I have a 1997 500 Classic Touring with Xtra 12 suspension ( 133" ). I have owned and driven many other machines and the Xtra 12 is by far the most reliable and comfortable suspension I have ever riden on. That being said, I am looking at buying a 2005 Classic 600 with the M-10 suspension ( 121" ) and was wondering if anyone could give me some info on how it might compare to the Xtra 12.

My wife has been riding the xtra 12 for years. It is a great suspension. We just got a used 2002 with the M-10 and it looks awsome. Unfortunately I have to say "looks" cause our darn trails won't open. The thing I like is the M-10 returns to the "top" of the travel where the xtra 12 just kind of sinks down when you sit on it. "Guessing" which is not what you are asking me to do............well it looks like its going to be awsome. I was trying to fine tune the edge suspension on my 2002 and was taking some measurements. My bumper sits at about 18" off the garage floor---her M-10 is up there at about 23"!!!! I like sitting up higher on a sled and that M-10 should really be the answer. I'm thinking after the first comparison trail ride we're gonna be thinking of another M-10. NOW if they'd just give us the plain old indy 500 with a M-10 (don't need those darn powervalves) I'd be in "pig heaven".

Originally posted by Don M.@Jan 8 2005, 05:40 AM
I have a 1997 500 Classic Touring with Xtra 12 suspension ( 133" ). I have owned and driven many other machines and the Xtra 12 is by far the most reliable and comfortable suspension I have ever riden on. That being said, I am looking at buying a 2005 Classic 600 with the M-10 suspension ( 121" ) and was wondering if anyone could give me some info on how it might compare to the Xtra 12.
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Hey Don! Good choice ! I ride a 2003 700 XC SP with the M-10, and it is awesome. Comfort is second to none. I covered about 1150 miles on a trip in northern Ontario, in less than 4 days and the susp is incredible. Very hard to bottom out, and that is riding aggresively. I only weigh about 185 lbs, but with my gear I'm close to 200 Lbs. I have the FRA adjusted to # 2. Make sure you have about 4-6" of sag when you sit down on the sled. One thing you should watch for is the cooling issues on that model. I know the 500''s and 600's with M-10's had cooling problems. Make sure all of your updates have been done. Enjoy !

What kind of cooloing problems and what's been done to cure it. I live in an area where we can run snowmobiles from Sept - July but most of that time the snow is "rock hard". My 500 Classic has NEVER overheated on me, what's the scoop ??

Apparently there were several problems with the earlier M-10. There was a faulty coolant bottle that didn't help coolant circulation. BUT because the M-10 sits up so high snow tends to get out of the tunnel real fast and doesn't help the coolant exchangers do their job. Apparently some of the lucky guys with new sleds got an extra coolant exchanger and a longer snow flap to keep the snow in "play" more.
Guys like me that bought the sled used get nothing. If I have problems it will leave a bad taste in my mouth and the last 5 sleds I owned were polaris. I'm thinking if it was a real "problem" polaris would have had an update for all the sleds to make sure they were right. Another trick is to make sure you run the track on the M-10 on the loose side to keep friction down. I'm hoping our trails open soon and I get to try out the sled and it is problem free. I think I read somewhere that if the coolant temp light comes on the engine automatically changes ignition timing to help defray a meltdown. All this is from readings on forums--can't say I know it is all "the gospel".

when they get hot they go into mental mode.[i call it].they have raised the temp on the sending unit twice.i bought a 2002 this past fall and the dealer had just done the coolant bottle,longer flap,and a rear cooler under the luggage compartment.[m-10 only] the edge u have to ride in alot of snow.ive seen cooler kits on e-bay for the edge x 600.

