Maggot snowmobile thread

[simple]

After a couple massively deep days last year i became a believer in tethers as well

[adrenalated]

I do wear the tether when I'm on the sled alone, but it is massively in the way when tandeming. Hmm. Gonna see if I can easily relocate it from the left to right side of the sled.

[Shadam]

I don't tether ...

ride fast, take risks ...

[kidwoo]

Really want to find a blown up Pro RMK

Spend 3 seconds on snowest.

those aren't exactly 'rare'


The real fun would be putting an etec or cat 800 HO motor in one of those. Don't be skeerd. Dooooittt

[JeffreyJim]

Spend 3 seconds on snowest.

those aren't exactly 'rare'


The real fun would be putting an etec or cat 800 HO motor in one of those. Don't be skeerd. Dooooittt

Really? Been out of the sled game for a few years. My buds with Pro RMKs have had good luck...but all are really good at doing PM. New rings/pistons every season, good oil, let their sleds warm up before they hammer on them and maybe just lucky??

[kidwoo]

Nah they've gotten better. 2011 was still the the exact same dragon motor essentially, 2012 was a little better, and it seemed like 2013 was almost back to normal.......then the weird belt drive issues started.

I just looked through the classifieds and didn't see any rollers on the first two pages. Just lots of sleds with 'new motors' with under 2k on the whole sled..... You used to see a lot of them for sale. I guess these are still fairly new so lots of warranty replacements.....hence the new motors in the stuff that IS for sale. Plus no one is riding right now so you're not getting guys who are all antsy to get rid of stuff if it blows so they don't miss ride time.

If you're serious, peruse the pro discussion section (not the for sale stuff). You'll see dudes throwing a fit and starting threads about the motor they just blew. Send them PMs before they buy a crate motor or make a warranty claim. But look for a 2011 or 2012. More likely to find and they're still chaindrive. Or any 2011+ assault or base model (non-pro) rmk.Plus don't forget craigslist (boise especially), and obviously KSL. I thought about doing the same thing last year actually. The 2011s are getting cheap enough now that's it's not a crippling project financially.

[Mannix]

The new Pros (11+?) have developed a rap for exploding. Not sure what the answer is; I know most people turn up the oil pumps on day1.

Funny, was digging through this thread looking for something, came across a post you made, JefferyJim, 5 years ago, looking for a cheap Skidoo. I'll keep my eye out for one.


Iain

[kidwoo]

Haha!

FWIW, I'd have no problem buying a 2014 or 2015 pro (more like assault with narrow arms to be exact). They've gotten WAY more reliable with some really cool added chassis stuff. I used to read the pro section religiously and see when polaris would change part numbers on motor bits. They really are pretty much a different motor now it seems. Still the same HP as a 2004 rev 800 but that's fine..... I don't like that you can't do an oil pump delete and run premix though.

But new sleds in general just cost way too damn much with a serious mountain bike habit. Pros hold their resale value worse than fucking toyotas though. Being the 'cool kid sled' comes at a cost......even if they are about the least reliable. They've got a new 800 motor in one of their trail sleds this year that will probably go in the pros next year. That's good because it will devalue what's out there a little bit. Or they'll have an entirely new mountain platform which would drop things through the floor even more!

[kidwoo]

Hey JJ:

Just buy this.

http://www.snowest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=380814

Here's where he built this thing

http://www.snowest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=344153

[Mountainman]

l.......then the weird belt drive issues started.

.

There were some but with anything new, things got blown way out of proportion. Surprised you didn't mention all the driveshafts that exploded.....which there were not many at all.

[kidwoo]

There were some but with anything new, things got blown way out of proportion. Surprised you didn't mention all the driveshafts that exploded.....which there were not many at all.

Well I've seen the result of getting one of those things wet. Given, I don't know what the guy had going on for tension or previous issues but he couldn't get his damn sled out of a basin at 4pm in january without a tow. His belt started slipping and it just spun the teefus off. That doesn't happen with chains. Plus it's a stupid design in that if the belt fails in any way, you have no brake right?

Obviously they can work but it's something to be mindful of if you want one.....and it's particular to those sleds no? I'm just mentioning it. Hell, my next sled might be one so I obviously don't think they're deathtraps or anything.

[Crystal_Mt_Dreamin]

Any clear leaders in the 2013+ year model sleds? Considering upping my initial budget up a bit on the hope I can pick up something a bit newer that (hopefully...) has less gremlins waiting to rear their head

[Shadam]

XM with warrenty !!! seriously ...

as long as it has the recall done on fuel line your gold. very much doubt anyone has not had it done.
its just a pull and go easy sled to learn on. nice and light to dig it out by yourself (it will happen regualrly)

we're taking bets on how long our buddies pro's last before more big $$$ needs to be spent. its offencive how much $ they spend.$600 for a rear shock that broke inside(???) and chewed its self out? fark that, I can get a whole skid and track for that! ok my sled is way older, but they have so many down days its crazy. drive from saskatchewon to golden =1200km for 1 days riding ... then gota take it back to edmingtin to get it sorted ... ouch !!!

2013 is the first of the xm's and they have been around for 2 years and no complaints ...

but I'm biased to doo doo's ...

[kidwoo]

Any clear leaders in the 2013+ year model sleds? Considering upping my initial budget up a bit on the hope I can pick up something a bit newer that (hopefully...) has less gremlins waiting to rear their head

Uh oh. If you're thinking about spending that much money just to get into sleds, now you're really fucked.

