how to handle a sled - Snowmobile Forum: Your #1 Snowmobile Forum

amsterdanny · 11-17-2007, 09:24 AM

Hi all,
I live in the mountains of Poland, Europe.
I am testdriving a yamaha mountain max 700. I have motordriving skills but this is the first time i try a snow mobile. I must sya it is great thing to do. But i have a problem turning it.
I am able to drive it and make all kindof turns and all the other fun but when i drive back home to my door there is not enough space to make a full circle the yamaha needs to turn it 180 . I have to uplift the rear and try to turn it that way but it is way to heavy for me. I am 40 years old and 160 pound, normal length and i am in normal sport shape to say so

Is there some kind of technique needed to make this monster turn so i can park it correctly and move to the direction i want it to. It seems a to big machine for me, maybe?
I need to make a decision to buy it this week and because of this i am not sure to buy it but inside of me the craving to have it is soooo big

Where is some info on how to handle this monster!!! BAsic techniques is more then welcome.

Thank you all guys for the reply~~~
Danny in Poland with lost of deep powder snow right now

iceman400 · 11-17-2007, 09:37 AM

some times if you gotta make a tight turn you can give er a little gas and spin the track wich will give you a sharper turn!

upersleder · 11-17-2007, 09:52 AM

practice out in an open area, but if you come in and lock the track up sliding the rear end half way around, then gas it to spin it the rest of the way. otherwise you will have to do like everyone else ans LIFT. it just will take some practice, you will be a star in no time

iceman400 · 11-17-2007, 09:55 AM

yea sorry i didnt say do it in a OPEN area! lol.. but yea you gotta know how to throw your sled around with the throtle instead of with your arms and back

amsterdanny · 11-17-2007, 10:07 AM

Thanks for the quick reply!
In the open i manage to do it. But when i am in the closed part in front of the house i need some technique going.
Is it a good practice to do the following:
Bracing myself next to the sled. giving throttle and holding the front so the belt will start spinning and then try to turn it or is it the only way lifting the back up and throing it to the right? Is the yamaha mountain max 700 a difficult heavy machine to master or is it good machine to buy?

Jaded · 11-17-2007, 11:47 AM

Hi Danny and welcome to the forum.
I have just purchased 2 Mountain Max 700s myself and to be honest I have yet to ride them. Hopefully this afternoon. According to people that I know who have owned them, these sleds are supposed to be one of the nicest combination trail/mountain sleds built in their day, year 2000. How long is the track on your sled. If it's around 141" like mine I'll bet your problem is that the limiter straps adjusted are too long. Look under your sled near the front of the track. There are 2 black heavy rubber straps that have adjustment nuts at the top. If there isn't much bolt sticking out past the nut this means the straps are fully extended and there is very little weight on the skis. This is a good set up for deep powder riding but makes turning on trails difficult. Turn the nuts equally so about half of the bolt is sticking out past the nut.
There's also shock adjustments on both the shocks under your suspension. Adjust those to somewhere around the middle of the collar that surrounds the bottom of the shock. These adjustments are also on your front ski shocks. Adjust these about the same as the rear suspension shocks. Ask the fellow you're buying it from what type of riding he did with it and maybe he could help you out with the adjustments.
One last thing, check the condition of the carbide runners on the bottom side of the skis. If these are worn the machine will want to go straight when you turn your handlebars. I had a 1991 Exciter that didn't turn hardly at all when I first bought it, I almost sold it, but when I got the suspension set up properly it was amazing on the trails. I highly recommend trying these measures before you get rid of it.
If your track is studded or paddled don't try to spin your track get the rear end around. You'll get dumped! This only works with short tracks or highly skilled riders.
How much is the purchase price?
Good luck.

Jaded · 11-17-2007, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iceman400

some times if you gotta make a tight turn you can give er a little gas and spin the track wich will give you a sharper turn!

Ice Man.
Are you trying to kill this poor dude?

