With Ski Doo breaking the internet...

[turboless terry]

Yep.

The skidoo does trails And meadows really well.

Poo does steep/ tight technical terrain.

Cat breaks rails and stabs tracks really well. (And is 80-85% as good as the poo in the steep /tight terrain)

The doo hands down on trail. Thr alpha is waay better in the meadows. The experts feel really front heavy to me for some reason this year.
Poo does get the tight and technical. The 165 alpha is close if you know how to ride it and it's not slick. 154 not so much.
I would take the doo 850 turbo over any of the motors.
The other win is the has half the feedback through the bars than the poo and night and day over the doo

 

[Chadly]

I have no desire to own a turbo again. I want a light sled that is easy to ride. That's exactly what the the 840 is. I rode Cody Monroe's 900 Carl's and that thing is the bees knees. If they go new chassis I'm building 2 of those next year. If they go factory 900 I'm stripping all the parts off my sleds and putting them on 2 new 900's. Polaris has a new motor and a new chassis on the snow right now. They are just being hush hush on what's coming out next year and what's coming out in 2022. I'm sorry for you old, bald, fat guys it's definitely not a turbo to drag race your Doo buddies in the meadows.

 

[turboless terry]

Never had good luck with big bores. Been on a rope a bunch with them and they usually aren't a huge difference compared to a turbo for the price. If a turbo has problems it's usually stock parts to replace. Big bore i was down over a month from trygstad. Not so pull and go

 

[Ace Freely]

I have no desire to own a turbo again. I want a light sled that is easy to ride. That's exactly what the the 840 is. I rode Cody Monroe's 900 Carl's and that thing is the bees knees. If they go new chassis I'm building 2 of those next year. If they go factory 900 I'm stripping all the parts off my sleds and putting them on 2 new 900's. Polaris has a new motor and a new chassis on the snow right now. They are just being hush hush on what's coming out next year and what's coming out in 2022. I'm sorry for you old, bald, fat guys it's definitely not a turbo to drag race your Doo buddies in the meadows.

.... you saying new chasis '21 and new motor '22? Or both in '22?

Ace

 

[cateye5312]

With the Patriot only being two years old I cant see a new motor even though they have one in testing. I recall someone saying the patriot had been on the snow for several years before being released. The Axys chassis however now has five years on it. I'm thinking they'll release a new chassis and track options (cuz they have a bunch of tracks on the snow right now too). And a turbo on the Patriot wouldn't surprise me. I seriously want to believe Doo was trying to beat them to the punch with a mid year release.

 

[tuneman]

The other thing is....if you ride aggressive terrain, and not particularly high elevation...a turbo 850 Polaris is a lot of sled. Too much for most of us from what I've seen. Like thinking you could ride pro MX if you could put a turbo on a 450SX....doesn't work like that. Ya if you ride nothing but open powder meadows you can squeeze on it a bit, or do huge climbs and don't care if it comes crashing back down. But truth be told for an average/decent rider (like me), at the 5500-7000' I ride, with a mix of play and adventure style riding, the power of a modern NA 850 isn't holding back my riding at all. But maybe there's enough people who just want it because it exists to create a market.....I guess we'll see!

No, it's holding you back. That's a good thing for most average riders (not saying that you are). I rode a buddy's 850 this year to help get him out of a sticky situation. It was a complete dog. Was very glad to get back on my turbo. We were riding at about 6k feet.

A turbo is a confidence builder, especially in the trees, but it can definitely get an inexperienced rider in big trouble. I heard from a fellow rider on here that a guy got crushed and killed on his turbo Doo a couple of weeks ago in Star Valley.

A turbo sled is also very good at getting itself unstuck.

 

[Motorbreath_]

No, it's holding you back. That's a good thing for most average riders (not saying that you are). I rode a buddy's 850 this year to help get him out of a sticky situation. It was a complete dog. Was very glad to get back on my turbo. We were riding at about 6k feet.

