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I'm going through withdrawls

I'm not too worried about the mach Z, what I am worried about is everything else. As far as I'm concerned that should be the only sled I should lose to. From the bottom to the top.
 

Yamaha's warranty is really good. I go to Canada every year our group averages about 2,000 miles on each trip. I put 7,500 miles on my 03 rx-1. The only problem I had is a bearing on the pto side of the driver. I had it fixed in a few hours and we were back on the trail. It would be nice to see a grease fitting on it??? Our group now runs 2 apex's, 1 attack, 1 vector, 2 pol 4 strokes? and 1 old pol. I was the 1st 4 stroke. They saw the mpg and dependability and switched. We use to be 1 doo 1 cat 1 viper and 3 pol. The cat was always the worse.
DONT WORRY YOU WILL BE HAPPY with the mpg. the performance will also prove it. You will enjoy listening to the motor as well. 2 strokes suck as far as I am concerned, they sound so wimpy. (even the Z) Half-way haven was 1.60 a litter last year. the pol took 64.00 to fill up.
If you bought a Pol 4 stroke then I would be worried. they did a crap job on the fusions
__________________________________________
Apex ER on order
97 Formula S
Kitty Cat (last cat I'll ever own )
 
AmSnow's 2005 Real World Shoot-Out - Heavy iron rocks the snow and ice!
Mach Z tops charts and 109 mph
Lisa Petersen and Mark Boncher
3/1/2005


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By now everyone has seen the numbers for stock 2005 sleds on asphalt, grass, mud and on the dyno, but what about on snow? That's what REALLY matters to enthusiasts, but official tests and numbers for the stockers on snow weren't available - until now.

That's why we took all of our brand new test sleds to northern Wisconsin's frozen tundra in early January to see what they'd do in Real World snow conditions.

We know there are a lot of speed junkies out there, so our Real World Shoot-Out focuses on the heavy iron we'd been loaned by each manufacturer for the season. Those were the:
• Ski-Doo Mach Z
• Arctic Cat Firecat 700 Sno Pro
• Polaris Fusion
• Yamaha RX-1

Yes, we used Arctic Cat's 700 in this race against the other manufacturers' bigger sleds because we didn't have a ZR900 to test this winter and we wanted to use only our own sleds to make sure this was a fair test - no monkey business. We weren't too surprised, however, to see how well the racy F7 performed.

In addition to the heavy iron, we tested the other 2005 sleds in our corral and will report those real world results in future long-term reviews.

All our sleds were 100% stock for these tests, exactly as we received them from the dealers in early winter.
No, we didn't stud or clutch the sleds. We wanted them to compete fairly, exactly as manufacturers deliver them. Our goal was unbiased results on how these fast four compete head-to-head, without any tinkering so you can see how the sleds should perform when you buy yours from the dealer.



Perfect test conditions
Mother nature provided us with some of the most favorable quarter-mile stock sled testing weather we've ever seen and eliminated any need for studding.

Temperatures were in the low 20s and we had 6-8 inches of groomed snow on the trails. Our radar gun speed tests were done on a flat lake with a 2- to 3-inch hard pack crust with no loose snow - we couldn't have asked for better conditions!

Using our test fleet also gave us the opportunity to sufficiently break in each sled on the trails before the radar runs. We feel it's true that after a few hundred miles a sled's performance and consistency will be better dialed in, so we made it a priority to put a good number of miles on each sled before the test date.

We filled each sled with 92 octane fuel and the manufacturer-recommended oil right before the tests as well, to more accurately show you how the sleds will perform with this extra weight that's often neglected in other test numbers.

Results you see here are a compilation of our results from trail rides, radar runs and gas mileage checks completed throughout our week of testing.

How did your favorite brand perform? Read on!



The comparison
Everyone uses different distances for unofficial races against their buddies, so we recorded times and speeds for each sled at the shorter intervals as well as the full quarter-mile in the accompanying charts.

We were surprised at how close these big sleds ran at their top speeds, but the order of their finish - Mach Z first, followed by the F7, Fusion and RX-1, respectively - didn't surprise us. All the sleds performed well and were consistent through our three test runs. These close times and speeds show just why so many riders enjoy a good lake race to see who's fastest!

Though the Mach Z was the fastest overall, each sled was able to hold its own through different distances and amounts of time. The Mach had the fastest top end and will therefore run best at longer distances, but looking at the 660-ft. and 1,000-ft. times and speeds, the Fusion got there first, ET wise, though the Mach and the F7 got there at a faster speed.

