Thinking About Purchasing A 1998 Polaris Xlt 600cc Touring

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How much is he asking?
If the sled has never had anything done to it you should pass on it!
At 8,800mi with no clutch, suspension, shock, carb etc. etc. etc. work done you will end up sinking a ton of money into an old sled.
It is with 100% certainty that the clutches are wore out and the track more than likely is due for a change. I would also bet that most of the idler bearings are shot and I can also say with 99.9% certainty that the shocks and springs are due for a change. Your steering will be sloppy, the brakes will be worn out, the electric start components are worn and the drive belt is shot.
The motor is more than likely ready for a fresh top end i.e rings and pistons.
Unless you get the sled for free I personally would pass.
Not saying that a sled with 8,800mi on it is junk.
I am saying that a sled with that many miles and no maintenace is junk.
Heck, a sled with 800miles and zero maintenance in my book is junk!

That being said if the guy meant that nothing major has been done other than typical maintenance then you need to find out what has been replaced/rebuilt recently and make your decision.
When it comes to purchasing high milage used sleds its a buyer be ware world..

well he wants 1500,really not a bad price for ontario.BUT BE CAREFULL!!!!!! check the entire track for missing studs tears,wear marks etc.get him to use something to hold the back end of the sled up,start it and get the track to turn slowly all the way around inspect the whole thing.the price of a new track is anywhere from 400 bucks up to 850 depending what you want.as far as clutch goes,that gets pricey to.350 to 500 bucks.engine rebuild kits in the royal distributing book for an xlt start at 530 bucks for everythingyour looking at 800 you do the work.next check the crankcase,there will be a yellow dip stick down beside the muffler on the right side,pull it out and look at it.it is a magnatized end if you see metal shavings don't panic.this is normal but wipe it off and make sure all shavings are off,stick it back in and pull it out if the burr head is just as big as the first time it could be a bearing problem.as you can see that 1500 dollar sled can turn into 3500 bucks pretty quick.i would shop around,there are alot of 98 right through to 2003 from 2000 bucks to 3500 bucks,and the newer sleds have much better suspensions then the older polaris's . trust me go out for a day on the trails in southern ont on that older polaris. and the next day you can barely walk.between your back and knees throbing,you will wish you did get something a little newer.

Ahhh... i forgot to mention the year of the sled is a 1998 so it's really not that old. Is the suspension really that bad on this thing?

My intention of buying this sled will be my main transportation for ice fishing and to tow a permanent ice fishing hut on the ice when the season allows and off the ice when the season is over and some part time trail riding no crazy stuff like what i've been reading. Hut weights about 400lbs max. We usually use an atv but this year we got so much snow dumped on that the sleds were having problems pulling it, normally it's a piece of cake.

The reason I'm going for touring is because of the slightly larger seating arrangement and I like the 2 up seat and was told this sled will pull much nicer than the typical speed sled because of it's gearing.

I have so much question for the seller when he bring the sled back to toronto this weekend that's he's gonna have a heart attack. So much to learn! I tried searching the net on this particular sled but not to much info to be found and no reviews probably it's old news now and not recent.

How much time left do you think we have for sledding before the snow is all gone? Thanks!

Andrew

It really is hard trying to find reviews and specs on a sled these days that's beyond 5 years old. Dad just bought a 2003, and he can't find any specs on the Internet for it at all, other than what a few people claim when trying to sell them.

Nothing wrong with the older suspensions, just every so many years they get better. Typically with each new chassis style. Can't go wrong with the m-10 suspension with fox piggy-back if you're looking for the smoothest ride possible. Should also make hauling easier as the suspension dampening changes with pressure on the m-10, unlike performance set-ups that cause the back end to dip when there's a lot of pressure under them (allowing bigger get-up-and go, which is not what you want when hauling).

I think it's a good price, the main thing is to look at the history. If he brought it into the dealer for regular maintenance, there's the primary history there. Inspect everything that hasn't been "adjusted" and use a proper thread-in type compression tester. G'luck!

Being from the states $1,500 is too much for a 10 year old sled with 9,000mi in poor mechanical condition .The exchange rate right now is .851. which equates to $1,276 us dollars.
That’s not a terrible price for an average to poor condition sled with low miles.
Regardless, you stated that the guy never did anything to the sled. I really don’t think
this sled is the wisest choice. You will definitely need a clutch rebuild and belt at the absolute minimum. You will also need a set of sliders or hyfax and ski runners.
Those items will cost you around the $500 mark. If the top end needs rebuilding then you’re into a whole new ball game. Shocks will cost a mint (about $175) unless you get cheapies and a track is around the $400 mark. So theoretically you may end up sinking $2,000 into the sled.
Add that to your 1,500 and now your into a 10 year old sled for $3,500 min.
You could buy a 5 year old touring sled for that much with half the miles.
Hell my 99’ Arctic Cat Triple Touring is only worth $2,800 at best and it only has 2,000mi on it.
In addition it has been maintained meticulously.

something else i would go to royal distributing . com and check out the price of parts there.they have a great online catalog.and all the parts for that sled are clearly in there.from skies to tracks to clutches,whatever you may need for that sled they will have there.i can get almost anything there for my 93 indy's.also a belt is not that expensive,they have them for that sled for 25 bucks cdn,sliders are 25 bucks cdn per set and you can pick your colour,runners are 50 bucks per set.and you will more then likely have to change that stuff on a newer sled anyway.just because the sled is newer dosn't make it not need things fixed.i have 2 1993 indys and they are like new.i paid 1300 for 1 and 1400 for the other.i put 1000 bucks into each of them and i garantee i will still be riding them 10 years from now. so each sled cost less then 2500 in total when done.and i have new engine rebuilds new tracks sliders and skis and runners,and they both have had the clutches rebuilt. they are as new condition.you just have to know where to shop for your parts.