2019 sled being released next week.

An alternate course for deep snow and bringing kids along.

A snowbike works VERY good for bringing an 11 year old into fun sled terrain.
My oldest boy has no trouble kickstarting a fi 450.

He has about 6” of reach past the pegs so he just balances the bike when he stops.

Usually he tips over twice a day........
(Easy to help him tip it up) (fi so no flooding)


But that light of a kid on a sled equals 7-10 major stucks a day in steep and deep trees. (If you can even get them to the same areas......)

96# boy on a 450/ ST Timbersled climbs really well.

Looks like prolaris really stepped it up for the mountains ????

Along this vein of keeping things simple... and really not making it a KIDS only sled, persey.

Make Less expensive Mountain version as well using existing Parts.

Axys chassis and body work but with a simple non-cooler tunnel, low seat, Axys stand up ergos with low Moto style handlebars (riser blocks to use), Pro Running boards, no carbon fiber parts.
Axys A-arms.

Axys-RMK rear skid.

Simple monotube shocks.

550 Fan, No electronic gauge, no headlamp, simple clutch, QuickDrive (this is more cost effective and lighter than chaindrive IMO) with a Hex drive shaft.... Existing mountain track, the 146" series series 5.1.

That should be a much less expensive offering that would be awesome to ride.. and tip the scales at 350-360 lbs.

The true beauty of this is that it can be engineered in a couple of days.... Using Off the shelf parts already in the parts system of Polaris.
The only thing that I see that would need a 1 hour cad session... the tunnel without cooler.

Make it the AXYS Mountain-LITE. Price it at $7200 and sell them like hotcakes.



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If you're going to make a sled for kids, make it fit a kid. Don't take a adult sized sled, lower it and proclaim success. Seems other forms of motorized sports figured out how to make stuff for kids that actually fit them, but sleds have always been decades behind them...

This is what Bushwacker1 has been saying, more or less, in his last 3 - 4 posts.

Glad to see someone else gets it......

mountainhorse said:

Along this vein of keeping things simple... and really not making it a KIDS only sled, persey.

Make Less expensive Mountain version as well using existing Parts.

Axys chassis and body work but with a simple non-cooler tunnel, low seat, Axys stand up ergos with low Moto style handlebars (riser blocks to use), Pro Running boards, no carbon fiber parts.
Axys A-arms.

Axys-RMK rear skid.

Simple monotube shocks.

550 Fan, No electronic gauge, no headlamp, simple clutch, QuickDrive (this is more cost effective and lighter than chaindrive IMO) with a Hex drive shaft.... Existing mountain track, the 146" series series 5.1.

That should be a much less expensive offering that would be awesome to ride.. and tip the scales at 350-360 lbs.

The true beauty of this is that it can be engineered in a couple of days.... Using Off the shelf parts already in the parts system of Polaris.
The only thing that I see that would need a 1 hour cad session... the tunnel without cooler.

Make it the AXYS Mountain-LITE. Price it at $7200 and sell them like hotcakes.



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Click to expand...

Yep.

The existing chassis and bodywork are already pretty small.

So, as long as the sled is light and nimble.... will be a winner.

I like Bushwackers idea of the narrower A-arms that could also be sold as an accessory for the other AXYS.

I also agree with him that a lot of the LW parts are not prohibitively expensive... Quickdrive for example... You'd be able to knock me over with a feather if the Quickdrive were not considerably less expensive than the chain drive.



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One of our first RMKs was a 550 for my wife and kids to ride. Not sure of weight, but worked well for HP and 136” track. Polaris could have built this with the lower seat, but as mentioned in a earlier post buyers who can wrench would save $10,000 and add a 163” track and mods and play all day on a mid size sled!
Polaris knows this would impact their sales of high margin sleds and we should all know by now that these entry level sleds are low or no margin sales for the manufacturer.
I too wish they would have done more for I have 5 grandchildren who I love to spoil and buy toys, not quite sure if this will be on the list??
Just my 2 cents!

I was thinking the same thing till I penciled it out...

On the Axys Pro Mtn sleds.... the efi, electronics, instruments, premium clutches and belt, cooling system & extruded tunnel, carbon parts, etc .... add up to a hefty price tag.

That Quick drive costs less than the chain-drive ....for parts and assembly on the line.

An AXYS Pro-RMK-LITE I think would be surprisingly less costly than most would think.
Plus, tooling etc is already paid for.


My thoughts are that if SkiDoo can do a liquid cooled summit sport for $8000.... Polaris could do a fanner for less.
And use parts that already exist.



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NDRMK said:

One of our first RMKs was a 550 for my wife and kids to ride. Not sure of weight, but worked well for HP and 136” track. Polaris could have built this with the lower seat, but as mentioned in a earlier post buyers who can wrench would save $10,000 and add a 163” track and mods and play all day on a mid size sled!
Polaris knows this would impact their sales of high margin sleds and we should all know by now that these entry level sleds are low or no margin sales for the manufacturer.
I too wish they would have done more for I have 5 grandchildren who I love to spoil and buy toys, not quite sure if this will be on the list??
Just my 2 cents!

Click to expand...

