i am looking to upgrade i am now 14 and will be buying a truck next summer then i am getting a new sled. i am on an xlt rmk mod now and i think the 600 will be a good upgrade for me but are they good sleds or cans of worms. what do i look out for.
06 600 rmk pros and cons?
- Thread starter rmking600
- Start date
V
volcano buster
Well-known member
Nothing bad to report.
Keep your eyes open for some deals coming up as folks are dumping these moderately older sleds in favor of the new chassis. The difference of this small block 600 twin to the XLT is huge. If you find you need a little more or a lot more power, that can be done quite reliably.
Keep your eyes open for some deals coming up as folks are dumping these moderately older sleds in favor of the new chassis. The difference of this small block 600 twin to the XLT is huge. If you find you need a little more or a lot more power, that can be done quite reliably.
Those were absolutely GREAT sleds! Super reliable with decent performance with the stock 600. Night and day upgrade in chassis to your XLT. Hard to say hp performance when you state "mod" from your XLT. Depends on what "mod" means and who did it.
Only suspect serious design deals are the select steering has a tendancy to give up at the wrong time. (we did alot of delete kits on ours) The front plastic that incorporates the bumper is a complete and frustrating POS! The entire front plastic works are all tied together by cheap and totally inadequate molded plastic fasteners. You can not even lift the sled or tie it down with the front bumper or you snap and be in for quite a bit of repair money. The good news is that you can replace the complete plastic on that model with the updated version that performs better in deeper snow and also is much more durable with a solid metal bumper and better fastening design.
The third design problem is in the airbox. With the stock design it is a bear to get back in place. The fix is a simple SLP airbox mod kit. Big hole that you can get your hand and arm down in to seat..pretty much a must have!
My advice is that you at 14 spend much of your spare time studying about the mechanics of this sled so that you can change bearings and do basic service/tuning stuff yourself. Then you get reliability of the outstanding design plus good on snow performance on a budget.
semi funny story on the proto IQ 06 airbox. As is the custom with my work I had one of the very first ones known to man to demo for people at Jackson Hole in 05. Jack Struthers warned me that it was nearly impossible to get the air box back in place. It was set up for 6000ft and we were going to 10,000 on a demo ride with Yamaha on their new APEX. I wanted it to shine (muah ah ah) so we tore it apart in Lincoln County Customs shop to tune it up for altitude. Two yamaha factory techs (they washed their hands after touching the Polaris and no photos were allowed ... yea right), Troy LCC owner and maybe one of the better mechanics on the planet, myself (weak and left handed with tools but can muttle by and have had a small block edge airbox out and in a least a million times), and five beer laden spectators fought that thing for hours! Finally left it in the shop took off my Polaris coat (not really) and I rode a proto APEX and five of the coolest super charged RX one tons ever. Poor handling monsters but lots of poop. Funny that not much has changed in 6 years! I think they may have actually made a very minor adjustment in the actual consumer models to allow a tiny bit more room over the shaft once they came out in 06...still not that easy if you can't get your arm down in the box!
Only suspect serious design deals are the select steering has a tendancy to give up at the wrong time. (we did alot of delete kits on ours) The front plastic that incorporates the bumper is a complete and frustrating POS! The entire front plastic works are all tied together by cheap and totally inadequate molded plastic fasteners. You can not even lift the sled or tie it down with the front bumper or you snap and be in for quite a bit of repair money. The good news is that you can replace the complete plastic on that model with the updated version that performs better in deeper snow and also is much more durable with a solid metal bumper and better fastening design.
The third design problem is in the airbox. With the stock design it is a bear to get back in place. The fix is a simple SLP airbox mod kit. Big hole that you can get your hand and arm down in to seat..pretty much a must have!
My advice is that you at 14 spend much of your spare time studying about the mechanics of this sled so that you can change bearings and do basic service/tuning stuff yourself. Then you get reliability of the outstanding design plus good on snow performance on a budget.
semi funny story on the proto IQ 06 airbox. As is the custom with my work I had one of the very first ones known to man to demo for people at Jackson Hole in 05. Jack Struthers warned me that it was nearly impossible to get the air box back in place. It was set up for 6000ft and we were going to 10,000 on a demo ride with Yamaha on their new APEX. I wanted it to shine (muah ah ah) so we tore it apart in Lincoln County Customs shop to tune it up for altitude. Two yamaha factory techs (they washed their hands after touching the Polaris and no photos were allowed ... yea right), Troy LCC owner and maybe one of the better mechanics on the planet, myself (weak and left handed with tools but can muttle by and have had a small block edge airbox out and in a least a million times), and five beer laden spectators fought that thing for hours! Finally left it in the shop took off my Polaris coat (not really) and I rode a proto APEX and five of the coolest super charged RX one tons ever. Poor handling monsters but lots of poop. Funny that not much has changed in 6 years! I think they may have actually made a very minor adjustment in the actual consumer models to allow a tiny bit more room over the shaft once they came out in 06...still not that easy if you can't get your arm down in the box!
im 17 and I bought my 09 600 last year, and trust me after riding a phazer for a few years and my dad's 99xlt, the difference is day and night. The chasis is much more tippy and allows for a lot better turning for lighter riders especially. And as far as the engine goes, the new 600 can go in and out of the throttle much faster IMO
Ya, I own 2 RMK's, '07/'08 and they just flat out work! Easily ride in the powder, go where I need them to and back again. . .
