Polaris axys vs. skidoo 850 backcountry sleds

NWaxys · Apr 3, 2016

Hey i ride a '16 axys on Turbo and love it.... I've also rode the new skidoo 850 165"x3, and just want to hear other guys opinions. I know what sled I prefer but let's hear what you guys think about them both in the backcountry

KingCon · Apr 3, 2016

Oh lord, please don't say anything bad about the Doo, the Doolaid drinkers will come out and have a temper tantrum! Lol. I was critical of the Doo and got called an "idiot" and "liar" for telling the 100% truth. I actually like things about the Doo and Axys but they don't like to hear anything negative.

Spaarky · Apr 3, 2016

I prefer a long track ThunderCat myself. :face-icon-small-coo

kanedog · Apr 3, 2016

Doo handles like crap but has more power.
Doo feels like a tank.

Poo is waaaaay nimble.
Poo feels like your riding a small toy because it's narrow and has a small body.

I ride a doo. For my style of riding, doo is better for me.

fastrack0 · Apr 4, 2016

I personally don't really understand the whole debate. Why do people need to keep debating which one is better. some people like blondes, some like brunettes

. Who cares, as long as your riding...

Red Mtn · Apr 4, 2016

There is only a debate because the Doo guys are desperate to catch up to the Polaris. The Axys is so good they feel they need to try and find faults with it to make their poor choice look better. They act like 50cc's and 10 hp is going to make that old crate a world beater. It still has a list of problems they haven't corrected. It hasn't caught up and wont until Doo gets serious and properly redesigns the chassis for mountain riding. The Doo guys are still clinging to reliability as their trump card against the Poo. Sadly, the Poo's just are not exploding anymore and that supposedly poor engine design spanks their ride off the line all day long.

You need to ride them to make the choice. Some people can live with mechanical parts sharing the foot well spaces, and a wobbly rear skid, and a flat steering post angle to get an extra 500 miles form a set of pistons. I wouldn't keep either around that long so I choose the lighter, quicker, superior riding machine.

NWaxys · Apr 4, 2016

850

Like I said I've been on both in steep terrain and I know where I stand... The doo has a lot of power for a stock sled with a good warranty. The brake caliper in foot well is not noticed. And they are starting to improve a lot on it. I wish 20-30 lbs could be cut though and a few other things sorted out. Hard to beat my axys pump gas silber set up though.... Just saying

rulonjj · Apr 4, 2016

Red Mtn said:
There is only a debate because the Doo guys are desperate to catch up to the Polaris. The Axys is so good they feel they need to try and find faults with it to make their poor choice look better. They act like 50cc's and 10 hp is going to make that old crate a world beater. It still has a list of problems they haven't corrected. It hasn't caught up and wont until Doo gets serious and properly redesigns the chassis for mountain riding. The Doo guys are still clinging to reliability as their trump card against the Poo. Sadly, the Poo's just are not exploding anymore and that supposedly poor engine design spanks their ride off the line all day long.

You need to ride them to make the choice. Some people can live with mechanical parts sharing the foot well spaces, and a wobbly rear skid, and a flat steering post angle to get an extra 500 miles form a set of pistons. I wouldn't keep either around that long so I choose the lighter, quicker, superior riding machine.

No need to find fault when is so obvious. This an axys engine out of my buddies sled.

Ya they are still coming apart.....at 300 miles. Stop acting like it doesn't happen. Polaris still needs to build an engine that is more reliable. The new G4 has as much improvement or more over the t3, as the axys does over the pro. They both have pros and cons. I have both and love every minute on each of them. I'll have a G4 and an axys in the trailer next year so it should be fun to compare them side by side on the hill without any pressure from a dealer.

As far as the steering differences go, some people can't stand the more layed back steering and some people can't stand the vertical steering so that's just personal preference. The whole t motion thing is kinda the same way. I hate it when it gets real steep but it's sweet when I'm just taking it easy through the trees and the sidehills aren't to steep. It definitely takes less effort to ride the skidoo than the pro. The axys is about the same effort as a t3 but they say the G4 is even easier. If that's the case the G4 will be less tiring than the axys. Bottom line......buy what makes you smile and go ride the crap out of it. We all talk big on our keyboards but at the end of the day, on the hill, it don't matter. Unless we have to tow you out, then it matters. Lmao.

geo · Apr 4, 2016

A piston deto-ing itself to bits is not a design problem.

sledheader · Apr 4, 2016

geo said:
A piston deto-ing itself to bits is not a design problem.

Sleds fault it got hit with 10 lbs of boost on 87 octane fuel lol

Scott · Apr 4, 2016

Pistons don't just do that.

