SW/ZR vs polaris 850

[timmyz06]

You must feel the power of the dark sled..then you will be the master

Decision, decision!!! im soooo tempted to go to the dark side!!

 

[Swampfox]

In my experience there isn’t a ton of the flick ability you may be looking for. But as far as pounding tight twisties or moguls, I’ve never missed a beat. I came from a 16 xrs before I ordered my 18 RTX LE. I’ve never missed my xrs at all. I ride with a cat rr and two sno pros. All three of them 2 strokes. I usually lead the group. I’ve never felt I can’t ride it just as hard as I did my two strokes. This year I ordered a XTX le hoping for a little more flick ability myself. Keep my rtx for the wife.

 

[timmyz06]

In my experience there isn’t a ton of the flick ability you may be looking for. But as far as pounding tight twisties or moguls, I’ve never missed a beat. I came from a 16 xrs before I ordered my 18 RTX LE. I’ve never missed my xrs at all. I ride with a cat rr and two sno pros. All three of them 2 strokes. I usually lead the group. I’ve never felt I can’t ride it just as hard as I did my two strokes. This year I ordered a XTX le hoping for a little more flick ability myself. Keep my rtx for the wife.

Coming from a XRS wow, cuz i know those have amazing suspension and is pretty quicik in the twisties!! Never missed it really??!! I wouldnt do XTX because its compromising what the SW is good for!!

 

[SumpBuster]

IMO, the cat chassis works very well, but the engine is just a gem...nothing out there compares...you can creep along with no fuss, or check how tight your handlebar bolts are after it hits 6000 rpm.
Makes me smile. A lot.

 

[eightpilot]

In my experience there isn’t a ton of the flick ability you may be looking for. But as far as pounding tight twisties or moguls, I’ve never missed a beat. I came from a 16 xrs before I ordered my 18 RTX LE. I’ve never missed my xrs at all. I ride with a cat rr and two sno pros. All three of them 2 strokes. I usually lead the group. I’ve never felt I can’t ride it just as hard as I did my two strokes. This year I ordered a XTX le hoping for a little more flick ability myself. Keep my rtx for the wife.

I agree somewhat.... If you're a trail rider and the trails get nasty, the Winder with the QRS setup can hack it. But as far as wheelie's and ditchbangin/jumping???? Forget it.... The 850 will outshine it for sure...

 

[JPS]

If you are a stand up rider most of the time and spend more than half of your riding off trail you may not care for the sidewinderr compared to the assult. The seating position on the Polaris is way ahead of a Yam/Cat, wish my Sidewinder had the Polaris lay out of seat to tunnel to handle bar feel. The Sidewinder is better suited to big trail riding like northern Maine or Quebec. Dont get me wrong it can do it all and we dont even have to talk about the power side, everyone knows where that is but for your riding you might not be as comfortable as on the Assult?

 

[timmyz06]

If you are a stand up rider most of the time and spend more than half of your riding off trail you may not care for the sidewinderr compared to the assult. The seating position on the Polaris is way ahead of a Yam/Cat, wish my Sidewinder had the Polaris lay out of seat to tunnel to handle bar feel. The Sidewinder is better suited to big trail riding like northern Maine or Quebec. Dont get me wrong it can do it all and we dont even have to talk about the power side, everyone knows where that is but for your riding you might not be as comfortable as on the Assult?

That's exactly what im afraid of! Assault is the first sled who felt like a motocross on snow to me! That im not sure im ready to loose. But on the other hand, i mostly trail rides, to be realist, 90% of my riding is on trails! To me , the big question is, is the sidewinder with its crazy power will bring smiles and giggles like my assault 800 did!!?? That i wont know till i get one!!

 

[cannondale27]

That's exactly what im afraid of! Assault is the first sled who felt like a motocross on snow to me! That im not sure im ready to loose. But on the other hand, i mostly trail rides, to be realist, 90% of my riding is on trails! To me , the big question is, is the sidewinder with its crazy power will bring smiles and giggles like my assault 800 did!!?? That i wont know till i get one!!

