As in racing, the rear suspension is adjusted by a “clicker”, as the sticker on the frame reminds you of.
The speedometer needle with unusual ease jumped over the “150” mark and did not crawl any further, but rushed to the number “200” crowning the speedometer scale. The oncoming air flow tore my snowmobile jacket so violently that irritating vibrations arose, and the snowmobile, it was felt, was not very confidently holding a straight line because of this. I already encountered a similar problem when I rode a sportbike in a more or less “civilian” one. equipment instead of tight-fitting overalls... Stop! Good idea. I turn the snowmobile around and head back to change clothes. I’m putting on a motorcycle suit designed for high speeds. Now everything is okay. Now I feel completely at home in the saddle of the new “Ski-Doo MXZ 1000 Renegade X”, equipped with the most powerful snowmobile engine in the world with 165 hp.
Kings of the snow slopes
CHILDREN'S questions from the category “Who is stronger – a whale or an elephant?” live in our heads, apparently, all our lives. I have long wanted, as they say, to pit a powerful snowmobile and a powerful car against each other. Who is faster? Under what conditions? For the “duel” with the most powerful snowmobile, the world’s most powerful sedan with all-wheel drive, the Audi A8 W12 6.0, was chosen. Of course, it was also possible to get a sports car with a 4x4 transmission like a Lamborghini Gallar-do or Porsche 911 Turbo. But these “sissies”, created for good surfaces, are unlikely to be able to cope with a snow-covered road in the wilderness of the Vladimir region, on which the asphalt will be exposed only in the spring. But the flagship “A8” with its height-adjustable air suspension, if necessary, will show the makings of an “asphalt” SUV, confidently avoiding potholes and broken railway crossings of the Russian outback.
I wonder how long it takes the A8 W12 to accelerate to 100 km/h on frozen but clean winter asphalt? We make a rough estimate using the speedometer and stopwatch of a mobile phone. It turns out 6.65 s. Well, even with all the errors, the result is close to the 5.1 s declared by the manufacturer, and this figure was achieved under ideal conditions in dry summer weather. Such excellent “performance stability” can only be provided by all-wheel drive.
How will the car behave on the densely packed snow-covered road that you see in the photographs? Now, according to the stopwatch, acceleration from 0-100 km/h takes 9.25 seconds. It's a shame the tires are without studs. Then this is already a good time for slippery surfaces! – could be even better.
And now - a joint start! First, the Audi overtakes the snowmobile. I try to work the throttle trigger carefully, but I still can’t avoid slipping. There is simply nothing for the caterpillar to grab onto! Eh, if there had been a snowfall yesterday, the miracle of the German automobile industry would probably have been immediately left behind, but now the prim black sedan is taking the lead. And only when the speed reaches 50-60 km/h, I overtake and pass the “A8”.
The snowmobile is equipped with a dial speedometer, but when the speed exceeds 100 km/h, the electronic odometer display automatically switches to speedometer mode - at high speeds it is more convenient to read its digital readings than from a dial gauge. Again, like on a sportbike: I looked out of the corner of my eye and instantly “caught” the numerical value of the speed...
150 km/h, 160, 170.. “Audi” is already somewhere far behind. I shrink behind the tiny fairing, trying to become smaller than what nature has given me. Alas, the snowmobile's acceleration energy is running out. With my peripheral vision I see the massive nose of the “A8” moving forward nearby. The Ingolstadt Express overtakes me again when the speedometer of the MXZ 1000 Renegade X shows 190 km/h. This is all. Alas, it doesn’t work faster... In any case, I have never ridden a snowmobile at such speed. Nowhere and never. And no other serial snowmobile is capable of this. Is it just another Ski-Doo model with the same engine?
Can-Am Renegade 800: Four-Wheel Enduro
This device is interesting not so much for its technical content (although it has absorbed the most advanced developments of BRP), but because it belongs to a fundamentally new class of ATVs.
Who is Renegade?
Until recently, ATVs were divided into two large classes: Sport and Utility. The first category includes lightweight rear-wheel drive sports models with high-speed motorcycle engines. They are not compared to cross-country motorcycles for the sake of a catchphrase: in modern motocross there are already separate competitions for ATV riders, and in the “Moto” class of the legendary Dakar rally marathon there is a special classification - ATV. Both in the Dakar and in cross-country racing, athletes, as a rule, compete in rear-wheel drive sports models.
The second class consists of four-wheel drive ATVs. In fact, they are what are called “all-terrain vehicles.” They are heavier, less suitable for cross-country and sports, but, due to the all-wheel drive transmission with reduction gear and differential locks, they are more passable than their sports “brothers”. These models are called utilitarian because, if desired, with the help of various additional equipment they can easily be turned into a kind of mini-tractors: they can clear the snow in front of the house, and drag a trailer with a jet ski to the lake, and on rough terrain they will give a hundred points ahead of most SUVs.
