![]() ![]() How they do it Apples and oranges really can't be compared and neither should Rotax fan-cooled twins and Yamaha liquid-cooled twins. You Eastern riders can confidently hit your narrow, twisting trails well before the groomers get out after a big lake-effect snow drop. This is comforting because these machines can handle the Midwestern boonies or mid-altitudes out West. No problem with the new high-revving Phazer twin, we eased in the throttle and felt the twin injectors feed the fuel precisely and unhesitatingly as the track gripped and the engine eased us up the hill. But with the Yamaha and its 12,000-rev twin… well, we weren't so sure. We were pretty sure the Ski-Doo would handle the challenge as its Rotax fan-cooled engine has an excellent reputation for low-end and mid-range performance. ![]() In fact, we invited disaster to see just how good these sleds could be when starting from a dead stop and heading up an incline in moderately deep snow. Combine that with very good low-end torque that's steady and ample. Credit the good power-to-weight and track float-ability here as well. The combination of plastic skis, light front ends and ample suspension deserves credit for getting the sleds atop the powder. Both appear as though they would push snow more than rise up on plane. Heck, just looking at the sleds and you infer the opposite. This surprised us a bit as neither has what we consider a deep snow hull designed to get the front end up and on plane. When we test rode the duo, both machines instantly showed willingness to plane in fresh snow. Also, the Phazer has quite a bit more power and wins in a riderless power-to-weight comparison. However, the Mountain Lite is the lightest liquid-cooled, 4-stroke to hit the deep powder this season. ![]() less than Yamaha's Phazer Mountain Lite at 514 lbs. dry-weight, Ski-Doo's Freestyle-based, fan-cooled, powder player weighs about 100 lbs. But if you're headed straight up a mountain, the longer lugged Phazer is a better choice. 2,016 square inches for Yamaha's narrower 14-incher, despite its greater length. Do the math and you end up with 2,176 square inches of area for the Ski-Doo footprint vs. Although the all-new Yamaha Phazer Mountain Lite uses a longer 144-inch track, the Ski-Doo Back Country scores greater potential "float-ability" in powder thanks to its 2-inch wider by 136-inch track dimensions. Both are affordable new machines regardless of what you choose - the Ski-Doo Freestyle Back Country at $5,849, or Yamaha's Phazer Mountain Lite at $7,199! Time to ride We were impressed with the overall "snow-ability" of both sleds. There's a $1,350 price difference between the two, and you have to decide if the extra cost is worth the extra sophistication. While there are similarities in what these two sleds can do, comparing them head-to-head is a bit unfair as one is quite a bit less expensive and the other quite a bit more mechanically sophisticated. is now Whether you're a novice or an advanced veteran, you'll find two terrifically adept snowmobiles designed to get you off trail and into winter adventure at relatively modest pricing. ![]()
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