As you can see in the main chart, the Fusion was the quickest while the Mach was the fastest in each of the distances we monitored. So the Mach reels in the other sleds after the quarter-mile mark, and it's in that next one-eighth to quarter-mile that the sleds' top speeds were recorded.


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Ski-Doo Mach Z
With all the claims out there we'd have been surprised if the Mach Z didn't hit at least 109.6 mph. Ski-Doo's performance sled performed fairly well in the gas mileage game as well, averaging about 11.7 mpg through our trail testing. As you can see in the accompanying graph and chart, our radar tests showed the Mach was solid right off the line, and really began to shine at about 1,000 ft.

When pushed to its limits, the Mach gave us a smooth ride and a speedometer reading that wasn't too far off. When the Mach Z ripped off its 109.63 mph run, our racer saw a recorded 120 mph on the speedometer, and this difference of about 10 mph was seen consistently throughout our testing.

On the trail, the Mach was one of the favorites in our group. It offers several traits that all of our test riders enjoy - nimble steering, a seat that allows the rider to move around or stand up easily and more! With its dual carbides up front, the Mach runs like it's on rails through those twisty corners.


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Arctic Cat Firecat 700 Sno Pro
We expected the F7 to be on par with the rest of these sleds, but we were surprised that it performed SO well and finished second in top speed on our radar runs. We got an impressive 103.85 mph out of the Cat on radar, with the speedometer reading much closer to this actual speed than the rest of the sleds we tested, showing 106 mph.

This Cat springs from the line, as you can see in the accompanying graph that breaks down the runs. If you're an F7 owner, the lake is good for you because this Cat is good out of the blocks and shoots to top speed quickly - we had it through the quarter-mile in 13.29 seconds. At full throttle, the ride was stable, but not as solid as the RX-1 or Mach Z.

What about gas mileage? On our trail rides, we got 10.2 mpg from the F7.

In the woods, the Firecat was a treat. Corner to corner speed was snappy and testers tackled the bumps with ease. The winding and sometimes icy corners we ran into didn't give our testers any problems, but cornering wasn't as tight as with the Mach Z. Our testers enjoyed this sled thoroughly and loved the bite of the deeper 1.375-inch lugged track and Fox Float Shocks up front.


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Polaris Fusion
The expectations for our 50th anniversary edition Fusion test sled were high and it ran strong both on the trails and the lake, and provided us with solid numbers for this sled's first year on the market. We hit a top speed of 103.83, just a whisker short of the Cat, and the speedometer showed 110, a fairly accurate mark.

Our numbers show the Fusion is best suited for medium-length lake runs, because torque falls off at the top end. Our test sled had a great throaty grunt while jetting to its top quarter-mile speed in the best elapsed time of the group - an impressive 13.05 seconds. At full throttle, our rider said the machine felt sure of itself with good wind deflection, but we were expecting a bit more out of the new Cleanfire 900.

On the trails, we got about 10 mpg on the sled, which is about what we had anticipated. Through the tight twisties in the woods we noticed that our Fusion had a tendency to tip a bit, but once through, it powered hard to the next corner.

The rider select system was a definite hit for the many different sizes and riding styles of our testers.

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Yamaha RX-1
We weren't exactly sure what to expect from Yamaha's newest version of its 4-stroke RX-1, but we found that it could hang with its lighter, 2-stroke competitors in a quarter-mile. The RX-1 hit 102.35mph on our radar, which means it wasn't far behind the other three sleds, especially the Cat and Polaris.

Our test rider noticed, however, that the RX-1 had what he called an "optimistic" speedometer - in its best run the Yamaha's speedo showed 122, which was 19mph faster than what we recorded on the radar gun. Maybe we should call this a "wishometer!"

Where the RX-1 shined most was in fuel consumption, its 4-stroke getting 16.9 mpg on the trails - 6 mpg more than the next best 2-stroke guzzler. This means we got a lot more trail miles with this model before each fill-up. Add to that the fact that we didn't have to put oil in the sled, and our budget watchers were happy.

The RX-1 was a lot of fun on the trails, too. Our riders liked its smooth throttle pull, and adjustable mono-shock rear suspension. The sled was the most stable of our foursome at high speeds but tended to push hard in the corners. The blue machine is also only a sit-down rider as it is not ergonomically engineered for a standing riding position, but that's changing next season. See the sneak peek of '06 sleds that follows.
View the Table of Contents of the March 2005 issue.