This works well with short track sleds but long tracks with paddles, or studs on ice are going to send you for a loop!

amsterdanny · 11-17-2007, 12:18 PM

Dear Jaded,
Thank you for the great reply and tips!!! Much appreciated. It is dark now and i definately will chek your recommendation tomorrow at first light (why wait for the afternoon with such a toy). The Yamaha is with the 141" deep snow track. The owner bought it two year ago out of the showroom from the shop nearest by us. He paid 9000 euros. It has 700 miles on it and has always been serviced pre and post winter season. This morning i started the engine with choke on with one pull. Takes about 7 minutes for the black oily racing smell of smoke to disapear. At 5k rpm it start moving. The engine runs smooth to my opinion and has direct response on the throttle.
My house is in the woods in the mountain and begs to be ridden by the snow sled. Long trails, steep slopes, open areas filled with virgin powder snow up to your knees and waist. connected with ski villages further up. Stacja Narciarska Czarnów (wyci¹g narciarski w Czarnowie ko³o Kamiennej Góry, czarnow-ski.pl .:zapraszamy na narty:.)
The owner wants to sell it to me for 5000 Euro. Is this a good price? How can you see the production year, btw. What points to check out/look for.
Also, my wife whom is very light 60 kilo was able to ride on it and had the time of her life, beside the marriage (i hope). But it was very hard on the stearing and she is not able to pull the starter rope.Is it possible to add a starter motor? Also, is it maybe better to look for model with reverse to handle the turning around.

But i am thrilled to this new sport and necessity here in the mountains and i am pleasantly surprised by theis community forum!!!

Danny

RedRider_AK · 11-17-2007, 03:19 PM

Danny

No, it isn't possible to add a starter motor. The large 700 motors are pretty hard to pull over, so you'll have to do it for your wife!

If you put some better runners (also called skags or carbides) on the skis, you will be able to steer better on ice, as they will cut into the ice and turn instead of just dragging around.

If you decide not to buy any or can't find any, another thing you can do is, instead of lifting and throwing the rear end around, you can grab one of the ski loops and drag the front of the snowmobile over instead. It's always easier for me to do it that way.

5000 Euro's is a halfway decent price for a used sled, if it's in VERY good shape. I'd try to get the price down to 4500 or so, so that you have some money to spare when you need to replace pistons or something. I'd also look for any bent or broken things.

Snowmobiling is a fun and exciting sport, and it's always good when we have another member join our ranks!

Akim

tamacat · 11-17-2007, 04:47 PM

Sounds like these guys got it covered. Welcome to the forum!!

JheLrey · 11-17-2007, 07:02 PM

Pull on both skis and not just the won. You could break a ball joint and have to drive back home very carefully... Yes, I have done that before!

BC_Dan · 11-17-2007, 07:41 PM

When I'm moving my sleds around in my driveway, I use rollers under the track and skis to make turning a breeze. If you have a smooth surface, this may work well for you as well. This is one brand to show you what I'm referring to. (It was the first one I found on my internet search, I would look for something a little more spendy, as the wheels tend to wear off rather quickly on the cheap ones).

Northern Industrial Snowmobile Dolly — 1000-Lbs. | Snowmobile Accessories | Northern Tool + Equipment

I have a 600 RMK and an 800 RMK with reverse, I won't buy another sled without it. It comes in handy SOOO much! Yamaha makes a very durable product, their fit and finish is better than most, but they are heavy compared to some of the other sleds available. They also do not make 2-stroke sleds any more, their entire production has gone to 4-strokes. I don't know if that matters much, but how much longer will the factory be supporting repair parts for the 2-stroke sleds?

Jaded · 11-17-2007, 08:53 PM

You're welcome for the info. I hope it all works out for you. I'm not as knowledgeable as some of the guys on this forum but there are a few simple things I know a little bit about. As you can see...Red Rider has indicated you cannot put a starter motor on there. I would never have known that, The smart guys on here are so helpful!

