For 2014, we are definitely going to live a new experience regarding SledMagazine.com long term trials with the brand new Polaris 550 Indy Adventure. As advertised last spring, this model is designed for northern regions of the continent and offers many important innovations. At first sight, it may seem paradoxical that this innovative snowmobile is equipped with a 550 fan-cooled engine and a carburetor. Polaris engineers chose to join their best components with many innovations surrounding a proven engine that above all, offers the best quality-price ratio of the industry.
Polaris totally reached their goal with this last element, offering a full-equipped 2-up snowmobile at a manufacturer suggested retail price of 9 399 $ CAN. The other goal that is less publicized but confirmed as real, is to present the 550 Adventure as a low-maintenance machine perfect for remote region snowmobilers.
Obviously, the simplicity of a 550 engine with carburetor and not too much electronic elements may be an advantage in remote areas. Likewise, the new CVTech Powerbloc 50/Invance clutching should need very low long-term maintenance and remain reliable and durable. In short, all the components that usually need most maintenance have been reviewed to minimize this aspect.
The Adventure lineup is made for trail snowmobilers but also for off-trail riders. Here, we can think about snowmobilers of Northern Québec or cottage owners who must ride in deep snow to reach their property. We may rely on the Adventure off-trail capacities as it is mounted on a RMK-144 chassis. The 15 X 144 X 1,35 Cobra track of the Indy seems a very good choice as I have already been impressed by it on some other Polaris snowmobiles.
The proven Pro-Ride front suspension performs well on and off-trail but we will check out how it performs with the RideFX shocks. I can’t wait to test the coil-over rear suspension; what a challenge ! This snowmobile must be able to offer comfort to one or two passengers on trails while delivering a good performance in powder snow. The new Indy Pro-Ride pilot seat is smooth and seems comfortable compared with the passenger seat that seems harder at first sight.
The 550 Indy Adventure owners will be filled with the standard features : electric starter, electronic reverse, tall windshield to protect the pilot, cab-mounted mirrors, rear hard saddlebags and the new 1+1 seat for the passenger with removable grips. These two last Lock & Ride products can be installed or removed in a split second. Despite all these equipments, the snowmobile still weighs less than 500 lbs which is a great advantage off trail. The distinctive design of the Pro-Ride chassis cab provides quite a successful look to the machine. The black/white/red combo is just great and graphics are very nice, even if more conservative for this segment of the market.
After checking it out during many hours in the show room, let’s get down to business now. As the Province of Québec has received early and abundant quantity of snow, maybe we will be able to put this snowmobile to the test very soon in various conditions. How will the 550F engine perform ? Will the Adventure offer a great handling ?
How comfortable will be the rear passenger on the new 1+1 seat ?
We hope to be able to ride the 550 Indy Adventure very soon. Then, we will have the answers to those questions and maybe discover new features along our tests. Don’t miss our articles to be published in January about this new 550 Indy Adventure.
