2009 Yamaha & Polaris Sleds
by Scott A. Sumner
www.slednews.com
Thunder Bay’s North Country Cycle & Sports has been in the snowmobile business for many years and this year is proud to offer it’s best ever lineup of sleds for the consumer with both Polaris and Yamaha.
2009 Yamaha Sleds
Yamaha has expanded on their existing offerings with 4 stroke engines. There are some minor changes this year but the platform has been very solid. “Yamaha has broken their sleds down by HP instead of engine cc displacement. 80 HP , 130 HP and 150 HP in either 500 cc or 1000cc motors. They have gone into the crossover segment for 2009 with the Nytro XTX but essentially many of their sleds are similar to last year,” noted Randy Neufeld, General Manager of North Country Cycle & Sports Thunder Bay. “ The Bravo is a workhorse entry level sled of 25 HP with a single cylinder engine, similar to the 80’s version. We ship
a lot up north to the trappers and ice fishing guys. It is a light sled very good in in deep snow. The Bravo is $5000. If you want something bigger Yamaha have their VK line, more of a utility machine.
“ The Phazer is more of a trail sled with a 80 Hp 500 cc 2 cylinder 4 stoke motor and available in a few configurations. The Nytro sled is in the 130 HP and then the Apex has 150HP. The Nytro was very popular last year. I enjoyed the ride of the Nytro at our test ride
event last year. The Phazer also has a similar ride and both handle very light like a motorcycle or motocross bike. It is a totally different riding experience than a conventional sled,” said Neufeld. “The Phazer is a great little sled for trail riding. The main difference is the HP. We rode them last spring at Dragon Hills Golf Course. It is a 90 to 100 MPH sled. The Nytro was even faster. I ran out of snow to test top speed of the Nytro. The APEX at 150 HP - all I can say is hang on.”
Yamaha has fine tuned the sleds keeping what worked well and improved on some other areas. The technology with 4 strokes has done so well the other manufacturers are trying to catchup. North Country is Thunder Bay's Exclusive Yamaha dealer.“ We project a great year with Yamaha and have ordered more sleds than last year.” said Randy Neufeld whose firm had very little hold over of Yamaha sleds.
2009 Polaris Sleds
News for Polaris in 2009 is an 800 engine introduced in the Dragon and Switchback models. “ The 800- 154 HP engine runs well. We had a chance to take it for a run in late March and it got a very good review. Polaris also now have a complete Switch line up where you can choose from some of their decal packages or do something all your own.
They have a 550 and 600 engine and the Shift price range is from $6299 and $8000,” noted Randy Neufeld of North Country Cycle & Sports. “ Polaris have the Transport 550 and a wide track in the 2 stroke and a 4 stoke widetrack in the IQ chassis. They have a touring 550 2 stroke and 4 stroke. There is also a 4 stroke Turbo which has 140 HP.”
“ Polaris has done very well. The product now is the best I have seen from Polaris. Last year was fairly decent with Polaris and we have stepped up our order for 2009 and expect some nice excitement for their models,” said Neufeld who hopes for more trails this season.
“ We want to make sure the best scenario of a trail system exists in the Thunder Bay area especially one that runs through town because it makes it easier for the customers to get out and enjoy the product. Snow will also help.”
