NW Snowmobile News November 2012

November 2012

2013 Yamaha Snowmobiles Continue to Improve See Page 6!

Polaris Introduces New Scrambler 850 ATV Nova Scotia Native Wins Prestigious Cain’s Quest Event Arctic Cat Introduces New Tucker Hibbert Inspired Model

Polaris Makes It Light in 2013 See Page 4!

Make Your Snowmobile Perform Better With Options from Bikeman Performance NORTH SUPERIOR PUBLISHING INC.

Ski Doo Back With Great Line Up for 2013 See Page 5

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SNOWMOBILE NEWS NOVEMBER 2012

www.slednews.com Polaris Introduces New Scrambler 850 ATV Polaris has just reintroduced the Scrambler name into their line up with the 2013 Polaris Scrambler 850, a really fun trail performance machine. It was great to

the fluid levels, the air pressures in the tires and everything is tight. We go through through the whole check list that Polaris provides,”said Randy Neufeld, General Manager at North Country Cycle & Sports - Thunder Bay. “ You hook up the battery, put some gas in and then run it.”

see the much anticipated ATV come out of the crate and be put together at North Country Cycle & Sports in Thunder Bay. The unit is shipped in a steel frame with a plastic cover over it. The steel frame is collapsible and the unit is shrink wrapped at the factory. The dealer can recieve the unit well protected and Polaris can recycle the steel frame. It was fun to see the 2013 Polaris Scrambler 850 come out of the shrink wrap and get set up. “ We go through the entire machine by checking all

The Scrambler 850 is a trail performance machine for the rider that may not need the utility aspects of an ATV that many customers use,say pull a moose out of the bush. It is built to mainly go out and enjoy the ride. The Scrambler has Fox clicker adjustable shocks and Polaris has done a lot of work with the double A arm suspension. It handles very well with the power steering and is very easy to maneuver. “ It is probably the most fun ATV to ride. I got a chance to ride one of the early mod-

BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

NW Ontario Snowmobile News

els at the dealer meeting in Las Vegas on a test track. It is very nice sounding with a tuned exhaust on it, which probably gives some more performance. For the first

round every dealer got 1 unit with more coming in the spring time.”said Randy Neufeld.

Nova Scotia Native Wins Prestigious Cain’s Quest Event

BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

NW Ontario Snowmobile News Jean Guy Aucoin from Cheticamp, Nova Scotia and his partner Steve Girard won the 2012 Cains Quest after 4 previous

tries. The team rode 2011 Ski Doo Freeride 800 sleds complete with 2012 motors. The race was 2730 Kms over 4 days with layovers. This year the conditions were easier and got to 8 celsius plus. “ We were the lead team and stayed ahead and kept moving. It is 2 man time and you stay together and finish together.

The first year you go to Labrador it is overwhelming,” said Jean Guy Aucoin.

He had his first snowmobile at age 10, a 1989 Citation 300 and since then has owned 27 machines. Jean Guy Aucoin is a ship captain of a dive boat and works in the far east 6 weeks in and 6 weeks off in the oil fields on a service boat doing underwater surveys. “ I was racing sno cross and cross country since 1986 and that is where I met my partner, Steve Girard who has been a factory racer in Quebec. When snocross got really high with the jumps we stuck to cross country.” smiled Aucoin.

The Canadian team won Cain's Quest by 42 minutes even after a 45 minute penalty near the end. This year they won HCR Arctic Cats and some money totalling about $30,000. It does cost about $15 to 20,000 to do the race over the value of your equipment according to Aucoin. “ We would like to go to the Alaska Iron Dog race and there is no Cains Quest this year. We want to go to Alaska this year if we get the sponsors.” said Aucoin.

SNOWMOBILE NEWS NOVEMBER 2012

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Polaris Makes It Light in 2013

BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

NW Ontario Snowmobile News The big news this year at Polaris is the new RMK Pro with new running boards, belt system and the carbon structure over the motor. It is 417 pounds in a 600 or 800 engine format and the lightest in the industry. “ We came down from 431 pounds a year ago and continue to find ways to cut weight. It is carbon fiber and finding one part to do 3 or 4 things,” said Dan Peterson, Polaris Product Line Sales Manager. “ The belt drive system alone saved us about 7 pounds getting rid of the

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big chain case and oil bath and oil. The belt drive system is pretty simple - a sprocket on the top and one on the bottom with a rubber belt with teeth on it. It is similar to what a chain case would look like but is only rubber on aluminum, not steel on steel, so more efficient, lighter, quieter and with less maintenance. I think it will progress into other models.”

The Rush and Switchback were new last year and are a fantastic ride. “ We bought the Indy back, our old faithful and it is getting lots of buzz. The Indy was brought back to give us a lower cost snowmobile.

