20 AMERICAN SNOWMOBILER • http://www.AmSnow.com■ SLED REVIEWS
told me to be aggressive to sidehill
through the trees. So, I transferred all of
my fury to one side of the sled and gave
’er the beans. Surprise, surprise – I was
on my side. I ended up there again five
more times in 20 miles.■ (^) Second time’s a charm
The next day, after my personal break-in
mode wore off and I re-wired my brain,
things got easier, much easier. I didn’t
have to hop completely over to one side
and hold it wide open to carve a tight
circle; I could lean into a running board
and at part-throttle do a donut that
would make William Jones’ head spin. In
fact, the wrong foot forward technique
should be reserved for the steepest of
sidehills on the monorail suspension,
otherwise you’re going over.
Additionally, the suspension doesn’t
need as much throttle and countersteer
to initiate a one ski ride. If you give too
much, you’re going over.
What it boils down to is a lot less
required rider input is required. What
does that mean for small riders like me?
Less fatigue. More control. New lines.
The ability to boldly go where no sled has
gone before. Does that mean I can get
out of shape now? Maybe.
One of the most impressive things I
noticed about the suspension was how it
seemed to find traction. This allowed me
to not rely so heavily on momentum to
get where I needed to go. I could slow
down while I was pointed uphill in the
tight trees, pick a line, and
keep moving forward.
Sliding into some-
one else’s trench was
no longer a problem
as the monorail and
new track design
mowed right through it. I
could put the sled completely on its side
on a steep hill in tight trees and it found
traction like a magician finds a rabbit in
a hat. Only this was not magic, just effec-
tive snowmobile engineering!
I was shocked multiple times seeing
my own trench once I got to where I was
going, because it didn’t feel like I was los-
ing speed or digging to China to get
there. The snow was deep, yet the sled
monstered to where I wanted to go with-
out bitching about getting there.
Lastly, there is the moment where
you need to commit to being on one ski
and full throttle to get out of a bad situa-
tion. With the monorail suspension, this
will play out differently due to the
maneuverability and rabbit-out-of-a-hat
traction-finding ability. Now you can just
creep it onto one ski with little effort,
pick your new line, and
cruise out like you’re
driving Miss Daisy.
Alicia Martin is a former
USXC and snowmobile
Hillclimb racer. She also
is a former Lockheed
Martin engineer.
SURPRISINGLY AGILE
Alpha One’s new
suspension makes it
easier for riders to
tame tough terrain
and see some
beautiful mountain
sights.
WHAT IT BOILS DOWN TO
IS A LOT LESS RIDER
INPUT IS REQUIRED.