With models like the Renegade entering the market, the “class distinctions” should blur somewhat. The new product from BRP is positioned as a sports all-wheel drive model, that is, in terms of design and features of the driver’s seating position, it is a typical “athlete”, but its technical filling is actually from “utilitarians”. If, again, we resort to motorcycle terminology, then we can say that the Renegade 800 is an enduro (something between a cross-country bike and a sports bike).
Materiel
Under the plastic “body kit” of the Renegade hides a new 800 cc Rotax 4-Tec V-800 HO engine. This engine first appeared on the Can-Am Outlander Max 800 ATV of the 2006 model year, then migrated to snowmobiles of the Lynx and Ski-Doo series, and now ATV of a fundamentally new class will have to be driven.
The Rotax 4-Tec 800 is located in the brand's lineup between 650 and 1300 cc power units and replaces the previous 1.0-liter model. The two-cylinder, four-stroke engine with a V-shaped cylinder arrangement is less noisy, consumes less fuel, and produces less harmful emissions into the atmosphere than traditional two-stroke engines of the previous generation. In addition, it does not consume oil, requiring only periodic replacement.
With a working volume of 799 cubic meters. cm engine develops 65 hp. With. (which is one of the best indicators among utilitarian ATVs) and is capable of spinning up to 7250 rpm. The electronic distributed fuel injection system (EFI - Electronic Fuel Injection) with four valves per cylinder and two VDO Siemens injectors ensures reliable engine starting in the most severe frosts.
If the engine migrated to the Renegade with Outlander Max practically unchanged, then the BRP designers slightly reworked the transmission. The CVT variator still has the ability to select high and low ranges, but its settings have been changed so that an experienced rider can take turns in a controlled drift.
The design of the vehicle is based on the SST space frame, which is a solid steel structure with a powerful lower beam that allows the ATV to overcome obstacles such as logs and stones, practically rolling over them. The chassis was developed by BRP specialists in collaboration with professional racers, the main result of which was the new RS front suspension with two A-arms, the travel of which is 229 mm. The rear suspension design remains the same: its geometry has been changed, new HPG shock absorbers have been used, and the compression stroke has been increased to 254 mm.
When should we expect it?
As representatives of the Rosan Trading House, the official BRP dealer in St. Petersburg, told us, there has not yet been a presentation of the Renegade model: only photographs and technical information have been published. However, orders are already being accepted, and the first “live” devices will appear in showrooms in the spring - on the eve of the new season.
Ski-Doo Summit Turbo 850 E-TEC Snowmobile (2021)
This is the Ski-Doo SUMMIT TURBO 850 E-TEC *2021 , which we already published a review of the other day.
The new ROTAX 850 E-TEC Turbo engine will be available on snowmobiles for the 2022 model year SUMMIT-X, SUMMIT-Expert, FREERIDE 154″, FREERIDE 165″. All turbocharged mountain snowmobiles will have an electronic belt temperature monitoring system. If the sensor overheats, it will notify the rider with an audible signal.
2022 Lynx Xterrain Snowmobiles
A similar representative of this class of snowmobiles is the BRP LYNX XTERRAIN RE 3700 850 E-TEC and 3900, which have a smaller adjustable ski base of 97.5...101.5 cm, which allows the snowmobile to turn over without complications and improves maneuverability. At the same time, Finnish snowmobiles have a 2.5 cm wider track, which does not impair maneuverability in any way, while expanding the snowmobile’s cross-country ability in deep fresh snow.
And in the class of touring and utility snowmobiles, Arctic Cat offers only one snowmobile in 2022 - the NORSEMAN with an 800 cm3 engine with a 38 x 394 cm track. This snowmobile has a standard rear suspension with a lifting rear roller.
The EASY RIDE suspension design, which is similar in functionality, is used on BRP LYNX snowmobiles and has proven itself excellent in deep snow when reversing. For 2022, this Easy Ride suspension will also be available on most LYNX touring and utility sleds. An analogue can be considered the Lynx 49 Ranger series. Finnish snowmobiles have 2 track options with 39 and 59 mm hooks, and 2 engine options – 2-stroke 600 and 4-stroke 900 ACE.
ARCTIC CAT continues to produce small snowmobiles for children and teenagers and in 2022 these models will be represented by the ZR 200 and ZR120 snowmobiles.
The ARCTIC CAT Mountain and Hardcore snowmobiles are also available with the ALPHA ONE center arm rear suspension. At the same time, the Mountain model in the 2022 season received an electronic rear suspension adjustment system by pressing a button on the steering wheel with three FOX shock absorber stiffness modes.
The new ARCTIC CAT ASCENDER snowmobile platform is now available on all full-size sport and mountain snowmobiles for the 2021 model year.
We must not forget that YAMAHA supplies its 4-stroke naturally aspirated and turbocharged engines for ARCTIC CAT snowmobiles, and the American brand in return shares its technologies in snowmobile platforms.
2-stroke engines on ARCTIC CAT snowmobiles of our own production. The maximum power of the top-end ARCTIC CAT 2stroke 800 C-TEC2 engine is 165 hp.
