Beginner Snowmobile-Complete noob

[FoggyScope]

Stay away from the Polaris 800 mid 2000s. They are notorious for having a bad crank shaft.

Youre correct, however most of the bad ones blew up and the ones still around had good ones. That was also specifically why i mentioned it. A sled that has a bad reputation to some people that the majority of whats currently available are great runners. Ive personally owned one that had nitrous on it that had no problems (didnt blow that motor) and seen 3 recently that had a bunch of miles put on and are doing great, purchased for a price where you can blow one up and buy another tomorrow IF that happened. Just offering the cheapest option basically. Thats why i backed it up with theres better options for what he asked.

 

[MallardSX2]

 

[Pony Soldier]

I'm not an expert and I gave mine away. We have light fluffy snow that won't pack. I advised my neighbor to get a long track for the snow conditions. He bought a standard and his sled was in my field until spring.

I told him he needed trail shoes and he bought bear paws. He had to nearly crawl back to the road.

Match the sled to the conditions.

 

[CRJR45]

I vote fuel injection just for the ability to change altitudes , and long track .

BUT , whatever you buy , the number one error is overdriving your headlight , please be careful .

 

[Yukon Cornelius]

What is your budget? I don’t think there are many 4 stroke options in your year range but I may be wrong.

I own 3 currently and almost bought a new skandic 600 ACE this year. It decided to stick with my 3 2 strokes. They are all paid for and cost me less than the new one would have been.

I do have one down currently and I bought someone else’s problem.

 

[CorbLand]

If you are handy at all the mid 2000 rmk will do that. Before I had to cut back on expensive hobbies (married with kid) going to the mountains riding was what I lived for. I sure would like to get on one of these new ones with boost and a 165 track. I can’t imagine how hard they pull now.

They pull way too hard. If you get back into sledding, please don’t start back on a boosted sled. Way too many funerals because of them.

 

[Dogone]

fuel injection/reverse and a longer track . Ski doo skaldic /trapper models have all these I think. You want a utilitarian machine not one built for a sled head. Always have a spare belt and toolkit. Just four a hours ago I blew a belt. Five miles from home, would have been a long walk.

 

[Wrench]

$1500 and less= 488 fuji powered indy trail rmk.


$3000 I'm looking at a tundra.

$5000 I'm looking at an expedition.

Beyond that I am going with a new doo.

 

[KurtR]

They pull way too hard. If you get back into sledding, please don’t start back on a boosted sled. Way too many funerals because of them.

Probably never will but now I got a sxs with tune and clutch kit. Supper smooth but it will hit 85 real fast so my brain has to control the gas pedal. Growing up racing and in power sports speed is an addiction. I still would like to get on one and squeeze it to the handle bar

 

[Idaho4x4Bronco]

View attachment 803001

I was looking at that earlier. Don't let me look too long, I don't *need* that

 

[3forks]

I used to really be into sleds and used them for backcountry skiing.

The only advice I have is to ride with someone else if you can, because they all seem to break on you at some point, and getting seriously stuck by yourself is miserable.

Getting a tow out, or having someone around to help in case of something going wrong is priceless.

A long time ago I saw someone made a comment online about how to train for riding sleds… it went something like dig a hole deep enough to bury a 50 gallon trash can, then fill the trash can with water and get on your knees and try to pull the trash can out of the hole.

 

[Mountainrancher]

I wouldn’t own a snowmobile that was carbureted and didn’t have reverse. Stay away from true mountain sleds for your uses. They are very easy to overheat doing anything besides deep snow riding. Also stay way from any Polaris 800 2004-2015ish.

 

[lak2004]

Been thinking about getting my first snowmobile, I know absolutely nothing about them. That being said, it'll ONLY be for hunting and going into remote lakes, no crazy climbs or anything serious. Mostly just groomed trails to get around faster then the atv on tracks.

One of the spots we're wolf hunting is a long slow ride in the side by side. I assume a mid 2000s 4-stroke anything would be reliable and effecient for this need? Googling snowmobile reliability is like opening pandora's box...
Most of which I don't understand as it's all written in go fast lingo

Thanks for any help or ideas for what to look into and look for. I have about 5-6 weeks to research it before I consider a purchase, so just a general idea of what to research to cut out the bs is helpful.

Are you wanting to haul a sled behind it? All groomed trails or will you be off trail at all? What's your budget?
I would stay away from a 4 stroke if you have any itch to be off trail, they are heavy.

 

[IDLassie]

Scankic machines are like your Lazy boy chair. They ride nice (the newer ones) But they are heavy and hard to handle with bad shoulders. The new Tundra's are the way to go. Great mileage don't weigh a ton and do good.
We had one problem with both models they made the skis a little to narrow and would dump you too much.
Got wider skies and solved the problem.
Sold the Scankic neither one of us could handle it. Just too big for us.

 

[wyosteve]

For your use, I'd suggest seriously considering a sled that has reverse also.

 

[Silveroddo]

I’ve got an old Skidoo I picked up from a guy that I call the Tundra 2.0
The guy that built it knew what he wanted and it translated in performance.
It started out as a ‘98 skidoo 500 fan, the track and tunnel were stretched to 136” with a 1 1/2” paddle, it’s been geared down, has powder ski’s, narrower ski stance, and a handle bar riser. The only thing it’s really missing is reverse. I’ve got a 600 efi trail sled, but the ski doo is the go anywhere get off trail weave through the woods hunting sled. It’s heavier than a Tundra 2, but it’s got the suspension and performance that the Tundras don’t have. I’ve been eyeing up Polaris Trail RMK’s as something that could be similar to how this one is set up and have reverse.

 

[Overdrive]

I've owned several sleds over the years from beater trail sleds to turboed long tracks. I only ride back country steep and deep now. The big 3 brands (Polaris, Arctic cat and Ski Doo) all have some good older sleds that would work for what you want it's just what deal can you find on older iron. Personally I'd look for something with reverse and EFI in 600-700 cc motor. Track I would stay in the 136-144 with at least a 1 1/2" paddle, if the sled seems to get hot on the trail just add some scratchers and that will help with cooling and lube for the hyfax. I will warn you, once you buy one it starts an addiction and soon you'll have more than one, one for each occasion and you will want to explore more than just the trail for hunting/fishing on a sled.

 

[TaperPin]

You will be looking at used sleds and a salesman will show you one of these vintage 440 rental machines - it will seem big enough, seem to have more than enough power, seem to not get stuck riding the groomed trail behind the dealer’s showroom, seem to be something great to get your feet wet, but don’t fall for it. These old things from any of the brands have been rode hard and are long in the tooth, not to mention they are dinosaurs - think of them like a 1970 Datsun pickup. The world has evolved so far from where these 1980 machines were, it’s not even close to what everyone is talking about. Lol

 

[mtnbiker208]

I have been riding them all my life. Saying you want a snowmobile is like saying you want a car. Way to many options and variatons. stay away from 4 strokes, they are heavy. Reverse is nice and needed. pm me and give me your phone number and i can talk over the phone this week sometime.

lightweigh sleds(if there is such a thing) are nice when stuck. power and track size matter. Elan's and tundras are the workhorse sleds.

 

[cnelk]

One trick that many dont know is to have about a 5ft piece of 1" nylon strap in the tool kit.
If your pull rope ever breaks when you go to start it, take the strap and wrap it around the primary clutch a few times, pull the strap to crank the engine and you can start your sled that way