A turbo is a confidence builder, especially in the trees, but it can definitely get an inexperienced rider in big trouble. I heard from a fellow rider on here that a guy got crushed and killed on his turbo Doo a couple of weeks ago in Star Valley.

A turbo sled is also very good at getting itself unstuck.

I ride at about 2000' so I'm losing roughly 10hp..and I rode most of my life at sea-level.. You guys up in the mountains are riding with much less horsepower.. Not even sure how these things get through the amount of snow you get in places, with like 120-140 horsepower. I'd seriously be thinking turbo at elevation. Even if it was just 5lbs of boost.. You need it in my opinion. I've seen 600s at sea level not make it up some hills... it kind of takes the fun out of it when you see a 800 fly past with skis in the air.

 

[Escmanaze]

20 pounds lighter and 2" skinnier. Same AXYS feel though. If they do that plus clean up a few of the stupid issues (like toe loops, tether, etc.) then that would definitely cause them to become the topic of conversation again. Mountains, West, light and skinny still wins the day. ESPECIALLY if it doesn't cost $18k.

 

[BeartoothBaron]

This is mostly secondhand – only turbo I've been on was a Sidewinder for a short ride – but I've talked to people who rode turbos and went back to NA because the turbo didn't do anything good for them. The NA sled gave them all the power they needed. I'm sure most riders would take the extra power at 10k'+ in chest deep powder, but how many actually ride in those conditions? Not the most capable rider here, but I'd bet when you see enough OE turbos to look at a good cross-section of buyers, you'd find most of them couldn't tell you where or how it's made them more capable. Not that they won't sell or some buyers won't benefit, but most are buying for bragging rights and short blasts in easy terrain.

I get around pretty well for my purposes on a fairly heavy 600, typically riding at 7-10k'. Sure, there are plenty of places I don't go, and if it's deep, the steep stuff is a no-go. But it also keeps me out of trouble, and half the fun of it is doing things people think you can't on an old tank. With more set up snow, I can climb plenty steep stuff too. What's more, a guy here (TRS) built a couple sleds with 550 fans and big tracks for his grandkids to ride, but even he has fun on them. We're talking 50-60HP: as he puts it, you have to stitch your way up, but you can go.

My point in all this is that most riders, including much better riders than myself, simply don't benefit from a turbo. I just don't get the "more power makes everything better" talk. The people riding turbos here are very different from the typical person buying a new Doo turbo (and would be the same if Polaris builds one): most of them have been riding 800s and bigger and gone to a turbo because they've found the limits of those sleds and want to go further. That's just not most riders, and even a lot of guys who can fully use it will tell you they'd spend money on improvements in chassis, suspension, tracks and such long before a turbo.

 

[turboless terry]

Better to have and not need than need and not have.

 

[Sheetmetalfab]

This is mostly secondhand – only turbo I've been on was a Sidewinder for a short ride – but I've talked to people who rode turbos and went back to NA because the turbo didn't do anything good for them. The NA sled gave them all the power they needed. I'm sure most riders would take the extra power at 10k'+ in chest deep powder, but how many actually ride in those conditions? Not the most capable rider here, but I'd bet when you see enough OE turbos to look at a good cross-section of buyers, you'd find most of them couldn't tell you where or how it's made them more capable. Not that they won't sell or some buyers won't benefit, but most are buying for bragging rights and short blasts in easy terrain.

I get around pretty well for my purposes on a fairly heavy 600, typically riding at 7-10k'. Sure, there are plenty of places I don't go, and if it's deep, the steep stuff is a no-go. But it also keeps me out of trouble, and half the fun of it is doing things people think you can't on an old tank. With more set up snow, I can climb plenty steep stuff too. What's more, a guy here (TRS) built a couple sleds with 550 fans and big tracks for his grandkids to ride, but even he has fun on them. We're talking 50-60HP: as he puts it, you have to stitch your way up, but you can go.

