RMK lite

Toad face killah · Dec 18, 2013

When I was younger I grew up on 550 RMK's with 136 tracks in the gen 2 chassis. They were a blast. Definitely taught me how to ride so I could keep up with the big boys. The motors are bulletproof and will never leave you stranded. I can only imagine how much fun a kid can have on it now that its in the pro chassis.

cateye5312 · Dec 20, 2013

Toad face killah said:
When I was younger I grew up on 550 RMK's with 136 tracks in the gen 2 chassis. They were a blast. Definitely taught me how to ride so I could keep up with the big boys. The motors are bulletproof and will never leave you stranded. I can only imagine how much fun a kid can have on it now that its in the pro chassis.

When my kids were growing up we dropped 136 X 2" tracks under a couple of 550 RMK's. Made great sleds for the kids.

I just got done taking two '99 340 Indy Lite Deluxes and adding a 133.5 x 1.5 track to one and a 136 x 1.25 track to the other, raised the rear suspension two inches (to the specs of RMK's that year) and put Gripper skis on. At about 80 lbs each my grand sons can pretty much keep up with us on most terrain! I'd love to weigh them. Swapping skis dropped 14 lbs!!!

73 Starfire · Dec 21, 2013

I would like to see Polaris offer this motor in the Pro chassis with a 155 track. I'm thinking the dry weight would come in at 3xx lbs.

theultrarider · Dec 21, 2013

I built several indy lite 340's back when the kids were kids lol. Some 133.5 x1.5 some 136x2.0. It is amazing where those things will go with a 50-100 pound kid on them! And yes, plastic skis made a huge difference as well. I always wanted to drop a 340txl motor into one of those. That would have really made a great little sleeper sled.
Nice work on the 550f pro's though. Should make for some very happy kids.

cateye5312 · Dec 23, 2013

Based on Polaris's published dry weights on various sled models that have the 550 and the 600 motor options, it looks like there's only about a 25 pound weight difference between the two so unless I'm missing something there better be more to it than weight savings because the drop in HP is more than the drop in weight.

Check out the Indy 550 Voyageur - Now that looks like a great beginner sled!

volcano buster · Dec 23, 2013

I can't argue too loudly with the comparison of the 550 and 600. However, I have some light riders in my house that I would feel a lot better letting them figure out how to handle 550cc's of WFO fun before they venture onto something more "capable". I still contend that this lower weight bigger footprint combo should be a going concern.

cateye5312 · Dec 23, 2013

theultrarider said:
I built several indy lite 340's back when the kids were kids lol. Some 133.5 x1.5 some 136x2.0. It is amazing where those things will go with a 50-100 pound kid on them! And yes, plastic skis made a huge difference as well. I always wanted to drop a 340txl motor into one of those. That would have really made a great little sleeper sled.
Nice work on the 550f pro's though. Should make for some very happy kids.

I had a 340TXL -- that was a great motor for it's time no doubt! That thing would do 90 with a slight downhill and a good tail wind! Ha! I DO NOT miss wrenching on it constantly though! I think I spent more time trying to get it to run than riding it! Don't miss those days at all.

It's too bad the 340's have disappeared - great size for the kids!

Laundryboy · Jan 2, 2014

I'm dong some tuning on my 550 and was going to adjust the air screw. The problem is that there isn't one, anyone know why? The owners manual states how many turns out it should be which seems kind of odd since it doesn't exist. I'd sure appreciate anyone's input.

slyrydr · Jan 2, 2014

i ride occasionally with a group of old guys (late 60s/early 70s)....they have taken the 550 mods to amazing levels....they figured out ways to make them 750s, very light, and the deep powder performance in the trees, ravines, brush and other nasty places is truely awesome....

volcano buster · Jan 2, 2014

slyrydr said:
i ride occasionally with a group of old guys (late 60s/early 70s)....they have taken the 550 mods to amazing levels....they figured out ways to make them 750s, very light, and the deep powder performance in the trees, ravines, brush and other nasty places is truely awesome....

