Snowmobile Forum banner

Medium sleds...thing of the past?

3K views 20 replies 5 participants last post by  TheBearAk 
#1 ·
With BRP stopping production of the 550F, I'm sure other manufacturers will follow. I'm curious of what motors are currently being offered by each manufacturer.

BRP has these:

Two Strokes
550F (current stock)
600 Carb? Not sure if they are still offering these one.

600 ETEC (120 HP)
800 ETEC (160 HP)
850 ETEC (165 HP)

Four Strokes
600 ACE (60 HP)
900 ACE (90 HP)
1200 ACE (130 HP)

Note: The ETEC motors are the only two stroke motors that pass the strictest emission requirements in many areas, including Yellowstone.

I have a 600 ETEC and it is all the sled I need, great oil and gas mileage.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Polaris has the 550 fan, and the 600 and 800 liquids in the line up. No 4-strokes at all. 2015 was the last year for the 2-stroke 500 liquid, and 2014 was their last 4-stroke (turbo.) They have really cut down on the number of sled engines they sell.
 
#5 ·
Don't think so, not out of the big 4 anyway. Except the 120's

I think these are the smallest in HP...

Polaris is 550 (2 stroke)
Cat is 499 (2 stroke)
Doo is 600 (4 stroke)
Yamaha is 500 (4 stroke)


No more 440, 380, 340 or 250's.
 
#7 ·
Hang on to that Puma, the value is going up on it every year.

I know people don't think they are worth much, but when I get offers of $1500 for a 1999 Jag 340, it tells me there is a market there for these mid-size machines.

Skidoo's answer is the 600 ACE with a learner key. But really, the target should be a machine that is less than $7000 that is light weight and can still go 60-70 MPH. Why so fast? When you're in powder snow, you're not going 60 MPH, but you need your track to spin that fast.
The 600 ACE is just a bit to heavy for an average 10-13 year old

We've talked about it before, the gap...

The 120cc class is good from about 5 years old to about 10 years old, depending on the kid. On average, the age is probably more like 7-10, but I knew a few 5 year olds that did fine. Also know a 12 year old that was small enough to ride the 120cc. On the other hand, my nephew was 180 lbs and 6' tall at 11 years old. (they wouldn't let him play football because of fear of hurting the other kids.)

But anyway, on average... 120cc 7-10.

So after they outgrow that 120cc, their next step is to either mod the crap out of that 120cc or they jump up to full size machines.

Currently, in my humble opinion, there are no sleds to fill the gap for the 10 and 15 year olds. Yes, some of them can drive the larger machines just fine, but on average, they are still to small to properly handle, and get unstuck, a full size machine.

Plus, that is the age where they tend to run into things a lot more. Trees, ditches, culverts, etc. Really don't want them riding a $14,000 machine.
 
#8 ·
I totally agree. When my sons were 7 and 10, we got sleds for them to ride; I had two Yamaha Enticer 300's, then a Polaris Indy Lite 340 and then an AC Prowler 440. The kids had a great time learning on those sleds and were able to steer them fine, especially on the trails. All four of those sleds were powerful enough to carry an adult, but were light enough for a kid. They were awesome sleds for newcomers to the sport to learn on, and cheap and easy to maintain.

Those times have sure gone!
 
#10 ·
You guys are on the money with the 340-440 machines. Light enough for a child with experience to handle. And big enough for a new to riding adult to be comfortable on.

I forgot about that key Bear mentioned ;the one that limits the power and whatnot for new riders. I'm sure the manufacturers look at that as a way of branding the sled as a few sleds in one. A machines people can grow with. But you can alter the size of the chassis. You can have the computer dial back the engine, but you can shrink down the size and weight of the machine. Hope their not shutting the door on people getting into the sport.
 
#14 ·
This is true. But that was also almost a decade ago, when the mid-sized used sled market was strong. As others have observed, it's getting harder and harder to find later 340 or 440 sleds in good condition with low miles
 
#16 · (Edited)
Then there are these:


Premier Recreational Products Corporation


The only thing I would say is that they seem like they can only go about 20-30 MPH. Really need to have a top end around 60.

To bad there isn't a cheap way to measure ground speed vs track speed. Keep the ground speed limited, but track can spin up to 60-70 MPH. That way you can really get through the powder.

Of course, it looks like these sleds would be just larger versions of the 120cc and not really meant to take off trail.
 
#17 ·
I have looked at those at Hay Days and even spoke with the owner of the company!
They were having a tough time with getting the fuel tank to pass EPA!
300cc 4 stroke (China Crap) has electric start and rev, but I bet they top out about 35-40!
And I did sit on them and they are smaller than the Bravo, but just bigger than the Sno Sport (125cc 2 stroke, Sno Scoot)
 
#18 ·
Motor choice is unfortunate.

Wonder how hard it would be to shoe-horn something else in there.
 
#20 ·
A lot of the engines coming out of China are essentially older Honda designs. I know some guys were using a 200cc aircooled engine to repower older Honda 3 wheelers. The Chinese bought a lot of the old Honda tooling. From what I understand at least.

Didn't Ski-Doo make a smaller sled in the 2006 time-frame? A transition sled from a 120 before going to a full out 500+ cc machine.
 
#21 ·
It was a smaller motor in a full size Freeride. Freeride 300. Decent machine, but full size. Tough for the target age group of this thread to handle.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top