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New sled

3K views 30 replies 7 participants last post by  Sledhead25 
#1 ·
So after the last two years of having issues with my old 99 RMK I'm starting to wonder if I should cut my losses and try to find something else. Now don't get me wrong, I love that sled. It's just, with all the work I've done and money I've spent it's getting old having to always do something to it. I did a complete engine rebuild (if you see my other posts you'll understand my frustrations). I went from the stock 136 to a 151. Did a lot of modifications to personalize it and make it how I wanted. I guess it's disappointing that it seems like I don't get nearly enough enjoyment out of it for all the time and effort I've put in. I realize that it's an old sled. I get that so I'm not saying it should be perfect by any means. I kinda think now it might have been better to just save up for something new rather than put it into mine, but oh well. So my question is for everybody that has an opinion or input (I'm sure everyone will) and honestly I'm curious what everyone's opinion is. I'm not trying to start a war or get everybody to brand bash, I see enough of that on Facebook. Let's say I'm looking to buy a sled that's anywhere from brand new to around 5 years old. I'm curious what you guys would recommend. I'm a mountain rider so kinda keep that in mind. I'd like to stay with the 151, 154, whatever is available that way, I don't need anything longer than that. Engine wise I'm seeing 600s and 800s so I guess that's kinda what you get. I've been a Polaris fan for a long time. My dad has 2 that have never let us down. My 98 RMK was amazing. Did things I wasn't sure it would. Kept up with brand new PRO-RMKs and Arctic Cats. I'm open to explore the options of the other brands just don't know them. I've ridden a few Arctic Cats but the older one I had was nothing but a money pit. Pretty sure I spent twice what I bought it for to fix it in the 2 years I had it. Kind of worry's me about a new one. Never ridden any Ski Doos. I know lots of people who ride the PRO-RMKs and a lot of people that ride the newer Arctic Cats. Of course they all love what they have and bash other brands. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you were a salesman and I told you I'm looking for something what would you recommend and why? What's so special about the engine, ride, technology, etc? Why should I choose that sled. Sorry for the long post and thank you for your input
 
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#2 ·
How much trail do you ride to get to your fun areas? The guys that I ride with that have the Pro are always overheating when on the trails, even with the scratchers down. It is very normal for me to be running a trail in my 155" 700 RMK with 124 degree temps and the Pros that are riding the same trail can see temps in the 160-170 range. They run great in the powder, but on the trails, they get limited cooling.

I have looked at the Polaris SKS (new in 2016) and it solves the cooling problem, but it's spendy enough that I have not plunked down the cash for one.. ($14,200!). Plus, the local dealer only had two SKS's and he sold both of them before I could make up my mind.

A buddy of mine had a 2009 or 2010 Dragon 162" 700 that he just sold for a bit less than $4000 bucks. Great sled with a great engine. Deals are out there.
 
#4 ·
Well all the New sleds are great!
If you are looking for strictly a mountain sleds, what era or price range are you shooting for?
A 2004 M8 is a better sled than your 99?
But a 2012 M8 is Way better than both!
The New Summit 850 would be unbelievable!
 
#5 ·
There's not much difference in the ride between Polaris, Arctic Cat, or Ski doo in the new mountain sleds. All of them are pretty awesome, especially when compared to your Gen II RMK. Yamaha also makes a nice sled, and they are working hard at getting the weight down so they can be competitive in the mountain sled market.

I ride Polaris because when I got my sled, there were no other dealers in my town. The Polaris dealer here is great with a very knowledgeable mechanic that is extremely helpful with issues when they arise. We now have a Cat dealer, and that dealership is gaining the same awesome reputation, so when it comes to a new sled, it will be a tough choice!

Dealer support, especially on a new sled, is very important. They all have issues from time to time, you want someone that's got your back when the issues occur!
 
