chosing a sled

[bobbuilds]

I am new to this site and hope that I am in the right forum.

I am looking for a sled to ski from, nothing fancy and easy to repair. I will be towing 1 or 2 others at times and side by side as well. I am wondering what brands are most reliable and what to stay away from. I need a basic sled, artic cat m7 and 8 seem common. I am looking for something to use year after year and hope not to abuse it, My intentions are to ski laps from the sled and not much else, no boondocking. Do you recomend new or used and if used what do I look for in a used sled? what about the summit series? are they reliable or easaly repairable? I am nervous here, not sure where to start.

thank you

 

[MtnMaxMod]

In my opinon, I think a Yamaha Nytro would suit you well. Has the extra torque of the 4 stroke motor to haul a few extra bodies up the hill and it is about as reliable as you can get. It will run forever with far less maitnence than than the 2 stroke sleds. (M8, Summit, Dragon etc) You say you're not boondocking so the extra weight shouldn't be a problem.

 

[bobbuilds]

thank you, I honestly had not even considered a 4 stroke over a 2 stroke. makes sense. Yamaha is a well known brand as well.

how is torque applyed to snow off trail, say at the bottom of the bowl versus a packed trail. will i benefit from a 4stroke?( i will start searching a new thought now.)

 

[TacocaT]

IF you want to tow a bunch of people and haul gear look into one of the wide track models. I saw a bunch of Bearcats when I was out this weekend with huge racks and a bunch of ropes hanging off the back. But they where in an area with well packed trail to all the runs. Towing on any machine is tough off trail and eats up belts. If you just want tow into a zone on a trail like at Vail pass just about anything will do.

But I say get yourself a mountain sled because it won't take long before you want to get to areas off trail and you say no boondocking now but when you are out skiing and your buddies are carving turns on their sleds in between runs you are going to eventually want in on the fun. I bought a used M7 and it does the trick.

Are you the same Bobbuilds from Mountainbuzz

 

[Wiley_Coyote]

Be careful. I got into snowmobiling to do back-country snowboarding. Now I leave the board at home. Boondocking and mountain riding are just too much fun.

 

[backcountryislife]

Be careful. I got into snowmobiling to do back-country snowboarding. Now I leave the board at home. Boondocking and mountain riding are just too much fun.

umm.... yeah, I NEVER wanted to turn into one of those dirty sledders...

I was JUST gonna use it for access only...

Now I own 2 turbos, a race sled & spend ALL my disposable income on sledding.

Get the LEAST enjoyable sled you can find, like a bearcat, or skandic if you don't want to get sucked in. As soon as you buy a fun sled & find out you can carve UPHILL AND downhill, and jump uphill & downhill... it's over, yer scrood.

 

[AndrettiDog]

I've heard that story so many times. I just need it for access...now I want to do this more often!

If you really think you will be on a road or trail that is packed and doesn't have much powder, a utility sled would be better built to hang your gear and tow (lightweight bumpers don't tow well). But they are not good in the powder. If you want in the mountain segment cheap I would go for something like a Polaris 700 from about 99-04. That motor was strong, reliable, easy to repair and can be found for relatively cheap. The AC Mountain chassis wasn't bad for this type of thing but they did have some exhaust valve issues. Ski-Doo Revs and the earlier ZX chassis sleds were also good sleds. Nytro's are nice but they are expensive (only been out a few years or so). If price isn't too big of a deal, you can go with a AC M chassis (don't get the 700, no reverse and some bog issues if they were not fixed). If you find a utility sled it might have better cooling options than the lightweight mountain models do.

 

[bobbuilds]

yes, same bobbuilds.

Thank you all for your continued imput. I am still working it all out. I have been looking at AC M7 and 8's and also have found a kingcat 900. The thing is, I am not sure how maintanable they will be in a few years. How long can I expect to find parts for these sleds and so forth. does anyone have an idea of where to get parts? or how easy or difficult it has been?

 

[miralas]

if this means anything and now that i own a sled for the same reason i happen to notice alot of summits in all my snowboard magazines. i kinda wish its what i would have held out for because my dragons been nothing but problems, killed my snowboard season this year because i had to replace the top end. the new etecs from skidoo seem to be doing a very good job( atleast from what i follow on these threads).

i opted to get a sled that would be fun all around because even though all my best friends are avid skiers, the majority of them have skipped out of town and just my sled friends are here. this way, no matter what i'm doing, i'm always out in the snow and not sitting around because everyone got busy.