SLED RIDE

2007 Polaris Dragon 700

Much good. Some Thoughts To Make It Better.

If enough Polaris people test ride or purchase a Dragon, they should help the rest of the snow world look at the disastrous Fusion series as a one-time blip in the proud snowmobiling history of this pioneering sled maker.

The Dragon is what Polaris should have brought to market a few years back. It gives diehard Polaris owners all that they expect from a “Polaris” branded sled. It handles well. It has better than average straight-line acceleration as well as “off-the-berm” throttle response. It takes the “big bumps” as well as most top sleds in its niche (Ski-Doo and Arctic Cat!).

With around 140-horsepower from its Polaris Liberty twin, this performance engine is well suited to the IQ chassis that houses it. In various test rides this past month, we found the sled totally competent at its 90-100 miles per hour top end and competitively quick off the line versus others in this “big bump” performance category such as the new Ski-Doo Blizzard 800 twin.

The borrowed sled that we tried was set up with an aggressive package of Stud Boy traction products on the track. While it aided the straight-ahead performance, the use of studs with the stock carbide runners up front was a decided “no-no” as the track totally overpowered the ski bite in any moderately icy turns. Imagine Dale Earnhardt Jr at Daytona running new rubber on the back of his racer and slicks up front. The Dragon was kind of along those lines. Nonetheless we could still feel the overall setup as being conducive —with longer carbide runners— to strong trail handling.

We really appreciated the rapid response from this Liberty twin, which we felt had very good midrange—which is exactly what you want in a bump-busting, mogul sled. Considering that one magazine test crew proved the Dragon is among the lightest sleds (with fuel) in this category means that you get excellent power-to-weight performance off the bumps and out of the turns.

Overall, the real world production versions of Polaris’ Dragon are every bit as good as the magazine guys said about the pre-production versions they tested last March. As a more powerful iteration of the IQ 600, the Dragon does not disappoint.

Suggestion One —We do have a couple of suggestions, however. First, we were absolutely shocked at how a 2007 model snowmobile with a technically proficient engine like the Liberty 700 twin could suck up 10.2 gallons of fuel in less than 80 miles! Do the math. Which is what we did as we waited alongside an upper Michigan trail for our crew to come back to tow us in to a gas station. Being generous, we come up with 7.8 miles per gallon for this specific tank of gas.

The last time this writer/snowmobiler ran out of fuel on the trail was 1976 with a Xenoah 338cc-powered Rupp Nitro 340 which sucked up 6.5 gallons of fuel in just over 50 miles of riding! One would think that sled engineers and marketers would have progressed more in the past three decades!

We can tell you that Polaris’ published fuel tank rating of 10.8 US Gallons is off by a half-gallon according to a Michigan-certified gas pump. We ran the Dragon bone-dry on the trail and it took 10.2 gallons to bring fuel to the top of the filler neck! Apparently we must have had the only downsized fuel tank to escape the Roseau production facility!

Our suggestion is that if you own a Dragon, check the old-fashioned (but quite accurate) mechanical fuel gauge at about 50 miles out. You need to know how far the next fuel stop is apt to be. You might consider making certain that someone in your group carries a tow rope in their “just in case” kit.

Another suggestion, this one for Polaris, is that the fuel tank should be enlarged or the energy efficiency improved. This is a high performance machine and people will be riding with the throttle close to the handlebar. Since most riders expect at least 100 miles from a tank of fuel, Polaris engineers should take that into consideration for the future.

Suggestion Two — Now, granted we expect a high performance sled to be a bit rough and tumble, but we do expect the seat to give us more “cush” than the Dragon saddle. The Dragon seat is a perplexing item. First, it has all the comfort of a vinyl-covered cement block. Second, while it is quite adequately rounded and shaped for moving back and forth in the twisties, the seat material is too tacky and works against rider movement. We don’t get the incongruity!

We also felt as though the seating position for attacking a run of moguls could be better. The handlebar with riser positioning is good, but the seat is too low and makes tackling that bad bump section a matter of yanking on the handgrip and pulling yourself forward to center your mass. The REV ergonomics place the rider in a much better “ready” position.

We offer a solution for the Dragon. Simply place a pivot at the front of the saddle and then offer a couple of alternate positions at the rear of the saddle to raise the seat —thus, the rider— up and forward to better place the rider in a ready position for the moguls. It shouldn’t be a big deal as the rear seat brace tube could be revamped with pre-drilled holes that could be moved and pinned to adjust the seat height to suit more riders.

Other than the fuel issue, we found the Dragon to be exactly what we would have expected from Polaris—instead of the Fusion. Expect the Dragon to be reliable, durable and essentially everything that the Fusion was not! Don’t give up on Polaris; they still have a trick or two in their model line. The Dragon is one shining example!

© 2007 Snowmobilia/Jerry Bassett

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