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Alpha 1 ride review

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5.00 star(s)

turboless terry

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Jan 15, 2008
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Big Timber, MT
Both great. I rode my buddy's 850 after he got a new motor. Awesome sled but I like them all. Easier handling axys with more power and the usual polaris reliability even though I always had good luck with mine. I think the alpha is the best of both worlds between the poo and doo minus the easier steering. Awesome for sure but still waiting for a deep powder day which is lacking.
 
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super_finn

New member
Oct 17, 2009
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I have a problem with washout ven it is steap...cant hold the same lines as my buddies whit the axys rmk 850s. Does any one know a good setup for the rear suspension?
 

goforbroke

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Nov 26, 2007
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Highland, UT
I have a problem with washout ven it is steap...cant hold the same lines as my buddies whit the axys rmk 850s. Does any one know a good setup for the rear suspension?

Buddy on his alpha was doing the same thing. And he sure trenched a lot. I loved razzing him after he was stuck!!! He rode his Axys much better, but could have just been the day!! It was 2' and epic, but only his second ride on the alpha.
 

summ8rmk

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I have a problem with washout ven it is steap...cant hold the same lines as my buddies whit the axys rmk 850s. Does any one know a good setup for the rear suspension?
Was ur last sled a Polaris?
Sounds like ur thumb is the biggest problem And rider position second issue.
With a Polaris u can squeeze the throttle to the bars on a steep sidehill and the track just spins like crazy and u move slowly.
With a cat, u do that and u are either going to go very fast or turn up hill real quick.

The Alpha will turn up or wash out even quicker, if ur to far off the side of the sled or standing to far back and hammer down real quick.

 
F
Nov 5, 2017
136
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28
Nevada
SnowTrax be like

Mountain sled of the year goes to... Polaris 850, despite bearings melting to the crank, and oil lines falling off, the 850 really opens up with a wild 15hp more than the 800 which can be manipulated with just a flick...
 

summ8rmk

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yakima, wa.
Buddy on his alpha was doing the same thing. And he sure trenched a lot. I loved razzing him after he was stuck!!! He rode his Axys much better, but could have just been the day!! It was 2' and epic, but only his second ride on the alpha.
Did he have the rear shock locked?
That make the sled handle worse than any Polaris.....
Its only good for straight up climbing....

 

kiliki

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Dec 27, 2008
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Nampa, Idaho
SnowTrax be like

Mountain sled of the year goes to... Polaris 850, despite bearings melting to the crank, and oil lines falling off, the 850 really opens up with a wild 15hp more than the 800 which can be manipulated with just a flick...


these guys are the biggest AZZ clowns I've ever seen. no doubt what their agenda is.
not to mention the script is a 3 grade at bet set up. even the golden child hides is brand loyalty better then snowtrax.
 
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Boondockingak

Well-known member
Another great ride down, in the shadow of “the great one” (Denali, McKinley etc). Sled blows my mind. It's pure bliss to throw the sled completely 90 degrees on its side, spinning a 360 in the same track, and with a quick shift of weight, it uprights and launches out of the hole on its tale without skipping a beat. I push it harder and harder, telling it to do impossible things. I'm always thinking to myself that the sled is going to washout and bury, but it never does. Unreal....

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S
Nov 26, 2007
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utah
problem with the alpha...

'twas an alpha day, reporting stations showing 25-40" new snow....off on a ride with an older m-8, two '19 poo 800s, one a 155, one a 163....great day, lots of fun....no big hill/chute climbing due to avies, didn't need to anyway 'cause the riding was totally awesome, just ripping the pow, going everywhere, back to pick one out of a ravine or tree well, trying to catch up to what the alpha can do, not there yet....i can almost treat with impunity situations that would have stuck my '16 cat or caused me to turn out....i was hoping to live long enough to get another m-7, a sled that reset the standard in mountain sleds, and i did with my 165 alpha....and therein lies the problem, as with my 162 m-7, i can get myself into trouble with a bad stick up on the side of the mountain or in the trees, cause i can't get any help if no one can get to me...:face-icon-small-hap...gots to be more careful...:face-icon-small-coo
 

cycology1

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Apr 11, 2017
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lots of great stories already out there and more daily.. im relatively new to the sport, but lots of experience in the BC.

