Any good 174 rmk vs 175 850 stories?

I own both. Performance is pretty comparable for the most part. 174 has pipe/tuner/clutching, 175 just has clutching (ZRP weights, stiffer secondary, softer primary). When you absolutely, positively have to put the high mark on the hill, the 175 is the one to be on. Not a big difference, but if you can barely make it to the top on the 175 you probably barely won't make it on the 174. 175 takes overall less effort to ride IMO. Both are excellent in the deep powder. Track on the 175 seems to hook-up better overall than the 174 track. Engine wise the 175 seems happier with the longer track, and pulls slightly more track speed in a deep powder climb than the 174 with a pipe. Suprisingly the 175 always burns slightly less fuel than the 174, but slightly more oil (no surprise on the oil). Making a down hill U-turn is definitely easier on the 175 IMO. On an extreme side-hill in set-up snow the 174 is better, but only slightly so IMO. Never had any problem with back end washing out on the 175. Clutches run a little cooler on the 174. I have blown one belt on the 174 (Gates). I have not blown a belt on the 175, although I have fewer miles on it.


Overall I prefer the 175 over the 174 because it takes less effort for me to ride, which translates into longer rides and more fun. Nothing wrong with the 174 though. No problems with either, just add gas/oil and ride.

So now the Polaris will come with a more powerful motor maybe the gap will close?? And the narrower front end may make handling a bit easier??

I am hopeful. It was a hard decision for me between these sleds but went with the Poo as I am happy on my current Poo (163) but looking to keep up with buddy's 175.

NoSoup very well written review. Thanks. So a couple years back I had a 13 Pro and 13XM. I found that whatever sled I was riding most was more comfortable and the one that felt normal. When I’d get on the “other” one for the first ride it felt weird and took some time to get comfy on again. And then vise versa. Have you found that to be the case?
Also I was surprised that you live in Utah. I live in WA and mainly ride here. I always felt that the Doo sleds worked better in our wet coastal snow because that’s what they were developed in. When I’d go and ride dryer inland range snow like Alpine the Pro would really feel at home. I mainly ride here by a wide margin, one reason that 13 Pro was my last.

Matte Murder said:

So a couple years back I had a 13 Pro and 13XM. I found that whatever sled I was riding most was more comfortable and the one that felt normal. When I’d get on the “other” one for the first ride it felt weird and took some time to get comfy on again. And then vise versa. Have you found that to be the case?

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I also had a 13XM and a 14 Pro. I had a hard time adjusting when going from one to the other. I found I needed to pick on for the day and stick to it. I don't find the adjustment to be nearly as difficult when going between the Gen 4 and Axys chassis. It usually only takes me 10 minutes or so to adjust.


The things I do notice every time when I go back and forth are:

• Engine - the 850 is torque monster and the power comes on low and hard. The 800 is overall smoother (vibration), has a very linear powerband and likes to rev.
• On the Axys if you have your feet in just the right place it is effortless to turn, otherwise it wants to go straight (or follow gravity when going down hill). The sweet spot if further back than on the Gen 4, and it is further back on the Axys 174 than on the Axys 163. In set-up snow I have always struggled with the Axys trying to turn going down hill because I don't weigh much and I have a hard time getting my feet/weight far enough back when gravity is pushing me forward. On the Gen 4 I don't have that issue, it goes where I want it to go.
• Just in general I think the Gen 4 takes less steering effort than the Axys. Probably partially due to the set-up I'm running.