As for the steering, today my wife, who is not very strong, was able to steer the machine no problem with it set up the way I suggested. I'm sure you can make it work. Make the wife eat lots of Spinach. It'll put hair on her chest but she'll get stronger. At least that's what it did to my wife.
To check the production year, if it's the same as mine, there is a small white rectangular sticker on the right side of the machine just behind the footrest area. This should show the month and year of production. With only 700 miles on it I can't see anything being wrong with it. Especially if the previous owner took such good care of it. My Sled tech told me those motors are absolutely bullet proof. Best triple on fuel out there. Just make sure you have a good quality belt on.

I used the currency converter to convert the 5000 euros to about $3400 Canadian. That is pretty much what I just paid, $3500, for my 2000 but mine has 3200 kms, or about 2000 miles on it. It's in beautiful shape and I had it out for my first brief ride today. Very impressed with the power!!! Not enough snow yet though.

Thanks for the link. That looks like absolutely beautiful country. The mountains actually look almost identical to the ones here in Kelowna, in Western Canada. We have a couple of great ski resorts, Big White and Silver Star they both have websites, within 45 minutes of town. Sounds like the style of riding there is very similar to here.

Good Luck!

amsterdanny · 11-18-2007, 04:12 AM

Thank you all for the great replies here. Feel at home at this forum immediatly. Im gonna take my eggs and saucage breakfast and jump out of the door to the sled which is stuck in front of the house to get it out by the advice given by you guys. Thanks!! Then i check for the settings Jaded recommended. This afternoon the previous owner and two other friends will come with their sleds to get the show running. Good to hear that the price is decent. since it is imported from the usa the selling price for such machines with import tax and all other import ripp off they invent is much higher. They imported to bombardier snow helmets and had to pay 300US$ import tax on these helmets alone. Oh, and they got a visit from the customs why they were importing F-16 fighter helmets!!! So much fun to live in former communistic country as an expatriate.

Danny

**RJ Gleason** · 11-18-2007, 12:46 PM

Welcome and Happy Trails

Here's the nice thing about Fire Fox, add on the language translator and be able to read his link.

Jaded · 11-18-2007, 01:00 PM

Good Luck and have a great day on your F-16.

Jaded · 11-19-2007, 11:45 PM

Well.....how did it go? You're keeping us in suspense

WolfOne · 11-20-2007, 02:36 AM

WOW ... you are my next-door neighbours on this forum

but you have snow and me still nothing

I rode MM 700 of a friend 2 or 3 times on italian mountains and it's a great sled :-)

otheres friends answer to your questions

5000 euro is a good price

Have fun

RenegadeSnowman · 11-20-2007, 08:12 AM

Hey Danny, Welcome to the forum. I know some folks might disagree but having reverse on a sled is a very handy option and allows for some easier maneuvering of your machine. Now that I have had a sled with reverse I will never buy a sled without it, unless it is a vintage or collectable. So, if for some reason the sale of this sled does not happen I would look at a sled with reverse and electric start. Let us know how things work out for you. Ride safe!

Cdndairyman · 11-20-2007, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RenegadeSnowman

Hey Danny, Welcome to the forum. I know some folks might disagree but having reverse on a sled is a very handy option and allows for some easier maneuvering of your machine. Now that I have had a sled with reverse I will never buy a sled without it, unless it is a vintage or collectable. So, if for some reason the sale of this sled does not happen I would look at a sled with reverse and electric start. Let us know how things work out for you. Ride safe!

This is what I was thinking. You can always have a reverse gear installed on that sled. Reverse is an awesome option. I won't own a sled without it either. I am not sure if you can even buy many sleds without it anymore. However reverse doesn't work that great in deeper snow. If you were to put reverse on that sled you would want to have a bit of a hardened pack of snow to do your reversing on. In my opinion it would be worth the money if you are really liking that sled. btw welcome to the forum!