RUSH test ride
I went to my Polaris dealer today to pick up an air filter for my FST and as rp7x told me, they had a RUSH demo sled available to ride and it only had 80 miles on it. I have seen the RUSH before and I really think the fit and finish is the best I have ever seen from Polaris. No one had ridden the sled yet today, so I let it warm up good and took off down the trail. The first thing I noticed was the excellent riding position, but like all of the rider forward positions for me, it will take a little getting used to. I'm used to cruiser classics.
What amazed me the most was how that sled could steer! If you moved the handlebars at all, the sled responded and I really liked that. It held the trail like it was on rails. The trails were in pretty good shape, but once in a while there would be a good mogul to hit (as ATV's use some of these trails in the summer I believe) and I made sure to hit them at good speed and the rear suspension seemed to have no bottom to it. I'm only 170 lbs, but the rear suspension hardly seemed to notice the big bumps. It's not like they completely disappeared, but I really like the rear suspension. The brake was very good too and the power from the 600 engine was excellent, even though the sled only had 80 miles on it. Polaris may have a few issues with their 800 right now, but that 600 is very good!
I tried to find some negatives too, and what I came up with is that the sled seems like it could be cold to ride. It wasn't that cold today, but I only had sweat pants on and you can feel the rush of air on your legs. I've read where others had made the same comment, and I tend to agree. I only rode the sled for about 10 miles, but I really liked the experience and it left me wanting more.