[ice fisherman]

Hi All,
New member here.
I am considering purchassing my first snowmobile.
I found an ad for a 2001 POLARIS SUPERSPORT 550 fan cooled machine for sale that looks close to what I am looking for.

It is fan cooled, edge chassis, hand and thumb warmers, reverse, studded, 2400 miles, excellent condition. I'll be using it mostly for my ice fishing trips, but would like to be able to take my son with me. Maybe pulling a portable hut behind.

Since I am new to this subject I'd like to ask few questions. Hope the board experts can help me out.

Most importantly - Is this machine "two up" or not?
Is it good quality/brand name/reliable?
How does it compare to the 2001 Arctic Car Panther 440 (pull start, no reverse, two up, 2500 miles)
What does "edge chassis" and "studded" mean?
Is 2400 miles considered low miles for the year?
Machine is in Canada - what would be a fair/good deal on it?

Thank you and hope to become an active member here when I get my new toy ;-)

Cheers,
Ice Fisherman

 

[SKSBuddy]

Hi All,
New member here.
I am considering purchassing my first snowmobile.
I found an ad for a 2001 POLARIS SUPERSPORT 550 fan cooled machine for sale that looks close to what I am looking for.

It is fan cooled, edge chassis, hand and thumb warmers, reverse, studded, 2400 miles, excellent condition. I'll be using it mostly for my ice fishing trips, but would like to be able to take my son with me. Maybe pulling a portable hut behind.

Since I am new to this subject I'd like to ask few questions. Hope the board experts can help me out.

Most importantly - Is this machine "two up" or not?
Is it good quality/brand name/reliable?
How does it compare to the 2001 Arctic Car Panther 440 (pull start, no reverse, two up, 2500 miles)
What does "edge chassis" and "studded" mean?
Is 2400 miles considered low miles for the year?
Machine is in Canada - what would be a fair/good deal on it?

Thank you and hope to become an active member here when I get my new toy ;-)

Cheers,
Ice Fisherman[/b]

Personally I would stay clear of any and all POLARIS 550 fan cooled engines right now. I actually would not buy another Polaris. I have a 2004 550F supersport and a 2004 550F sport touring (2 up) which both blew thier engines this year. My supersport had 3000 miles on it and my wifes sport touring had only 950 miles on it. Polaris had previously came out with a Polaris Team Tip for the 550 F engines, because they knew they had a problem.

Studs means it has metal studs drilled into the track for grip on Ice.

two up means it is made for 2 people. (the supersport is made for 1 person although you could get away with putting someone small on it with you)

Edge Chasis is a newer chasis (style body) that was used until the IQ chasis was introduced around 2004, but some of polaris's sleds still use the edge chasis even though polaris is moving toward using the IQ chasis in the majority of their other sleds.

I would buy any other sled but polaris right now, but I am a disgruntled polaris owner since polaris will not go good on the 2 sleds I curently have.

I would buy a liquid cooled sled instead. Just a bit more money, but a whole lot more peace of mind, even if it were a polaris, as long as it is not the 550 fan cooled engine. Go with the 500 or 600 liquid cooled instead.

BTW, 2400 miles on a 2001 sled is not alot of miles, but I would still stay clear of it, unless you need a boat anchor.

 

[avtech]

Hi All,
New member here.
I am considering purchassing my first snowmobile.
I found an ad for a 2001 POLARIS SUPERSPORT 550 fan cooled machine for sale that looks close to what I am looking for.

It is fan cooled, edge chassis, hand and thumb warmers, reverse, studded, 2400 miles, excellent condition. I'll be using it mostly for my ice fishing trips, but would like to be able to take my son with me. Maybe pulling a portable hut behind.

Since I am new to this subject I'd like to ask few questions. Hope the board experts can help me out.

Most importantly - Is this machine "two up" or not?
Is it good quality/brand name/reliable?
How does it compare to the 2001 Arctic Car Panther 440 (pull start, no reverse, two up, 2500 miles)
What does "edge chassis" and "studded" mean?
Is 2400 miles considered low miles for the year?
Machine is in Canada - what would be a fair/good deal on it?

