600 RMK 144...any seat time reviews

[SwitchyD]

Does anyone have some seat time on a new 600RMK with a 144 track? I am a flatander from Indiana but love to ride off trail in northern Michigan. I am on a2010 switchback 600 with 136 now. I tried to have my dealer look for a 600 rmk but he insisted I would not be happy because the 600 wasn't enough motor to pull the 144 track.
Anyone had it on any trails. I ride 50/50 on off trail so it would have to be trail worthy.
What kind of top speeds have you seen.

Lets hear some reviews.

 

[ridealaska]

Don't have any experience with the 144 but a buddy has the 155 and that thing rips. I'm sure the 144 would be great on the trail and your dealer doesn't know what he's talking about if he doesnt think the 600 is enough motor to turn the 144.

 

[RMK FREAK 800]

I have the pro 600 155 track and the 600 has plenty of power to do whatever you want. It wont climb the highest but i think it will sure surprise people. PS your dealer don't have a clue

 

[max-nut]

I have only 50 miles on mine, but it seems to be equally nimble on and off trail.

The motor is strong. Have done a few pulls against a 2010 Rush, and it seems that Polaris were truthful when they told us that the new CFI-2 packs a few more hp than the CFI-4.

 

[RC2MAX]

I have about 100 miles of seat time on one. Purchased it for the wife and as I suspected she loves it. She said its the most fun she has ever had on a sled. I rode it for two days while my 8 was in the shop. Breaking it in I was a little concerned I had made the wrong choice, but after break in it woke right up and I know will hang with my 8. As for having enough power for the 144, plenty of power, I'm wishing we went with the 155 at this point. I did notice I do have to use a little more throttle than my 8, but that is what my wife likes about it. She can use more throttle and not feel like the sled is going to run away from her. As for trail use, I wish they had a better suspension kit on the 144. Polaris went to their older style of suspension with the coil over springs. My 8 rides smoother, but I contribute that to the newer suspension design. Since the 144 only has 2" paddles instead of 2.4" you won't have to worry about lugs breaking as much and the rails seem to have more snow on the harder pack than my 155. The running boards are wider which my wife likes but also hold a lot of snow. They aren't the same design as the 155 not as many cut outs and wider is the cause for the snow accumulation. Those are the two reasons I wish I went with a 155. The running boards and suspension will be better on the 155 and as for maneuverability I think isn't much different. I didn't go 155 because I was afraid it wouldn't have the power for the 155, but knew it would turn the 144 really well. This sled has plenty of power to turn the 155. I was actually contemplating getting a 155 for myself when there was the possibility that my sled might get totaled out by the insurance. Then next year putting a turbo on it.

 

[enis750]

I have SOME seat time on mine (40 miles only as snow is limited here)
so far..... I LOVE it!
at one point I thought I wasnt going to like it (before I even rode it)

glad i bought this sled for sure
it pulls really HARD for a 600 IMO
I honestly cant tell the diff between this and my 04 REV 800HO, they are that close

silly easy to pull over...almost dumped me off first time i leaned it over
put some scratchers on it (holes are already pre-drilled for you)
w scratchers down, I didnt see above 127 or so (the 144 also has the front cooler, unlike the Pro 600 155)

had a fun race w my cousin on his 2011 etech 800 154 and my uncles 2010 800R 146
no more than 1.5 to 2 sled lengths behind them on a flat land lake race (which is NOT why i bought this sled)

mine went down tho, as the reear tunnel cooler weld cracked and dumped coolant
pretty freak issue if you ask me and the dealer had zero question warranting it
not too concerned about it , as i wil be back up and running next week (plus we have ZERO snow here anyways)

all in all, GREAT, FUN SLED regardless of your experience or age
I think Polairs has a winner here for those looking for a sled for 50/50 use

 

[PooSlinger]

For Michigan elevations especially, the 600 is MORE than enough. It comfortably pulls a 155 at 8k' so it will have ZERO problems pulling a 144 at 800'.

Though if you keep the Switchback and want a 136x2 track, I have one I'd part with for pretty cheap.

 

[claydogg]

Your dealer is high! I have a 600x144 and an 800x163. The six is the little brother to the eight but it is still a blast to ride. At your elevation you will be fine! In addition the six is way more reliable and proven so ride it like you stole it and smile!

 

[MARV1]

Find a new dealer! 600 144's have been around for a decade now.