Technology is driving the cost up so much and we wanted to have something for the customer who don’t need everything in a sled, but still be full featured.” said Peterson.

In the last 3 or 4 years the mountain sled segment has exploded according to Peterson. “ The RMK last year was the number one selling sled. People will travel to get to the snow because they like it so much. It is fun and like an adventure.,” said Peterson. “ Polaris had a fantastic season of sales last year even with low snow.

We use racing for testing braking systems

different compound on tracks, spindle cases and camber angle. It has helped us to get lighter. If it works in snocross we put it in our production sleds. We are working on 2014 and 2015 sled improvements right now.”

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SNOWMOBILE NEWS NOVEMBER 2012

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Ski Doo Back With Great Line Up for 2013 NW Ontario Snowmobile News

keeps people attached because there is really no other sport like it.”

For 2013 Ski Doo has introduced 2 new platforms. The Rev XM platform for the mountain rider and the REV XS platform for the Renegade and trail rider. “ We looked at the last platform and made changes to take the next step forward.” said Steve Cowling, PR and Media Relations Manager for Ski Doo snowmobiles and is based in the Minneapolis area.

In 2012 Tim Trembley wins the ISOC for Ski Doo. They had wins in the Cain's Quest and the Iron dog. It was a good year. “ The ISOC series is great with excellent TV coverage and they have done a good job at bringing it to the next level, “ said Cowling. “ I hope everyone gets out and enjoys the sport this year and we have great snow. If you don’t have snow don’t be afraid to put your sled on a trailer and have a good time.”

BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

“ The T motion and a Flex Edge track are on the XM platform to make it easier for the mountain rider to put the sled on edge and hold it there which is a very important maneuver for the hills. You need to be able to pivot and turn quickly in fresh snow.

The REV XS is the trail version and we were looking for better wind protection and improving the shape of the hood ergonomically to get around on the sled. In 2008 we brought out the REV XP, which has pretty much been the standard for everyone. It is super light weight, very rigid and handles just like it is on rails.”

The engine line up at Ski Doo is the same as last year with their 600 and 800 ETEC’s, two mainstays. The 1200 4 tec is only available in the REV XR because it takes a little bit bigger platform to house the 4 stroke 3 cylinder. The 600 ETEC is the largest selling engine on the North American continent according to Cowling.

It has great performance, power per cc, extremely good fuel economy, oil economy and is virtually bullet proof. The nice clean throttle response and economy is what really sells the people. The run quality is so good they just want to be on this sled noted Cowling. “ The lack of snow hurt us a little bit but overall Ski Doo gained some market share so overall it was a pretty good year. We continue to see real good interest in the mountain segment so it has become a bit of a focus. There is always snow somewhere in North America, it just moves around a bit. There will be snow and people will find it because snowmobiling is a sport that is addictive and they will go,” smiled Steve Cowling. “ It is a combination of the best part of motorcycling and if you ride in the mountains it is like being on a watercraft combined with the motorcycle. The dynamics of the sport is it really SNOWMOBILE NEWS NOVEMBER 2012

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2013 Yamaha Snowmobiles Continue to Improve

BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

NW Ontario Snowmobile News “ For 2013 Yamaha snowmobiles the biggest thing is we added a 1 3/4 inch Nytro XTX for the trail rider that likes to go off trail a little bit and you can add that bit of capability. It is considered a rough trail sled, made to go through the bumps,” said Eric Josephsen, Yamaha US snowmobile Division, Consumer Promotions,

Marketing Coordinator and Race Manager - wearing 3 hats. “ Our 2013 line up is well developed. We have the Phazer line-

up, which is an 80HP machine and a fun little little buggy. The Vector is a great trail sled and probably the most under rated sled in the industry. We have EPS ( electric power steering) on it with 123 HP so lots of get up and go. The staple of our line up is the Apex with 160 HP 4 stroke and it has EPS as well. The EPS has been very well received especially with the high mileage guys that might crank out 200 to 400 miles in a day. Your shoulder and back feel great after riding all day with EPS.” In 2013 Yamaha has dropped the Bravo from their line up. “ The Bravo is a great machine but was two stroke and the emissions made it go away. Emissions are a huge challenge and that is why Yamaha decides to go 4 stroke back in 2002 with the RX1 and since 2006 exclusively 4 stroke. Our strong point is Yamaha makes a well built sled with durability reliability and fit,” said Josephsen. “ Oil Change and gas is all you need. The 4 stroke is the wave of the future. The emissions will continue to get tighter and tighter and we are miles ahead in that area. Weight reduction has happened with Yamaha using magnesium and the technology we have at Yamaha with a huge engineering staff. We took a couple seasons off to prepare for racing. We don’t think snocross makes sense for us but have had good success in cross country and hill climb.”

