M8 or Rmk? Dependability.

skid_68 · Nov 25, 2018

I've been out of the scene for about 10 years. But am now looking to pick up a few sleds for my family. Not too serious of riding like I used too. Ice fishing, a few hills and boondocking. I do want them to be mountain sleds.

With that said, I've been looking at either an M8 or Rmk. Looking in the 2008 - 2010 range. I just want a dependable sled. It doesn't have to climb the highest mountain. Which of those models/years would you say better fits the bill? I appreciate any help. Thanks

maurfello · Nov 25, 2018

IMO I would go M8

Big10inch · Nov 25, 2018

The 2008-10 RMKs in 800cc are some of the worst sleds Polaris ever built for reliability. The 800 motor is so bad, junk would be a kind assessment. Handling is OK, not great on these. IMO, you would have to step up to a '13-15 Polaris Pro to get a decent machine and even on those the motors do not last like the Cat.

I would be looking for 2010-11 M8's. Those have the revised 800HO motor. Best sled motor probably ever, good for 4000 miles in the hands of most riders. Good handling sleds, they were the best in their day IMO. Primary clutches and diamond drives are the major service issues on these otherwise they are pretty much gas and go. I would probably pass on the '07-08 models as the '09 has substantial updates to the track, suspension, seat etc. '10-11 is the best with other updates plus a little more power.

kiliki · Nov 25, 2018

^^^^^^ This!

AdrenalineAddict · Nov 25, 2018

Big10's advice is spot on.

dragonflats · Nov 25, 2018

I know the op asked about 800s and agree with comments made but I wouldn't Overlook the 2009 and 2010 700 RMK's for power and reliability plus Polaris finally got rid of that sh** plastic bumper in 2009

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maurfello · Nov 25, 2018

dragonflats said:
I know the op asked about 800s and agree with comments made but I wouldn't Overlook the 2009 and 2010 700 RMK's for power and reliability plus Polaris finally got rid of that sh** plastic bumper in 2009

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^Why pay for a 700 rmk in these years when you can get a Cat 800 for same or lower price with much more power/torque?

dragonflats · Nov 25, 2018

maurfello said:
^Why pay for a 700 rmk in these years when you can get a Cat 800 for same or lower price with much more power/torque?

/\ op asked about reliable, family sleds either in a M8 or RMK . In a quick search on Craigslist I found 2010 and 11 m8s listed from 3 to 6 k and I found 2009 and 10 700 RMKs listed for 2500 to 4000. I'm not suggesting either sled I'm just saying if performance isn't a factor to the original poster and it doesn't seem to be by his first post. I would certainly keep an open mind to it depending on what you find for what price of course. I think Polaris had electronic reverse on those years and I'm not sure on the cats. Good luck to the op on finding the right sleds for him and his family.

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skid_68 · Nov 25, 2018

Thank you for all the insight. I'm glad I asked on here because I was leaning heavily towards the 800 rmk in that year range. I won't be now.

Back in 07-08 I had the chance to demo an M8 and M1000 Snopro sleds, and I particularly remember loving the way the M8 rode. So, it sounds like as long as I go with 09 or newer, I'll be better off.

dragonflats, thank you for that info about the 700 rmk's. So they weren't prone to all the problems that the 800's had?

summ8rmk · Nov 25, 2018

There is nothing wrong with the 600 and 700 rmk for those years. Definitely stay away from the Polaris 800's.
Also there is nothing wrong the M8's of those years.
The 07 600rmk has carburetors ... not sure when the 600 recieved EFI? I would stick with efi as it runs better all day, all elevations.

The M8 probably wins in the cooler departmaent. As it runs cooler in crappy snow conditions.
Other than the crummy bearing in the 2009-2011 diamond drives the M8 is near bullet proof.

I don't personally know of any RMK 600 failures but i have seen crank issues on some 700's at 4k miles.

Dogmeat · Nov 25, 2018

skid_68 said:
I've been out of the scene for about 10 years. But am now looking to pick up a few sleds for my family. Not too serious of riding like I used too. Ice fishing, a few hills and boondocking. I do want them to be mountain sleds.