 

[shady800x]

i have put about 153.4 miles on mine. i have jumped up from a 2003 edge x 800 to a 2012 600 rmk 144. pulls pretty hard for a 600, able to pop wheelies on demand, if you got good traction. at times the track would spin some before it hooks up and takes off. arm pulling acceleration. not sure what the top speed would be. suspension-wise, is stiff, shocks are pretty cheap. probly will only last a season. there was a service bulletin for the oil pump...had to air bleed the system. black oil on the front bulkhead, not sure where it came from. if you intend to ride this thing on the trails, be sure you get the wind deflectors for it and the wyde-clyde windshield. for you will feel the cold from the knee up. i have the wyde-clyde shield installed, blocked most of the wind for the most part. there would be some rattles from the side panels when accelerating and decelerating. reminded me of the fusion 7 when i first tried it. i recommend getting ice scratchers for it, as it will help alot with cooling. if you intend on getting this machine or any polaris for that matter, ask if they have bled the oil system, otherwise you will have many headaches with engine repair. also check the track tensioners, the lock nuts were not tightened properly and be sure you check your chaincase oil level. some snowmachines had ZERO oil in them. all in all i give this snowmachine an 8 out of 10 for over all performance and feel. also for the record, my 03 800 is still running strong.

 

[max-nut]

Have put a few more miles on mine now. Have not touched any suspension settings yet, but as noted, out of the box it is pretty stiff. Have bought a set of Pro shocks from a forum member here, and will use the waitin time until i get them to fiddle a bit with the suspension settings so that I better can tell what difference the Pro shocks will make.

The engine is really strong, have done a few drags against a 600 rush, a pro xr 800 and a fst, the 600 always get the holeshot by 2-3 sled lengths, and stays ahead for as far as I will go full tilt before Im done with the break in period.

Really fun and playfull sled, easy to thread between the trees. Have seen high engine temp once, but this was running 10-20mph on an icy trail. Will add scratchers for those occasions

 

[Flygti32]

52 miles on my 600 144 now, put 40 of those on yesterday in a mix of ditch running and trail riding. The sled is ridiculously easy to flick and side hill, but i definately need to get bar risers, the stock one is a joke. The power is more than enough and like a couple have said previous , makes me wish i had gone 155, or even 155 Pro. Had a couple issues yesterday though, after a good half hour run, shut off the sled then an hour or so later, restarted the sled, engine temp around 50F warmed up to 90F then drove it up to 120F crack er open and saw 8100 rpm then it just shut down to 6700rpm, it did that 3 times back to back to back , ran the sled for another 30-40 miunutes to the next stop, shut her off for a while again. upon start up and run, had the same problem with the bogging issue, then went away. Have heard about a similar issue in the 800 pro's but not in the 600, anyway other than that the sled ran flawless.

 

[bowtieboy]

Just put a 110 miles on mine on the weekend. Performed great, quick and nimble machine. I noticed on trails that it heats up fairly quick. Within 1.5 miles or so, but it only takes a couple hundred feet of the fluffy stuff to cool it off again.

Finally we figured out that the oil pump is set at 80:1, prod will open the pump up a bit in the near future. But until than Ill continue pre mixing.

 

[snow_god]

Wish i would of known all this info when i snochecked last spring. Dealer said i wouldnt have enough power for what i wanted to do with it. 70% trail 30% off trail. instead i ended up with getting assualt 144. Could of saved myself alot of money if i wouldnt of listen. Not that im not happy with my 800. The few miles i have on it, it perform great. But 2500 difference is alot.

 

[blackie205]

i jumped on one this weekend and i was very suprized with the power it had,it was my buddies but i raced 2 f7 a 03 and a 05 smoked them both and a formula 3 600 that was kickn but on the lake took them all out with ease man that 600 in that chassis rocks,should have raced a 800 to compare but it wasnt mine lol that 2 inch 144 hooks like crazy woooooo might be my next sled 600 with bb and full pipe kit need to try it when there is 3 feet of snow to compare against mine though

 

[Pro116]

ttt...

 

[schmitty2121]

just had mine in cause it would go to 8100 rpms and bog to 6750! it was the egt sensor that was bad and only has 140 miles on it

 

[550iq]

350 miles on mine now, 180 miles of it in -30 degree temperatures. The snowmobile will be easy to live with as it performs its duties (run in the snow, run long distances and even pull a freight sled) very well. As others have mentioned, time perhaps to change to a dealer that will let you buy what you want and will support your decision rather than have a "salesman" selling what they want to sell.

 

[polarisfornow]

you said you ride 50/50 on trail off trail... you already own the perfect sled... its called a switchback. and yes a 600 is enough sled for a 144 but they ride like junk down the trail. Honestly I would say as bad as my old m series. which were notorious for riding bad down the trail. If I rode that much trail I could never be happy with the rmk....

And if you come on here in a month asking how to get more top speed out of your rmk I will just scream!!!

 

[GoBigParts]

you said you ride 50/50 on trail off trail... you already own the perfect sled... its called a switchback. and yes a 600 is enough sled for a 144 but they ride like junk down the trail. Honestly I would say as bad as my old m series. which were notorious for riding bad down the trail. If I rode that much trail I could never be happy with the rmk....

And if you come on here in a month asking how to get more top speed out of your rmk I will just scream!!!

I have put 300 trail miles on my PRORMK 155. I think it rides really nice on the trail. Not going to handle as well as a trail sled with a wider front end an a 121" track but if you know how to trail ride a sled you can make the thing rock on the trail. With that said an RMK or any mountain sled is not built for top speed.