My point in all this is that most riders, including much better riders than myself, simply don't benefit from a turbo. I just don't get the "more power makes everything better" talk. The people riding turbos here are very different from the typical person buying a new Doo turbo (and would be the same if Polaris builds one): most of them have been riding 800s and bigger and gone to a turbo because they've found the limits of those sleds and want to go further. That's just not most riders, and even a lot of guys who can fully use it will tell you they'd spend money on improvements in chassis, suspension, tracks and such long before a turbo.

If you are riding an older 600 you might not represent the target market.

 

[BeartoothBaron]

I'm definitely not the target market. Just saying there's this idea that the better the rider you are, or the more demanding the riding you do, the more you "need" a turbo, when I know some pretty good riders who saw no net benefit or even said a turbo made them worse. I'm sure there are places a turbo makes the difference between making it and not, but probably not that many and definitely not the place for an amateur. There's plenty of market for turbo sleds–more power is always fun–but (especially when we're talking OEs) it will only benefit a fraction of those who do buy them.

 

[Chadly]

I'm definitely not the target market. Just saying there's this idea that the better the rider you are, or the more demanding the riding you do, the more you "need" a turbo, when I know some pretty good riders who saw no net benefit or even said a turbo made them worse. I'm sure there are places a turbo makes the difference between making it and not, but probably not that many and definitely not the place for an amateur. There's plenty of market for turbo sleds–more power is always fun–but (especially when we're talking OEs) it will only benefit a fraction of those who do buy them.

I'm with you. The market definitely does not need a high horsepower turbo. I know of about 5 people that have the talent for a 200 HP turbo sled. Sleds are getting to be like street bikes in the 2000's. Off the showroom floor they are 3x more than the average buyer talent can utilize. I outride people on turbos on a daily basis. This is my first season that I don't have a turbo in my garage and I don't miss it. I don't think people really know how little the sponsored riders actually ride turbos. Do you keyboard jockeys ever wonder why Burandt (who rides 150+ days a year) has his turbo on for sale at the end of the year with less than 300 miles on it?

 

[jb800]

I would purchase a under 400lb sled all day long over a turbo. What skidoo did is not dumb though. They did exactly what most people have always said they wanted. Bring factory hp to elevation. Let's face it, only 10% of the sled world can out ride a factory sled anyway. I have a turbo alpha and a stock 2020 850 axys. The turbo makes me grin ear to ear but I find myself riding my pro more. Turbo almost offed me this winter also cause I wasnt quick enough and got mouse trapped under my sled for 45 minutes. All preference, but in my opinion I would be way more excited about a; under 400lb sled, shorten the tunnel, possible different estart option and a shorter cooler so the poo dosent hold so mutch snow.

 

[snobyrd]

My motto is, u can't buy talent, and a tbo just multiplys your mistakes if your not a good rider.
I saw that this winter wen a local bought the new tbo Doo, he was the worst rider and was constantly stuck or in bad situations.
Also had another guy on a pol 850 tbo and he was a total joke, I got him on my GoPro and I'm gonna post the vid on utube, myself and my friend on his 850 175 Doo, wasted him, and he had more excuses than the sand on my beach.

 

[goridedoo]

I agree that most guys don’t need 7+ lbs of boost... but I really like what Doo did. 165hp is very controllable, and it sounds like the power delivery is extremely smooth. Theres getting to be more and more good riders all the time, and I think this sled will work for alot of them.

I’m actually surprised at the amount of people groaning about 165hp not being enough... but I know its all people who have not ridden it. 40 hp is ALOT. I’m actually hoping Polaris follows and does a turbo for 2021 or 2022, and I hope they keep it in the 160hp range at 10k’. I am also hoping for a revamped sled from the steering post back- tunnel, tank, seat, skid, track. Either- or would be fine... but both would be SWEET, and I KNOW poo and doo are super competitive in the side x side market, so it will be fun to see them battle it out for the better sled over the next few years.

