Some of the Supertrax crew are not exactly what you’d call “4-stroke lovers” (we’re referring to engines here, guys).
When the 900 ACE was introduced two years ago, there was immediately a lot of flummoxing about how it was going to be underpowered and “who wants a 90-hp sled?” …and so on.
Last season, the 900 ACE proved to be a giant hit with new-sled buyers and actually pinpointed where a lot of trail riders are headed with demands for usable power.
The truth is, marrying this smooth operating triple to the very light and nimble MX-Z platform with a 120-inch track is about as efficient a combo as you’ll find.
The ACE is a very torquey mill, especially in the 30 to 60-mph range, and pulls as hard as some 600cc 2-strokes up to about 60-mph. That’s pretty much everything you need for trail-riding. Here, the power plateaus but it will still eventually ramp up to low-90s mph on hard-packed lakes and long, straight stretches.
We’ve found the sled to be very light feeling and there’s no ominous presence of weight over the skis or the sensation of top-heaviness you feel with some 4-strokes. Steering is feather light and with its extremely light throttle pressure, the sled handles and feels like a 600 2-stroke.
We love that big boost of torque when you dip into the throttle on trails. The sled really accelerates hard in the mid-range and feels like it’s got way more than 90-ponies under the hood in those situations.
Gas mileage is crazy-good and this sled is so quiet you can actually do Sudoku puzzles in your head while you’re riding. Although we tend to run it in “Sport” mode most of the time, it’s just a flip of a switch to change the engine’s power characteristics.
We’d love to try the “Economy” setting on an all-day trip on groomed trails sometime just to see how much we can jack the mpg. As it is, “Sport” still gives you high-20’s.
Frankly, we can’t think of a downside with this sled. The MX-Z and Renegade versions both come with RAS 2 front ends and rMotion skidframes, there’s good clutching and their ride and handling are both excellent.
Maybe the only hesitation would be when you’re out there with a bunch of friends riding 600 and 800cc 2-strokes and you have to run a lot of powder after a snowstorm on a lake. It’s only there you might find a bit of a power-to-weight compromise and have a challenge keeping up to the pack.