It will just a different kind of smile. Same as hitting a rhythm section perfectly but with tears in your eyes from the wind and having to adjust your helmet and goggles from the g forces that about ripped it off your head!

 

[Fleecer]

That's exactly what im afraid of! Assault is the first sled who felt like a motocross on snow to me! That im not sure im ready to loose. But on the other hand, i mostly trail rides, to be realist, 90% of my riding is on trails! To me , the big question is, is the sidewinder with its crazy power will bring smiles and giggles like my assault 800 did!!?? That i wont know till i get one!!

Lots of great info here. Here is my 5 cents. You made the correlation of the Assault and a motocross bike. I can relate and understand where you are coming from.

Here is a comparison in motocross terms: The 850 is like a YZ 125, the Sidewinder is like a YZ450. Although the 125 is light and clickable, it is anemic in the HP department. Like many here, I'm a power junkie. I love my 450 because I love shredding. I love railing a turn sideways and having the front wheel in the air. I love looking behind me and seeing a stream of roost rising behind me. My winder provides the same joy. I too love doing wheelies. When I do 110mph powerwheelie on the winder, I have to be careful not to flip over backwards. Fun, fun, fun!!

Keep in mind, most of the people replying here have a few years/ miles under their belts and probably arent as friskey as they were 20 years ago. Maybe I only speak for myself here, but the days of changing pistons and having trips ruined due to 2smoke failures have run their course. My needs/wants have metamorphisized into reliability and big, big horsepower. I just wanna sit down and annihilate everything around me with minimal effort. That is what a tuned winder provides.

Based on your replies above, when comparing stock for stock, I think you would be happier on an 850 rarher than a stock winder. If you have a few extra nickels in your pocket and can swing a tune after the purchase, then this changes everything. Imo....running a tuned winder is a new sport and will bring joy's you never knew existed.

If you decide to take the advice offered here, buy a winder, tune it, and still miss your assault, you can always go back. Go from zero to half throttle and you'll have the same horsepower and top speed as the days of old. Hope this helps!!

 

[Turboflash]

IMO, the cat chassis works very well, but the engine is just a gem...nothing out there compares...you can creep along with no fuss, or check how tight your handlebar bolts are after it hits 6000 rpm.
Makes me smile. A lot.

Yup - high giggle factor when boost comes on!

 

[Wannaviper]

I think Fleecer hit it right on the nose. I am pushing 69, and it has been along time since I was a ditch banger, but I still get a wild adrenaline rush out of my stock Winder that makes me smile all day long, and miss winter, all summer long. My stepson added a race can and a tune to his Winder, and it is utterly insane to ride.

The bottom line is that if your typical riding day is 25-50 miles of ditch banging and playing on and off trail, buy the Polaris. If your typical day is 150-200 miles of trail-riding, there isn't a sled made that will make you happier than a Sidewinder.

 

[1nc 2000]

I run my sidewinder thru the junk and the twisties. Never had another sled barking on my snowflap. Past plenty of other sleds though.
The issue I have is the handlebars keep rotating back in the riser clamps when ridden hard.

 

[timmyz06]

I am planing on full max spool 17 tune CAI BOV map and stock/mod exhaust . but more leaning toward a ZR RR though!

 

[staggs65]

I run my sidewinder thru the junk and the twisties. Never had another sled barking on my snowflap. Past plenty of other sleds though.
The issue I have is the handlebars keep rotating back in the riser clamps when ridden hard.

Mine used to do that too. Take the bars off and you'll see they were a little generous with the powdercoat to the point the grooves are all filled in. I removed the powdercoat where the clamps are and no problems since

 

[WinterWolf]

I am planing on full max spool 17 tune CAI BOV map and stock/mod exhaust . but more leaning toward a ZR RR though!

So you’re going with a Winder/Cat Turbo? No Poo?