Doo has something up their sleeve. They aren't going to let Polaris go any longer with the PRO.
Rumor has it that Poo is going to belt drive. Since that is not a patented technology thru a major manufacturer. I think that may be on the table. It would be a smart move.
Personally, I think the XP chassis is awesome. They have come leaps and bounds with the suspension. Keep refining that. It's not about the looks for me. If my 09 design out performs a newer sled (and it will.
) then I'm cool with it. IMO, looks and BNG are for parking lot posers. Most of us peel the factory decals off anyways). And strength and durability isn't a factor to me either. I ride and I ride pretty hard. I have thumped a few stumps and had zero damage. The only time I totaled an Xp was in 2008 on a VW sized boulder hidden just under a fresh layer of snow. That would have destroyed a tank.
I think they are sitting on a great design. Just run with that.
Things I would do:
Belt drive
dump the stock track and go with the Challenger Extreme. That track is AWESOME!
Create a better seat with better storage
get rid of that KYB crap shocks, go with Fox Evols or Exits. Getting a contract with EXIT would actually reduce costs as ZBROZ would go into mass production.
keep refining the rear suspension
redesign the air intake to not be so damn huge.
DO NOT try to change the chassis like CAT did. That was a HUGE fail and ended up pushing a ton of Cat loyalists towards Poo and Doo.
And last but not certainly least. Cost. Figure out a way to cut manufacturing costs to reduce prices for the consumer. An idea, stop making so many damn versions of the same sled. Dump the Freeride and just go with the Summit series. I think that having the Freeride, the 'X' and the base model Summit is really expensive. I'd go with one model with varying track lengths to suit the needs of the consumer. But create a sled in between the base model and the 'X' model (both the 'X' and Freeride are not worth the extra in price anyways) Anybody can take a base model Summit 154 and make it a better sled for less than what the 'X' sled costs from the dealer. I think that would drive costs down substantially, since BRP wouldn't be making replacement parts for so many different variations of the same sled.
That's my 2 cents.