot on the lightweight chart.

2011 Ski-Doo MXZ TNT 600 ACE – At 28.5 mpg the 4-stroke electronic fuel injected 600 ACE is the most fuel efficient sled, by a long shot, that we’ve ever had in our demo fleet.

1986 l Ski-DooEscapade 1987 l YamahaInviter 1987 l YamahaExciter

1990 l ArcticCatProwler 1991 l YamahaVentureXL 1991 l PolarisIndyLite

1993 l ArcticCatThundercat 1993 l YamahaExciterSX 1994 l PolarisIndy600XCR 1994 l YamahaVmax600

For the last quarter of a centu-ry AmSnow has been picking

sleds that outshine others. In the early years we

didn’t always pick an overall “Best sled,” but not a year went by without certain

sleds getting picked or recog-nized, in their respective seg-

ments, classes or new catego-ries. We even chose a few “bests” that weren’t even sleds!

We don’t disclose exactly how we choose our Best of the Best each year, for the same reason a professor doesn’t tell people exactly what is on an upcoming test. We also think some true

suspense for the big 4 manufac-turers is good for them once in a while. BUT we can tell you it is an intense group decision between a few hand-picked test riders and editors who range in age from 67 down to 27. None of us ride EXACTLY the same, but we all weigh in with our

4 AMERICAN SNOWMOBILER • www.AmSnow.com

Best Bestof the

Best of the Best • 5

1986ThE SNowMobilErS fAvoriTE: Polaris Indy Trail ES (432cc twin fan) TrAil TourEr of ThE YEAr: Ski-Doo Escapade

1987bEST SNowMobilE: Yamaha Inviter (290cc liquid single)ruNNEr-uPS: Yamaha Exciter (570cc liquid twin) Ski-Doo Formula Plus (521cc liquid twin)

1988/89bEST SNowMobilE of ThE DECADE: Polaris Indy (488cc liquid twin)bEST NEw SlED of 1989: Ski-Doo Mach 1 (583cc liquid twin)

1990bEST SlED of ThE YEAr: Arctic Cat Prowler (440cc liquid twin)bEST loNg-DiSTANCE riDErS: Minnesota to Moscow (Minnesotans Lee Busse and Scott Eilertson rode their Arctic Cats on a 5,000-mile goodwill mission to Russia with Grigori Shulik of Moscow)

1991SNowMobilE of ThE YEAr: Yamaha Venture XL (485cc twin fan)bEST vAluE: Polaris Indy Lite (244cc single or 340cc twin fans)

1992SNowMobilE of ThE YEAr: Yamaha V-max 4 (750cc liquid 4-cylinder)bEST AmSnow rESorT: The Lakewoods, Cable, Wis. (Still one of our favorite spots to stay and ride!)

1993MoST AwESoME SlED: Arctic Cat Thundercat (900cc liquid triple)SlEEPEr of ThE YEAr: Yamaha Exciter SX (569cc liquid twin)

1994SNowMobilE of ThE YEAr: Polaris Indy 600 XCR (597cc liquid triple)rEADEr PiCk of ThE YEAr: Yamaha Vmax 600 (598cc liquid twin)

1995lowEST PriCED SlED of ThE YEAr: Polaris Indy Starlite ($2,549, 244cc fan single)lighTEST wEighT SlED of ThE YEAr: Ski-Doo Elan (284 lbs., 250cc radial fan)

opinions. We don’t make any decisions until everyone in the group has sufficiently ridden each machine being considered.

Here we’ve put together a smattering of sleds from the last 25 years that were named Best of the Best in one way, shape or form by AmSnow. We didn’t

always call them the “Best of the Best,” but nearly every year sev-eral sleds were acknowledged for standing out from their peers. There were certainly many other Best of the Best sleds we could have mentioned, but we think you’ll enjoy this snapshot of The Best of the Last 25 Years.

