New guy

[gdhillon]

Hey,

Not new to sledding but new to this forum. Been riding for awhile now, have a 94 580 ext and a 90 485 phazer. Looking into upgrading to a rider fwd chassis. My day dreaming consists of the '13 prormk but its pretty pricey. I am looking at the dragons right now, I know theres one engine size that had a lot of lemons (def will stay away from that) but not sure was it the 900 or 800? Im about 150lbs so I am thinking a 1000cc sleds a little much for me......any suggestions for a good fit for me? I live in BC so lots of powder and mountains.

Anywho, little about me im 20 live in Canada and am a 1st year apprentice electrician.

Cheers,

Gavin

 

[Chris6060]

Both the 900 and 800 were both bad motors. The 800 blew up a lot, and the 900 just had countless other problems. The 700 is a strong motor though.

If you're looking at that kind of sled, consider an M8. Handles better than a Dragon, but a similar handling style, and they're reliable as reliable gets.

 

[gdhillon]

I have never even considered the m8s....ill have to do some research on the kitty forum on here. Hows the sledding in fsj? Im in prince george not sure how to put that in my profile

 

[Chris6060]

Well we just got a foot of snow in the last two days, haha. My dad, my buddy and I are all heading out to Silver Sands on Dec. 8th.

I came off an '05 M7 to my 2012 M800, my Dad came off an '08 M8 onto his 20120 M800. Both the older sleds were great, never had a single issue with either of them.

Definitely consider the M-series. The 2009s were great, the 2010s and 2011s were even better.

 

[gdhillon]

Must have some nice cold weather with all that powder lol. Ya, ive always had a soft spot for the newer cats look. Was the 05 the rider fwd chassis?

 

[Chris6060]

Yeah, its been -15 to -25 the last couple of weeks.

2005 was the first year for the M-series. Which was more rider forward than the previous chassis, but not as much as the new Pro-Climbs or Pro-RMKs.

The M-series ran from 2005-2011, so they were building to compete with all the rider forward designs in that era, so yes, I'd say it's a rider forward chassis.

 

[gdhillon]

Yeah, its been -15 to -25 the last couple of weeks.

2005 was the first year for the M-series. Which was more rider forward than the previous chassis, but not as much as the new Pro-Climbs or Pro-RMKs.

The M-series ran from 2005-2011, so they were building to compete with all the rider forward designs in that era, so yes, I'd say it's a rider forward chassis.

What kind of things would a guy look for when buying a used cat? Compression, service history, track and belt condition...stuff like that?

 

[Chris6060]

120 PSI is pretty much the bottom line of "good" compression in an M-cat. The '09s and newer came with the Powerclaw 2.25" track, the older ones came with a Challenger 2.25 (horrible track) or an Attack 20. If a track is in good condition on mostly any sled, then the sled probably hasn't been shown a lot of trail riding, rocks, stumps, stuff like that, which is good.

As far as service history goes, make sure its been greased once a year, common sense, but, who knows. Don't want to buy a neglected machine.

A big thing to keep an eye out for is a cracked bulkhead anywhere. A good place to check is at the base of the steering post, under the pipe, directly behind the cylinders. If you take the pipe off to check the compression of one, it'll get the pipe out of the and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Another thing is motor mounts. They wear out, like on any sled.

2010s and 2011s had the High Output 800, which is a great motor. All of the motors in the M-series were extremely reliable, even the 1000. The 1000 is kind of a picky motor, and I wouldn't look at M1000s too much unless you're planning on building a mod sled. That being said, my buddy bought a 2008 M1000 that he plans on leaving mostly stock because he got a great deal on it, and hasn't regretted it for a minute.

If I were you, I'd keep an eye out for a 2009, '10, or '11 M8. All three years were awesome. The '10s and '11s also came with the nice shorty mountain seat, which was probably the one best upgrade I ever did to my M7. I miss that seat on my '12.

As for belts, I would put a new belt on any used sled I buy. Just for the piece of mind.