AmSnow.com is now SnoWest.com
On the other hand, new machines have made major advances is suspension design, fuel efficiency and cleanliness, higher and more forward seating positions and more powerful engines.
So what can you do if you still like the wind protection, styling and accessibility of your 2000 machine, but would like a better ride and more performance?
Get the benefits of old and new
In 2004 I bought a new 2003 Polaris 600 Edge for just $4,000 from a dealer clearing out year-old inventory.
I picked the Edge for a number of reasons. It has “real” snowmobile styling, good wind protection and everything is readily accessible when you open the hood. Both the rear suspension and front IFS have plenty of travel and the 600 Polaris “short block” engine has had a great reputation for reliable power.
My main objective was to use this sled as a “test mule” in developing new performance parts including clutches, carbs, big bore kits and quieter performance exhaust systems. There was plenty of room under the hood to test and evaluate all kinds of exhaust systems and muffler configurations, my stock and trade.
A used Polaris 600 Edge today sells for $1,500 to $2,500, depending on condition, and is a great sled that can easily be modified for both ride and performance.
On my dyno the 600 produced 116 horsepower at 7,800 rpm in stock form. With our newer larger volume single pipe we added another 10 hp bringing peak power to 126 hp at 8,000 rpm. This quickly brought performance up to the level of many 700 engines.
Our “Internal Stinger” single pipe combined with our “Double Core” silencer meets the new DNR 88 dBA level and also saves 25 lbs.
In the clutch department we kept the Polaris primary clutch, but changed the secondary to an Arctic roller with our steel billet helix and needle bearing roller kit for quicker, more efficient back shifting and harder acceleration.
A big bore kit also is easy to do on this engine. There’s a 1mm over 82mm Wiseco piston for the 700 Polaris and it has the same pin size and pin height as the 600’s piston. All we did was bore out the cylinders to the new piston size, port it and re-nikasil the bore. The power valves have to be machined back to fit the new bore and the head machined to adjust for bore size and compression ratio.