question- what is the lower limit of pow for this chassis? obviously billed as a deep pow mtn sled but where is the lower limit snow wise? relatively close to the new ascended chassis but better in the deep? constraints? etc
 

madmax

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I find that I use a lot less throttle on the alpha than my axys. The alpha track hooks up extremely well. On steep side hills you stand on the rail and use the throttle to point the front up or down. Where you position your feet on the board is critical to what the sled does when you give it throttle. It’s super easy to ride once you figure out how to not override it.
 
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Boondockingak

Well-known member
I find that I use a lot less throttle on the alpha than my axys. The alpha track hooks up extremely well. On steep side hills you stand on the rail and use the throttle to point the front up or down. Where you position your feet on the board is critical to what the sled does when you give it throttle. It’s super easy to ride once you figure out how to not override it.

You hit it on the nail. Two rides ago, in the steep and deep trees, I found myself running low to mid throttle with random short bursts of 3/4 throttle. It was very odd, but shows how well the sled hooks up. Unlike you, I still have not figured out how not to override the sled in the steep and deep. My one stuck of that day had nothing to do with the ability of the sled, but rather me freaking out and thinking I needed way more throttle and way more oversteer. I ended up falling off thinking the sled was going to get stuck, and theres the alpha sitting up on top of the snow wondering why I jumped off?

My 154" hooks up so well, with so much floatation. I can't imagine how well the 165" must move through the trees.
 
S

super_finn

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Oct 17, 2009
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Was ur last sled a Polaris?
Sounds like ur thumb is the biggest problem And rider position second issue.
With a Polaris u can squeeze the throttle to the bars on a steep sidehill and the track just spins like crazy and u move slowly.
With a cat, u do that and u are either going to go very fast or turn up hill real quick.

The Alpha will turn up or wash out even quicker, if ur to far off the side of the sled or standing to far back and hammer down real quick.


Yes my last sled was a axys rmk 155. Maybe the alpha is not as good as axys in the really steap sidehills. I vil try to stand more forward on the runningbords and maybe get more psi in the rear suspension.
 

M8onEdge

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Dec 24, 2011
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Rigby, Idaho
Yes my last sled was a axys rmk 155. Maybe the alpha is not as good as axys in the really steap sidehills. I vil try to stand more forward on the runningbords and maybe get more psi in the rear suspension.

I was surprised how well the Alpha does on steep, soft sidehills. Not a ton of difference but yes, probably not as good as an Axys or standard mountain cat. That's one of the reasons cat kept the mountain cat. The advantages in other areas are significant though.
 

10003514

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Dec 17, 2007
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I've been on an Axys 850 for the past 2 months and just traded it in for an Alpha, with a few rides on my Alpha now I'd still say the Axys is still the steep sidehill king but I haven't pushed the Alpha yet in super steep terrain. I will say the Alpha has better forward momentum and hook up with the track when sidehilling. Now every other aspect of riding and just plain fun the Alpha wins hands down. I've done some suspension adjustments and moved the skis to the narrowest stance for my ride tomorrow, will see how that changes the handling.
 

turboless terry

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Jan 15, 2008
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Big Timber, MT
Do you still have 165 doo? How does the alpha compare? The doo is quick handling, effortless and just flat fun in deep powder. My wife got my turbo 165 blueberry but haven't compared and our snow did suck until now. Last weekend the snow was hard and tracked and insanely divey in the trees. The poo 850 and alpha were the best in that element. The doo was my least favorite. None of them were that much fun. Got unloaded a few times hooking on hard stuff when it dove under snow.
 
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