And yet another 850 ride report

[rulonjj]

I took my 165 x 3 out for its first ride today. There was 18" of new snow on top of 10-20" of base so we didn't get to aggressive in our riding.

The first thing I noticed was the throttle response. It's instant and strong. Right off the bottom this sleds rips out of the hole. It also has a super strong mid range. Unbelievably good for a stock sled. It feels like the top end falls off a bit, but I think it feels that way because of how strong the mid and bottom is.

The power delivery is super smooth and feels very linear.

Handling is awesome. You think it, it does it. So easy to carve and turn. Almost to easy. If you want to do a slow turn it holds the edge, if you want to drop a shoulder it holds it. The round bottom feel that skidoo has been known for is even bigger and better on this sled. It don't matter how fast or slow you turn it stays where you put it.

We did a bit of climbing and it kept the front down very well. A lot better than I expected. The track hooks up really well and just keeps pulling. This sled pops up on the snow really well. When it starts to trench, a quick blip of the throttle and it levels out and keeps going.

Sadly the snow wasn't deep enough to ride and sidehill the trees so we didn't get the chance. I will be giving my thoughts on that when the snow gets good enough.


One problem I have is the slick spot in the footwell on the exhaust side. I found my foot slipping around sometimes. Rather annoying when it did happen.

Overall I think skidoo did an awesome job. It should be a lot of fun to get this sled in 4' of powder and see how she does.

 

[rulonjj]

One thing I forgot to mention........skidoo cut the panels way forward so your knees can slide to the side and allow you to really get up over the skis when you're riding trails. You can really rip the corners and come out of the corner hard! Now everyone claims to "never ride trails" but the reality of it is, we all ride some trails at some point. So why not be able to rip the trails and beat all your buddies to the good stuff.

 

[RevXRider]

One thing I forgot to mention........skidoo cut the panels way forward so your knees can slide to the side and allow you to really get up over the skis when you're riding trails. You can really rip the corners and come out of the corner hard! Now everyone claims to "never ride trails" but the reality of it is, we all ride some trails at some point. So why not be able to rip the trails and beat all your buddies to the good stuff.

hows it compared to your Axys>?

 

[rulonjj]

hows it compared to your Axys>?

I haven't ridden them side by side yet. I didn't want to make any comparisons between them until I get the chance to ride them on the same day in better snow. Hopefully by this weekend we'll have another 1-2' so I can do it.

 

[2Huskies]

One thing I forgot to mention........skidoo cut the panels way forward so your knees can slide to the side and allow you to really get up over the skis when you're riding trails. You can really rip the corners and come out of the corner hard! Now everyone claims to "never ride trails" but the reality of it is, we all ride some trails at some point. So why not be able to rip the trails and beat all your buddies to the good stuff.

I have noticed this as well. I feel like i am swallowing the sled when I take a corner fast. haha

 

[rulonjj]

Went for a ride again today. The snow is stacking up in the snowies. 18-20" on top of what we rode last weekend. Still feeling a few stumps and logs but getting close to balls out riding. We got into the trees a bit more today and sidehilled some good lines. The 850 holds a sidehill very good. I found myself over riding it all the time. It will take me a bit to get used to how easy it is to ride. The track hooks up like no sled I've ridden before. You really have to be paying attention if you sidehill across a sled track as it will grab it and launch you off the back of the sled. Ya I tried it. Lol. I installed a ggb trail can as well and it is pretty good. No codes or quirks. Held the exact same rpm as last weekend in the same spots and elevation so it isn't losing power with the can.

Over all I'm very happy with this sled. Still waiting on a better base before I compare it to the axys but it will happen soon. Supposed to get 2-5' in northern co this week so we should be set after that.

 

[Barry850POW]

Went for a ride again today. The snow is stacking up in the snowies. 18-20" on top of what we rode last weekend. Still feeling a few stumps and logs but getting close to balls out riding. We got into the trees a bit more today and sidehilled some good lines. The 850 holds a sidehill very good. I found myself over riding it all the time. It will take me a bit to get used to how easy it is to ride. The track hooks up like no sled I've ridden before. You really have to be paying attention if you sidehill across a sled track as it will grab it and launch you off the back of the sled. Ya I tried it. Lol. I installed a ggb trail can as well and it is pretty good. No codes or quirks. Held the exact same rpm as last weekend in the same spots and elevation so it isn't losing power with the can.

Over all I'm very happy with this sled. Still waiting on a better base before I compare it to the axys but it will happen soon. Supposed to get 2-5' in northern co this week so we should be set after that.

I love the posts so far! Keep them coming! I have been itching to go out on my new 850 for the first time! Iam stuck in Omaha Ne waiting for the snowies to get a little more pow! Brrraaappppp,

 

[rulonjj]

This weekend I rode with few friends who are hard core cat guys. Their sleds are 2 stock 800's with 153x2.6 track. 1 sled is a 920 with a 153x3 track and the last sled is a 800 turbo with a 153x3 track. These guys have all ridden axys' and liked them but not enough to sell their cats. I let them all ride my G4 today and the first thing they all said when they got off was "wow! That thing is easy to ride!" The next words out of their mouth is "that thing has instant throttle and that track hooks up hard!" We rode 4-6' of bottomless powder and this sled just keeps amazing me with the places it can go and not get stuck. It just keeps pulling and pulling. It's definitely a keeper. Oh, and two of the guys are calling the skidoo dealer tomorrow to buy some sleds.

 

[greenthumb]

So, you think my report from the spring demo was accurate?

 

[rulonjj]

So, you think my report from the spring demo was accurate?

Ya. It sounds like we agree on most everything.