Well, Polaris sells the 550 RMK with about 80 hp and it does ok in some snow and some hills... the 600 RMK is around 120-124, depending on carbs or EFI, and the 800 is around 150. It depends on the length of track, type of snow, steepness of the hill, and probably most important, skill of the rider. Having a 150+ HP sled with a 172" track would make even ME look good

 

Theres that and Yamaha phazer mtn with 80 hp

 

Go with Arctic Cat M series sled M6 120hp M7 140hp M8 150-160+hp or go big for the M1000 with 170 hp Arctic Cat dominate the Mountains/West Coast and are very reliable Also there is the Crossfire with the same Engine options just without the length

 

sweet thx for the help, i should be able to keep up with my 97 700 with 150 horse

 

Wow that's alot of horse!
And as others have been hinting, 120hp is probably a minimum. You may get by with the 05 Arctic Cat M5, with 105hp, too. 120hp is met by today's 600s and some of the older 700s.

 

Wow! 150 hp on a 97' 700?? What of kind of sled do you have??

 

^^ what he said. My 97 700 put out about 134 with twin PSI pipes!

 

its a 97 700 polaris sks with slp twin pipes, cheater head, and vforce reeds, but there is a ton of other stuff on it

 

i think the real factor is the snow conditions that you'll be riding in. if its fluffy powder (colorado/utah), then no way you'll get away with a 500 or 600. the motor will be pinned 100% and people on 7's, 8's and 10's will be 50-75% (relatively speaking).

if your riding a more compact wet snow that settles and hardens more, then sure a 500-600 would be minnimum.

the next factor is riding syle...do you just glide over the hills, do you ride chutes, or do you boondock? or what percentage of those comprises your riding style? if you climb chutes then no way a 500-600 will suffice.

so people need to consider ALL factors when asking a question like that.

 

snow conditions make all the difference, there are places here in utah that you could
work the crap out of your brand new dragon 800 (151) ALL day long on realitive flat ground. and the 162" (800 dragon) will leave you like you were standing still.
i have seen six feet of fluffy powder here before !!! no exageration !!!

 

heres another question, the sleds used in 509 films aparently have 300hp yet the sleds they have for sale on craigs have like 180ish, so would u be able to climb those massize chutes with 180 horsepower

 

it goes back to what was said above.

in mountain mod 8 (movie) there were tubo apex's and turbo cats climing this chute, then a guy (frenchie) climbs it with his wifes stock rev 800. sure he worked a little harder (side hilling and turning more) but he made it up.

there are a lot of variables that go into climbing chutes, so its hard to give a direct answer.

 

Probably the best, and most true answer there is.

I always say its 50/50 sled / rider. Your sled can only do so much, so much of it comes down to rider skill. A lot of good riders can get to the same spot on a stock sled as they can on their modified sled, it's just the modified sleds are more fun :thumbsup:

 

ya id like to try and climb it but i dont know if my sled would have enough power and myself have enough skill

 

You'll never know til you try. Don't be scared of getting stuck, be scared of avalanches. Stuck won't kill you (for the most part). Your not trying hard enough if your not stuck, it's the only way to better yourself, put yourself into the situation where you either learn how to ride it, or you get stuck.

 

haha ya i really wanna get out there and try it, i actualy live about an hour from the mountains and i was gonna try out some hills around myplace, do u by chance know how steep these chutes are just to get a reference.

 

Maybe I missed something, but which ones?

 

chutes as in the monster chute and such

 

Let me see if I can find a picture...

Tell you way more than I can type.

 

Here is a pic taken with the camera on a flat plane.

Notice how the tree's show it's level, more or less.

 

sweet

 

wow that helped a ton, i was able to put a protractor up to it and it looks like its at a 45 degree angle, now i need to find a hill that steep around here.

 

HP isn't really the question, weight is! If you have a heavy sled, you need HP. I have heard of newer Rev's (they weigh less than 300 lbs) doing just fine in deep powder with a 121x15x2 track. They aren't high-markers, but they go like the devil in the deep stuff.

Same idea behind the 550 RMK... I can't find the weight listed anywhere, but I picked the rear end of a 136 up *easily* with one hand.

 

LOL! Theres no minimum h.p. in the hills. Of course horsepower helps but if your a good enough rider you dont need help. Ive got a buddy that did hillclimb competitions back in the day. He currently rides a 97 skidoo mxz 440 fan that hell longtracked. Even with a brand new sled its not just a point and shoot deal when your climbing with him. You have to work the hill to beat him. Even then some dont.
He actually used to be a good selliing point for the skidoo shop i used to work for, we would take potential customers out on weekends with him and he would run against new dragons, M8s, whatever.... you name it. And ive only seen him take 2nd on the hill 3 times.

 

I know a guy that rides a 79 340 cat, that embarrasses a lot of people on newer sleds, it's darn funny. But put that same guy on like.. my sled? He could climb a tree and be fine I think, dude is crazy good.

 

well i will have no more worry about having enough horsepower, im going to pick up a 05 rmk 900, piped and nos, capable of 240 horse, my sled is no longer holding me back

 

what kind of track?

 

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