Not a single nut or bolt overlooked on this build. Is a $67k dollar snowmobile worth it? An inside look into the build, the ride, and some new goodies coming out for 2026.
SW Video Is a $67k dollar snowmobile worth it?
- Thread starter christopher
- Start date
That sled is insane! $67k is an insane figure to spend on a sled, but there's more custom than Polaris in that sled; it's not hard to see where the money went. A couple things I'd disagree on are that I don't see this coming from the factory and being what most people ride in five to ten years unless it's only very rich people left buying sleds or the economy just goes nuts and all of a sudden everyone can afford $30-40-50K on a sled. Next, I don't want a P-22 POS on any sled of mine; maybe he's polished that turd, or maybe Polaris told him no P-85 swaps... Anyway, I'd be curious how much lighter a 9R twin pipe would be, but if I was dropping that kind of money and had his skills, there's a good chance I'd go with the turbo too. I've also got to point out that the RTR weight is with two gallons less gas and a quart less oil, so it's more like 65lbs less RTR than 78, but still very impressive - there's no question you'd notice that. Very cool sled; I'd love to build sometime like that, and yes, if I had $67k to spend on a sled, I'd be doing the work myself.
Rtr is like 78 not 65. Rtr is rtr. If they have to pack gas that is more weight but he can take it off. He probably has someone pack gas for him. I had that tank on a 21 axys before anyone knew anything about the matryx. The coolest thing about it was how narrow it made the sled feel. Didn't realize how fat the polaris tank was until then. Told myself I would rather have a smaller tank and pack gas than go the other way. That's why the doo 9.4 doesn't bother me.
3k to save 4lbs is crazy, ti bolts. Just take a crap for free or just loose 5lbs. same thing.
No, I don't agree with 78, unless he's weighing the stock sled with 9.5 gallons of gas and one quart of oil. Maybe he is and I missed it, but most likely the stock sled is holding around two gallons more gas and another quart of oil - which comes out to about 13lbs. Sure, most people are going to just fill them, but if you're into shedding weight enough to spend money on Ti bolts, you're either paying careful attention to how much fuel you use and short-filling the tank, you use it all up anyway, or you're an idiot.
I do agree on smaller tanks: I'd love something like that Skinz tank on my sled because of the narrowing effect and lighter weight. I typically burn 6-8 gallons, so the size is plenty for me. Not that I'm going looking for one and prepared to spend the money, but it would be a significant upgrade. I think I'd really have to love the feel of the smaller tank to spend the money and commit to packing gas. Of course, that's average rider problems. If you're CB, you'd ride with a five-gallon tank if you liked it and have the other guys pack gas for you: total win-win! Actually, win-win-lose, although if I were getting paid to ride and carry gas, my only question would be "how much?"
He is comparing the rtr of his full mod to a stock boost rtr. It is 78. He mentioned the weight of less gas and only 1 quart of oil. Rtr is rtr. I don't get why people get so hung up on this. He is not comparing dry weight which would be closer. He starts the day 78 pounds lighter than someone on a stock boost. That is substantial.
Looks fun.
Definitely not going after the "10-20 yr old used sled buying" target market.
Impressive the 78# is done with a completely stock tunnel, bulkhead and running boards.
Next step is a carbon tunnel and tank for another 12#.
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Yeah 78 is misleading.
6-8 gallons is silly. I burn a full tank, 2 gallon spare, then bum 1-2 gal from buddies to get to the truck.
Actually, I burned 20 gallons last ride! Don't question me, I've got the receipt (and my apologies to the guy who had to empty 10 gallons from the trash can). Seriously though, having to drive six hours (eight when the roads are bad), I'm not interested in taking the time and effort to win the "I burn more gas" contest. Packing gas just seems like work. But add in the diesel burned in the process, and I might be winning this one after all.
Anyway, I stick by what I said: there's a definite "yeah, but..." to the number given. 65lbs is impressive - a huge chunk of weight, really. That said, maybe I'll fill the back of my tank with foam so it'll only take 8 gallons and see how much mileage I can get out of bragging on how I cut 20lbs off my RTR weight...
