S
I do not have a pro-assault, should start by saying that. I have a 08 Dragon 800 with Boondockers turbo kit. This fall I scored up o a 2011 assault 155" track new take off. Of course before that I was running the stock 5.1 track. I have had some time on the new track and figured I would share my review.
In late novemeber I did the track swap so I have got about a month on it in various snow conditions.
FIRST IMPRESSION
Wow, when you have the stock 5.1 track next to the assault track the first thing you notice is the gerth of the lugs. It seems they are at least double the thickness compared to the 5.1. Upon trying to hand bend the lugs you realize it is not just your eyes telling you those lugs are stiffer...they are! Much stiffer in fact. They are also about 1/4-3/8" shorter(eye measurement not with actual tape measure) and have screw templates in the paddles. Weight wise i could tell the Assault track was slightly heavier, maybe ten pounds or so but again this was done with my "in the arms" scale not an actual scale. Install was super easy and straight forwad as it was a direct bolt in! One benefit I noticed but cant say I actually can feel it is the clearence at the front of the tunnel. Those shorter lugs open up more room up front. Again, dont know if I can feel the differece in less drag but it does address a clearence issue that many on snowest have been complaining about.
SET UP SNOW
The very first day I got to spend on my new track was a kinda warm day (35*F) after about 8-12" of fresh snow. Man what a difference. This was in late November. This track made a night and day difference on the semi setup snow. Instead of spinning and folding the lugs over (5.1) the assault track hooks up big time. I felt an instant advantage in "out of the hole". It also really helped with braking after a really high speed run. The area I was most impressed with was in the trees. The snow was not january deep like it is now, it was more like mid march snow. Climbing over downed trees and random brush in the woods this track put in work. My buddy who rides a stock dragon (5.1) could not believe the difference. His exact quote was "Dude you were throwing chunks of that tree at me". It seemed I was able to get traction to the ground where his track wanted to fold over and just spin out on logs. This caused a couple stucks for him throughout the day. Another huge plus is the downhill braking. I wa able to come to a complete stop down a steep hill, my buddy slid at least twenty or so feet past me. We did this multiple times to compare and same results almost every time. I can not wait to get this track on the snow in the spring conditions. Really nothing to complain about in set up snow conditions, this track was made for it!
POWDER DAYS-DEEPNESS
So of course this would not be a fair review without trying my track out in the deep. We ride wolf creek and silverton frequently. Right now there is so much snow there it is obnoxious. Over the holidays I spent almost a week straight plowing through the bottomless dry colorado powder that fell upon us. I was very suprised at my tracks performance. I was def anticipating a lot of trenching...and yes there was some. I could totally tell that this track was less forgiving in the deep. Throttle control on take off (especially in the trees) was crucial. My buddies sled with the stock 5.1 and another friend with a 2011 pro rmk 163" were there and seemed to get up onto the snow a bit easier. The pro really got itself on top the snow very well, I think a combo of the improved chasis geometry and the 5.1 series track helped him. I did find myself skating to start off in the real deep at times where they seemed to plain out quicker and easier. All in all though I was really impressed. Having a turbo seems to make up for the shorter paddles:face-icon-small-win! Once I was going though I didnt relly feel a difference between my new assault track and my old stocker...sure there is and was but just saying I didnt really feel it.
LAST WORDS
Man this little review turned out much longer than I planned. Overall I do not regret making the track change. I figure we will have many more of these bottomless days ahead but they will be outnumbered by the days the snow is "some what" set up. I keep thinking back to this past spring and all of the 40 degree days we ride and how bad a$$ this track will be then!! If I only rode the deep days this would have been a regretable descision, but like many of us I start riding when the snow barely covers the grass and dont stop until may or so. Hope this review helps anyone on the fence about switching tracks or the assault track vs 5.1
In late novemeber I did the track swap so I have got about a month on it in various snow conditions.
FIRST IMPRESSION
Wow, when you have the stock 5.1 track next to the assault track the first thing you notice is the gerth of the lugs. It seems they are at least double the thickness compared to the 5.1. Upon trying to hand bend the lugs you realize it is not just your eyes telling you those lugs are stiffer...they are! Much stiffer in fact. They are also about 1/4-3/8" shorter(eye measurement not with actual tape measure) and have screw templates in the paddles. Weight wise i could tell the Assault track was slightly heavier, maybe ten pounds or so but again this was done with my "in the arms" scale not an actual scale. Install was super easy and straight forwad as it was a direct bolt in! One benefit I noticed but cant say I actually can feel it is the clearence at the front of the tunnel. Those shorter lugs open up more room up front. Again, dont know if I can feel the differece in less drag but it does address a clearence issue that many on snowest have been complaining about.
SET UP SNOW
The very first day I got to spend on my new track was a kinda warm day (35*F) after about 8-12" of fresh snow. Man what a difference. This was in late November. This track made a night and day difference on the semi setup snow. Instead of spinning and folding the lugs over (5.1) the assault track hooks up big time. I felt an instant advantage in "out of the hole". It also really helped with braking after a really high speed run. The area I was most impressed with was in the trees. The snow was not january deep like it is now, it was more like mid march snow. Climbing over downed trees and random brush in the woods this track put in work. My buddy who rides a stock dragon (5.1) could not believe the difference. His exact quote was "Dude you were throwing chunks of that tree at me". It seemed I was able to get traction to the ground where his track wanted to fold over and just spin out on logs. This caused a couple stucks for him throughout the day. Another huge plus is the downhill braking. I wa able to come to a complete stop down a steep hill, my buddy slid at least twenty or so feet past me. We did this multiple times to compare and same results almost every time. I can not wait to get this track on the snow in the spring conditions. Really nothing to complain about in set up snow conditions, this track was made for it!
POWDER DAYS-DEEPNESS
So of course this would not be a fair review without trying my track out in the deep. We ride wolf creek and silverton frequently. Right now there is so much snow there it is obnoxious. Over the holidays I spent almost a week straight plowing through the bottomless dry colorado powder that fell upon us. I was very suprised at my tracks performance. I was def anticipating a lot of trenching...and yes there was some. I could totally tell that this track was less forgiving in the deep. Throttle control on take off (especially in the trees) was crucial. My buddies sled with the stock 5.1 and another friend with a 2011 pro rmk 163" were there and seemed to get up onto the snow a bit easier. The pro really got itself on top the snow very well, I think a combo of the improved chasis geometry and the 5.1 series track helped him. I did find myself skating to start off in the real deep at times where they seemed to plain out quicker and easier. All in all though I was really impressed. Having a turbo seems to make up for the shorter paddles:face-icon-small-win! Once I was going though I didnt relly feel a difference between my new assault track and my old stocker...sure there is and was but just saying I didnt really feel it.
LAST WORDS
Man this little review turned out much longer than I planned. Overall I do not regret making the track change. I figure we will have many more of these bottomless days ahead but they will be outnumbered by the days the snow is "some what" set up. I keep thinking back to this past spring and all of the 40 degree days we ride and how bad a$$ this track will be then!! If I only rode the deep days this would have been a regretable descision, but like many of us I start riding when the snow barely covers the grass and dont stop until may or so. Hope this review helps anyone on the fence about switching tracks or the assault track vs 5.1
