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Flatlander needs help buying a mountain sled

Blk88GT

Westbound and down
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Nov 26, 2007
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Winnipeg, Manitoba
I've been out west a few times, and the bug has got me. Since going my first time, I've extended my sled to 136 and put a 2" track on, some risers, clicker shock, seat, etc. The sled started life as an 01 Edge X 600 but is now more of a crossover sled.

I find that the 600 with the smallish track is just lacking for what I want to do out west. I also find the sled harder to sidehill due to the wider front end. I've ridden an RMK 700 and a King Cat (900?) while out there and both were considerably easier to ride in the powder and didn't require as much throttle as my sled to go where I wanted. However, the suspension for jumping/dropping didn't seem to be as good as my X.

I'm going to Revelstoke this year and I'm thinking of picking up a sled before then. I will be riding with a friend on a Dragon RMK and another friend on GenII SKS. I enjoy hillclimbing, jumping, dropping etc. I'm concerned about exploring and dropping into a bowl I might not be able to climb out of with the 136x2.

What sled should I be looking at? I've got a budget of about 5k. I'd like to get myself into a 700 or 800, nothing shorter than 151". I'm 5'8" 200lbs if it matters.

Any help would be appreciated. Would a Vertical Escape 800 with a 159" track be too much, or just right?
 

ridgeclimber

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used sled to purchase

If you find a good 03, 04 escape with the 159 inch track you can't go wrong. It will take you any were you want to go and then some. They also have reverse as well. If they have alot of miles on them you might consider up grading the bottom end bearings and a fresh set of pistons and it will last you a long time. Good luck !
 
X

XC700116

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Yeah what he said^^^^^ If the "crank issues" scare you, you could go with a 700 but I would go with the 800 if I had to do it over again and just get the crank redone well. Indy dan offers one with a 3 year warranty and they are good to go when he's done with them.
 
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Clarke673

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Dec 2, 2007
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Gardiner Montana
Buy a rental mountain sled. They come cheap and with allot of miles but rarely have I seen one with anything wrong with it. The dealers take amazing care of they’re snowmobiles and thus i have no worries about my $4000 2006 700 RMK wit ha 151x 2 tracks. He showed me a 700 edge with 18,000 miles on it and it finally shielded a crank.... after that many miles.

don't be a fool, get one from a rental and put the $2000 you save on it into making it a better sled or just save it as they are plenty good stock. They 06 700 will keep up with all production sleds out there.
 

Blk88GT

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This may be a dumb question, but how are you guys deciding what track length to go with? Rider style, preferred riding, sled type?
 
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likinit2

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Jul 4, 2004
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A low mileage edge rmk800, get a 04 or 05 they have PERC reverse and should be in the 4-5000 range. I converted My 03 SKS800 to a RMK for the most part, narrowed the front, 2" 144" track, regear and put the high altitude VES springs in and it works real good for all my needs. I just change jets and swap clutches. I should have bought an RMK in the first place!
 
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Supplicate

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Slowdotnuh
This may be a dumb question, but how are you guys deciding what track length to go with? Rider style, preferred riding, sled type?
Do you get stuck often with the 136 out west? The evolution of the track lengths on my sleds went 136, 144, 153, 155. I always trenched no matter how hard I worked the throttle on the 136 and 144. Didn't get many rides on the 153, but I like it. The 155 so far has been exceeding any of my expectations, getting me out of many tight spots. My riding partner has been getting burried with his 162 tracked Apex and I just go creeping past him laughing the whole way.
 
X

XC700116

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I would reccomend going with a 151 or 159 track. They are still pretty easy to manuever and do well with floatation and climbing. I had a 141 last year and it did work well but I noticed I spun out the track in a good climb long before I ran out of power.

From my experiences if you go with a 136 to 144 length it won't be too long before you wish you had more. They still work well but just like anything if it works good you want more until you find a point where it either doesn't help or it hinders another portion of your riding.

The 151-159 range seems to be a pretty happy medium.

If your after straight up climbing ability the 162-174's pretty much rule the day until you start running out of power.

By the way if you can find a sled with a series 4 track (vertical escape, vertical edge, or any 03-06 RMK) That is one of the best lug profiles/compounds available.
 

Blk88GT

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Thanks for the great info guys. The 136 was ok, but it did trench pretty good when I got on it. It was great for 90% of the riding I did, but I want to get a little further into untracked territory.
 
X

XC700116

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Milliken, CO
just for reference I'm 6'1" 250 lbs and the 151 works well for me with the 700 but I still wish I had the 800 with the 151 or 159.
 
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