1993 Arctic Cat Thundercat: An Instant Classic
Andy Swanson
May 2, 2012
While most snowmobile riders have pushed their sleds to the back of the garage this spring and are hitting the local 18 for their season’s first round of golf, this is the time of year when snowmobile manufacturers are putting the finishing touches on their new models before they go into production... Read more »
Snowmobile Review: 2012 Arctic Cat M1100 Sno Pro
Andy Swanson
April 6, 2012
The Arctic Cat M 1100 Sno Pro shares chassis with M Series sleds that have the more powerful 1100 Turbo and H.O. 800 engines. Designers developed the 2012 Arctic Cat M 1100’s frame to be a light, rigid platform for mountain riding, and it shares the front Arctic Race Suspension with the Arctic Cat... Read more »
Full Season Test: 2011 Polaris 600 Switchback
February 14, 2012
Versatility is a driving force of why crossover snowmobiles like the Polaris 600 Switchback are popular. You can ride the groomed trails all day with steady handling, and then hit a legal, snowed-in backcountry shortcut to bring you home in the evening and skip the whooped-out trails. Surely, riders... Read more »
First Ride: Production XF Turbo Sno Pro, Renegade 800 Backcountry X, 800 Rush Pro-R LE
January 8, 2012
Arctic Cat ProCross F 800 Sno Pro We made another run toward snow last week, and this time it was to break in our Arctic Cat XF 1100 Turbo Sno Pro, Ski-Doo Renegade E-TEC 800R Backcountry X and Polaris 800 Rush Pro-R LE demo sleds. Here are some impressions of each snowmobile. Arctic Cat XF 1100 Turbo... Read more »
First Ride: Production 2012 Ski-Doo MX Z With rMotion Suspension
January 4, 2012
We logged just over 400 miles in on two sleds from the Snow Goer fleet last week. After spending a fair amount of time last spring on prototype 2012 MX Z models with the new rMotion rear suspension, we were eager to see how the production version shook out. Here are impressions from our first ride on... Read more »
First Ride: Production 2012 Arctic Cat ProCross F 800 Sno Pro
January 2, 2012
After suffering through a snowless fall, we loaded up two snowmobiles and headed to the U.P. of Michigan for an early season ride. We traveled from the Snow Goer home base in Minneapolis to Twin Lakes, Michigan — almost seven hours — but the drive was well worth it as trails were in better shape... Read more »
2012 Ski-Doo MX Z E-TEC 600 H.O. X vs. Polaris 600 Rush Pro-R
December 15, 2011
Snow Goer lined up a 2012 600 Rush Pro-R and a MX Z E-TEC 600 H.O. X to see how the machines compare to one another. Each machine is remarkable for how well they perform in a wide variety of conditions. They feel differently from each other, swallow the bumps differently and drive through turns differently,... Read more »
Full-Season Test: Polaris 800 Rush Pro-R
December 12, 2011
If you ask us, retro snowmobile styling has been cool for at least seven years. Optional black-and-green Arctic Cat “Z” graphics were available on Firecat models in 2005, Yamaha had a classy 40th Anniversary package in 2008 and Ski-Doo brought back the Blizzard and TNT name around the same time frame. Polaris... Read more »
Full-Season Test: 2011 Ski-Doo Renegade E-TEC 800R X
November 11, 2011
Like any good marathoner, our 2011 Ski-Doo E-TEC 800R Renegade X demo sled just kept running last winter. It spent more weekends on the trail than in our shop from December to mid-March. Repairs weren’t ever required, giving us reliable, long lasting performances for 2,987 miles. Well, except for a... Read more »
2011 Ski-Doo MX Z E-TEC 800R TNT vs. Polaris 800 Rush
March 24, 2011
Ski-Doo MX Z vs Polaris 800 Rush These machines aren’t the hero models. They’re not the glamour girls that usually grace magazine covers and wall art. And it’s a shame. Base performance models often have a more devoted following. With more real-world accommodations such as functioning windshields... Read more »
