Rotax 600R E-TEC / Raising the Bar

It seems as if there are a large number of snowmobilers who have been waiting, very patiently, for Ski-Doo to come out with a 600cc version of their latest Gen4 REV platform. For the past two seasons, if you wanted to ride Ski-Doo’s latest and greatest platform the only way to do so was to step up and purchase an 850 E-TEC; all 165 HP of it.

Not everyone wants or needs that kind of power, yet there have been many riders who did in fact buy an 850 just to get the new Gen4 REV platform. When, in fact, they would rather have been riding a 600.

The narrow nature of the Gen 4 platform required Ski-Doo to wait until their next generation 600R engine was ready, being an engine that was also narrow enough to fit into the engine bay of the Gen 4 platform. Judging by the response we have been hearing, there are a whole bunch of happy riders now that they have the option to buy a Gen 4 with a 600 in it.

And what a 600! We reported in our Spring issue how well the limited build MX Z 600R performed for us last winter, and in the September issue we gave you a more in-depth review of this new engine and its technologies. Some of you even commented on how much of the information was very unique, questioning our sources for the information. SnowTech Editor Kevin Beilke had traveled to the Rotax engine factory in Austria and spoke with the development team responsible for the 600R engine, including Lead Engineer Andreas Matheis, Lead Designer Christian Berger and Project Manager David Monfette. The team explained their design goals and how the final product came to be, along with exciting details of the changes and comparisons to our familiar 600 E-TEC that we’ve all been riding since its introduction for the 2009 model year. The resounding message was that the “R” in the name 600R stood for both “response” and “reliability”, in that the end user would be blown away with the responsiveness and reliability of the new engine. By going to a monoblock cylinder design and designing a slim magneto, the overall engine width was narrowed to the point that the engine would fit the narrower Gen4 REV platform. Improved reliability was primarily achieved through the new main bearing design, the improved cooling and new water pump, and the plasma coated cylinders with their resistance to wear and incredible porosity, lending to its lubricating capabilities.

Be sure to get some time on a sled fitted with the 600R engine this winter, as we’re pretty confident you’ll be as impressed as we were!