FNG looking at an 01 700 Summit as 1st sled

[FNG]

Ok sorry in advance for being such a noob but here is what I am looking at.
I am a total noob to snowmobiling, but have ridden dirt bikes, road bikes, Mtn bikes, rock climbed, flown hang gliders, telemark skied for 20 years, etc... outdoorsy and fit for a 49 yera old (180 lbs 6-1"). I have some buddies who are active snowmobilers all of whome ride 800cc and larger Mtn sleds and who swear that I would just eat this up. I am looking at buying a Mtn sled (2001 Ski-Doo 700 Summit) as a first sled. Is this a good choice?

Specifics are 2001 Ski-Doo Summit
144" x 2" track
Mtn Ski's
Reed Spacers
S.S. Can
2300 mi
$2700

Going to look at the sled this afternoon and have read a couple of articles on how to evaluate a used sled... am bringing along an experienced Mtn sled rider but non mechanic. I am very mechanically inclined myself and work on my own cars and motorcycles.

Other sleds that I am considering is the RMK 600 or 800 Mtn Sled and an M7 or M8 in the 2001-2004 vintage, oh, I would be riding at 4500 ft to 7000 ft around Bend OR and mostly boondocking 60-70% off trail riding.


Any suggestions? things to look out for with this 01 SUmmit? other input?
Thanks

 

[MountainPowder]

Certainly better than my first sled, hell its better than my current sled I don't think you would be dissapointed too much by that sled. And I do think you will be loving your new addiction. I wouldn't go any smaller than a 700 motor or 144 track, or you will soon be wanting to upgrade (you may be wanting to anyway ). I'd bet you could find an 800 with a longer track for a similiar price if you're wanting to jump in with both feet and not need to upgrade for quite a while.

 

[Motley Doo]

The ZX platform(00'-03') was a great sled, heck, I'm still on one! Tougher than nails, I don't have any experience with the 700 but I hear its a good motor. I'm 6'2" and the best investment I have is an 8" bar riser. Makes the sled a lot easier to stand up on!

You might work on him on that price, probably get it down a bit lower too. I doubt that you will get any other those other sleds cheaper! But it doesn't hurt to shop around. Either way, if you like dirtbikes, you will LOVE sledding!

 

[ArcticDoo2]

I have a 01 Summit 700 144 and love it. The one thing that I've really heard about them being a problem is find out if the crank bearing have been regreased with isoflex. I have been told by a few people that the grease starts to go bad around 2500 miles and i just did mine at 2400, so that one is about due as well. Other than that it is great. It has plenty of power and mine has never even fouled a plug so i'd say it's a good sled.

 

[Ancient Sledder]

They are a very good sled. I am impressed with how well mine has been. The only trouble I have is the pull cord has to be replaced every two years. I have 1200 miles on mine now, so I know I will be greasing the crank bearings soon.

 

[Cowboy151]

Still have my 00 700. Very good all around sled. Put a set of pipes on it and dynoed at 137 hp. Certainly room for modifications if so desired. Cheers,

 

[Summit8]

Make sure your bearings are good, check rings and cyls, put in a set of new rings while your at it.

If you can afford it, swap in a 144x16, or a 151, 8" bar riser, throttle ext., and racing brake line if needed, Boss hi-rise flat-top seat, hps or dynoport can, rkt head, and you'd have a very good setup.

Add reed spacers,lightweight hood or anything else you can find, if you can't find used parts here on Snowest, try Dootalk or ebay.

rkt and Big John both make different stages of motor mods for this motor. I had an 00 700 Summit, was a good running sled.

 

[FNG]

Checked the sled, it's a clean machine on initial inspection, small 1" tear in the seat (repaired) and has been serviced regularly, zircs lubed, cranck case oil changed x 2 since initially purchased by this guy with 500mi on the odo, now it has 2300 and change, he has run Amsoil in it, track is in great shape, and engine compartment is clean, belt is new with a new spare, didn't get to check compression. Sled hadn't been run in a couple of weeks, started cold on the 5th pull (temp in mid30's) with full choke, very little smoke, good but not excessive back pressure, after running for a few min, and shutting down, started back up on 1st pull and no choke. Sled already has reed spacers and the S.S can had very little discoloration and per the current owner he has only ridden the sled 1-2 times per season for the past 4 seasones since moving to the area and is selling it for lack of use. Talked him down to $2300 and were doin the deal tomorrow or Thursday.

Sled will need a bar riser, probubly 5-6" and bar end hooks to start, other than that most folks around here have been suggesting a 141-144" track so I'll keep that. I'll probubly be looking for some powder ski's though

Looks like it's gonna be a good season

 

[mannix]

I bought an 03 Summit 700 this fall - my first sled also. I'm very happy with it; I've only ridden it 3 times, once on barely enough snow, just to see, then another time on almost enough, lots of windpack and some soft stuff, then last Sunday in 3+' of new snow.