Arctic Cat Introduces New Tucker Hibbert Inspired Model

BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

NW Ontario Snowmobile News “ We introduced the Tucker Hibbert sled which is loosely based off our Procross 800 RR but Tucker added his own touch with graphics, hand guards, a powder coated skid frame and white skis so he made it his own. He has a loyal following fan base and we think it will be a really good hit. It is the RR model with the Procross chassis.

The sled will be at all dealers. We are running a special promotion with Tucker to give a way serial number 002.” said Kale Wainer, Media Relations specialist at Arctic Cat. “ The 50th Anniversary last summer was amazing. We had a great turn out in Thief

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River Falls and we were fortunate to have all new models in the Pro Cross and Pro Climb. It was an exciting year. We had the Wildcat on the dirt side of it as well.

This Pro cross chassis was based off our race sled and we put it towards our consumer sled,” said Wainer. “ Early order sales have been good this year. What we are hoping for is snow. It is pretty simple snow does sell snowmobiles. Last year it was dismal snow here and overall pretty poor.” “ One of the quickest growing markets for Arctic Cat is the crossover market with the midwest guy going out west a hand full of times each year so we have a model called the High country with a deeper lugged track. The RR is a race replica 800 and 1100 Turbo is for the ditch banging guy with top of the line model the Fox Float EVOL X shocks that allow more adjustability with compression and rebound.” said Wainer. “ Usually our snowmobile production ends by Thanksgiving and now we are going full bore.”

SNOWMOBILE NEWS NOVEMBER 2012

Make Your Snowmobile Perform Better With Options from Bikeman Performance

BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

NW Ontario Snowmobile News “ We are moving in Wisconsin to a new 17,000 square foot facility. It all started in my garage when we came out with a big bore kit for the Arctic Cat 700 engine. I put it in my own personal sled and then my brother wanted it and before you know it I had 50 motors in my garage. 6 months later I had 6 full time employees and we were going crazy building parts and developing new products.” smiled Erich Long, owner of Bikeman Performance.

Erich had worked previously for two companies in the sport, Marv Jorgenson Chopper City Sports and Steve Houle of Speedwirks. “ Staring at 18 years old I worked on some pretty crazy equipment.

Today we sell a lot of bolt on parts like light weight mufflers, exhaust pipes,

clutch kits and cylinder heads. We do a lot of engine kits for Arctic Cat, Ski Doo and Polaris and now do 2 or 3 motors a day.

Usually they send us their cylinders or the whole motor. We have a contract for the company Black Diamond which is making

50 limited edition mountain sleds. We are putting out custom 900 engines in their custom built lightweight chassis.” said Long.

Everything at Bikeman is made right in house in the USA. It is all laser cut parts, ceramic coated and their heads are C & C machined. The company does retail sales and have a couple thousand dealers and some distributors. An example of a Bikeman product is for the 800 Arctic Cat engine. “ Some people want a light louder sound and other stainless steel with Kevlar that is 10 pounds lighter than stock and adds 2 to 3 HP but is quiet as well. The manufacturer make good mufflers but noise and emission standards makes it hard for them to meet the standards.We can do this as an aftermarket company.” said Long.

Thief River Falls Snowmobile Club

BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

NW Ontario Snowmobile News Tom Wang is the Trail Administrator for the Thief River Falls Snowmobile Club. “ We have 40 members now which is pretty good for our 8500 population. We

groom about 80 miles of trail mostly around highway roads in ditches and are funded by the DNR from licenses fees which are $45 for 3 years. The club owns 1 groomer and gets $325 per month. Our groomer is a 2000 Tucker which for us is adequate. There are trails coming from 5 different directions. The Arctic Cat plant is a big draw and we usually have good snow and groom from mid December until March 31 when it ends in Minnesota. Two years ago we had 90 inches of snow.”

You can get a tour of Arctic Cat every week day at 1pm. The Black Cat Spots Bar started by Joey Hallstrom is a great place to visit as well with many Arctic Cat items on display. The Arctic Cat plant tour is one of the top ten tours in US and Polaris is closeby as well. You can contact the Thief River Visitors and Convention Bureau for more information.

SNOWMOBILE NEWS NOVEMBER 2012

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Your Snowmobile Headquarters

Maintenance

Accessories

His & Hers Clothing

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Thunder Center

Thunder Bay South

939 Fort William Road Phone: 807-623-1999

1221 Arthur Street West Phone: 807-475-4235

SNOWMOBILE NEWS NOVEMBER 2012