Looking back even further than your I/Q, when you consider the old edge 136 550 RMK. Think about the weight of mid 400Lbs and a 1.25" lug track. These were not to be discounted as a powder sled. Could they go where an 800 2" paddle could? No, but they got beginners on the snow in the mountains and with some skill did a pretty good job for what they were equipped with for their day. Their limited capability made a person learn how to ride. Todays new chassis works so much better in deep snow and Mountain Horse's thoughts on just the basic pro 600 chassis with a 550 would out do anything from the edge era even with a 1.25" track. When I think about the margins on the pro, I hear of 14K sleds that are discounted to 10k mid season for the last several seasons. Are they loosing $ on these? Take away the coolers and all the electronics that Mountain Horse spoke of and dollars and weight are saved. The few oz. the expensive carbon fiber and the glued aluminum drive shaft save are not that big of a factor. Why not try a 1.0625 aluminum 7078 hex for a drive shaft. It may not hold up to 160 hp 800 but would carry a 550 just fine and would be lighter than all other drive shafts available. Tooling for this is already available and the 4130 material that has been used in the past is probably very close to the same price as 7078. Save the most costly items for snow check upgrades for those that are willing to pay for them. Cable activated brakes have worked for years on the entry level sleds and are probably lighter than hydro. Gas bag shocks are considerably less costly than rebuildable gas shocks. A 1990 Indy Starlite did not even come with a speedometer. The sentiment that most of the light weight parts cant be produced affordably after the R/D is already realized is hard for me to accept. Do the clutches on the 800 cost twice as much to produce than the ones offered on the EVO? I would say no but the ones on the 800 offer improved performance, durability for higher loads, and more tuning ability. If there are high margins on the flagship that is because customers are willing to pay for the performance. A Chevy suburban has a high margin of profit but Chevy still offers a basic car for those who want a car but cant afford a suburban. I don't believe there will be many that will chose a 550 over a 600 or 800 and then stay there forever over the price point that the 550 RMK would provide. Entry level sleds have always been a way to get people into the sport and then continue to generate future sales when skill levels rise and the friendly competition between riding partners grows. If marketed correctly entry level sleds will not prevent selling high market sleds. (Read do not set dealer quotas that dealers cant sell) Offer a true entry level RMK to start young and old beginners on. Set a fair mark up, sell to order only, and there will be no need to discount them to build cost or bellow build cost mid season. I think every one knows this is a limited market but yet we all agree there is indeed one there that if addressed with a well thought out plan that does not flood the market would provide opportunity for young/ new riders to enter the mountain riding segment of this sport and let a fair profit to made by the MFG and the dealers.

mountainhorse said:

Along this vein of keeping things simple... and really not making it a KIDS only sled, persey.

Make Less expensive Mountain version as well using existing Parts.

Axys chassis and body work but with a simple non-cooler tunnel, low seat, Axys stand up ergos with low Moto style handlebars (riser blocks to use), Pro Running boards, no carbon fiber parts.
Axys A-arms.

Axys-RMK rear skid.

Simple monotube shocks.

550 Fan, No electronic gauge, no headlamp, simple clutch, QuickDrive (this is more cost effective and lighter than chaindrive IMO) with a Hex drive shaft.... Existing mountain track, the 146" series series 5.1.

That should be a much less expensive offering that would be awesome to ride.. and tip the scales at 350-360 lbs.

The true beauty of this is that it can be engineered in a couple of days.... Using Off the shelf parts already in the parts system of Polaris.
The only thing that I see that would need a 1 hour cad session... the tunnel without cooler.

Make it the AXYS Mountain-LITE. Price it at $7200 and sell them like hotcakes.



.

Click to expand...

My thoughts... that kind of sled would be cool, but I would consider that price too high for a kids sled. It would be much more capable than most 7-10 year olds and by 12 most kids will be big enough to ride a full size sled in the hills (600 RMK 144” or 600 Axys 155”... $4000-$8000). Might as well get a sled that they can grow into and ride through high school.

I like the Evo, think its priced right, and fills the gap that needed to be filled. Of course the are some things that arent gonna please everyone but its a great start. Hopefully they sell well and we see some competition in next few years, if that happens it will EVOlve into what there really is demand for.

I'm of the opinion that they don't have a choice.

If you were to think of a good 340 kids sled that was built in the past, the majority of the time you come up with a 340 Indy Lite. I think Polaris needs to make their modern "Indy Lite" that fits the needs. If this ends up being a loss leader for them now, just think of the lost revenues in the future when people don't continue to get into the sport. Entry price of $12-15K is not very appealing to a lot of folks for a single sled.

Give me keys to a Polaris warehouse for a weekend and I'll be darned if I don't come out of there Monday morning with what I want my kid to ride in the mountains.

The "550" twin fan-cooled can be done as a 440 or 340... and is a decent motor IMO.



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volcano buster said:

Give me keys to a Polaris warehouse for a weekend and I'll be darned if I don't come out of there Monday morning with what I want my kid to ride in the mountains.

Click to expand...

I believe that !!







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https://www.hepperssportcenter.com/...dy-144-es-inventory.htm?id=2185552&in-stock=1

This is a great deal for a youth mountain sled