Honestly, not really a 'clear leader' IMO. Buy whatever you can get the best support with (IE warranty and dealer if you're looking new, or used with transferable warranty)

Things to look for:

2013 Polaris pro: polaris supplied (or aftermarket) collar for the quickdrive shaft. Not an issue on assaults but the front end is wider on those and you might want to change the a-arms

2013 Arctic cat M stuff: 2014 secondary clutch. A lot of the 2012+ ones had messed up clutch alignment that would cook belts and this was their fix.

2013 skidoo: ^See shadam's post.

If you're buying used 2013s these SHOULD be taken care of since you're likely buying from an original owner with dealer support. Whoever's selling them should be able to tell you if this stuff was done.

After all that, I'd say it's just which one you seem to like the most. I wouldn't kick any of them out of bed. As a skier/boarder, I look at other dumb shit like which one has the better tunnel for bolting racks to, where the cooler lines run etc.....but that's pretty much fine on all of them now.


Just don't buy a 2013+ yamaha

[Shadam]

2nd the yamy comment. If you can't bench press 400lb, and your stuck by yourself, that will be the day right there.maybe the night as well) they are so heavy they just dont want to get up and on the snow.
the XM is the only with 16" track, all others have 15's, 1 review from a mag of the 2013's was the cat was the hardest to get out of a stuck and up and plaining. (yamy was not in this group, just the 2smokes) polaris won the review. but like Kid-dude said, its all about support from your buddies and shop. you need a guy to be checking things, so find a buddy with a heated garage and bring beer.
shit happens, bolts come loose, belts wear, learn to change belt, clutches need cleaning regularly, scratchers/carbiners get bent, learn to start it off the clutch. get as intimate with it as your girlfriend body.

I cant get over how many people dont know how to change thier belt. 1 guy spent half the day watching youtube tutorials on it and still couldn't do it and missed a whole day of riding!? I earnt alota beer from him that season ...

[Mannix]

I'd buy Skidoo, too, but it is just what I know. That said, "clear leader" would be a 15 t3 with the 174" track. No other sled has as much track right now, and while I do think the Internet overstates how much motor/track you "need" for skiing, more IS better.

I've got a 13 Summit XM 163, has been really very good so far. Pull & go. Actually, push and go, I put e-start on it. I'd think all three (poor yamahahaha not even counted) have something good to offer, but, if it were me, Skidoo.

I'm SURE someone out there is selling a 174" T3 right now.



Iain

[kidwoo]

I'm SURE someone out there is selling a 174" T3 right now.

I bet cheap too!

That thing would be pretty much the ultimate tandem monster.



In fresh snow.

[Mannix]

I found it very difficult not to order one, but the financial bath I'd take having just bought a leftover 13 last fall....ugh. Sleds are financial tomfoolery to begin with, but geez, it'd have been UGLY.

I still want one, though. hrmph.

[kidwoo]

I've ridden enough 2.5 tracks of various styles tandeming, I'm honestly not sure I'd want one. You guys deal with lighter snow and the flotation issues that go with that more than we do but long paddles spin out and trench a lot on packed snow towards the end of the day (as in your tandem track up). I'm not entirely sure that's what I'd want for my ski sled. Getting there and putting the thing in just became a different game though.

I've got the 2.5 version of those paddles and they seem to dig in fine on packed stuff. Way better than the soft track I took off of it. I imagine it takes a lot to spin out a 174 of anything though.

[Crystal_Mt_Dreamin]

Uh oh. If you're thinking about spending that much money just to get into sleds, now you're really fucked.

No one ever accused me of being the best decision maker

My logic (or lack thereof) was in thinking that for around $4-5k I get something that is sitting on 2k miles or so which is starting to push that age where the potential for a lot of out of pocket issues seems to start arising. Figured if I could find someone who snowchecked one with an extended warranty that was desperate to get out of it and still have a warranty that at least a portion of those unforeseen things would be on the OEM's dime. Of course that assumes the warranties in the biz are worth the paper they are printed on.

Long story short: fuck it, you only live once

[kidwoo]

Oh christ, you already know what 'snowcheck' means.

It's over.

I will say this......you can find 5k- sleds ridden by guys in their 50s and 60s on groomed trails for most of their lives (and well under 2k). And you do get the added benefit of years to get things 'sussed out' as far as issues and you know what to look for.

But yeah fuck it, if you're willing to spend the cash new is good. That's a much better problem to have than the average skier thinking "I know I want to get into sled skiing but I don't want to spend 2 thousand dollars on it, that's a lot of money". Those guys never spend (only) 2k to stay on the snow.

Find a good deal and run with it. They're all better than they were 8 years ago bar none.

[powder11]

I'm SURE someone out there is selling a 174" T3 right now.



Iain

Ive got one. Still in the box. All yours for $20k. Hahahaha

[Mannix]

Ive got one. Still in the box. All yours for $20k. Hahahaha

DOES IT COME WITH A SWEET WRAP?!?!?!

ahhhh no patience mamasan can't do it nope nope nope.

I do believe I'm going to update my DESS with the new fancypants non-sucky RFID key, though.

[kidwoo]

Ive got one. Still in the box. All yours for $20k. Hahahaha

Pics of you wheeling that thing out, pinned in about two months.

Mandatory.

[tobytortorelli]

All this talk about XM's with warranty... My last for sale link expired, so I am posting again.
2013 Skidoo XM 154" with transferrable bumper to bumper warranty.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/snw/4740059933.html