You have covered my rationale for the increase although on review I would likely change the price to $295.00 to help the sticker shock situation out. There would no doubt be less early permits sold but an additional $81.00 per permit would sure help out the cause. 30,000 early permit sales would mean about 2.43 mil additional in the coffers. The date the current deal with the MTO is finished will certainly influence whether it would even be possible for next season.
I know people have said the torsion springs are way too soft for most riders - I changed out mine after the first year, just like all said, they were way too soft, but I wanted to come to my own conclusion on that.
With the XRS you have all the extra adjustments on all the shocks - I know most don't like to mess with them, but they can really make the sled be so much better based on where you ride, how you ride, time of the day, etc....just need to keep track of the adjustments as you go so you know where you were at, what worked, etc....., IMO.
How so - shorter season, smaller footprint vs QC and the price there?
$300 in ON vs $517 in QC (without the personal INS included like ON permit) is still cheaper, but the permit price here I would hope be around $310.00 with some sort of an increase added/approved...and I am sure the QC permit will go up, it seems to most years.