rmk 800 VE vs new sleds?

[MtnMaxMod]

i'm looking to get a new sled..i originally wanted a m7 or 8, or summit 800 (rev), but they are all pretty spendy.. i see smokin deals on rmk 800's everywhere, are the newer sleds really that much better? i can go anywhere on my mountain max..will a rmk 800 be much better than my mountain max? i really want a sled that i can huck off jumps, boondock through anything, and climb fairly well (no vertical chutes or anything like that..) i know it's mostly rider..but i want something that does all these things better than my mountain max..save my self some energy lol. so is the rmk 800 v.e. the way to go or go towards the rider forward sleds?

oh..and i really want a pull and go sled like my yami..i really don't want to be putting money into a sled unless it's aftermarket parts i want, fuel, or oil.

 

[Bkinz]

There is a night and day difference between the older trailing arm sleds and the new ones. I went from a xc 600 to my d7 and their is no comparison, except maybe in a drag race. The new iq floats awesome, and is an easy boondockin sled. I would imagine it would land a little better than your mnt max does, especially on the trail ride home. When it comes to the deep pow the d7 with it's 163 is flat impressive!
Brad

 

[snowmobiler]

had both and if i had to choose today,think id try and do the m7 if i had 3000 to spend.could bolt on a cheap bigbore kit later on.if shopping for a $2000ish sled,id be more than happy riding an older 800 rmk rocket.

 

[MtnMaxMod]

yeah i'd like to find a m7, but at least a few parts on it. i've seen some cheap ones around.

 

[Jkinzer]

what year 800 are you talking about? if your looking towards the vertical escape era... than an m7 is the way to go. if you can step up into the new chassis, weather it be a m-series or a raw chassis you will not regret it

 

[backcountryislife]

As far as finding the cheapest sled that rides like a current chassis, the M7 or an early rev would be the way to go (I can't stand how revs feel, but to each...)
The difference between the two is huge, I used to think an escape was a badass sidehiller, now I can't even ride one of those things!!
btw, if you can afford it, the iq-iqr chassis is awesome, worth the money, they're just newer than the M or rev, so they're more pricey.

 

[DenverR1]

As far as finding the cheapest sled that rides like a current chassis, the M7 or an early rev would be the way to go (I can't stand how revs feel, but to each...)
The difference between the two is huge, I used to think an escape was a badass sidehiller, now I can't even ride one of those things!!
btw, if you can afford it, the iq-iqr chassis is awesome, worth the money, they're just newer than the M or rev, so they're more pricey.

Caleb, I think that was the most unbiased reply from you I've ever read. If you threw a yammi into the mix I might pass out!

 

[MtnMaxMod]

yeah i'd like to find a M7 ..but with mods, coming off my modded mountain max the M7 doesn't really feel all that powerful :/ i wish i could find a summit 800 to ride to see how they feel.

and i'd LOVE an IQR but that's out of the question lol, i'm 16 lol, so 15-20 grand is a little outta my budget.

 

[backcountryislife]

Caleb, I think that was the most unbiased reply from you I've ever read. If you threw a yammi into the mix I might pass out!

You mean Yamaha? They make snowmobiles? I thought they just made snowcats...

Those snowcats don't float very well either.

Seriously though, there are 3 real sleds on the market, and then that one that needs 6 grand minimum to make it run better than a detuned 600 (although the Nytro does handle well), cc's & chassis are a preference thing, but the newer sleds just make it SO much easier to be a good rider.

Do your friends a favor & buy a newer sled. (maybe you can even blackmail them for a few bucks versus the pain of digging you out all year!!!)


edit: There Cam, I thew them into the mix! (still unbiased? Maybe not)

 

[beeler]

I went from a VE 800 loaded with goodies to Dragon RMK with a 660. After 10 minutes I would not get back on my old sled. The newer chassis is just so much more fun and easy to ride. Check www.ksl.com classifieds there are some screaming deal out there right now take a road trip to Utah an pick up a great deal on a sled. My brother just bought a 2006 Rev for about 3 grand !! There are lots of sleds way under book on line.

 

[theultrarider]

I ride an 03 escape 800. My ex had an 01 mmax with a few tweeks. I ride with alot of dragons and would probably step up to one at this point. They are very tippy and easy to through around. I always end up dumping them cuz I try to hard when side hilling them coming off my edge. Now, I can go anywhere the dragon's go , but then again my edge isn't exactly stock anymore. You say you mmax isn't exactly stock either. What all have you done to it? The single best mod for those old mmax's imo other than more hp is to throw away the transfer rods and put mpi's strap kit on. That dropped about 7 lb's and uncouples the rear skid so it now acts like a mtn sled. Skis will come up on demand, yet only about 6-8" so it is not a wheelie monster. You have to spend some time changing the spring settings on the rear skid after this as they will be WAY off without being coupled. Put a good set of shocks in there as well. I put a Poo 151 series IV under my ex's sled and that was one fun agile sled after that. The stocker hooked up hard on a groomed trail but was a horrible trencher in the powder.

