SB assault vs RMK assault

with the switchback you wont get the new coil over rear skid that the rmks do. other than that im not sure if there are any other differences.

from what i understand it is significantly different. the biggest difference being the geometries. the switchback is basically a rush with a traditional tunnel bolted on and the assault rmk is more designed as a mountain rather than trail sled. with how well people seem to think they handle there doesn't seem to be a reason not to get the standard assault.

There is other runningboards also. Not as open, but probably even stiffer.
Anyway, they don't handle the same.. not by a mile.

The Switchback Assault is a crossover sled with better shocks for trailriding, RMK Assault is a deepsnow sled and you should use it in that kind of area.
You have bigger coolingsystem on the Switchback that you will need on the trail. The RMK assault is lighter.

If you riding more deepsnow than trail you should go whit the RMK Assault with a longer 155" track and thats what this sled is built for, I´m sure that you will have more fun on the trail with the Switchback and i think it will be a much better allaround sled if you wants the best of two worlds.

I think the both of them will be great sleds and this year must be a great year for Polaris!

Im debating on which one to get too. Im in iowa but want to head west this year. I know the switchback would probably be better, but I really want to try that coilover skid.

The RMK-Assault and the Switchback-Assault have the same Front ends (same spindles and A-Arms)...The SB has a swaybar.

The geometry of the sled is the same except for the Rear Suspension.

The steering has the same ratio.

The front shocks are the same model/springs....Different valving.

All the Pro Chassis sleds share the same bulkhead.

The RMK's do not run a bulkhead/tunnel-front heat exchanger... It seems to be the same part...The rmk has the engine bay side of the heat exchanger milled off for weight savings (same tunnel clearances).

The SB-Assault does not have the Front radiator/heat exchanger that the Rush has. ...But it does share the same bumper.

The SB-Assault runs the narrower RUSH skis... the RMK-Assault runs the wider Gripper skis.

The SB-Assault and the RMK-Assault run the same fuel tank (same as the PRO RMK also)

The SB-Assault seat is about 1.5" shorter than the RMK-Assault.

The SB-Assault has the same mild steel rear seat support as 2007-10 RMK's... The Pro-Assault has the new aluminum support.

The SB-Assault has slightly wider lower fenders (under the side panels) than the Pro-Assault (and 2011 RMK's)... This actually can make a difference in your ability to hold a sidehill.

The SB-Assault has a different angle on the steering post than RMK-Assault. (I believe that the SB uses the RUSH Pyramid top and shares the same angle on the steering post... makes turning while seated easier)

The big diff as said above is the suspension and track...The SB gets the torsion spring design which might be better for trail use.

The tunnels are similar...The cooling in the tunnel is similar with the SB having shorter full length tunnel-roof coolers.

Running boards are different...The RMK's have more snow evacuation holes...The SB's have factory installed fish-bone braces.

The SB has different footwell bases in the stirrups...similar to the flatland sleds.

The Running boards on both do NOT carry coolant.

With the trail speeds you want to run (fairly fast for a mountain sled)...The Assault RMK competition track will not hold up well.

The RMK's are lighter by about 20-25lbs.

The RMK-Assault with it's 11" longer, 2.125" tall lug, heavy track will not accelerate as well as the SB...

The footwell stirrups on the SB-Assault are different than the RMK's as well.

The SB is geared and clutched to lean more towards trail use than the RMK-assault.

The track on the SB-Assault is a Camo Cobra 144" with 1.32" tall paddles.

With the speed you want to run and the high amount, 40%, of trail use...I'd recommend the switchback assault.

well as always mh ends the debate with his exceptional amount of knowledge... thought there were more subtle differences but i guess not. great info as always.

Gets me thinking... I cant figure out why Polaris chose a track that favors trail riding so much????

I'm not a big fan of the Cobra 1.32" paddle that comes stock on the SB-Assault in the short paddle for the mountains.

As a crossover track to meet your needs...IMO...Sell the stocker for around $400-450 if you remove it when brand new.... (Sell it on one of the forums that favors trail riding more)

I think that a Camoplast Challenger 144x15x2"-#9875 would be better fitted to your uses.

If you wanted to find a good price... A Ski Doo Summit thru 2003 ran the Challenger 144x15x2" that came stock on those sleds would be great and has the same size, 2.52" pitch, drivers (no need to change drivers)... You should be able to find a good deal on one of those.


Stock track on the SB-Assault...Cobra 144x15x1.32" with 2.54" pitch.


The Camoplast Challenger 144"x15"x2" with 2.52" pitch (you keep the same drivers)

mountainhorse said:

Gets me thinking... I cant figure out why Polaris chose a track that favors trail riding so much????

I'm not a big fan of the Cobra 1.32" paddle that comes stock on the SB-Assault in the short paddle for the mountains.

As a crossover track to meet your needs...IMO...Sell the stocker for around $400-450 if you remove it when brand new.... (Sell it on one of the forums that favors trail riding more)

I think that a Camoplast Challenger 144x15x2"-#9875 would be better fitted to your uses.

If you wanted to find a good price... A Ski Doo Summit thru 2003 ran the Challenger 144x15x2" that came stock on those sleds would be great and has the same size, 2.52" pitch, drivers (no need to change drivers)... You should be able to find a good deal on one of those.


Stock track on the SB-Assault...Cobra 144x15x1.32" with 2.54" pitch.