It is fun. It has plenty of power, and one of the guys I've been lucky enough to ride with 2 out of 3 times took it for a spin & showed me what it could do - I had some fears that 700x144 was not enough; no longer. He made it do all sorts of neat stuff.

800+cc modmotormonsters with 163" tracks are certainly BETTER, but for what I'm doing, as a beginner, the 03 700 does not limit me AT ALL.

Mine was $2500, 03, reverse, decent shape mechanically, banged up hood. 3900 miles. The hood is still OK-ish, but it is rough. I don't care. If I put a new hood on it, it'd look pretty nice.

When I got it, I changed the chaincase oil, lubed every zerk I could find, put new plugs in it, put fresh oil in it, greased the bolts that go through the skis (and the metal sleeves), tightened everything I could find, just kinda went over it. It starts 1-2 pulls stone cold, 1 (easy) pull warm, does everything it is supposed to, seems to have decent power, no hesitation from idle to 8krpm, shrug, it is exponentially better than me.

The 700 seems to have a good reputation - I found some threads here from people who have 15-20k km on them - 9-12000 miles - on the original motor.

I wanted reliability. 700s seem to fit that bill. I think I'd like a Rev better, but a $2500 Summit/Rev does not run, or is about to explode, as far as I can tell. I'm scared of the 800cc motors - they _seem_ to blow up too frequently. Virtually all of the 800s advertised here (Denver) on Craigslist mention "new motor" or "fresh top-end" in them.

I'm sure that the 800s are better from a power standpoint; so far, I've not wanted any MORE power, and when Kaleb rode it, ehhh, it'll do everything I want it to. I may want to upgrade down the road, but for a first sled, I have zero complaints - it is pretty awesome. I'm 5' 8" and I _really_ want to put a riser on it. That's as close to a "complaint" as I have - but again, that's not holding me back, I've seen a little of what the sled CAN do, and the riser is not the problem.

Pricing seems to be all over the map - the cheapest I saw for a Summit 700 was $2k for a very nice 2000 with 5500 miles; average seems to be $25-3200, and I've seen some nice 03s for up to $4500. I'm happy with mine....


Iain

 

[autowrench]

Good choice! I've got a 2003 700 summit 151. 7100 miles on it (all mine). Lost a little of it's edge, so I will rebuild it this winter. Should have done it before the hand surgery(long story). That sled should keep you happy for a while.
Tom

 

[bluemtnsnoguide]

I actually have my 2000 700 for sale, I put a new 05 suspension and 151x16, and motor wa redone 500 miles ago,about 4000 total miles and new high rise seat and new ski doo skiis v-force reeds and all other goodies, but I guess too late I was asking $2700

 

[2walla]

I think you did good, The 700 is pretty bulletproof motor. Should be a really good first sled for you.

 

[Tearupamountain]

The Zx chassis was good but you would be doing yourself a huge favor to pickup a rev. Much easier to learn on. I think anyone would agree that a rider forward chassis will make you a better rider sooner

 

[FNG]

Well, for better of for worse the sled is now sitting in my driveway and by early next week I will have dropped it off for it's pre-season maintenance. I will go over the sled myself anyway but it's nice to have someone who is truly knowlegable look it over so I have a good starting point.

I agree that one if the rider foreward designs would have been nice but nothing like that was coming up for sale here locally in the last few weeks in my price range (under 3k for sled and initial gear). I am sure that if I had been more patient then some better screaming deal may have popped up and now that i have paid the guy it's certainly only going to be a matter of minutes before the deal of a lifetime posts on Craigslist right down the street form me but I think that the $2300.00 that i paid was very fair and now I've got a grat sled to learn on.

My thinking is that I will probubly spend a season (or two) on this sled and learn how to ride and really find out what else is out there and then sell this one and move up...

I'm stoked!!!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

 

[afrank3594]

You'll love the sled. Ive got on and everyone that rides it loves it. Put in premium gas , good oil and pull the cord. The only thing youll need is a strong rope. (To pull your friends mod sleds back to the trailer )

 

[Throttle Junkie]

LOL he is trying to get into it for as cheap as possible and you just spent 3K...more than he paid for the sled.

FNG, love the name by the way, ***gin new guy just ride it how it is and enjoy. Learn how to ride first then worry about upgrade or mods, it's a great sled it is perfect for a first sled.

Make sure your bearings are good, check rings and cyls, put in a set of new rings while your at it.

If you can afford it, swap in a 144x16, or a 151, 8" bar riser, throttle ext., and racing brake line if needed, Boss hi-rise flat-top seat, hps or dynoport can, rkt head, and you'd have a very good setup.

Add reed spacers,lightweight hood or anything else you can find, if you can't find used parts here on Snowest, try Dootalk or ebay.

rkt and Big John both make different stages of motor mods for this motor. I had an 00 700 Summit, was a good running sled.