So in a nutshell, if you can't afford an m-sled or iq rmk, I would ride your yammi another year with the strap mod and track, shocks over buying an edge chassis. If your motor is modded and solid, I think you will be better off to ride that and keep saving for what you really want.

 

[UtahEdge]

If you want a pull and go sled the LAST sled in the world I would buy is a polaris edge or escape. I spent $3,800 fixing the motor on my stupid sled in two seasons just to keep it on the snow. Biggest piece of sh!t I ever owned.
Dont buy a polaris edge. You will be sorry.

 

[spring snow hero]

you are gonna have to spend some $$ to make a 800rmk run with a well tuned mm700. even a piped 800 is struggling. so powerwise......about a draw. the 8 is more torquey but also has the hand grenade factor.

I would keep riding ol' blue till you can go to the next era of chassis.

I miss my mod max.

 

[hillking]

A RMK 800 Edge is a step up from any mountain max, better suspention , more power, better handling , way better climber.
I used to ride with some modded mountain maxes and viper's.
I had a 03 vertical escape 159 800 , we compared them alot .
That's my take. If you find one with less than 1500 miles it should be a runner.
When we rode with the yami's , they burn't down aswell, didn't have any better record of being more reliable, then the edge's.

 

[UtahEdge]

A RMK 800 Edge is a step up from any mountain max, better suspention , more power, better handling , way better climber.
I used to ride with some modded mountain maxes and viper's.
I had a 03 vertical escape 159 800 , we compared them alot .
That's my take. If you find one with less than 1500 miles it should be a runner.
When we rode with the yami's , they burn't down aswell, didn't have any better record of being more reliable, then the edge's.

I am not a yamaha fan but I quarantee that there are ALLOT more polaris's that the bottem ends grenaded on than yamaha. Do a search on here and I bet you will find hundreads of threads about pissed off polaris edge owners that have to fork out a couple thousand dollars to replace the entire bottom end of their motor. One of my friends own a Mountain Max 700 and the thing has been bullet proof for over 4000 miles.

 

[Bkinz]

I am not a yamaha fan but I quarantee that there are ALLOT more polaris's that the bottem ends grenaded on than yamaha. Do a search on here and I bet you will find hundreads of threads about pissed off polaris edge owners that have to fork out a couple thousand dollars to replace the entire bottom end of their motor. One of my friends own a Mountain Max 700 and the thing has been bullet proof for over 4000 miles.

Some sleds are lemons and others just rip and rip forever. I had a xc 600 that had close to 10,000 miles on it, and the worst thing that happened was a clutch bolt broke. just my 2cents
Brad

 

[Jkinzer]

I am not a yamaha fan but I quarantee that there are ALLOT more polaris's that the bottem ends grenaded on than yamaha. Do a search on here and I bet you will find hundreads of threads about pissed off polaris edge owners that have to fork out a couple thousand dollars to replace the entire bottom end of their motor. One of my friends own a Mountain Max 700 and the thing has been bullet proof for over 4000 miles.

valid point... the big block 800's were natorious for crank failure... but to each his own... i've been around many of them that never had an issue but have also been around one lately that lost two cranks w/ in a season. will the VE 800 out perform a mtn max in back country riding yes. as far as ridability it is better in every way shape and form in my opinion. if i were you i would save up a little more and get an 07 D7... bullet proof engine, bullet proff chassis and you can pick one up for around 4 grand.

 

[polarblu]

If your into a Poo talk to Curtis @ Fatsttrax there was a design flaw but has been fixed so 2500-3000 sled with 200-500 in bullet proof engine mod, you have a sled that will take a mod MMax in any situation. That said i had allot of fun getting an old yamy to run right when it was on with the basic fun parts package( tunnel, drop and roll tripple pipes, and hood, gauges ........) darn that thing did the job!!!!

 

[MtnMaxMod]

i have mpi's transfer enhancment kit ..that deffinatly helped A LOT, and simmions ski's, aaen triples, flo-rites in the dash, reed spacers, camo 151, anti ratchet drivers, anti-stab wheel kit, and yeah..i rode with a RMK 800 151 with slp pipe and can, and i was really not impressed, from everythign i've heard those are supposed to be the most badass trailing arm sleds out there..but i was highmarking that thing all day..granted i've got a few more parts on mine but still..

also..no money into motor repairs on either of our mm700's, bought em brand new in '01 and ride the snot out of them every year.. idk how i'm going to go from that to putting a bunch of money into repairs lol..so i reallly want pull and go

 

[MtnMaxMod]

if i were you i would save up a little more and get an 07 D7... bullet proof engine, bullet proff chassis and you can pick one up for around 4 grand.

i have never really seen any for sale :/ ..must be a good reason? no one wants to get rid of them lol?