Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Snowmobile Opinions/Recommendations

That reminds me of something.

Studs were not a consideration in Alaska, for the most part, but they sure seemed to be popular in the lower 48.

Hey guys, thanks for all the advice and recommendations. I've looked at used sleds every year and thought about one, but I may have another reason (excuse) for one soon, and so started looking again. I think the true work sleds (like the skandic and tundra) may lean too much to work machines and ride a little rough for just a day of riding? Maybe not... that's what I'm trying to figure out. The riding around here can vary from straight, fairly flat groomed trails to hillier, windier trails up and down local mountains. These are NOT like the mountains out west, with wide open, steep hill climbs in deep powder. Mostly groomed trail riding. I was leaning towards maybe either a trail sled or touring 2-up sled, but am open to suggestions. I live very close to the VT trail system (VAST) and my family is finalizing a deal on a new deer camp. It's also on the VAST trails, about 10 or 12 mile ride from my house, and I'd love to be able to get there in the winter as well. That's the extra motivation this year.

Thanks for all the advice, keep it coming. Much appreciated.

Keep it simple and light!

Four stroke adds a pile of weight.

Fan cooled moderate cc engine....reverse is nice to have.

Used ones lose value very rapidly.

FH, yes, it seems that almost every used sled had studded tracks. It seems they are great for groomed trails that get icy or lakes, but also seem to shorten the life span of a track?

On a touring sled get electric start, reverse hand and thumb warmers as well as a moderate to high windshield. Have fun in your snow - it is raining here on the kenai peninsula Ak right now.

Get a 500cc air cooled touring sled with a rack on back. Reverse, and hand/thumb warmers are really nice to have also. Hard to beat an Indy Trail Touring.

Here's my take on things. Keep in mind that most of the 100K+ miles I've put on these machines has been largely on wind-blown white stuff that is virtually concrete. I have personal experience with a few different machines and engines. Many of the older fans were excellent motors. Polaris had good 340s, 440s, and 488s. They would regularly get over 10,000 miles without anything done to the engines. I would look at any of these fan powered machines from '97 and on (when some good suspension upgrades took place.) Avoid the 550 like a plague unless you are successful at the lottery regularly. Indy Lites with Xtra-lite suspension were even decent for low-end lightweight rigs. The newer 340 power machines ride well and are strongly built but use a lot of power turning the suspension (as compared to the older 340s). I ran my old 97 Trail RMK (488 fan) for 25,000 before it got loose and gave up; did a ring change at 13 grand.

Arctic Cat had some good fans in the 340s and 440s. Bought my wife a 440 Panther in '01. It needed new pistons a couple of years ago - kids ran that thing for a few years which didn't do the engine any favors I'm sure- but it still runs well.



My 13 year old ran that machine last March when I did a 600+ mile trip with him from the coast into interior. I think it's around the 12,000 mile mark now.
The 'Cat 570 is a good engine as near as I can tell - that T570 (Bearcat without frills). Mine has 5000+ miles on it; mostly work miles�



I hardly ride a mile these days without a few studs; 24-48 is far fewer than any dealer recommends but it completely changes the control you get and is very worthwhile. (They do decrease the life of the track somewhat, but that is insignificant compared to what you get � and 10,000 miles is still quite possible for track life.)

Yamaha made some good fans. I ran a couple 340s back in the 80s which ran well and with decent life. Their little recently kaput Bravo had a good rep though I never have cared for the rattly single cylinder two strokes. (My first new machine, an early 80s Ski-Doo Skandic had a rattly single cylinder '277' in it which basically shook itself to pieces. Other than the fact that it could walk over the snow, that machine was one breakdown after another.)

I have avoided Ski-Doo after my first foray with them. For a long time they seemed to have the theory part of design down much better than the R&D part. I have one of their fans, a 550 , which was built around '08 and it seems to be a much better machine than what they built 20 plus years ago (when I think they hadn't been introduced yet to alloy steels.) The Rotax engines - have had a good rep for a long time. They still aren't the first place I look and I don't like to work on them but they are a much better machine than they once were - and the prices reflect that.

a guy could be easily fooled that you've set a sled for a mile or three


but who wants to listen to someone that's btdt?

to OP ... if u could fine a 1997 Polaris transport, 141" w/rev .....u could rule the world .... best all around sled ever made imo......(btw I ride a 800 rmk 151" won't leave home with out it!) sold https://www.nlclassifieds.com/Recre...0-corner-brook-Newfoundland-NLCId1652576

Won't hurt my feelers if you call bullspit on me. 'sides, these photo ops are getting pricier all the time.

Don't think I saw budget mentioned in this thread, but it's something worth discussing. There have been huge strides made in snowmachines in the past 5-8 years in both suspension and engines. If you can afford a newer machine you'll likely enjoy a better ride and possibly a more reliable engine.

My first foray into snow goes was a Skidoo Scandik, I figured hey only $400 and it runs, how bad could it be?



Long story short, I put more than double that in new bearings, used track, hyfax, broken shock, cracked transfer case (due to someone re-assembling it incorrectly) used skies and a wind screen. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few parts, yeah new carb boots. I still need to chase down why it's flooding, not sure if it's carb related or the ignition partially cutting out. I should replace the wiring harness while I'm at it.

Anyhow, an old machine will teach you how to wrench, which isn't a bad thing, so long as your learning sessions are in a heated garage, not 20 miles from the trail head.

As far as air cooled vs. liquid cooled, the issue with liquid cooled is you need to have snow getting onto the heat exchanger to keep it cool, or you'll overheat. So if you run hard pack, you'll need scratchers. The fan cooled engines are pretty bullet proof, not the highest hp, but fast enough to be fun and hurt you if you don't pay attention.

If I was to do the used sled thing over, I'd look for a newer Scandik with the 600 ACE engine



Liquid cooled with a fan, so no issues with ambient temps or getting snow on the cooler, plenty of power, and great economy. You would give up pull start and may have issues with cold starting at colder than -40 F. Fine with me, my motivation to leave a heated building tends to fade at -20. Fortunatley I live in the temperate part of Alaska, though unfortunately this season has been unusually temperate.

True for some of the liquid cooled, but I dare say the fans haven't fared so well. EPA would love to see them gone (and the same applies to all carbureted two-strokes). Trying to 'clean up' a carbureted two-stroke means running leaner to get a hotter burn. Fans rely more on fuel for cooling than do the liquids which can control heat better. Lean fans run hotter and are constantly closer to 'the edge' where reliability ends and burn up begins. I believe the Rotax fans (Ski-Doo)- the 550 anyway, and the 570 Suzuki (Arctic Cat) are both good engines which have shown few problems. I don't know that they are better than the older 300-400 somethings, but they do make more power. I do know that Fuji (Polaris) pooched the screw on their 550. All you need to do is look at the microfiche parts history of an engine to see if it 'works' or not. Yearly changes are not good juju. You can also do the same with other components if you want to invest the time. (I always do that when I buy new.)

BTW, and FWIW, buy your bearings on eBay. Yes they are cheap, yes they come from China. That's the same source country that every manufacturer uses. (This tidbit applies to the bearings which run in the snow: idler/carrier wheels only since I generally replace them every year. Putting high quality bearings on the drive and jackshafts - where applicable- make a lot of sense. OEM is not a bad place to go for them.) The bearing number on the seals will get you the size infer needed. (And spend the $15 necessary for a decent snap ring plier; it'll save some grief if you go to confession. )