Newbie Advice: First snowmobile

[jigeye]

Where: Denver area. Rockies riding
Who: 6 foot 3 245 pounds/60 years old/excellent health
Type of riding: deep snow/mountain. no trail riding
Experience with snowmobiles: limited
Experience with other stuff: long history with jetskis/waverunners/sea-doo etc (including fixing them)
retired airline pilot. Owned a couple of small airplanes.
Yes, I have joined a local club, however, haven't reached out yet.
Ski: Looking for used (when I figure out what to get)
General aka "what advice I have been given so far" (may be crap):
Don't need a turbo until I get some experience (makes sense)
850cc and 165 track (because of weight, size, and inexperience)
Polaris is good. Lighter in front. Big LED screen. Belts instead of chains. Easy to find parts.
2.75 is a good starting point.
Ski-Doo. Heavier in front.
Personal experience and why not Yamaha?
Found the Yamaha Waverunners to be much more reliable than Sea-doo. Sea-doos tended to give me a lot more trouble. Waverunners never let me down.
This may have absolutely nothing to do with snowmobiles. Just had great experience with Yamaha on the water.
Looking for advice on a first ski given the facts above (or any other advice for that matter).
Thanks!
Mike

 

[christopher]

While Yamaha built sleds that lasted forever and required little maintenance, they were also THE HEAVIEST, which means they made you WORK MUCH HARDER on the mountain.
I know first hand as I was a devout Yamaha rider for many years before I converted over to Ski-Doo.

850 & 165 sound good for your weight.
Polaris or Ski-Doo, oh Lord, that will be fun to see all of the comments that follow!!

Welcome to the best sport on earth!!

 

[Clark42]

Polaris: Lightest weight, easiest to work on, great chassis geometry. Least durable snowmobile chassis on market. Least durable engine.
Skidoo: Heaviest but you honestly won't notice. Most difficult to work on. Worst chassis geometry. Middle of the pack chassis durability. Robust engine.
Arctic Cat: Middle of the pack weight. Easy to work on (not as easy as Polaris). Middle of the pack chassis geometry. Most robust chassis. Great engine.

All chassis are within like 30 pounds of each other, splitting hairs. Yamaha on the other hand is quite a lot heavier, I would not suggest it for you.
All the naturally aspirated engines (doo, poo 850 or cat 800) make pretty much the same HP.
I wouldn't worry about belt drive vs. chain case, either driveline is basically maintenance free in any platform besides skidoo turbos.

I wouldn't mind buying a doo or cat with 1500 miles. A Polaris, however, I would not touch unless under 500 miles.

Lots of big opinions here, I'm sure others will disagree. Hopefully stirs some conversation that'll point you in the right direction

 

[BeartoothBaron]

Polaris of late seems to be complete luck of the draw: you get a good one, you can go thousands of miles without issues; you get a bad one, and it'll blow on you, take multiple trips to the dealer to sort out some electrical or fuel issue, or have some weird quirk that nobody can work out (like a brake that hardly works). That said, I've been riding with a guy who's been on a 9R a couple seasons without issues (other than A-arms - not Polaris's fault). Doo definitely seem to be the way to go if you don't want to touch anything under the hood (which is good, because they don't make it easy). Part of it depends on what kind of deal you get. Since you've got experience wrenching, I wouldn't worry so much about getting a Polaris. I love the Catalyst, what little I've got to sample, but that's not necessarily better than Polaris in terms of reliability; then there are the questions about Cat's future... In addition to a really good look-over, I'd want to do a leak-down and crank runout check on any used sled I was considering. I'm not sure how many sellers would allow for it, but it would tell you a lot about the health of the engine.

 

[jigeye]

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate the experienced reviews.

 

[KhaosRipcord]

Sounds like the advice you got onnsleds is pretty solid. Hard to argue. I would add this though. Go sign up and take a beginner clinic. Rent a sled. The money spent will be some of the most valuable money you shell out in this expensive sport. It opens your eyes to what you don't know...which will be more than you think. Prior motorsports experience is great and all but take it from a guy who thought he knew a few things. Backcountry off trail mountain snowmobiling is a different beast. I actually grew up snowmobiling in the midwest. I had to unlearn almost everything I thought I knew to learn this sport. Its a different thing. Some of the skills or concepts from watercraft or moto can cross over but really not much. Take the class. And welcome to the addiction!

 

[christopher]

Go sign up and take a beginner clinic. Rent a sled. The money spent will be some of the most valuable money you shell out in this expensive sport.

BEST ADVICE OF ALL right there.

GO RIDE THEM BEFORE YOU BUY THEM!

 

[bnorth]

Honestly you've got it narrowed down pretty well and I agree with your criteria as far as matching your size and location/elevation of your riding area.
In my opinion the ski-doo is a better beginner sled and the Polaris starts to shine more as your skills progress and you start trying more technical terrain. Cat is not worth mentioning due to the uncertainty of their continued business. Used sleds are bargains right now and I would shoot to pickup a 2023 or newer unit for your needs.

 

[jcjc1]

if you’ve never ridden mountain sleds in deep snow, the difficulty will be eye opening and humbling and being 60 will add to that. however, it is all very much worth it as there’s nothing like this sport and you’ll be hooked, just have some patience.

 

[PSI 800]

Another consideration is dealer support, some will go to the moon to help ya out and others are just there to sell you a sled

 

[Clark42]

Cat is not worth mentioning due to the uncertainty of their continued business.

I disagree. Used ascender chassis cats are readily available and affordable, and parts are abundant. Very under rated platform

 

[trees happen]

In your area, the dealer that sets them up correctly, and understands any flaws, and has the the remedy is everything! For me it's Polaris, as Pierre's is the superior dealer. Cat was always a good choice, until they ran all their dealers out of business. (I really miss Waldron's Arctic Cat) If you're willing to drive for a good dealer, ride them both you'll likely prefer the polaris chassis, but if you've got a good Ski-Doo dealer close, it may be worth the trade off.

 

[jigeye]

All really good points and excellent advice from people with experience. It is much appreciated.

 

[bnorth]

I disagree. Used ascender chassis cats are readily available and affordable, and parts are abundant. Very under rated platform

Rode one for 5 years, loved it but not a great learner sled and he will get very proficient at maintenance and bush fixes to get out of the backcountry.