Wow Apex21 ! You must have the worlds fastest stock 03 Rx1! Congtrats :ORC :moon:
 
Wow Apex21 ! You must have the worlds fastest stock 03 Rx1! Congtrats :ORC :moon:[/quote]


where did Apex21 say he had a fast sled
all he said was MPG :ORC
 
Skidoo10 - What is your point with your post? This is old news to us. Are you buying a Machz?
 
Skidoo10, what is your problem? Are you stupid or are you just trying to cause trouble? If you read what you posted you will see that you made Apex21's point. The best mileage by far, just like he said. And if you are trying to slam the RX1 as slow, please just go away. Nobody who gets an RX1 to race leaves it stock, and with just clutching and an ECP kit it will win it's share of races. It is a fast and fun sled.
 
How can an 03 1ton beat a Machz when an 05 1ton is the slowest sled in the shoot out last year? The 05 1ton is faster than the 03 correct?
 

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yamahey said:
Skidoo10, what is your problem? Are you stupid or are you just trying to cause trouble? If you read what you posted you will see that you made Apex21's point. The best mileage by far, just like he said. And if you are trying to slam the RX1 as slow, please just go away. Nobody who gets an RX1 to race leaves it stock, and with just clutching and an ECP kit it will win it's share of races. It is a fast and fun sled.

Why call me names ? I do like charts and graphs!
 

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We were surprised at how close these big sleds ran at their top speeds, but the order of their finish - Mach Z first, followed by the F7, Fusion and RX-1, respectively - didn't surprise us. All the sleds performed well and were consistent through our three test runs. These close times and speeds show just why so many riders enjoy a good lake race to see who's fastest!

Though the Mach Z was the fastest overall, each sled was able to hold its own through different distances and amounts of time. The Mach had the fastest top end and will therefore run best at longer distances, but looking at the 660-ft. and 1,000-ft. times and speeds, the Fusion got there first, ET wise, though the Mach and the F7 got there at a faster speed.

As you can see in the main chart, the Fusion was the quickest while the Mach was the fastest in each of the distances we monitored. So the Mach reels in the other sleds after the quarter-mile mark, and it's in that next one-eighth to quarter-mile that the sleds' top speeds were recorded.
 
Skidoo 10 if you look at your chart carefully you will realize that the Mach Z only beat the RX-1 by 5 100's of a second in a quarter mile. What do you suppose the results might look like this year if the Apex indeed gains 5 1/2 lengths and 5 mile an hour in a quarter mile.
 
More #s :Rockon:


Old Forge Numbers…

Vector: ET 1000’ ¼ mile
11.103 81.67 84.11
10.951 85.23 85.87
D Prep 10.988 84.00 84.27
10.973 84.27 86.37
MXZ 600:
10.839 80.93 84.26
11.051 82.57 86.37
D Prep 11.63 74.01
11.282 78.12 79.64
Polaris XC
11.010 82.72 85.38
10.937 83.50 86.37
D Prep 10.539 84.91 85.38
10.530 85.23 85.71
Cat F6
11.027 87.72 88.93
10.436 91.46 93.16
D Prep 10.609 88.13
11.017 89.00 90.72

Big Sleds:
RX-1 Ton:
10.582 89.82 88.93
10.216 92.98 93.74
D Prep10.684 89.00 88.00
10.311 91.00 92.78
Mach Z:
10.070 96.77 96.35
10.009 97.19 98.25
D Prep 9.945 99.00 100.89
9.935 101.81 101.34
Confusion:
10.208 89.82 91.64
10.102 91.84 92.02
D Prep 10.588 88.93 89.28
10.468 88.41 88.58
ZR 900:
9.878 92.88 96.15
9.850 97.19 98.25
D Prep 10.112 91.28 96.56
10.086 94.74 96.35

The disclaimers:

If a number is not there, I don't have it. The Cats ran well. The Mach launched absolutely SIDEWAYS on the box stock run, really hurting the ET numbers. You may find some of these numbers don't match yours. You may be right, as we had a Rookie keeping our numbers. (Actually he did a great job) The 600 SD REALLY slowed down during the "dealer prep" run, so who knows what they did to it. The track really went to crap, so thats why some of the DP numbers were down. IF the Mach could have launched better in the stock runs, it would have been fastest. It didn't and it wasn't - until dealer prep. The SC4's had more hi-fax smell coming from them than anything else out there. Loosen the tracks next time guys!
No one make embarrased themselves this year. All were close, but those Cats do run.
A BIG congtats to Snow Week and Snow Goer, as this was the best run shoot-out EVER.
 


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