Please elaborate.

I always like pictures too!

slyrydr · Jan 2, 2014

volcano buster said:
Please elaborate.

I always like pictures too!

....they live about 20 miles from me, so no pics.....they guard their secrets with rotweilers and ak-47s, and lie about everything except the gas mileage on their cummins' diesels (and i'm not too sure about that either)....what i can see are 153 powerclaw tracks, homebilt (and very nice) foot rails, aftermarket handlebars with risers, lightweight everything...and because they use the same engine/machine shop as i do, i found out about the 750s that the sandbaggers wouldn't confess to even when i mentioned how good their 550s ran....in short, these guys have been running specialty sleds for a great many years and take a lot of pride in having a humble looking sled that just humiliates the new stuff...:face-icon-small-sad

iambigfattony · Jan 2, 2014

75 miles fan is fun, our first mod my RMK seat. Maybe shed a pound?

Laundryboy · Jan 2, 2014

iambigfattony said:
75 miles fan is fun, our first mod my RMK seat. Maybe shed a pound?

That's funny, I did the exact same thing. I got a Skinz set on my pro and put the pro seat on the 550.

iambigfattony · Jan 2, 2014

Laundryboy said:
That's funny, I did the exact same thing. I got a Skinz set on my pro and put the pro seat on the 550.[/QUO

Stock seat was huge, now kids aren't tempted to ride double. Added WRP +2 seat to Pro all I can say foam is amazing. Best upgrade ever!!!!!!

BJorgy17 · Jan 3, 2014

I rode for two years a 1998 Indy 340 121'' track in the mountains when i was 11 and 12. Honestly had a blast that is the sled i learned to ride in the mountains on. My dad bought new a 2000 550 trail rmk that he still rode until this year when he snow checked a new pro. nearly 4000 miles and not have never had a single trouble with it! best motor/sled Polaris has made IMO.

volcano buster · Jan 3, 2014

slyrydr said:
.... because they use the same engine/machine shop as i do, i found out about the 750s that the sandbaggers wouldn't confess to even when i mentioned how good their 550s ran....in short, these guys have been running specialty sleds for a great many years and take a lot of pride in having a humble looking sled that just humiliates the new stuff...:face-icon-small-sad

Any ideas on how they are getting 750cc's out of these motors?

How long of a track do they run?

geo · Jan 3, 2014

Anyone turbo one yet. Where's the fun in being trouble free?

trestlecreek · Jan 3, 2014

Back in 2001 3 of us bought 3 2000 550 rmks. They were used as rentals out of West Yellowstone and had 6000+ miles on them. There was a guy in Spokane who took the motors and shaved the heads. We added 38 Mikuni flat slides, eliminated the oil injection, put on Aaen pipes. ported, had pistons and jugs coated. Wongs rolled chain case. 159" track ported. Carbon fiber hood, (weighed 4 lbs.) Boss seat. Race pac III's. Weighed in at 410 lbs with a little gas in it. And a big can of attitude. Had a lot of fun zigging and zagging.
Fan cooled and fat chicks!!!! Both fun to ride, until your friends see you on one.

trestlecreek · Jan 3, 2014

Talking about turbo on a 550. The same mechanic in Spokane did put NOS on one. Was very impressive. The cranks on the 550 is every bit as large as the 700's had. So pushing 70 h.p. with mods and 100 h.p. with NOS was no big deal on those motors. The clutches were set up the same as the 700 rmks. 58-60 gram weights, Black SLP spring in secondary wound to the nuts. NEVER burnt a belt. Now I know some of you would ask, WHY? At the time nothing was close to running this kind of weight, and most were still running 136"tracks. So running circles around the stuck 700-800's was a lot of fun. Of course now a days those 550's cant compete with the light weight Pros.
Good times for sure!

TRS · Jan 5, 2014

Here's one. 550 fan with 38 flat slides.

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