New rider - What to buy?

[Zilkster]

I just fell in love with riding and want to buy a sled right now. I'm in my 40's, 170 lbs., love intense acceleration, am not a grease monkey, and tend to hold on to my styuff for several years. My quad experience makes this sport easy and fun to pick up. Mostly, I will be in the Washington mountains, doing a combinatiojn of riding.

Is the new summit 600 a mistake during my learning curve?
Is a $2-$4000 RMK 600 going to give me headaches?
Is a $2-$5000 800 summit going to be too heavy and fast for me while I learn?
Shall I buy a new summit 800? (fast, yet lightweight, but has no fuel injection like the new 600)? I think I need 146-151 track.

I climbed a medium-sized hill with a rented RMK 550 / 136" (no new snow). Will I need much more power when there is powder.

Many choices - appreciate the input.

 

[bonz50]

around 5000 will get you a late model RMK6, nice sled, reliable

 

[Ollie]

An RMK 600 might be a little underpowered for an acceleration junky.
However.
It is a great intro sled and is pretty bullet proof. There are also LOADS of mods out there that would seriously wake that sled up. Drop a turbo on that baby and it will smoke any non-turbo sled on the mountain.

Power wise, depends on what elevation you will be riding at.
at sea level a 600 rmk at 120hp (07-09) will have just as much power as an 800 rmk at 10,000 feet (sea level hp is 150, adjusted for elevation is 100-105hp).
I am 43 and ride an 08 700 RMK 155. I don't climb and that is plenty of power to get me where I like to play.

Believe it or not, you don't need 3 million hp to have fun. You will get a lot of opinions on this, but it all boils down to what you want to do with the sled, what elevation you are going to be riding at and what your expectations are.

 

[theultrarider]

Here is my take for a newbie to our sport....What ever you buy right now will most likely end up being the wrong sled for you a year or two down the road. At that point you will better know just what it is you really want. If you are an avid quad rider I think you can use the same analogy for someone going the other direction with this. With that said, The 600rmk would be a great choice for you. It will most likely be under power as far as the fun factor goes by the end of your first year. However, it has enough snap to be fun for sure and will get you anywhere you need to be. The kiccker is, if you can pick up an 06-08 used one in decent shape and keep it that way, you should be able to ride it for a year while making up your mind just what it is you will really be happy with and sell it at a minimal loss. It's a great sled, very tough and bullet proof. handles and rides great. Great sled to learn on and you may even decide that is all you need. Like someone else said, if you add a 660 kit to it, the 800's better look out, it becomes a rockeet and there is always the turbo option. Welcone to the snow, you will be hooked for life.

 

[markeo99]

the learning curve usually involves wrecking your first sled and if you dont want to work on it I would suggest something with warranty
I like the 700's

 

[RockyMtn.Kris]

Here is my take for a newbie to our sport....What ever you buy right now will most likely end up being the wrong sled for you a year or two down the road. At that point you will better know just what it is you really want. If you are an avid quad rider I think you can use the same analogy for someone going the other direction with this. With that said, The 600rmk would be a great choice for you. It will most likely be under power as far as the fun factor goes by the end of your first year. However, it has enough snap to be fun for sure and will get you anywhere you need to be. The kiccker is, if you can pick up an 06-08 used one in decent shape and keep it that way, you should be able to ride it for a year while making up your mind just what it is you will really be happy with and sell it at a minimal loss. It's a great sled, very tough and bullet proof. handles and rides great. Great sled to learn on and you may even decide that is all you need. Like someone else said, if you add a 660 kit to it, the 800's better look out, it becomes a rockeet and there is always the turbo option. Welcone to the snow, you will be hooked for life.

This is good advise for sure. You will likely change your mind. And you will likely bang one up a bit, but In my 40s, I wont be riding anything that kills me at the end of the day. I would look for later model, 5-6K range, 700 plus cc, 151 plus and bang it around for a year. First year Dragon 700, 05/06 M7 or maybe a Rev 800. Resale would be pretty solid after a year too. .02

 

[kane13]

M8 all the way!!!

 

[powdersnobb]

Get something with the newer chassis. Summit XP or Polaris IQ. Your knees will thank you in the end. Careful with the Summit 800's as they tend to blow up. I do like them though. They all have their issues though. Good luck!

 

[rhein1969]

Where in Washington are you? I would suggest you join one of the many clubs and find people to ride with too.....

Is a $2-$5000 800 summit going to be too heavy and fast for me while I learn?

A 2-5k 800 summit will be probably a ZX chassis at the low end or an early Rev at the high end. Both sleds are good - the Rev is better for comfort, but there is nothing inheritantly wrong with the ZX either. I have an 04 Rev Summit, and it's a great sled - One thing to keep in mind - you don't have to have it to the stops ALL the time. As for weight, I don't think it's too heavy at all. The only time it's heavy is when it's stuck, and almost ANY sled is heavy when it's stuck...

 

[arctic matt]

I had to learn on a 94 polaris XLT 600! Not exactly the lightest sled on the market, but hey, I rode that thing to the ground! It didn't bother me one bit to find the limits of my skills (and the capabilities of the sled) and I made a lot of mistakes on that. The only thing I ever needed was to put gas and oil in it, I think I changed the belt twice, and maybe even swapped out the spark plugs. It didn't always start on the first, second, or third time like my new one always does, but it DID always start. I could make that thing go where my friends could not believe it could, it was a struggle, but that made it that much enjoyable. I am now grateful for the time I had on that tank, (but would not ever want it back) And I appreciate my new one that much more, even though it's still not the biggest, baddest, billy goat on the mountain. Anyway, that is also my opinion, get something that isn't going to break the bank at first to learn on because you will be making many more mistakes at first, then get ya something better. Because any "monkey" can hop on any new sled and get to the top of most hills... but that doesn't mean the monkey really "knows how" to ride!

