Moved to Fla. 20 yrs ago and have been out of the loop. I need advice on buying 2 used sleds for long weekend trips to Mich. What brands, models etc... seem to be the most reliable? Looking for 1 muscle sled and 1 good trail sled for the wife. Thanks for any help or advice

all the makers are a good choice. the best bet is try them out if possable.
you might also look at some left over's.
the most important ,.......get a good dealer!!!!!!!!
ask lots of questions.....dont buy from the first, SMOOTH TALKER,
look around and.shop,shop,shop,...........then buy. :thumbsup:

Originally posted by straycat@Jan 20 2004, 03:53 PM
all the makers are a good choice. the best bet is try them out if possable.
you might also look at some left over's.
the most important ,.......get a good dealer!!!!!!!!
ask lots of questions.....dont buy from the first, SMOOTH TALKER,
look around and.shop,shop,shop,...........then buy. :thumbsup:
I agree with straycat.....shop and try out as much as you can

Everyone is going to have a different opinion of which brand and model to get, your best bet would be to shop around find one you like and then post about it to see what you can find out about it. A big factor is mileage. Look at the track for tears and inspect the sled over for any signs of abuse or improper care. Myself being a Cat guy the ZL models are a great trial sled and for a mussle sled, well only a triple is a true mussle sled and all of cats triples are really good.

used sleds is a big category...a used sled can include anything from a year old to 15 years old.....and sleds have advanced absolutely leaps in bounds in the last 10-15 years....what kinda budget are you working with, that should help narrow it down....

however, i'll go with a 99 ski-doo mach 1 or z for you (great sleds, also the best looking machs IMO) and a ski-doo formula (lots of models, Z, dlx, etc) 2000 and up for the trails, choosing appropriate engine size as needed...(380, 500 fan,500 liquid, 600, etc)

like phat cat said, a big factor is mileage...but so is conditon....a sled with 2000 miles on it can be in a LOT worse shape than one with 3500 on it if it was maintainted properly

I urge you to consider somewhat less of a muscle sled. You said you've been in Florida for twenty years? Please get accustom to riding again before looking for a big cc sled. The sleds they're building now are scary fast. I'm 39 years old with 30+ years experience riding sleds. Although I have owned larger sleds in the past, I'm not interested in anything larger than 600. No one can convincingly tell me that they need a larger one. As stated earlier all four major manufacturers put out excellent products. It's just a matter of personal preference. Don't listen to brand bashers, decide and learn by speaking to intelligent experience riders, only you can pick the right brand for you. Stay safe.

Good advice Ski-Dude. And like others have said; try them out. Rent some too!

Sleds now a days are pretty good for the most part. Look at the condition of it and try to take someone with you who knows what to look for.

Thanks for all the input. I will definetly shop around. Looking to spend roughly 2 to 3k per sled. I just don't want to be stuck working on them my whole trip. Used to tempermental 2 strokes on jet skiis, apparently snowmobiles are alot more reliable. I was surprised to hear 2k and more miles. Thanks again, if anyone has anything else to add to check out it is greatly appreciated. I know the obvious compression tests etc...

if you live in Michigan, check out the auction in Bronson the first saturday of the month,,,,they have lots of sleds there to check out, If you are uncomfortable with buying there, just sit on em, get a feel for them and maybe that will help you decide what you like. I have bought 3 sleds from there and have had NO problems at all,,,, some guys claim to have boughten junk there,,,,I always take a compression tester, and look over everything before I put the sled on my list,,,,,

Puree is right, the sled auction in Bronson is a great place to see almost every sled ever produced (mild exadguration), Some are great deals, some go for more than they are worth.
I like to go almost every month just for the heck of it, always cool seeing hundreds of sleds sold in one day.
If you are uncertain what you are looking at - bring a friend who is educated, if nothing else it is a great place to sit on, run, and ponder alot of different brands and models.
I have bought ALOT of sleds and other toys from WHITESTAR SNOWMOBILE AUCTIONS and have not been burned yet (I also know what to look for).
The more I think about it, the only sleds I havn't bought from there is my ZR600 and the Yammi that I bought wrecked.
For that matter I have seen people pay thousands of dollars for a sled that has no motor because they neglected to look it over good before buying (all sales are final)
If you have been out of the sport I recomend that you stay 700 cc's and below, a MXZ or ZR 440 of today would absolutely kill the fastest production sled of 20 years ago.
My 600 is almost scary fast (now), my 900 feels like suicide, to put someone that has not ridden a modern sled on something like that is just poor judgment (we have enough snowmobiling deaths around here)
Good luck and hope you know the snow dance, a sled is useless without the white stuff.
Vman

vman, I may be up at the feb auction,,,,if your gonna be there pm me,,, maybe we can meet and grab some steak across the street after the auction