1988/89 l PolarisIndy 1988/89 l Ski-DooMach1

1992 l YamahaVmax-4

1994 l YamahaVmax600 1995 l PolarisIndyStarlite 1995 l Ski-DooElan

Best Bestof the 25YEARSINTHEMAKING

6 AMERICAN SNOWMOBILER • www.AmSnow.com

1996 l Ski-DooFormulaIII 1996 l ArcticCatZRT600 1997 l Ski-DooMachZ

1999 l PolarisIndy340 2000 l TrailRoamer2000 2001 l RedlineRevolt

2002 l ArcticCatZR600EFI 2003 l ArcticCatF7 2003 l YamahaRX-1

2006 l YamahaApex 2006 l Ski-DooMXZX1000Renegade 2007 l YamahaPhazer 2007 l Ski-DooMXZBlizzard800

2008 l YamahaFXNytro 2009 l ArcticCatZ1Turbo 2009 l Ski-DooTNT600E-TEC 2010 l PolarisRush

1996bEST 600 AT ADiroNDACk ShooTouT: Ski-DooFormulaIII(highesthpat124,quickest¼-mileETat13.325sec,fastest¼-mileat83.18mph)bEST ovErAll 600: ArcticCatZRT600(594ccliquidtriple)

1997bEST big borE: Ski-DooMachZ(796.3ccRotaxliquidtriplewithRAVE)bEST NEw ShooTouT vENuE: Woodgate,N.Y.(firstyearthattheShootoutwasruninthesamelocationasitistoday.)

1998TESTErS ChoiCE:YamahaSRX600&700(598ccliquidtwin,and698ccliquidtriple)TESTErS ChoiCE ruNNEr-uP: ArcticCatZR600(599ccliquidtwin)

1999bEST vAluE iN SNowMobiliNg: PolarisIndy340 (339cc fan twin)firST iNDoor SNoCroSS: HeldinAirCanadaCenter(Toronto,Ont.)

2000 MoST iNTErESTiNg SlED: 3RIndustriesTrailRoamer(Kohler725ccfan4-stroke)

2001NEw fACES of ThE YEAr: RedlineRevolt(800ccliquidtwin)/A.D.BoivinSnowHawk(440ccfantwin)

2002TESTEr’S ChoiCE: ArcticCatZR600EFI(599ccliquidtwin)“if You CoulD oNlY hAvE 1 SlED for ThE NEXT 3 YEArS”:YamahaSXViper(696ccliquidtriple)

2003TESTEr’S ChoiCE: ArcticCatF7(698ccliquidtwin)brEAkThrough PowErTrAiN:YamahaRX-1(998cc4-cylinderliquid4-stroke)

1997 l Ski-DooMachZ 1998 l YamahaSRX

2001 l A.D.BoivinSnowHawk

2004/05 l Ski-DooRev/MXZ600 2005 l ArcticCatM7

2007 l Ski-DooMXZBlizzard800 2008 l Ski-DooMXZTNT

2010 l PolarisRush 2010 l ArcticCatSnoPro500

MORE BEST OF THE BEST STORIES AND REVIEWS > > For more go to www.AmSnow.com

2004 bEST of ThE bEST: Ski-DooRev600H.O.SDI(594ccliquidtwin)bEST CroSSovEr SlED: PolarisSwitchback(794ccliquidtwin)

2005bEST of ThE bEST: Ski-DooMXZSemi-DirectInjection(594ccliquidtwinor800ccliquidtwin)bEST MouNTAiN SlED: ArcticCatM7(698ccliquidtwin)

2006bEST 4-STrokE: YamahaApex(998cc4-cylinderliquidfuel-injected4-stroke)bEST high-horSE: Ski-DooMXZX1000Renegade(1000ccSDIliquidtwin)

2007bEST of ThE bEST: Ski-DooBlizzard(800ccPowerTekliquidtwin)bEST NEw ENTrY lEvEl: YamahaPhazer(498ccliquidtwin4-stroke)

2008bEST of ThE bEST: Ski-DooTNTXP(594ccliquidtwin)bEST 4-STrokE: YamahaFXNytro(1049cc3-cylinderliquid4-stroke)

2009bEST high-horSE: ArcticCatZ1Turbo(1056ccliquidtwin4-strokew/turbo)bEST of ThE bEST: Ski-DooMXZTNT600E-TEC(600ccliquidtwinwithdirectinjection)

2010bEST of ThE bEST: ArcticCatSnoPro500(499ccliquidtwin)bEST NEw TECh:PolarisRush(ProRideprogressiveraterearsuspension)

2011 AND 2012: Ski-Doo’sMXZX-RS800RE-TECgarneredtwoofthelatestB.O.B.awards.Seethecover.