New to the forum, in the market for a new sled and need some brand and year advice - Snowmobile Forum: Your #1 Snowmobile Forum

vdubplate · 11-13-2012, 04:35 PM

Hey guys,

Been thinking of buying a new sled for some time. Finally came to the conclusion that I am going to get one. I was hoping to not spend more than 5000-6000. I really dont want to spend that much but I was thinking that I would be safer buying something a little newer as I don't know to much about sleds in general. I have been riding dirt bikes and quads for a long time so I'm not that much of a noob to motorsports.

Anyone have any advice on which brand to go with? I was thinking on going w Skidoo but Ive been told that Polaris makes a great machine also and I've heard they are ahead of the game technology wise. I'm looking for an 07-08 in either brand.

How do I gauge if an asking price is a good deal or not. What is considered high miles and how many miles before you start overhauling parts of the engine? Any help would be much appreciated.

**BC_Dan** · 11-13-2012, 06:16 PM

Polaris 700's in that age are awesome sleds and well within your price range. The 800 has had a LOT of issues, starting in 08. I ride a 2007 Polaris 700 and don't find it very lacking. It's got more power than I have guts

Avoid the 05-06 900 and the 06 700. Those engines are horrible. Polaris made the 05 900 and then the 06 700 off the 900 block. They cancelled both engines in 07 because of reliability problems. There's a reason you see 'em cheap. It's too bad, too... that engine made a bunch of power. But with all the recalls and the deserved horrible reputation it has, I would stay away from those.

Skidoo and Arctic Cat make great mountain machines as well. The Skidoo 1000 is a tank, not many people that buy it like it because it's so heavy. The 800 engine sizes in both Skidoo and AC seem to hold up better than the Polaris 800 from those years.

All three are major players in the mountain areas. Look around your area, find what your friends are riding, buy what they ride. That way, you have built-in support. Dealer support is also a concern, maybe not so much in the Denver area.

I would start thinking of new pistons at 4000 miles. Some sleds go a LOT more than that, but some also fail a lot earlier. It's best to stay on the "replace before failure" bandwagon, it's much cheaper.

You will also have to determine your riding style. For general mountain riding with a lot of riding through the trees, a 155" track works well. For highmarking up the BIG slopes, the longer the better, but those sleds turn like a tank on the trails and will wear you out quickly when you're playing in the trees.

Feel free to post links to sleds you are looking at, I'm sure the guys will chime in and give you their advice.

Welcome to the forum!

**RJ Gleason** · 11-14-2012, 06:28 AM

Welcome and Happy Trails

vdubplate · 11-14-2012, 09:16 AM

Thanks for the info. I think I've changed my price range to anywhere up to $4000 not that I've heard all the good about the RMK 600s. I just have to find a good one now. I think we are getting a sled to get us some back country access for skiing primarily but I'm sure I'm going to do a ton of mountain and trail riding also.

Here is a sled I've really been looking at. The lady said that she thought it had 1200 miles. What do you think of the price tag?

2006 Snowmobile For Sale

vdubplate · 11-14-2012, 09:29 AM

Here are a few more sleds. I hope you don't mind taking a peek. i would really appreciate it.

2006 Polaris RMK 700 159 Snowmobile - $4500
2006 Polaris RMK 700 159 Snowmobile

2007 Polaris 600 RMK Snowmobile - $4200
2007 Polaris 600 RMK Snowmobile

2006 polaris RMK 700 - $3200
2006 polaris RMK 700

07' Polaris RMK 600 144" *new price* - $4000
07' Polaris RMK 600 144" *new price*

**BC_Dan** · 11-14-2012, 10:36 AM

I would avoid any 06 700, that's a big block and they only made that engine one year.

The 07 600 is a great sled. I like my 155" track, it goes more places than my 144" without getting stuck as much. Either way, you will want to replace the front bumper, that plastic thing on the front of those sleds is for looks only. It will pull off the first time you try to lift the sled when you are stuck in the snow.

Skidoo shredder · 11-14-2012, 12:24 PM

i would suggest skidoo for sure. I have an 05 and 06 skidoo 600 ho. I am really impressed with them. The high miles would be about 12000 and low would be about anything less than 5000. To give you an idea my 05 has 4800 miles and my 06 has about 5500 miles. They are both worth about 4000 each. You cold most likely get an 07 or 08 800 for about 6000 for sure.

vdubplate · 11-14-2012, 02:39 PM

So the rule of thumb is dont but any 700 under 07? How about the 06 RMK 600 or the 07? I would buy Skidoo but I am finding more Polaris sleds right now.