#6 ·
BC_Dan, it really depends on where and who I'm riding with. With my fiance, riding locally, I'm going to say no more than 5 miles in some places and others a good part of the day is riding trails. If I ride with my buddies in the southern part of the state maybe 5 miles max if trails at all. It seems like Polaris has had a cooling issue for many years on quite a few different models. I didn't know that about the Pros, I'm just going by what I know about the older ones.
My biggest thing with the brand new sleds is do I really want to make a $200 a month payment on something I can only ride 3 to 4 months out of the year. I love snowmobiling, but IDK if I love it that much. I was doing some research last night and started looking at the newer sleds. Ski Doo has some pretty cool technology. They say their 600 E-Tec engine (I think that's what it was) can get upwards of 21 MPG. And the 800 gets around 19. That's crazy, it'd actually save you money in fuel. That'd be great. Also they say their oil injection system is so complex and so we'll designed you'd only have to refill the oil once in a season. That'd save you money too. And on top of that when I compared a similar sled from Arctic Cat, Polaris, and Ski Doo, Ski Doo was $3000 less than the other 2. Now that was a 600 with 154, 155, 153, track lengths.
When I had my Arctic Cat EXT 580 EFI, the ride was great, and it was comfortable. I was used to the Polaris suspension like mine from my dad's. I get on that cat and it was so much better. That was the best thing about it. Like I said, I always had trouble with it, something was always wrong that's why I went back to Polaris.
kccats, I completely agree with you. The way I look at a new sled is the same way I look at a new truck. They're all good, the way they're built and designed. And with the technology they all have, they're all pretty great. It just kinda depends on what you prefer I guess. I'm looking for probably nothing older than a 2010. I'm not really sure on a price range, I guess if I were to commit to buying a new sled, it'd depend on how much the bank would give, lol.
My biggest issue, like you said BC_Dan, is dealer location. Either I'd have to drive an hour and a half to get to a Ski Doo dealer or drive the other way an hour to go to the Polaris, Ski Doo, Yamaha dealer. I know the dealer that's further away, I've done business with them before. Very good and knowledgeable people.
 
#8 ·
My dad has been helping me look for sleds through an online auction place he uses and he sends me links every now and then. The first 2 were both 2012 PRO RMK 800's. One was a 155 with around 2000 miles, the other was a 163 with less than 1000 miles. Both very nice, clean sleds, bidding just got out of hand, both went for about $5500 each. Still good deals, just not willing to pay that much plus commission fees, then have to drive 2 hours to go get it. The one he recently sent me is a 2008 Ski Doo, I believe, Summit 800R REV XP 154. The description is 2008 Ski Doo Rotax 800, I'm just went buy the stickers, doesn't actually have Summit on it anywhere. My dad was going to take a trip over and check it out. It looks clean from the pictures, nothing noticeable enough for the auction company to make a note of it. Doesn't show miles or anything, but does say low hours in the notes. I was wondering what you guys knew about those sleds. I used to ride with a guy that had one with a 174. He loved that thing. He swore buy Ski Doo, never rode anything else. Also, is there anything else noteworthy or the PRO RMK's good or bad?
I'm still leaning towards Polaris for two reasons. First, like I said, I've been a Polaris fan for a long time. I know they've had their issues, but what brand hasn't. Secondly, I've been doing research. I wish I could find the article again and I'd share, but basically they said Polaris was the top dog of mountain sleds for multiple reasons, including performance and ride technology.
I am curious about possibly trying a Ski Doo though if I can find one that is a reasonable price. Some of the new technology they have is pretty cool. I don't know anything about Yamaha snowmobiles, and would prefer to stick with a 2-stroke. I know a few guys that have older (mid to late 2000s) Yamahas that seem to really like them. I've heard they are extremely heavy and can be unreliable at times. I'm still very iffy with a Cat. I know lots of guys that love them, no matter what year, and swear by them. In fact my best friend went from Cat to a Pro RMK then back to Cat. Said he'd probably never own anything else. But at the same time, I know the issues I had with mine, the 4 or 5 I've worked on for other people and what another buddy had to do with his. I'm not try to bash them, I just know my luck with them and it hasn't been good.
 
#9 ·
A little late on posting this but, the last ride was the final deciding factor. My RMK caused its last problem with me so I'm done with it. Honestly not exactly sure what it's problem is/was but it ran like a bucket of crap part of the time, then ran great other times. Don't really want to look into it, just want it to go away. I ended up getting that Summit, so I guess I'm a Ski Doo guy now. Paid $2500 for it, had 295 miles on it at time of purchase. Was able to ride it on our last ride of the season. Wow what a difference. Very comfortable to ride, great power/response. Actually about fell off twice just on the trail going up because I was not used to it :laugh::laugh:. (Guess I better get used to wearing the tether.) Really the only problem with it is the buttons/switches for hand-warmers and reverse are missing. They still work, but one hand warmer was stuck on high all day, and the other didn't work. A few minor cosmetic things, but all in all in great shape. Hopefully will be able to get a lot more riding in next season and not have to do so much repairing. Already excited for next year, can't wait :thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
#11 ·
Fairly popular Summit in these parts. See a lot of them, so that usually translates to good things being said about them.
 
