Anything new with the 2020 850 vs. 2019 850 motor?

After riding the 2020 at a couple locations in Colorado in different snow conditions I can tell you the mapping felt different than even the 2019 reflash. I can’t compare it to my own 850 because I’ve made too many modifications to be apples to apples but we had other stock 2019’s to compare to. We didn’t experience any bogs or a hot start issues. Ran crisp and clean each day. Very snappy on the lower end as well. Yes there were crank bearing updates along with new check valve. Hopefully the EPA doesn’t mandate changes to this 2020 ECU mapping for the production sled.

calibration

polaris is famous for this. pre production sleds are never the same.
they have people riding these sleds and saying how wonderful they are
and then the productions models are different. happens every year.

RHODESIE said:

polaris is famous for this. pre production sleds are never the same.
they have people riding these sleds and saying how wonderful they are
and then the productions models are different. happens every year.

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I’ve seen this for years as well but on all brands. I’ve rode a number of preproduction sleds from the other manufactures and lots of things can change over the summer. Most of the time what happens the engineers and technicians get it tuned and running exactly where they want/like it. Then the EPA gets involved validating and goes through emissions for the entire calibration. These high-tech motors are way more advanced than simply swapping jets to make something leaner or richer. There are tens of thousands of pages of coding in the ECU that controls everything. If they mandate a change, one thing changes another. Sometimes they don’t get the mandate until late in the season that means creating a map in the dyno room and not validated on the snow. That’s why sometimes a reflash comes out once snows on the ground. That being said now it’s exciting that manufactures are taking advantage of opposite seasons in different countries during the summer months. They are now data login and making changes based on this. Things are not perfect by any means for any of the manufacturers but it’s exciting seeing two cylinder Snowmobiles making over 170 hp from the factory with a warranty. Anyone that thinks they can do better I suggest you apply now there are opening at at each of the four companies or if you don’t want to deal with the EPA apply at one of the many aftermarket companies pushing the envelope

Maps they are running are pre-production 2020, of course. Changeable on the fly by R&D.

Just to compare - the 2019 pre-production sleds ran well, without the issues of the shipped 2019 production map that has been officially updated once already. My first Q to the R&D boyz when you see them - what was changed between the 2019 pre-prod and production maps, and why? I think other working class stiffs would be kinda interested, too.

indydan said:

I find it strange that The 2019 850 engine update package Indy Specialty designed in November/December of the 2018 will prove to be more advanced and more dependable then the 2020 Polaris 850 factory updates.

I also thinks it’s sad on Polaris’s part that A 2019 850 that Indy Specialty updates will be a longer lasting motor then the factory 2020 850 ..... why does Polaris make to simplest things so over complex ?

It’s funny how 3 months ago the line of nay sayers thrashing me saying there was nothing wrong with the 850 are so quiet right now.

I wonder where ADDIE is ? AKA Kelsey with his big Facebook write up saying how I was wrong about every update I said the 850 needed.....

I wonder what the Facebookers have to say now ?

I went out on a limb...... and I put it all in writing.

I said time will show who is right or wrong.

With all of Polaris’s resources I would rather have a 2019 850 that was updated the way I see it rather then the way they see it need to be done.

They missed 2 of the most important dependability problems.����


Dan

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Engineers and engineering managers will admit to incremental improvements, but rarely to all out failures. No one wants to thrown under the Polaris bus......

i have found a great deal on a new '19. would it be better to go with this and the transferrable warranty or go with a '20 for about $4500 more??
thanks

I would ''save" the 4500 and put it into mods on the 19. If the 19 engine goes, you will get a 2020 engine for free.

damx said:

I would ''save" the 4500 and put it into mods on the 19. If the 19 engine goes, you will get a 2020 engine for free.

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Put the $4500 in the bank and if the engine doesn't go before the warranty is up send it to Indy Specialty and have them build the engine better than you could ever get from Polaris.

If you'll put miles on this season I would say get the 19.

Here is what you could call a brand new used 850! new motor, and only 150 miles on body.