Supertrax Magazine Co-Publishers and Brothers Kent and Mark Lester are at it again bickering and arguing about their picks for the annual Supertrax Best In Class Awards!
WINNER: 2019 Polaris Indy XC 850
Here we go again, same stuff, different year with Kent attempting to thwart my enlightened, rational and intelligent pick in the industry’s most profiled segment: Ultra Performance. No brainer, Kenny – it’s the Polaris Indy XC 850 hands down, running away.
Of course, out of basic respect for Kent’s plight as a less informed sno-mo-journalist I will now espouse boilerplate rationale for this incredibly obvious selection in our annual brother clash.
First, this new 850 Patriot rocks. It’s the smoothest running, smoothest idling, smoothest accelerating hyper-powered sled ever – and that includes some notable 4-strokes.
The new 850 literally shortens Kevlar Lake, leaving the pilot time to check emails while waiting for the other 850 horde to arrive.
Next, and please pay attention here Kenny, the new XC chassis is a near-perfect melding of the AXYS front clip and the all-new Pro CC shock-in-skid full tunnel rear suspension. Pro CC raises the bar in the Ultra Performance segment.
Ride quality here is – and this must be stated clearly, legitimately comparable to the benchmark Ski-Doo rMotion with one exceptional exception.
Pro CC is coupled in such a way it allows the chassis to corner – either throttle chopped, dragging the brake to the apex or on the gas, tail out, powersliding past the exit with virtually no inside ski-lift.
Without hesitation I knight the new Indy XC 850 as this year’s Ultra Performance Best in Class winner. Kent, to disagree with me on this pic would be similar to your continual resistance to accepting that was not a foam baseball bat I hit you on the head with in 1979.
– Mark
RUNNER-UP: 2019 Ski-Doo 850 X-RS
Mark, I’d like you to recall last year after riding the MX-Z 850 how you were jumping up and down, waving your arms, shaking your head and ranting about how it was the fastest, most fantastic hypersled you’d ever ridden. Frankly, it was embarrassing. I had to tell the children to go inside.
Not to mention the fact this year you completely ignored the two sleds that were actually faster in this class last year – the Cat and Yamaha Turbos.
This choice this year of an unknown quantity, the Patriot 850 Indy, merely indicates your shallow understanding of how this BIC thing works. Mark, this particular class is about everything being maximum – ultimate.
For this reason and what follows I would have chosen the G4 850 X-RS. Sure some readers will be on me for not giving more credit to the Turbos but the 850 X-RS does everything in ultimate fashion.
It’s blistering fast, light, has incredible suspension and has two years of on-the-trail G4 history to prove its worth.
Its agility is undisputed, its feature list is frankly, staggering. How could you miss this stuff?
I suspect you’re spending too much time sewing and not enough time riding.
-Kent