The Camoplast Challenger 144"x15"x2" with 2.52" pitch (you keep the same drivers)

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I think polaris is betting on that everyone will want the 155 assualt. IMO, the trend of mountain sleds on the trail is getting WAY bigger. So they offered a trail sled with mountain sled looks.

my option they should have just taken the 155 assault and put a 144 tunnel on it, and had it EXACTLY the same including the foot boards and rear skid but obviously the shorter track. With the exception of a 1.75 lug and a sway bar. It would have been less tooling and more of a sled alot of guys want compared to the 144. The 144 is the perfect sled for me, but the seat, tunnel and rear skid really push a person towards the 155.

sledneck_03 said:

my option they should have just taken the 155 assault and put a 144 tunnel on it, and had it EXACTLY the same including the foot boards and rear skid but obviously the shorter track. With the exception of a 1.75 lug and a sway bar. It would have been less tooling and more of a sled alot of guys want compared to the 144. The 144 is the perfect sled for me, but the seat, tunnel and rear skid really push a person towards the 155.

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my thoughts exactly. I still went with the switchback because a 155 is just not practical for me period. I'll just have to start swapping stuff out to build the sled i want i guess.

I really wish I could have gotten the 2" track without having to get that orange color... that was my only wtf thought while snowchecking one...

tdblakes said:

my thoughts exactly. I still went with the switchback because a 155 is just not practical for me period. I'll just have to start swapping stuff out to build the sled i want i guess.

I really wish I could have gotten the 2" track without having to get that orange color... that was my only wtf thought while snowchecking one...

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thats one of the reasons why i like it so much.

Clarke_67 said:

thats one of the reasons why i like it so much.

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haha I kno alot of people liked it... I just couldn't get myself to order an orange sled... i dunno. o well

I think you'll see it for 2012.... 144/6 with the new skid etc.

The snowcheck-only series IV 2.0" lug would have been a good track for him...

Plenty of those out there... I like the Camo Challenger 2" more though.... personal pref...Both are good tracks.

The reason they went with the cobra track is that there arent many good crossover tracks made under 2". I used to ride the trails a lot and still have to quite a bit to get to the good spots and the 2" track mite be great for powder but trail riding with it is not a good idea. You end up losing a lot of lugs when you trail ride with a deep lug track plus you get a little feedback in vibration caused by the hardpack and deep lug. Im planning on getting the cobra track for my IQR 144 because that seems to be the best track to get for where and how i ride. Plus it may not get you through endless powder but it holds its own in 1-3 feet. JMO

chunkysoup87 said:

The reason they went with the cobra track is that there arent many good crossover tracks made under 2". I used to ride the trails a lot and still have to quite a bit to get to the good spots and the 2" track mite be great for powder but trail riding with it is not a good idea. You end up losing a lot of lugs when you trail ride with a deep lug track plus you get a little feedback in vibration caused by the hardpack and deep lug. Im planning on getting the cobra track for my IQR 144 because that seems to be the best track to get for where and how i ride. Plus it may not get you through endless powder but it holds its own in 1-3 feet. JMO

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I've run a 2" on the trail for years. They're fine as long as you use common sense and keep them cool. I always have scratchers down on the trail and I'm not the one to go burning across the lake at WOT either... I ran the original Assault Comp track last year around the trails in WI, MI, and MN. Loved it. Its in great condition and I would love to throw it on the '11 SB Assault I have coming... Just don't know if I want to change drivers or not. I'll probably just end up buying a 2" challenger 144 to throw on it. Either way I agree with you that they put the cobra track on it probably because it will work best with the majority of SB Assault buyers... I just wish they gave more track options during snowcheck.

MH, that would be great if they put the new rear skid under the 144 for next year. It might not matter though, hopefully I'll have a 144 Mtn Tamer X skid under it at some point this year. I've read your build up and sounds like you're very happy with it. Talked with timbersled a little and Allen thought the Mtn Tamer X would fit my style well.

And to the topic... After talking with M. Lube at the sneak peek the major differences I got were rear skid, track, running boards, and steering post angle. Again if you ride the trails on a regular basis in Iowa and only make a few trips to the mountains a year, the SB would probably be a smarter choice and you can build up areas that you want to change (like I'm going to). But if you have your heart set on the Assault RMK then buy it. You can ride anything anywhere, just use your common sense.

my .02

tdblakes said:

I've run a 2" on the trail for years. They're fine as long as you use common sense and keep them cool. I always have scratchers down on the trail and I'm not the one to go burning across the lake at WOT either... I ran the original Assault Comp track last year around the trails in WI, MI, and MN. Loved it. Its in great condition and I would love to throw it on the '11 SB Assault I have coming... Just don't know if I want to change drivers or not. I'll probably just end up buying a 2" challenger 144 to throw on it. Either way I agree with you that they put the cobra track on it probably because it will work best with the majority of SB Assault buyers... I just wish they gave more track options during snowcheck.

And to the topic... After talking with M. Lube at the sneak peek the major differences I got were rear skid, track, running boards, and steering post angle. Again if you ride the trails on a regular basis in Iowa and only make a few trips to the mountains a year, the SB would probably be a smarter choice and you can build up areas that you want to change (like I'm going to). But if you have your heart set on the Assault RMK then buy it. You can ride anything anywhere, just use your common sense.

my .02

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Thats good to hear. I ordered the Assault RMK today. I really wanted to try that rear skid and I rarely ever ride a groomed trail. If I dont like it I'll just buy something different next year

zitterich246 said:

Thats good to hear. I ordered the Assault RMK today. I really wanted to try that rear skid and I rarely ever ride a groomed trail. If I dont like it I'll just buy something different next year

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Sweet dude. Now welcome to the waiting game...!

tdblakes said:

But if you have your heart set on the Assault RMK then buy it. You can ride anything anywhere, just use your common sense.

my .02

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That is somewhat true, however, for the first 3 months around here, you are not going to see a sb assualt ontop of any of the mountains unless it is a groomed trail...