2009 440 IQ
Polaris Racers Will Run With New IFS and Improved 600 Engine
Last season’s Polaris Race Sled was a proven winner. It carried Polaris racers to points championships in four of the five premier classes and helped them earn three “Racer of the Year” awards.
But a new season means a new, higher level of competition, so Polaris snowmobile engineers focused hard during the off-season to develop a lighter-weight new 2009 Polaris 600 IQ® Race Sled that will deliver more power and outstanding durability. Everyone involved in the Polaris Snowmobile Racing program is hopeful this new race sled will help Polaris racers dominate on the new ISOC snocross circuit this winter.
“Our main focus is to continue to have the most durable sled on the track while reducing the overall weight and increasing the power. I feel we have done that,” said Sr. Project Engineer David Borowicz, who oversaw the development of this year’s new race sled. “We hear great things coming back from our racers as far as the durability they have experienced in testing. This helps them concentrate on racing rather than fixing.”
LIGHTWEIGHT NEW IFS
A new Independent Front Suspension (IFS) on the sled’s IQ® Chassis gives the sled a lighter front end that delivers responsive handling with minimal steering input so racers stay fresh during long motos.
“Racers will notice the weight difference of the new front end right away, and will be happy that we have not compromised the durability to lower the weight,” Borowicz said. “We wanted to build off of what has worked well in the past, including long travel IFS, large steer angle, little to no bump steer… We were able to retain those things but make improvements in the overall geometry where we could decrease steering effort as well. The new geometry allows the rider to feel far less feedback through the bars, and the sled is lighter overall, too.”
The new IFS has aluminum idler arms that are lighter than the previous steel arms, and it uses new ski spindles developed jointly by Polaris and Holz Racing Products, a leading source of high-performance components who has been a supplier and sponsor to various Polaris racing teams.
Polaris Snowmobile Racing Manager Tom Rager, Sr., said the new sled has performed well in extensive testing.
“In my opinion, the last two years we’ve had the most durable race sled out there, and to make improvements on the sled is difficult, but the guys in Roseau have done it,” Rager said. “A lot of people worked hard on the new front end that saves us several pounds, and weight is everything out there. We did 450 laps on the new sled in the spring and another 300 laps on a wood chip track this summer with absolutely no issues, so we’re very happy. The rest of the sled is proven, so we’re optimistic about this sled.
INCREASED 600 POWER
Last season was the first winter in which racers in premier classes (Pro and Semi-Pro) used 600-class engines rather than 440cc powerplants. Polaris racers were extremely well prepared for the new engine rules since they were provided with a new Polaris Liberty 600 twin. It helped Polaris racers win the Pro Open, Semi-Pro Open, Semi-Pro Super Stock and Pro Women’s Super Stock points titles.
The Polaris Powertrain engineers took that engine and improved its output for the upcoming season.
“I am very pleased with the horsepower and torque gains that the powertrain group in Roseau has been able to make on our 600 race engine,” Borowicz said. “We felt that our snocross racer was the most competitive on the track last year and with the increase in engine performance we hope it will continue to be. Last year was the first year we ran the new engine package in the new 600 class. We had good performance right out of the crate. To improve on that performance, we focused on the low- and mid-range to continue to improve on our holeshots.”
The new 600 engine delivers a 6% increase in mid-range horsepower and a 3% increase in top-end horsepower.
“We’ve got a little more power and power’s always a good thing,” Rager said. “The combination of taking weight off and giving the sled more power is a win-win situation. The guys in Roseau never stop developing, and they found some things to help us.”
The new engine is complemented by an improved cooling system that delivers improved cooling over the previous model year.
“We kept the existing cooling exchangers but improved the cooling by changing the flow pattern in the way the coolant travels,” Borowicz said. “The amount of coolant you use is a weight factor. You try to strike a balance between the machines weight and having enough cooling capacity to handle the rigors of racing. We try to minimize the amount of coolant and maximize the cooling system’s efficiency.”
PROVEN IQ® CHASSIS
The 2008-2009 Polaris Race Sled is built on a racing-specific version of the Polaris IQ® Chassis. This chassis has a low center of gravity and a racer-friendly balance that makes the sled easy to ride aggressively.
Additional details about the sled’s makeup include:
• The sled has a 4-gallon (U.S.) fuel capacity.
• The brake consists of a new Cyclone master cylinder and lever teamed with a liquid-cooled “Phantom” dual-piston caliper.
• The sled has a Sno-XT track that is 14.75” wide.
• The new IQ® IFS has Walker Evans aluminum IFP (Internal Floating Piston) 16-position compression-adjustable shocks with piggyback reservoirs.
• The IQ® IFS has 11.5” of travel and the IQ® Rear Suspension has 13.9” of travel.
• The front track shock of the IQ® Rear Suspension is a Walker Evans aluminum springless shock and the rear track shock is a Walker Evans aluminum IFP 16-position compression-adjustable shock with a large-body reservoir.
About Polaris
With annual 2006 sales of $1.7 billion, Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), Victory motorcycles and the Polaris RANGER for recreational and utility use. Polaris is a recognized leader in the snowmobile industry and one of the largest manufacturers of ATVs in the world. The Victory Motorcycles division, established in 1998 and representing the first all-new Americanmade motorcycle from a major company in nearly 60 years, is rapidly making impressive in-roads into the cruiser and touring motorcycle marketplace. Polaris also enhances the riding experience with a complete line of Pure Polaris apparel, accessories and parts, available at Polaris dealerships.
Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PII,” and the Company is included in the S&P Small-Cap 600 stock price index. Information about the complete line of Polaris products, apparel and vehicle accessories is available from authorized Polaris dealers or anytime from the Polaris homepage at www.polarisindustries.com.
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ISOC NIELSEN ENTERPRISES GRAND FINALE
Martin Sweeps Both Pro Classes at Lake Geneva, Wins Pro Opens Points Title; Ellis Sweeps Both Semi-Pro Stock Classes; Bauer Wins Semi-Pro Stock #1 Points Title, Takes 2nd in Semi-Pro Stock #2 Points.
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