I rode the backcountry on sleds for over 20 years. I have reasonable skills. The bike is easier. There is no debating that. Several years ago, I had the opportunity to ride two Ski Doos for a day each. One was a 174 and the other was a 154. I liked them both very much. They were easy to ride. Perhaps the problems that are being reported are not endemic problems with the 850. As with the Polaris problems that were reported, there were far fewer of them than one would have surmised from the posts. However, there were problems and they were significant enough that Polaris had to do something about it. A $5,000 bulkhead replacement is no small matter. If they truly have a problem, I was simply stating that I hope that they take care of the owners who put their hard earned money down for the sleds. Ski Doo is a good company with good products. I presume that they will address the problem.
My 16 Axys had a brake alignment issue that occurred with a few of them. Before I ever rode it, Polaris paid for the dealer to fix it. it required a major tear down to replace the plate. I assume that it was a $1,000 fix with the labor involved. It might have been more than that. My post above was simply hoping that Ski Doo will do the same if it is necessary. Perhaps it only involves a few sleds and not the whole model year run.