 

[BeartoothBaron]

I doo think Doo was smart with their turbo, not trying to push a ton of power. Of course, if Polairs comes out with a 180HP turbo, they'll have to do something, but hopefully it doesn't turn into a blind HP race. If the focus is solely on HP numbers, at some point we'll end up with a "new" Sidewinder with a Poo or Doo badge. At the same time, I'm not trying to suggest a turbo makes no difference. Even I can see how 4-5 PSI puts you in a different category at nosebleed elevation and/or super deep; easily as big a jump as going from a 600 to an 850.

My closing comment on the topic is a 180HP, no-lag AXYS turbo would be cool to see, but doesn't mean anything to me, and I don't think the average mountain rider either. On the other hand, a <400lb sled with significant refinements in track, suspension, and driveline (really not a fan of the quickdrive gearing, for one) is something I'd be saving up for. I'm keeping my trusty 600 forever though!

 

[Ken65]

I remember reading about that update and being curious how it would work out. My 16 was an SKS, and the cooling wasn't great.. I can't imagine what the Pro RMK would have been like. I think they increased the cooling capacity on the 850 as well.

I'm very excited to see what 2021 is going to bring for Polaris. There really isn't a substitute for light weight and it seems they got the lightest sled battle on lock down.

I remember reading about that update and being curious how it would work out. My 16 was an SKS, and the cooling wasn't great.. I can't imagine what the Pro RMK would have been like. I think they increased the cooling capacity on the 850 as well.

I'm very excited to see what 2021 is going to bring for Polaris. There really isn't a substitute for light weight and it seems they got the lightest sled battle on lock down.

I have spent alot of time on the 850 poo this year and my 165 expert. There is no comparison in motors. The doo has way more pull than the polaris. The polaris only feels light when you are in the throttle. At slow speeds, it wears you out. With that being said, I rode the turbo for 2 days in fresh powder. Its beyond fun. No lag, no waste gate noise, no bogging in the deep snow or pipe side. Doo definitely did their homework on this sled. Polaris is scrambling to bring something out, but, lighter isnt always better. There is only so much weight you can lose before reliability issues surface. Skidoo has been pulling Polaris around by the nose for years. Since the 96 summit, Polaris has only played catch up to Doo, and the new turbo, with a warranty, has put them that much farther ahead. I would trust technology from a company making lear jets way over 1 that makes utvs and sleds any day.

 

[CROW]

I have spent alot of time on the 850 poo this year and my 165 expert. There is no comparison in motors. The doo has way more pull than the polaris. The polaris only feels light when you are in the throttle. At slow speeds, it wears you out. With that being said, I rode the turbo for 2 days in fresh powder. Its beyond fun. No lag, no waste gate noise, no bogging in the deep snow or pipe side. Doo definitely did their homework on this sled. Polaris is scrambling to bring something out, but, lighter isnt always better. There is only so much weight you can lose before reliability issues surface. Skidoo has been pulling Polaris around by the nose for years. Since the 96 summit, Polaris has only played catch up to Doo, and the new turbo, with a warranty, has put them that much farther ahead. I would trust technology from a company making lear jets way over 1 that makes utvs and sleds any day.

While everyone is entitled to their opinion, if you have to throw stones to make your point it loses a lot of credibility. Every rider has a different riding style and places a higher priority on on certain aspects based on preference/ability/riding style. Some people place a higher priority on sled weight than they do power. Hell, Burandt went so far as to say if he had to choose more power or low bars, he’d choose low bars every time.

FWIW, the Bombardier that makes jets isn’t the same company making sleds and hasn’t been for years.

 

[revrider07]

Riding a 2019 850 both doo and pol same length doo feels faster but is auctualy slower on head to head runs. After some clutch work on both sleds the pol is better than the doo in our group. It's mostly what you want to ride and how tired you want to be at the end of the day. Pol is just easier to ride in tight terrain. We have 3 doos and 3 pol in our group couple weeks ago the doo guys admitted they were more wore out than we were. Plus the added gas of Polaris really helps when it's deep. Just my observation I might buy a turbo doo next year.