The Lester Brothers are at it again bickering and arguing about their picks for the annual Supertrax Best In Class Awards!
WINNER: SKI-DOO GRAND TOURING
With two new 2019 engines in tow, we fully expected this year would bring a change to Ski-Doo’s Grand Touring line-up.
The new 600 E-TEC is an exciting entry but the Grand Touring powered by a turbocharged ACE 900 is a mind-bender.
At 150 torque-laden ponies this power package is exactly what touring riders are looking for. Here you get the durability and reliability of a 4-stroke, the improved handling of the G4 platform and enough power to haul two riders and a load of gear to the ends of the earth… very quickly.
It’s been a while since the industry offered a turbocharged touring sled and those owners who bought them in the past have been hungry.
Ski-Doo has resisted the urge to stretch the track out further than 137-inches and that means Renegade-good handling and easy steering in the corners.
It looks to me like Ski-Doo has been very intentional with this new sled’s design. It could have been longer and heavier (the turbo’s extra weight is well-camouflaged in a touring sled) and the engineers could have bypassed this biggest 4-stroke and stuck with the 95-hp 900 ACE non-turbo engine. They didn’t, and now Ski-Doo leads the class in ride, handling, power and in fully adjustable air assisted comfort.
Mark, it looks to me like those are the only categories that matter in the 2-up class. Please stun us with your alternate choice and more of your weak logic.
-Kent
RUNNER UP: ARCTIC CAT PANTERA 7000
Kent, thanks for those encouraging words regarding my logic. I’m surprised you were able to equate my rationale as logic at all. And yes, I will take this opportunity to issue you a wake- up call. Overlooking Arctic Cat’s excellent Pantera 7000 as the BIC winner demonstrates poor judgment on your part.
Actually it’s a lot like that time you built a potato cannon and mounted it just below your belt buckle for its first experimental “launch”. That must have been so embarrassing explaining to the nurse in the emergency room why you remained in the fetal position for almost 7 hours.
In any case, the Pantera may not have the ZR 9000’s turbo for power but it does have the best non-turbo 4-stroke in the biz under its hood.
The 1049 Yamaha pulls like a tractor and sips fuel. Frankly, the fact it has a few ponies less than the ACE Turbo may just make it more appealing to twofer pilots.
In terms of ride comfort the Pantera can go toe-to-toe with Ski-Doo’s GTSE. Throw in this reality; the Pantera comes with a fully integrated 3.4 gallon auto-feed auxiliary fuel tank that makes 200 miles between fill-ups a reality.
Kent, you’re right – this is the logical choice.
– Mark