Only from a power to weight perspective in a straight line. From a physics and handling perspective it's not. Burandt is already a pretty lean guy to begin with. Loosing 5lb might actually hurt his performance lol.
If I were him and had to have the sled wrapped I'd be requesting thinner vinyl. Like OEM style thin decals. My pro-lite from BDX came that way in 2014 so it's not impossible to do. First time I put a wrap on a sled I couldn't believe how much weight it added. Arctic FX could do lightweight "Burandt Edition" wraps and charge an extra $100 for them.
Being this late in the season to get the build done, I wonder if he's going to carry this sled over into next year.
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I told him to work with carbon sled on a carbon bulkhead next. If the carbon rails can take a beating and not break I would think a reinforced bulkhead is doable, and tunnel. There wouldn't be much else left to do after that.
With how many things bolt into the bulkhead (eg: engine vibrations) and how it acts as a heat sink for the front cooler.......
I'd want it to stay aluminum.
Tunnel and fuel tank have potential for savings for sure though.
Clamping a gripper ski in a cnc mill and shaving plastic seems like you could cut a pound each. (Then torch it to smooth out the surface afterwards)
I still want to see it attempted, I wont be convinced either way until someone try's it. There would still need to be some backer plating on the attachment points.
Didn't Muskoka weigh his latest Doo build and come out lighter than Burandt for significantly less money? I'm trying to find the video of him saying this but I'm not having any luck. Did anyone else catch that?
And who's to say carbon holds up? Chris isn't putting more than 3-400 miles on these sleds and we only get to see a couple clips of each of these sleds a year. Kusters carbon rails didn't hold up to half the hill at jackson last year...food for thought?
And who's to say carbon holds up? Chris isn't putting more than 3-400 miles on these sleds and we only get to see a couple clips of each of these sleds a year. Kusters carbon rails didn't hold up to half the hill at jackson last year...food for thought?
Ahhh that's why I couldn't find it. I thought it was it's own video. If it's that light RTR then he needs to make a video of that and blow Burandt's 70k build out of the water.
I like Burandt, talked to him a handful of times over the past 20 years. And I realize he needs to price things out at retail since he is running an active aftermarket sales shop. But to say the sled is costing him $67k is a bit much. I doubt he'd charge a customer that much for that exact sled if he walked thru the doors and asked Chris to build it. There's gotta be a 10-15% discount in there somehow you'd think. lol
I understand it, but I also shake my head a little bit at it. Nothing like the MX retro stuff going on tho. Guys claiming they got 35-40K into a replica RC Suzuki because the works forks cost 20K brand new....even tho they only paid 2k for the forks from a collector etc etc. Now those videos grind my gears. I'm glad we aren't at that stage of blowing smoke.
Muskoka has a 5 gallon tank. Burandts has 4.5 more gallons of gas. Rtr is rtr so it doesn't matter.
I've said it before, but probably the most fair weight is with just enough gas and oil for the sled to run, plus obviously coolant. 5 gallons is getting ridiculous: you'd always be packing gas, maybe more on the tunnel than in the tank. Anyway, I think the price is in the ballpark from what I remember of his explanation. Because so much of it was custom-made or stuff you can't just buy off the shelf, there is going to be a lot of variability. If you're pretty well tied in with guys who collect those cool sled bits and you do enough business with a machine shop to get good rates, I'm sure you could duplicate it for cheaper. To walk in off the street and have one of the few shops who could do it build you one would cost well over $50k and probably over $68k. That's not to say Burandt has $68k into it - I think that's obvious - but there's a lot of stuff he has to pull out a number for, and I don't think he's just shooting the moon.
Life isn't fair. Why is 5 gallons ridiculous? That sled rips.
Do you here that Polaris and Ski Doo? Sounds like people will be happy with 5 gallon tanks!! Not!! Just think of the media they could put out. We dropped our weight 30-40 lbs on the new 2027's. I am surprised Polaris hasn't actually reduced there's down a gallon or so to reduce their wet weight by 6-10lbs.