**BC_Dan** · 11-14-2012, 02:51 PM

The 06 600 was the first year of the 600 HO and is a great engine. That engine is built off of the 440 race engine, and that bottom end was built strong to handle racing. The only issues I have (had) with my 06 600 was the turning effort, cooling, and the front bumper is junk.

I replaced the front spindles with Holz spindles and that made turning much easier. Replacing with 2008 spindles would also work.

For cooling, I deleted the front radiator, the design sends too much coolant from the engine to the front. If you aren't moving or if snow gets injested in that area and there's no airflow across the radiator, all you do is circulate the hot coolant. Temps were ridiculously high, around 180-190 in the same snow my 08 was running 120. Removing the radiator forces all the coolant to the tunnel. It still gets warmer than my 07 or 08 sleds, but it doesn't scare me near as bad.

The stock bumper isn't hooked to anything important. If you are stuck and lift up on the bumper, you rip it off the sled. I went with a Skinz bumper and you can hang my sleds from the bumper in the rafters if you so desire. They are stout.

vdubplate · 11-14-2012, 03:11 PM

Ok cool. I'll keep my eye out for a 600 then. There is only one that I have found which is here:

2006 Snowmobile For Sale
What do you think about the asking price? Lady said she thought it had 1200 miles.

I also found these skidoos. I havent read up a lot on the years and makes but I based the search off what Skidoo Shredder had said. Found some good prices I think. So because a sled has highish miles and has had engine parts or whole engines replaced is that something I want to stay away from? My guy says yes lol.

2004 Ski-Doo Summit 800 Highmark Extreme - 159" track
2007 Skidoo
2006 SkiDoo Summit 800
2008 ski doo summit 800
2007 Skidoo Summit 800R

**smallengineguy** · 11-15-2012, 03:52 AM

Check out the Ski Doo REV's too. The 500SS is really a 600 and is a bulletproof motor.

vdubplate · 11-15-2012, 07:40 AM

I just realized that that one sled I was pushing hard was a RMK 700. I thought it was a 600. Everyone is probably wondering why I keep saying Im looking at that after telling me it's a crap sled. Sorry. Was doing the research inbetween working.

So I found these and they are at the top of my budget so I'm going to have to think real hard if I want to drop the cash. What do you guys think of these final two picks. I got each of these guys to come down 500.

2010 Polaris RMK 600 144"
2007 Skidoo

**BC_Dan** · 11-15-2012, 12:40 PM

That RMK solved all the issues I had, it has a metal bumper, the steering effort is not excessive, and you will be hard pressed to overheat it with ANY snow hitting the tunnel. I like the Better Boards, too (I have those on my 700.) Can't say on price, but 6k seems like a lot for a three year old sled. I like the color, though!

vdubplate · 11-15-2012, 01:14 PM

I like the color too. I think I settled for this one. Going to pick it up tonight. Got the buyer down 500 on the asking price. I'll post pics later. Thanks for all the advice guys

2007 Skidoo

**smallengineguy** · 11-16-2012, 03:58 AM

Beautiful sled, last year before the REV XP so they had all the bugs worked out. You're going to love it.

vdubplate · 11-16-2012, 10:32 AM

I got the sled last night. Under 800 miles. It was surprising to me that its the size of a small car. I'm going to need to invest in a new trailer soon. Also there is no reverse. I havent figured out how I am going to get it on and off the trailer.

Here's some pics:
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

Wheels banged up, and needs to be replaced:
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

Skidoo shredder · 11-16-2012, 12:02 PM

Nice Buy! I think you will be happy with that sled, it will be quick and reliable. Good price for the year and miles also! Now we just need some snow

vdubplate · 11-16-2012, 12:16 PM

Thanks. The guy I bought it from was telling me that it didnt have reverse. I looked it up and I found in the specs that it did. I have to see if I can get it to go in reverse now lol. Maybe he menat that he broke reverse or something.

Skidoo shredder · 11-16-2012, 12:34 PM

i think that it may have been an option that you could choose to have or not but i may be wrong. He may not have gotten it when he bought it new. Either that or he broke it as you said. I know on mine the reverse switch is on the electric start button. i believe it will say "Rev" or something. Have a look there. start your sled and press the start button again while running. it will stop and restart in reverse and should beep if you have it.

vdubplate · 11-17-2012, 09:40 AM

Errr, So I did a closer inspection of the sled once I got it home. One of the rails in the track are cracked. I sourced the part from a local dealer. Turns out the part is 250. Is there a good place to look to source used parts? If I could get this part off myself I could probably have it welded. Not sure if there is an easy way to prop one of these up to get the tread off