Normally I would say great!, but that Saturday is my local clubs radar runs and I am going to help out (and race of course).
Maybe in March if ya go
Vman

Do you ride with anybody else? An important consideration is if you ride with other people, you may want to ride what they ride. That way, if you have any problems, chances are that a member of the group either has parts for your sled, or may know what problem you have and can fix.

Brian, is that auction the 7th of Feb.? If it is, my wife is out of town and my son and I need something to do. The steaks up there are awesome, would love to do lunch.

Thats easy just buy my wifes 02 Ski Doo MXZ 600 X with many extras and I will buy another rev backup sled.
lol

I spoke too soon about the muscle sleds. Probably a 1 up ski for me in the 600cc range and a 2-up for her. We still live in Fla. and were planning on flying up once a month or so for long weekends. Aside from the track what else should I be looking for? When is the last auction of the year.

http://www.snowmobileauction.com/
White Star Snowmobile Auction Home Page
they have price list to get a feel for that
and i think the first weekend of the month all year long

and your right 600cc is plenty i got 700 from a budy that needid the
money and there more power than we realy need

puree do you live around toledo

Fastguy -

IF you are in Michigan on the weekends and want a great web site for used sleds check out cycletrader.com and look for the snowmobile listings, or to get right to it go here: http://www.cycletrader.com/adbrowseprocess1.html

They list sleds from all over, and many from Michigan. If you are familiar with the Tradin Times, this is their web site.


As far as reliable sleds go, I have a 01 Ski-Doo and a 96 Arctic Cat Jag 440 that has been flawless and a blast. Paid $1,500 for it and had over $10,000 worth of fun on it. Sometimes I like it over my 2001 Ski Doo Formula.

Good luck!! You found the right web site to get some good unbiased info - just ask!

Originally posted by DeeMan@Jan 21 2004, 10:36 AM
Fastguy -

IF you are in Michigan on the weekends and want a great web site for used sleds check out cycletrader.com and look for the snowmobile listings, or to get right to it go here: http://www.cycletrader.com/adbrowseprocess1.html

That is just where I found my 97 SX in 2001 :cool:

I can highly recommend the 97/98 Vmax SX sleds in 600 twin or 700 triple formats. Very reliable and plenty around at great prices.

There are a few 97 700 SXs for sale right now on the forums at Totallyamaha.com for around $2,000 or so. Nice sleds and in Michigan too

Good Luck!!

Joe

Oh well, MichYamaha started it, and I am going to continue it.....
All makes offer some good models, but for 'pull the rip cord and go type of reliability' you should be looking at Yamaha(s). It sounds like this is probably the most important factor in your decision if you are only around on weekends.

I gotta chime in on the 600c size also. I'm a big dude however my 600 cc goes like stink on a monkey. Motor sizes less than 600 (like my 597cc) stay in a lower insurance bracket, typically use less fuel and of course weigh less. If you want to run with the big dogs on the lake than yep, you better get the Mach Z or T-Cat etc. If you want a good all purpose trail sled to take out 2-3 times a year than I would suggest any of the Ski-Doo MXZ models at that size or any of the Arctic Cat ZL series at that cc size. I've rode both and they are real solid well built machines. Actually I rode with a guy 2 weeks ago that had a Yamaha SX Venom 600 that was also a real nice sled. So shop around, ask lots of questions, read BB's like this one and pick a color. They're all basically good.
'02 MXZ 600

tsouth,,,,I live south of Toledo, about 60 mile south,,,,,,

Originally posted by fastguy91@Jan 20 2004, 09:03 PM
I just don't want to be stuck working on them my whole trip. Used to tempermental 2 strokes on jet skiis, apparently snowmobiles are alot more reliable. I was surprised to hear 2k and more miles.
Oh sleds are just as tempermental!!! You can put 2000 miles on, on an extended trip. Been there done that.

jeff, will have to think about the auction,,,, send me a note that week and maybe me and my son can head your way and the head right on up. I am pretty sure I have Saturday off now!!!!! long long story

brian, I'll PM and remind you that week and see what your schedule is.

100$ says my schedule is open!!!!!!!!