jhurkot
Active VIP Member
I recently had the opportunity to ride the new 850 for about a week straight. I demoed this sled in February of last year but was only able to spend about 2 hours on it and the snow was quite wet and heavy. My first impressions last year in the short demo ride were that this sled has a TON of power and traction. The bottom end response on this thing is crazy. The 165 3" track really hooks up well and I think the 3.5" pitch was a step in the right direction.
I've been riding since 2005 on pretty much every 2stroke brand. I live in Revelstoke for 4 months every year with the intent to ride every day. My last 5 sleds have been Polaris (3 pro/2 axys). Out of 10 sleds I have blown 9 motors so I could be in the hard usage category. My style of riding is climbing, sidehilling, and downhill runs in trees with deep snow.
So after a week of riding this thing and getting used to it I have to say it is an awesome sled. You cannot ride this sled like a Polaris. Wrong foot forward does not work and it was a struggle to stop myself from doing this as I've been doing this so long I don't even think about it. You want to stay as neutral as possible on it and if you do have to do a quick move and use wrong foot forward you better get that foot back on the running board in a hurry otherwise it will go uphill. So anyone who is used to Polaris/Cat I'd say to give this sled a fair shot you have to take this into consideration. The sidehill handling of this sled is better than the T3 but to me it is not as stable and predictable as the Axys chassis. The reason I say this is because when you can hang your foot off the running board you can use it to balance or push it into the snow to take weight off the machine and get through a tricky spot. But with the added power and traction I found I was able to slow the riding down a little to get through the tricky spots and recover where as on my Polaris I'd have to be wide open and not lose speed because if I did I wouldn't be able to get the momentum back again. I found the 850 harder to ride through tight trees but a much stronger climber and way more forgiving in the deep snow.
As good as this sled is, it does come with some first year issues that I sincerely hope BRP addresses for 2018. The oil consumption is absolutely ridiculous. $40 dollars of gas and $35 dollars of oil for a deep day. Definitely uses more oil than an 800 etec. In 6 rides I went through 2 belts. This is with the blowhole and added weight in the clutch weights (not in the tips just washers on the stock weights). I'm hard on belts in general but I think improved clutching and motor mounts would go a long way. The blowhole helps but it is not the solution. If you are riding early season it would probably be a good idea to have collision as the emod and smod don't look very fun to change. Hope it's a lot better for 2018. I do not like how the front suspension bolts to the emod and the smod, taking out 2 components in an impact instead of just 1.
This is a great machine and a step in the right direction and I think it will be improved for next year. All 3 brands have really strong contenders for the upcoming year and I don't think you could really go wrong with any choice. Pick the dealer that will look after you the best. Thanks to my good friend Carter for letting me use his sled for the week while my Polaris was getting its second top end this year!
I've been riding since 2005 on pretty much every 2stroke brand. I live in Revelstoke for 4 months every year with the intent to ride every day. My last 5 sleds have been Polaris (3 pro/2 axys). Out of 10 sleds I have blown 9 motors so I could be in the hard usage category. My style of riding is climbing, sidehilling, and downhill runs in trees with deep snow.
So after a week of riding this thing and getting used to it I have to say it is an awesome sled. You cannot ride this sled like a Polaris. Wrong foot forward does not work and it was a struggle to stop myself from doing this as I've been doing this so long I don't even think about it. You want to stay as neutral as possible on it and if you do have to do a quick move and use wrong foot forward you better get that foot back on the running board in a hurry otherwise it will go uphill. So anyone who is used to Polaris/Cat I'd say to give this sled a fair shot you have to take this into consideration. The sidehill handling of this sled is better than the T3 but to me it is not as stable and predictable as the Axys chassis. The reason I say this is because when you can hang your foot off the running board you can use it to balance or push it into the snow to take weight off the machine and get through a tricky spot. But with the added power and traction I found I was able to slow the riding down a little to get through the tricky spots and recover where as on my Polaris I'd have to be wide open and not lose speed because if I did I wouldn't be able to get the momentum back again. I found the 850 harder to ride through tight trees but a much stronger climber and way more forgiving in the deep snow.
As good as this sled is, it does come with some first year issues that I sincerely hope BRP addresses for 2018. The oil consumption is absolutely ridiculous. $40 dollars of gas and $35 dollars of oil for a deep day. Definitely uses more oil than an 800 etec. In 6 rides I went through 2 belts. This is with the blowhole and added weight in the clutch weights (not in the tips just washers on the stock weights). I'm hard on belts in general but I think improved clutching and motor mounts would go a long way. The blowhole helps but it is not the solution. If you are riding early season it would probably be a good idea to have collision as the emod and smod don't look very fun to change. Hope it's a lot better for 2018. I do not like how the front suspension bolts to the emod and the smod, taking out 2 components in an impact instead of just 1.
This is a great machine and a step in the right direction and I think it will be improved for next year. All 3 brands have really strong contenders for the upcoming year and I don't think you could really go wrong with any choice. Pick the dealer that will look after you the best. Thanks to my good friend Carter for letting me use his sled for the week while my Polaris was getting its second top end this year!
