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www.PowersportsBusiness.com Powersports Business • November 28, 2016 • 33 SNOWMOBILE Magazine names its 2017 Snowmobile Of The Year BY JOHN PRUSAK CONTRIBUTING WRITER In the November 2016 issue, Snow Goer maga- zine editors named their annual Snowmobile of the Year, choosing the 2017 Ski-Doo MX Z X 850 E-TEC due to its innovative and appealing new chassis and engine. The following is the article as it appeared in Snow Goer. Don't try to enforce the traditional rules of the game on Ski-Doo designers and engineers — in fact, don't even hand them the official book of snowmobile guidelines. Why waste the time? They aren't going to read the damned thing anyway. The brand that has spent the past two decades developing norm-challenging com- ponents like engine-reverse, tether-based anti- theft systems and adjustable-depth carbide runners; cleaner-burning engines like the SDI, E-TEC and ACE platforms; and entirely fresh chassis platforms like the original REV and its following iterations has done it again. For 2017, Ski-Doo went well beyond the standards once more, and that resulted in fantastic new snowmobiles like the MX Z X 850 E-TEC — the 2017 Snow Goer Snowmobile of the Year. The rebellious attitude started in the very beginning of this project, when initial plans called for a narrower, more powerful and more durable engine to fit in a narrower, more com- pact front end of a snowmobile that would give its riders more options on how to influence the vehicle's handling. A snowmobile designer's rule book would suggest that a new engine should fit into either the current 600 or 800cc classes, it should have a traditional build with industry-known materials, and the locations of certain add-ons should be fixed. But the outlaws at Ski-Doo and its engine sister-company Rotax instead built an 850cc twin, with a first-in-a-mod- ern-two-stroke two-piece forged crankshaft, plasma-lined cylinders, pistons with cast-iron piston ring carriers and a new generation of E-TEC for added power and performance. The new magneto, exhaust and drive clutch are smaller; the electric starter and its ring gear are repositioned; the ECU is enhanced, and the vari- able exhaust system is redesigned. That same, hypotheti- cal sled design manual would also likely suggest that a rider be positioned behind the dash panels, their feet fully enclosed in tidy little pockets. But Team Ski-Doo apparently skipped that chapter — instead taking advantage of a power package that is 4.1 inches narrower in the new REV Gen4 chassis to give riders incredible new freedom of movement. New stepped side panels allow the seated or standing rider more forward mobility, breaking a barrier found on all other modern snowmo- biles. Footwells were left open, allowing riders to move around the chassis and use different means of body English. That driver is perched atop a narrower seat and, on MX Z X and Renegade X models, he or she can move the handlebars forward up to 4 inches simply by tugging on a spring-loaded lever and set- ting the bar into any one of four, solid- feeling, preset positions. It's certainly not the first easy-adjust handlebar system, but it's the best implementation yet. The X models also benefit from a rack steering system that, when combined with new RAS 3 front suspension geometry, provides more stability and less bump steer for better handling. Innovation, change and setting new indus- try benchmarks have always been among the criteria for Snow Goer Snowmobile of the Year honors. But particularly in this case, the whole snowmobile is even better than the sum of the parts. The 2017 MX Z X 850 E-TEC is a terrific snowmobile — the engine's quick-rev- ving and hard-hitting nature combines with an ideal new layout and best-in-sport rMotion rear suspension to make this an extremely capable and fun machine to ride. And that allows it to match another SOTY criterion — market appeal. PSB J o h n P r u s a k i s t h e e d i t o r / p u b l i s h e r o f Snow Goer, a sister publication to Power- sports Business. Ski-Doo MX Z X 850 E-TEC earns honor from Snow Goer rider more forward mobility, breaking a barrier found on BY JOHN PRUSAK AND ANDY SWANSON CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Every year after evaluating snowmobiles for the upcoming season, Snow Goer magazine names a Snowmobile of the Year and Top 10 list in its November issue. Below is the writeup of the 2017 Top 10 snowmobiles. The end result is a list of snowmobiles that stand above the crowd. They are in no particular order. POLARIS 600 RUSH PRO-S For 600-class buyers who enjoy spirited rides on twisting trails, it's nearly impossible to select a better partner than the light, fun and excit- ing Polaris 600 Rush Pro-S. There are no dra- matic changes for 2017 — only the gauge has changed to a unit that's easier to read at a glance — but we're OK with that because this is a well-balanced, quick-reacting snowmobile with just-right ergonomics and excellent han- dling that make it a thrill to guide through the woods, down rugged or smooth ditch lines or across fields. At just 432 pounds dry, it is the lightest 600-class entry on the snow. YAMAHA SIDEWINDER L-TX SE The most powerful stock snowmobiles ever built burst upon the scenes at the 2017 Rode Reports in the form of Yamaha Side- winder and Arctic Cat 9000 Series mod- els, and they impressed every person who touched their throttles. We're talking about 200-plus horsepower of pure, unadulterated adrenaline surging out of a high-tech 998cc turbo-charged engine that sets many new standards. Its power delivery is silky smooth and linear, yet shockingly aggressive. Is this much horsepower necessary? Absolutely not. But there is definitely a market for the ultimate lake-race machine that's backed by a factory warranty. The L-TX version is the way to go because it puts more track on the ground to keep things in check. SKI-DOO MX Z TNT 900 ACE Some consider snowmobiling a good workout; others may think it's a way to work out some aggression. But if your ideal snowmobile trip involves stress-free relaxation and comfort, the MX Z TNT 900 ACE may be the perfect snowmobile for you. No matter the condi- tions below the machine, riding on it is like floating on a cloud. It's quiet. It requires very little steering effort. It handles very well. It has the industry-best rMotion rear suspension. Its smooth 900cc four-stroke twin sips gas, has a feathery-light throttle pull and has varying driving modes so drivers can tailor their ride. More than any sled on the snow, this machine makes snowmobiling easy. ARCTIC CAT ZR 6000 LIMITED 137 There are often machines within a sled lineup that pull together and showcase the very best of what a brand has to offer. Often, they are the high-buck machines, but the best Cat is the ZR 6000 Limited 137. It's a great combination of the best of Arctic Cat's ProCross chassis — with its broad, roomy ergonomics — and the revised-in-2016 137-inch Slide Action rear suspension with significantly better spring and shock settings that help bump absorption and handling. Cat's 600cc DSI engine and second- year clutching matches that combination well, providing smooth, linear and fun power that Snow Goer's Top 10 Snowmobiles of 2017 See Top 10, Page 35 The Polaris 800 PRO-RMK is among Snow Goer's Top 10 Snowmobiles for 2017. Snow Goer honored the MX Z X 850 E-TEC "due to its innovative and appealing new chassis and engine," said editor John Prusak. The 2017 Ski-Doo MX Z X 850 E-TEC is Snow Goer's 2017 Snowmobile of the Year.