I'm loving this thread. I think the ambassadors are providing a worthwhile function in terms of feedback to their manufacturers and in terms of spreading the gospel to fellow enthusiasts. I am a little concerned that so many sledders/consumers can call a product a great product when they feel obliged to buy a new one every year or two. Surely any company should be able to build a sled that remains reliable and 'current' in terms of comfort and handling for more than one year.
I am a serious trail sledder, who for two years has wanted to replace my 2017 sled, but I haven't because no one builds what I want. I want a 129" skid coupled with a BRP 900 ACE motor. And oh, I would like X package suspension. Such a machine is not even on Skidoo's radar as they struggle to come up with even more deep snow models. My sled is considered by the masses to be a 'girl's or old geezer's sled'. I fit nicely into that group, but I notice that very, very few riders on more powerful machines ever pass me on the trail. My propulsion costs are half that of the average two stroke sled. I can afford $70 a jug 2T oil, but I can't see why I would want to burn through that and extra premium gas to foul the air.
If Polaris or Yamaha put their mind to it, they could produce an 800-900 cc four stroke trail sled that people including myself would buy, but they likely feel there is no market to support such a sled. They may be correct, but only because all manufacturers have worked so hard for the past ten years creating and nurturing the demand for high performance off-trail and "crossover" sleds.They have been successful! There are thousands of people riding mostly on-trail, on sleds that don't turn well at speed because they have too much track and uncoupled suspensions. Marketing has triumphed over reality.
End of rant!
My mini rant would be that Skidoo, in their wisdom, made the fuel tank 4 litres smaller in 2019 and stopped offering a 900 in a 129 skid. With 19000 trouble free km on my sled, I am going to retire it to backup status, and find a lightly used 2017 or 2018 XS chassis 900 ACE to buy. Shame on Skidoo for putting me in this position. BTW, just try to buy a good late model used 900!
Now back to the topic of this thread. Polaris, a year from now or sooner, please introduce a flatlander's 4T sled, preferably with 100 HP. It will outhandle the competition, and therefore sell, I'm sure.