why dont we ever hear anything about 1200 turbo's

jvb said:

yeah my intercooler with that old style was always crazy hot. Pack it full of snow always helped Yeah I always run around 16-20 on 110 pretty fun. You run a 2871?

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Ya I've got PL header and exhaust , airbox, 2871 turbo, will hopefully have my new air box by mid dec, my water/air intercooler should be here anyday now so I can get it installed. I've only ever ran ave gas, never tried 110. Rbr I could only 16 psi on ave gas, now with motec and knock control I can now run up to 21 psi safely on ave gas. Should be a fun season! Will have to try meet up in revy if it ever works out.

That sucks that some have had issues.
My buddy built his 1200 with a PL kit. Nothing but smiles since the first time we rode it!

PL is just over an hour away, and customer support is important. It helps that we ride the elevations that PL has tested in(we ride the same areas) but it's been nothing but a handful of fun!

People tend to forget(not that I'm condoning bad customer service) that mod sleds are still MOD sleds. Having an aptitude for knowing how mechanics works is still needed just as much today as it was 20 years ago. Otherwise you end up with a poor running sled and a forum to bitch about it on.

I guess it's always been this way, only now there's social media available to vent our problems. Back then you sold your nightmare for pennies on the dollar, or you put your thinking cap on and figured out your problems.(If customer service wasn't there)

To those that have figured it out, you prolly were the same guys figuring out your sleds and bikes since the beginning of time. You deserve mod sleds. The others....well....stock sleds work just GREAT!

Reeb - all good points, and nice looking 1200 too! You and I have both been at this long enough to tell the difference between good customer service and crap. Glad the locals up there are having the good luck we couldn't enjoy. Several in Colorado have reported sour experiences. Live & learn, I guess..

When you do a high-dollar deal(custom race kit) based on relentless (apparently false) advertising, put down cash, wait, wait patiently, deal with excuse after excuse and then get buried in a ton of contradictary fibs from the vendor with no parts shipping mid-season it's tough to cut much slack. Being able to walk up to the shop face-to-face is apparently required for some shops to perform. I've built mods for many years, never had such an experience before. On the earlier project (PL stage 2), the MAP was useless - so far off the sled would barely start or run and we made the mods (sans PL) to get it running ok before ditching it. Hearing about cracked air boxes, RB3 issues, cooling issues, etc.. confirmed the decision. They do make a nice header though.

All that aside, the net-net is that the 1200 is very much a viable platform to boost for mountain application. Several shops (incl. our dear friends at PL & others) have had success with them. There is often a bit of weight penalty that seems to be less of a concern to trail/ditch/drag riders as compared to a boosted 800 E-tec, but the 800 won't get to the pwr/trq levels the 1200 sees. But the weight can be mitigated if someone really wants to and you end up with much lighter sled than other MFG's 4-strokes. I'm glad Ski-doo continues to produce the 4-Tec motor and the aftermarket continues to push the limits!

Pray4snow!!

MD.

I had 2 MCX 1200's. Both were small 180 kits, but we built a few 250's as well. The 180's were flawless. One we still have, the other I sold as it was simply time for a change. I ran that machine with a 146 x 2.3 and most of the time went anywhere anyone else I rode with went on a 154/163. I sold that machine with 3000 miles on it, our other one had 4800 miles on it. Turbo was installed at 600 miles. I spent one day setting up the wastegate, after that it was add fuel, check oil, pull and go. I never had anything break, bend, shear, hell, the first belt I changed at 1500 miles after abusing it to no end trying countless gearing and clutching setups in dry/wet snow.

Problems I did find - heat - the panels are too tight on these machines. No matter if you go water-air, air-air, or no intercooler (no idea why this is even being sold) the panels need venting...there is so much heat that comes out from under the hood and it has no where to go.
Other problems - chain stretch - I could get close to a half inch out of the tensioner per year if I started with a new chain. They should have stuck with the wider chain design from the 07 XRS.

I'm on a 800 Etec this year. I wanted another 4 stroke, but couldn't hold out another year waiting for a 1200 replacement (it's in model year 6 now). If we don't see one in spring, I'll probably scoop up a low mileage used one..they go pretty cheap and build another. Ideally, I wouldn't decompress. Throttle response takes too big of a hit IMO. I would build another 180 kit (they actually spit out about 220), water-air airbox and Motec the thing so I could run any fuel I wanted to it. In my mind this would be a bulletproof setup...not the most economically efficient setup, but it would flatout work.

I don't wanna be the first 900 ACE customer to turbo it, but I think I may get to be A customer with a 900 Turbo.

Reeb said:

I don't wanna be the first 900 ACE customer to turbo it, but I think I may get to be A customer with a 900 Turbo.

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If we would have seen a few more gerbils stock..like 120hp, I may have bit on one of those...it did cross my mind for a few weeks...but boosting 90hp just isn't going to take a guy too far.

Yeah I just don't know enough about the motor to speculate too much. The Sea-Doo world is raving about it, and the potential for more HP in a naturally aspirated form. Like I said, I'm gonna hafta see how it works for others before I spend the money. The only thing that really perks my ears is hearing the flatlander rags absolutely love the engine. They think it's the best thing to ever grace the snow. The lack of front end weight is what got me thinking about it.

From what I've gathered of the ACE line, it wasn't designed for performance or the mountains. The 600 ACE is basically the Yellowstone(FS) go to trail sled. It has low low emissions. Low power. Nearly bulletproof, and the fleet doesn't need replaced for close to 8 years.

I'm not saying something useful couldn't be make of the 900 ACE, but in stock for it leaves a bit to be desired. Personally, if it was supposed to be 900cc's, why not a twin? That would be 450cc's per cylinder. Give it a similar bore/stroke to a modern 4 stroke dirt bike. Bam, you should be making 110+ hp. Heck, even Cat has a 1100 twin 4 stroke...

New, for 2006!

http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/recreation/off-road/1278041-3

Got my water to air all plumbed in ready to go.