Straight Talk, Less Filling

[joel97mustang]

I am a newbie to mountain riding and am looking at purchasing two used (low mile) or new carryover stock sleds best price, any manufacturer.

I came across many low mile (less than 500) 2005 RMK 900 50th Anniversary Special 166 inch track. Also many 2006 RMK 900 151 track at very affordable prices. I have trolled the web and have read many conflicting views (some fierce) on these sleds and their performance, warranty, ride-ability, repairs, etc. What's are the issues with these sleds? Are they a worthy investment? Why so cheap? Can the issues be fixed? Are they fundamental design flaws?

I have read many posts from people defending their brands. I don't care about brand loyalty!! If something is **** I would rather know and deal with the issues than read another post about the blue, red, orange or green team. My only loyalty is to reliability. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ace Freely]

How big of boy are ya?


Ace

 

[SAWYER]

The 900's are good sleds. I guess I got a good one. But some did have a lot of problems. Reliability is propably not there strong point if you don't wrench a lot

 

[XP Summit]

I know one guy who had 5 engines warrantied on his 900, and it has just been a nightmare.

I personally would not consider that engine a reliable one. I am sure there are more stories than not of great running ones... but I would pass.

There is a BIG reason why they are priced low.

This is like a Ford vs Chevy debate

My vote would be for a 06 Ski-doo Summit 800

Good Luck

Shawn

 

[Snorider]

Hey xp summit can you get my 8.1L to 20 mpg? j/k

I know thats not do-able

I have two buddies that haven't had any problems with the 9's

but on the other hand i have another guy i ride with that has had more problems than you can shake a stick at.

I've seen good and bad with them, but i'm not quite sure like stated before if you don't like working on em, it might not be a bad idea to opt for something else.

 

[ucandooit]

A good friend of mine has a 06 900 159. We call it Free Willy as it is one heavy machine. He has put many mods onto it without any engine issues at all. About the only thing I don't like about it is the weight and the steering on it. It is tough to steer and the handle bars are in a weird position compared to how you ride it. JMO!!!

 

[JHG]

polaris has some good sleds out there, the 900 is not one of them. Many crank issues and a obnoxiously vibrating engine. They have been known to break stock motor mounts. The story I've gotten from a couple polaris dealers is there was lots of pressure to build the new chassis design but they didn't do much R&D before putting out the 900. I'm sure some good ones were made and most people only report the bad but I went through this same thing before i bought my new sled and all the signs said steer clear of the 900. Just my .02 cents.

 

[Ex-Member]

The 900's are good sleds. I guess I got a good one. But some did have a lot of problems. Reliability is propably not there strong point if you don't wrench a lot

I took a gamble with my '06 900 151.... turned out to be a great machine. Definately go with the '06, there were a lot of things fixed between 05 and 06. It is a heavy machine, but no worse than a yamaha Polaris made some good ones, and they made some not-so-good ones. Every machine has its problems.

That being said, i wouldn't trade my 900 for much of anything right now. A little work and you'll have one sick machine.

 

[enis750]

you could debate what's reliable and not so reliable all day
picking a sled is tough for sure
i dont think anyone will disagree that a stock Yami 4 stroke is the most reliable
BUT......

what sled best suits your riding style
what do you like to do? (boondock, highmark etc..)
how much you wanna spend? can you wrench, do you like to wrench?

best advice, ride a few then buy
i bought an M8 and it didnt fit me right, didnt feel right
for me, the REV fit me best and all the dudes i ride w ride REV's
so if i need repair help, it's just around the corner

truth be told...all sleds are pieces of crap and will need repair at some point
its the sport man
it's not cheap, but FUN AS HELL AND ADDICTIVE!!

then you can make it your own and put ur touch on it

here's a pic of mine..... 1st one is the day i bought it and what it looks like today
i have a few things left to do, but it's close to being done

have fun choosing!

 

[JHG]

you could debate what's reliable and not so reliable all day
picking a sled is tough for sure
i dont think anyone will disagree that a stock Yami 4 stroke is the most reliable
BUT......

what sled best suits your riding style
what do you like to do? (boondock, highmark etc..)
how much you wanna spend? can you wrench, do you like to wrench?

best advice, ride a few then buy
i bought an M8 and it didnt fit me right, didnt feel right
for me, the REV fit me best and all the dudes i ride w ride REV's
so if i need repair help, it's just around the corner

truth be told...all sleds are pieces of crap and will need repair at some point
its the sport man
it's not cheap, but FUN AS HELL AND ADDICTIVE!!

then you can make it your own and put ur touch on it

here's a pic of mine..... 1st one is the day i bought it and what it looks like today
i have a few things left to do, but it's close to being done

have fun choosing!

You're a snowboarder, no one wants your opinion.

I'm just kidding, I snowboard as well.

 

[pinnedunderdoo#3]

yea when it comes down to it no sled is relaible....

 

[enis750]

You're a snowboarder, no one wants your opinion.

I'm just kidding, I snowboard as well.

shhhhhh...don't tell anyone!! ha ha hah a!!!!

 

[Ollie]

I am a newbie to mountain riding and am looking at purchasing two used (low mile) or new carryover stock sleds best price, any manufacturer.

I came across many low mile (less than 500) 2005 RMK 900 50th Anniversary Special 166 inch track. Also many 2006 RMK 900 151 track at very affordable prices. I have trolled the web and have read many conflicting views (some fierce) on these sleds and their performance, warranty, ride-ability, repairs, etc. What's are the issues with these sleds? Are they a worthy investment? Why so cheap? Can the issues be fixed? Are they fundamental design flaws?

I have read many posts from people defending their brands. I don't care about brand loyalty!! If something is **** I would rather know and deal with the issues than read another post about the blue, red, orange or green team. My only loyalty is to reliability. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

To get real answers without all the my sled rocks posts, a little more info.

You say your a newbie to mountain riding but how much experience do you have with sleds ingeneral and what CC size?

What is the budget?

What kind of riding are you looking to do??
Highmarking
boondocking
meadow hopping
Or any conbination of the above.

Are you looking for big and bad or just fun factor?

Age and weight??

 

[Wade]

There's a lot of them left over, not sold, still in crates, un-purchased, sitting in storage for 4 years, what do you think? People vote with their checkbook.

 

[gcmci]

I have some 08 700 Dragons left over that I got with the dealership that I would be willing to deal on also a 600 RMK and other trail sleds
Call 541-747-3525 or pm me about prices
Greg