#13 ·
Definitely excited about it. No pics right now, but hopefully will get a ton of pics and videos next season. Doing some research I found out there is a recall for the driveshaft. Apparently they break welds or something and can get lodged in the tunnel causing the track to lock up. The dealer told me there were reports that a few people had been injured and one person broke a femur ?. He said most of them had been done, but all I'd have to do is call with a VIN number to make sure. Hopefully it has been but even if not it's covered by Ski Doo. Anyway, should be a fun season and I'm pretty happy
 
#15 ·
Kind of a quick update. First thank you guys for your input on everything. The info from everybody on this forum, whether it's diagnostic help or whatever it may be, is always helpful. So thank you all. Second, it pays to actually take the time and go through something how you should instead of just saying "oh screw it, it's fine". At the end of last season (beginning of this post) I made the comment about how I was pretty much done with my RMK and just wanted it to go away. Well, pre season sled maintenance and planning started at my house basically the week after our wedding. My wife decided that she really wants to move to the RMK, even though we were going to sell it. She wanted something that would keep up with my "new" summit. So I decided to take the time and go through everything that I thought could possibly be an issue. Pulled everything apart so I could get in and make sure the timing marks were on, they were. Rather be safe than sorry. Decided to actually take the carbs apart on it this year, last year I did not. And wouldn't you know there's a bunch of crap in the port for the air screw on one carb, who would have guessed. Got both carbs apart, cleaned, together and went to put them on, I notice a broken wire coming up to the coil. With further inspection, all 5 wires coming up to the coil were all but corroded in two. I repaired all of them, so I'm hoping now it'll run like it used to, like it's supposed to. I'll find out tomorrow if it wants to run better, it should Like I said, it definitely pays to take the time and look closer. I'm glad I did. Hoping her and I can get a lot more enjoyment out of that thing this year.
 
#18 ·
Sounds like a lot of issues have crept in, all things that could cause poor running, dieing, etc. While you're at it, make sure you cover all your bases checking seals, wiring, compression, etc. I've partly been lucky since I haven't been the most fastidious in maintaining my sled ('02 RMK), but it's been a great sled. Last year I did go through the carbs and replace the float bowl gaskets, floats, needles and seats (spendy since there's no carb kit for them). I'm sure I'd love a new sled, but I have plenty of fun on what I've got and modding an old Indy. Anyway, sounds like you've got a fair amount of money and effort in the sled already, and you're on the right track to making it a great sled for your wife.
 
#19 ·
Definitely BC_Dan, I was starting to get very frustrated, so was she, and quite honestly I was getting turned off myself. I was beginning to wondering if I actually knew how to do my job. (I'm a professional mechanic, things like this should be basically second nature.) I'm glad I was able to find things wrong that were somewhat easy fixes. I'm very happy that my wife is wanting to go, and this year she's just as excited and antsy about the snow fall and getting to ride as I am. Not to get too gushy and sentimental but her riding sleds with me when we first started dating was one factor that made me fall in love with her. Her coming from California where they got very little to no snow and actually hating the snow when she moved to Idaho, then dating someone who has a passion and an obsession for sleds was a huge change for her. Now she loves going and after finding out last year what riding off trail and "mountain riding" were like she's excited to get more of that in this year with our "new" sleds.
I am the same way MTsledder83, not the best about maintenance. If I would have taken the time to do the basic maintenance, I probably wouldn't have had as many issues as I did. I just always went with, well I've never had any problems before. So from now on, full pre season maintenance on everything. I definitely agree with you about modding the old sleds. Gives them their own characteristics and a personal touch. I'm glad I didn't get rid of it last year like I wanted to. After getting it running again last night it's time for that maintenance. Then getting it set for her comfort.
 
#22 ·
There's a few things I have to do to it, basically maintenance items. Looks like this thing wasn't taking care of very well. The ski bushings on both sides are pretty bad, looks like they've been that way awhile. I ordered a repair/fix-it kit that is similar to stock but is supposed to allow them to last longer. Also found one of the springs on the front track shock was broken and all messed up. I used some ******* engineering to replace that. Couple other things that it can use but aren't big problems
 
#24 ·
If that is the X package, that means it has upgraded shocks and a few other enhancements. I think the gauge is fully updated. Does it show engine temp and ambient temp?

Snow is coming. Colder temps are reaching us, and that usually translates into cold reaching down there in about 2 weeks.
 
#25 ·
Corvette is pretty nice, customer car. I get to work on cool stuff like that from time to time.
Yes it is the X package. It does show engine temp on the gauges. Honestly I haven't played with it a whole lot. Basically I've seen that it shows elevation and RPM. I'm sure I'll get lots of time to mess around with it this season. Hopefully the season starts soon
 
#26 ·
Finally got to go on a ride. Enough snow to ride, but not very deep. Only a foot to 18" in most places and up to 2 ft at the deepest. A ride is a ride though and got to try out the "new" sled. Loving it.
 

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