Thank you and hope to become an active member here when I get my new toy ;-)

Cheers,
Ice Fisherman[/b]

http://www.snowmobileworld.com/forum/index...&pid=512942

check out my post late last year regarding one of these 550's

Not quite Polaris' crowning achievement

:slick:

 

[63November]

The 2001 SS is not a two-up. I do ride with a 4 or 6 year old son on mine (in front) on occasion. That's possible. Mine is the 2001 model but does not have a lot of miles - only 6200 - due to being opened three times. They are almost good engines, have nice power and so forth for a fan and would even be engines I would recommend if anyone could really explain exactly what causes their failure(s) - so it might be avoided. I have used up my fingers and am on to my toes now in keeping track of 550s I've known to have blown under various conditions.

The 440 Panther, OTOH, is two-up and is centered around the very reliable and longstanding 440 that AC used for years. My wife's Panther 440 has 7000 miles on it and runs perfectly - and she starts it manually. The ride is not as solid or stable as is the 01 SS but it is a comfortable ride. (We rode, last April, over 400 miles in 36 hours - I on the Polaris Supersport, she on her Panther. We both towed sleds with gas and gear plus the addition of three caribou for half that distance.

As for the early Polaris liquids - Liberty engines - a friend bought one of the early 500 RMKs so powered and has had nothing but trouble. Even replacing the crankshaft which was out of time brought no relief, but cost $900. (His purchasing dealer was no help in finding the problem and even voided the warranty after he did something minor like removing the clutch.) They did not even find a problem when he sent it to them for discovery work at his expense.) Another servicing dealer agreed to work on for some cost. They discovered an out of round cylinder - which could be the cause of the twisted crank. They rebored the cylinders. They also apparently failed to replace a gasket or seal as the coolant ran into the crankcase when he re-installed and filled the engine with coolant. By the time he finally puts many miles on the engine, he'll have paid for at least 6 legs worth of air freight at over $1 /pound each time. Amazingly he is still a loyal Polaris customer. At least he'll have a new/old machine when it's right- if ever.

 

[ice fisherman]

Appreciate the detailed and informative answers guys...real help to me...
I want fan cooled engine because I was told it is best option for using if on the ice for ice fishing...often Lake Simcoe (where I'll use it mostly) has bare ice (not this year though;-)...and not much snow. Therefore I may have issue with the lack of snow to help me cool of a liquid cooled engine...

If that Arctic Cat Panther was with reverse I would of bought it by now in a heart beat...it's a very nice machine owned by someone I know and trust and in perfect condition...
But I am a bit worried about off loading it from the trailer without the advantage of reverse...it seems pretty heavy for a single guy pulling off the trailer.
Would about $2000-2200 Canadian be a good price for the Panther without reverse and with pull start?

Maybe you could suggest other manufacturers/models that are two up, electric start, reverse and fan cooled?
Looks like based on your advice I better stay away from the Polaris SS 550.

Thank you.
Ice Fisherman

 

[FreezerBurnt]

Something wrong with that Panther

ALL Panther have reverse and ESR since at least 97

440 engine in it is as good as it gets

Great MPG ,moderate power 70mph

$2200canadian is a fair price if the sled is stock which means reverse,electric start

Yes fancool is the best option for ice fishing especialy low snow or no snow on ice

that said make sure the track has 108 studs

 

[Pepsi_fuzz]

Yep, sounds like that 440 is the right machine for you I won't even buy a 550 motorcycle because the number "550" is now a cursed number in my mind, LOL. That and a 550 motorcycle is just too small.

 

[avtech]

Something wrong with that Panther

ALL Panther have reverse and ESR since at least 97

440 engine in it is as good as it gets

Great MPG ,moderate power 70mph

$2200canadian is a fair price if the sled is stock which means reverse,electric start

Yes fancool is the best option for ice fishing especialy low snow or no snow on ice

that said make sure the track has 108 studs[/b]

'01 Panther came in its basic form (2-up, pull start and no reverse) and and the ESR model (Electric Start Reverse).

 

[63November]

Something wrong with that Panther

ALL Panther have reverse and ESR since at least 97[/b]

Not at all. Those machines were available both ways. I got the one for my wife without either - less weight, less parts to malfunction -easier chaincase work.

You'll get great control with even 48 studs in that 136" track. I run only 24 in a 133 and the difference in control over none is night and day. Lots of studs is great for jazzing the throttle and high HP sleds. Don't need it with smaller engines and more of a work purpose. Manual starting a 440 is not a big issue. Moving the machine manually is much more an issue. You might find a used reverse gear case for it if you look. I assume for trailering. We never trailer and don't find much need for reverse with ours. I even had the reverse removed from the 550 Panther when we bought it.

 

[FreezerBurnt]

Well that was news to me

Thats for proving me wrong