Earlier this week, my area was the recipient of 6-inches (slight exaggeration) of rain, while one hour North of me received 6-inches of fresh snow (no exaggeration). That lucky area just happened to be in Milaca, Minnesota, home of Thomas Sno Sports. One call to owner, Tom Rowland, another call to friend, Pat Bourgeois, and a plan was made for a quick ride to take advantage of the fresh snow and nice temps.
At the same time I was writing my thoughts on the RXC, Luke Lester from SnowTrax TV shared his thoughts in video form on their social media channels. This is a great video, watch it first as Ill make some references to it below. We were nearly the first ones out on the trails, and if you are looking to ride in the Milaca, MN area, the trails are in fantastic shape. The clubs in this area do an incredible job maintaining them.Typically I get to be the guy behind the camera, but Pat captured me (L) talking to Tom (R). After riding the 2024 ZR 600 RXC in CATALYST form somewhat recently, I quickly rekindled the feelings I had about the 600 CTEC2 engine and Luke refers to it in his video – Im not sure of the magic, but there is a definite sweet spot from 60-80mph on both the 2023 and 2024 RXC versions that just makes you smile. And that feeling, was what Tom and I were talking about here. After the fact, I realized I never grabbed a photo of Pat, except for this one, as I had him rally a couple corners for the camera. (Some would argue he looks better with a helmet on anyways). Luke points out in his video, the 2023 RXC has a 43.25-inch ski stance, which is a bit wider than the 42-inch ZR norm, but serves a better purpose for the stability of cross-country racing. Ill agree with Luke that cornering is predictably flat and inspires rider confidence, but Ill disagree when he says the RXC has heavy steering. When I think of heavy steering, thoughts of the Polaris Fusion come to mind, so maybe Luke used the term loosely, but also, we could have experienced two different snow conditions…the snow we were riding on was fresh and tends to ease steering. Ill bring this photo back into the mix – The FOX QS3 shocks worked great for our ride, and personally, I love the quick adjustability. When thinking about riding a “race sled” as a trail machine, I still get flashbacks of early RR or Sno Pro models that were so stiff (and not quickly adjustable), they were punishing. This isn’t the case any more when you have the quick shock adjustability of Soft/Med/Firm on a QS3. Lets touch on that seat a second – visually, most people who have never experienced it, give it a WTF look and pass it off as being weird – You shouldn’t. IMO, its the most comfortable seat Arctic Cat has on a ProCross platform. You sit in the sweet spot and use the cutdown portion to transition your leg over for cornering.(It works brilliantly) The only nitpick I have on the RXC is a personal one, and saying this goes completely against my admiration of the 20-inch bar riser and Im going to get thrown out of the Ditchbanger Club – I think Id prefer a slightly lower 4.5-inch riser versus the standard 5.5. Just sayin, Id like to try it…Cooking trailside is one of my favorites, especially when its warm, and even better when you can roast up a great smoked venison brat. Typically my freezer is packed with venison selections from Louies Finer Meats in Cumberland, WI, but on this ride, we were treated to some cheddar versions from Grand Champion Meats in Foley, MN. Good stuff! (Thanks Pat)With venison brats on my mind, I had to stop and take a photo of the deer on our return trip to the dealership, which this also serves as a safety reminder. A logging operation was harvesting in a few areas along our route and the deer were taking full advantage of the easy-to-navigate terrain and plentiful tree tips for food within easy reach. Im not kidding when I say it, there were hundreds of deer throughout these areas. If you run across these types of logging areas when riding, SLOW DOWN!! It can save you from a collision if/when deer run across the trail.