As I said we have little - no powder up here and we pull 14' - 20' sleds behind us all the time, some weigh over a 1000 lbs. I have travelled for 10 hrs. straight without running over a patch of soft snow and never getting over 30 m.p.h. Maybe I had better stick with what I know. :confused: :confused: :confused:

I have a 97 classic (none 2-up) and i love the Xtra-12 suspension but i also have a 01 xc sp 600 with edge and it rides like a dream!!!!!
:cool: SWRules

I started this thread because I was worried about the suspension. My mind is at ease about that, but now I'm worried about the cooling aspect, should have kept my mouth shut. :confused: :confused: :confused:

Originally posted by Don M.@Jan 9 2005, 02:28 PM
I started this thread because I was worried about the suspension. My mind is at ease about that, but now I'm worried about the cooling aspect, should have kept my mouth shut.* :confused:* :confused:* :confused:
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Hey Don ! Sorry I did'nt get back to you sooner. If you can pick up a copy of "SnowTech" magazine issue Sept 2004 you will find an excellent article on page 34. It explains the steps Polaris took to ensure that the issues were resolved. This is an excellent magazine for trouble shooting and updates on all sleds.. If you're really worried go to your nearest Polaris dealer and ask them if there are any outstanding recalls on your sled.. hopefully you won't have any problems. Good luck !!!!!

There's a good chance that those mod's have already been done on the sled. Just check for a cooler just ahead of the rear flap. If it has not had the mod's done, the parts are available at a very reasonable cost. Less than 100. I understand. If the fellow selling the sled is reasonable, he shouldn't have any trouble at all understanding your concerns, and will most likely take care of the bill for those parts....

Actually this is a brand new 2005 still in the crate, so it must have all the upgrades. According to the info on the 2005 they have a cooler in the rear of the tunnel. So this should be OK ? Even in low snow conditions ?????

i have the xtra cooler and after riding all day saturday i realized that i had lost my flap.no overheating then.so id say that the xtra cooler does work well.my buddys edge still has trouble on low snow days.

You definitely should'nt have any problems at all if it is a 2005 model. My understanding was that it started with 2002 600's and 700's/ the problem was the 1. coolant bottle had poor seal with the threads on the cap, because of stripping. 2. there had to be another cooler/extrusion added to the trunk area of the rear seat. 3. Finally, a longer snow flap was added that drags in the snow. I'm sure that all of these problems have been addressed, especially if it's a brand new sled.

Thanks to everyone, I think I have enough info to answer all my questions.

I have to be very careful about what I buy because I live on a little Island in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, 400 miles above the Arctic Circle and my local Polaris dealer is the Co - Op store. I have bought several machines from them over the years and they just drop the crate off in my yard and I put her together. Warranty you ask, figure out what's wrong yourself, take the part off, go to the Co - Op and if your lucky he believes you, they order the part and maybe it gets here someday. YOU WANT A VERY REALIBLE MACHINE.

The plus side to all this is usually we can run our machines from the end of Sept. to the middle of July. :p :p :p

Originally posted by kraky@Jan 8 2005, 06:20 PM
Apparently there were several problems with the earlier M-10.* There was a faulty coolant bottle that didn't help coolant circulation.* BUT because the M-10 sits up so high snow tends to get out of the tunnel real fast and doesn't help the coolant exchangers do their job.* Apparently some of the lucky guys with new sleds got an extra coolant exchanger* and a longer snow flap to keep the snow in "play" more.*
Guys like me that bought the sled used get nothing.* If I have problems it will leave a bad taste in my mouth and the last 5 sleds I owned were polaris.* I'm thinking if it was a real "problem" polaris would have had an update for all the sleds to make sure they were right.* Another trick is to make sure you run the track on the M-10 on the loose side to keep friction down.* I'm hoping our trails open soon and I get to try out the sled and it is problem free.* I think I read somewhere that if* the coolant temp light comes on the engine automatically changes ignition timing to help defray a meltdown.* All this is from readings on forums--can't say I know it is all "the gospel".
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I just purchased a 02 600 with the m-10 called a local dealer and gave them the vin # they called polaris to see if the parts were claimed they were not so they ordered them for free.