Deep Powder Guy · Apr 4, 2016

My wife can sidehill a RX1

DPG

rulonjj · Apr 4, 2016

But why would a stock sled do that? Who knows? He said the dealer told him it was definitely from a bad piston. It wasn't just the top of the piston that was trashed. There where good sized pieces of the skirts in the case. It have been caused by a bad sensor or something of that nature. All I'm saying is people act like these sleds don't have issues......they all do. Regardless of brand. Like I said I couldn't care less who rides what. This guy was a hard core Doo guy until two years ago. He rode a pro, loved it and bought one, that sled never had a problem. He now rides an axys and loves it but he is a little gun shy with the engine giving up so soon.

diamonddave · Apr 4, 2016

fastrack0 said:
I personally don't really understand the whole debate. Why do people need to keep debating which one is better. some people like blondes, some like brunettes . Who cares, as long as your riding...

I like blondes AND brunettes. I was reminded the other night I also like redheads when I had one hitting on me (according to my wife) at the Cheesecake Factory.

They are both great machines.

Hopefully the new 850 Etec forces PI to make some changes. I wouldn't go as far as to say they have design issues, but they could certainly make some substantial improvements to the motor that would make for better longevity.

Injector placement ????

Solarguy · Apr 4, 2016

rulonjj said:
But why would a stock sled do that? Who knows? He said the dealer told him it was definitely from a bad piston. It wasn't just the top of the piston that was trashed. There where good sized pieces of the skirts in the case. It have been caused by a bad sensor or something of that nature. All I'm saying is people act like these sleds don't have issues......they all do. Regardless of brand. Like I said I couldn't care less who rides what. This guy was a hard core Doo guy until two years ago. He rode a pro, loved it and bought one, that sled never had a problem. He now rides an axys and loves it but he is a little gun shy with the engine giving up so soon.

Very very few issues with the AXYS for the numbers of them being ridden hard in the mountains. Engines are not a perfect science, Polaris produced one of the best mountain sleds ever and they have
Held up well so far. Time will tell if the longevity is there.
The Gen 4 will have some issues as ALL sleds do, hopefully Doo
Has produced an incredible and reliable mountain sled that takes
Doolade to the next level. Safe riding to all my mountain riding brothers and sisters. BTW, my 16 AXYS is the best sled I've ever
Ridden for my style of riding.

RMK935VA · Apr 4, 2016

Solarguy said:
Very very few issues with the AXYS for the numbers of them being ridden hard in the mountains. Engines are not a perfect science, Polaris produced one of the best mountain sleds ever and they have
Held up well so far. Time will tell if the longevity is there.
The Gen 4 will have some issues as ALL sleds do, hopefully Doo
Has produced an incredible and reliable mountain sled that takes
Doolade to the next level. Safe riding to all my mountain riding brothers and sisters. BTW, my 16 AXYS is the best sled I've ever
Ridden for my style of riding.

I love my 16 Axys. I have not rode the G4 Etec 850 yet. I did ride an XM 154 and a T3 174 last year. They were easy to ride, dare I say easier than an Axys. However, I don't think that they will do what an Axys will do when ridden well. I am 63 and the Axys challenges me (age and skill level) but it is so fun when I get it right. If you get lazy on it, it can be a handful. I could ride the Ski Doos mentioned above in a lazy manner compared to the Axys. I wish that I could afford to have both because they both appeal to me. I cannot afford to have two sleds so I choose the one that is more fun when I ride it right.

I saw the post about the motor. I am sure that you can find the same kind of thing with the Ski Doos out there. A freak one off failure. Of all of the Axys sleds on the snow here (a lot), I have heard about one engine failure. It was an oiling problem to the crank bearing that caused it to go down. The photo of the detonated piston in the post makes me think that the owner did something wrong (fuel, boost, other mods) or it was another freaky failure of some sort.

We have had a great season that is not close to over and the Axys sleds have been getting thrashed. If major failures were going to happen, it would have been seen by now.

AndrettiDog · Apr 4, 2016

If you want nimble, tree bashing, side hilling machine get the Axys. If you want a hillclimbing highmarking machine, get the G4. The Doo still wants to be planted. Even when you get it over (which is easier than the past) it still wants to get back on two skis. The power is great on the 850 but the main problem with the XM (not sure about G4) is the transfer in the skid. It will not get up on the snow like the Axys or Pro does. **Just waiting for the doo guys to tell me they can make their sled do anything and I just can't ride.**

Polaris Pilot · Apr 4, 2016

I was loving the Axys until I wrecked it, but I am glad we have choices. This forum, sleds, and life would be boring without choices. It would not be as fun to trash talk your buddy riding the same sled. Also, I don't need an 850. I couldn't hang on to the 800 as it is. Haha.

snowmobiler · Apr 4, 2016

one G4 has 10,000 km on it.you pick.

Spaarky · Apr 4, 2016

Scott said:
Pistons don't just do that.

That's a piston? I thought it was a piece of concrete. :yuck:

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