For the record... I'm not calling you a monkey, or anyone else on here either (well that might be debatable) Now get out and ride!!!!

 

[Zilkster]

new rider

All this advice is great. I will research these sleds. I'm still curious if getting beat up by the end of a day will be caused by a newbie trying to wrestle big horsepower, a heavy sled, or both. Obviously riding hard will add to it. I'm still tempted to buy the 2009 summit 800 at about 430 lbs. and keep it forever. Does anyone ever buy their first sled and wish they had LESS power?

I'm in South King County and rode Salmon La Sac last weekend. I also may rent until next year. That way I can try a few more sleds and maybe catch a better deal on the brand new summit 600 ETAC. Also, I heard about the sled swap meet in Puyallup each October.

 

[Himark]

Those 600's will make you a fine sled. I have been riding big iron stuff for years and last trip out had to use a backup sled 600 doo and honestly I had just as much fun on that thing as ever before. You wont be setting any highmarks but honestly I dont think a 600 is that underpowered.

 

[kingofthemountain]

haha well lets just say that after running a 140 hp mountain max into a tree, I was pry the only 13 year old to ever wish for less power Now im almost 16 and about twice the size i was and that sled still kicks my arse

 

[theultrarider]

All this advice is great. I will research these sleds. I'm still curious if getting beat up by the end of a day will be caused by a newbie trying to wrestle big horsepower, a heavy sled, or both. Obviously riding hard will add to it. I'm still tempted to buy the 2009 summit 800 at about 430 lbs. and keep it forever. Does anyone ever buy their first sled and wish they had LESS power?

I'm in South King County and rode Salmon La Sac last weekend. I also may rent until next year. That way I can try a few more sleds and maybe catch a better deal on the brand new summit 600 ETAC. Also, I heard about the sled swap meet in Puyallup each October.

You will be beat up at the end of the day from trying to muscle the sled rather than finessing it. Once you get the skills and balance required that is specific to sledding, you will not get as sore. Sure it takes more to hold on to a bigger more,sometimes. Other times, the motor makes up for the lack of skill and you can power up or out of something that you otherwise would have to have more skill to accomplish. 1st, this can get you in more trouble. 2nd, it will take longer to become a "good" rider becasue you can or do rely more on the hp than your skill. If you have a level head and skills from quads, you can start on an 800 and be just fine. Just develope your skills 1st, then used the hp!

 

[augerin]

All great advice, but you also mentioned "not a mechanic". Look hard at the Dragon 700, it is fuel injected and from what I have read on here bullet proof. I have the 800 and have never had more fun on a sled while still being able to lift a beer at the end of the day.

 

[Ollie]

Sleds are just like cars.
The more HP you have the faster and more spectacular the crashes will be (notice I didn't say "could be").

If you learn on an older or lower HP sled you will become a better rider. One of the mistakes I always see is people buy the BIG hp sleds and learn to rip on that sled, however, they never really learn how to finess the sled and use the HP to get the sled to work for you instead of against you.

There is nothing funnier than watching someone on a spankin new super duper sled standing on one running board yanking on the handle bars trying to get it to lay over. My wife loves to ride by em and burn a super tight 360. Makes her laugh every time.

 

[sweetxc654]

If u are talking comparable models the 800's barely weigh any more than the 600's and the 800 will last u longer 'cause after the first year u will be wanting more. Besides a stock 800 does not have that much power anyways and if u decide to be "mechanical" u can boost the power pretty easy and stay plenty safe from break down's.

I started with a 600 and the next year it had a big bore in it and it still was not enough and then purchased my 800 and it is still not enough so i was thinking apache jet engine for the next one!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[RockyMtn.Kris]

All this advice is great. I will research these sleds. I'm still curious if getting beat up by the end of a day will be caused by a newbie trying to wrestle big horsepower, a heavy sled, or both. Obviously riding hard will add to it. I'm still tempted to buy the 2009 summit 800 at about 430 lbs. and keep it forever. Does anyone ever buy their first sled and wish they had LESS power?
I'm in South King County and rode Salmon La Sac last weekend. I also may rent until next year. That way I can try a few more sleds and maybe catch a better deal on the brand new summit 600 ETAC. Also, I heard about the sled swap meet in Puyallup each October.

Nope. Never. And I speak for all of us

 

[pernikm]

Rev, D7, 09 m8, not sure I can endorse the xp yet if you don't want to wrench. The d7 seems to be a hit from the get go. I think the 09 M8 was better than the 08.

 

[Dogmeat]

I just fell in love with riding and want to buy a sled right now. I'm in my 40's, 170 lbs., love intense acceleration, am not a grease monkey, and tend to hold on to my styuff for several years. My quad experience makes this sport easy and fun to pick up. Mostly, I will be in the Washington mountains, doing a combinatiojn of riding.

Is the new summit 600 a mistake during my learning curve?
Is a $2-$4000 RMK 600 going to give me headaches?
Is a $2-$5000 800 summit going to be too heavy and fast for me while I learn?
Shall I buy a new summit 800? (fast, yet lightweight, but has no fuel injection like the new 600)? I think I need 146-151 track.

I climbed a medium-sized hill with a rented RMK 550 / 136" (no new snow). Will I need much more power when there is powder.

Many choices - appreciate the input.

Don't buy a 900 RMK. Whatever you do, just steer clear of those.

In fact, I pretty much just wouldn't buy anything Polaris built in 2005 or 2006. Look for 07' and newer if you're going with Polaris.

I can't speak for the other brands.