With that said, I've been looking at either an M8 or Rmk. Looking in the 2008 - 2010 range. I just want a dependable sled. It doesn't have to climb the highest mountain. Which of those models/years would you say better fits the bill? I appreciate any help. Thanks

I wouldn't even think about buying an RMK from 2005-2011.

Go with the M8.

Its not even funny how many 800 Dragons I towed out with my M8 back in the day hahahaha

dragonflats · Nov 25, 2018

skid_68 said:
Thank you for all the insight. I'm glad I asked on here because I was leaning heavily towards the 800 rmk in that year range. I won't be now.

Back in 07-08 I had the chance to demo an M8 and M1000 Snopro sleds, and I particularly remember loving the way the M8 rode. So, it sounds like as long as I go with 09 or newer, I'll be better off.

dragonflats, thank you for that info about the 700 rmk's. So they weren't prone to all the problems that the 800's had?

I would not recommend an 800 Polaris in those years at all. although I never owned a 700 RMK In Those Years A lot of my friends did and they were purchased from rental fleets. I don't recall any issues with those.

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MountainCat1 · Nov 25, 2018

Choices?

skid-68, You did not say where you would be sledding or the snow conditions. I too would recommend a '10 or '11 M8. I still own & ride a '10 m8 with some updates (clutching, DD bearing, shocks, 2.6 Powerclaw track, etc) Another sled that I own and would recommend for your consideration is a '11 Crossfire 800 HO; mine is the 141 with the 2.25 powerclaw track clutched for 6-9,000 ft. elevation, DD bearing update, & Arctic Cat HCR skis. You can actually steer this sled as well as carve with it on its side; it has 2 tunnel coolers so low snow conditions when boondocking are no problem, unlike my '17 Mountain Cat 3". I don't know if AC still makes a hitch that attaches to the adequately strong bumper but that would be ideal for towing your ice-fishing gear. It's plenty enough of a sled for Montana boondocking until it gets 3+ feet of snow. All of your sled choices will have to be clutched for your riding altitude. Just a thought.:juggle:

skid_68 · Nov 25, 2018

summ8rmk said:
There is nothing wrong with the 600 and 700 rmk for those years. Definitely stay away from the Polaris 800's.
Also there is nothing wrong the M8's of those years.
The 07 600rmk has carburetors ... not sure when the 600 recieved EFI? I would stick with efi as it runs better all day, all elevations.

The M8 probably wins in the cooler departmaent. As it runs cooler in crappy snow conditions.
Other than the crummy bearing in the 2009-2011 diamond drives the M8 is near bullet proof.

I don't personally know of any RMK 600 failures but i have seen crank issues on some 700's at 4k miles.

I did read about some bad cooling on some of the RMK's. Cooler is better.
What is the cost to swap out the diamond drives on an M8 if it comes to that?

Dogmeat said:
I wouldn't even think about buying an RMK from 2005-2011.

Go with the M8.

Its not even funny how many 800 Dragons I towed out with my M8 back in the day hahahaha

Good to know.

dragonflats said:
I would not recommend an 800 Polaris in those years at all. although I never owned a 700 RMK In Those Years A lot of my friends did and they were purchased from rental fleets. I don't recall any issues with those.

Yeah, I'll for sure stay away from the Rmk 800's. I may look into the 700's.

MountainCat1 said:
skid-68, You did not say where you would be sledding or the snow conditions. I too would recommend a '10 or '11 M8. I still own & ride a '10 m8 with some updates (clutching, DD bearing, shocks, 2.6 Powerclaw track, etc) Another sled that I own and would recommend for your consideration is a '11 Crossfire 800 HO; mine is the 141 with the 2.25 powerclaw track clutched for 6-9,000 ft. elevation, DD bearing update, & Arctic Cat HCR skis. You can actually steer this sled as well as carve with it on its side; it has 2 tunnel coolers so low snow conditions when boondocking are no problem, unlike my '17 Mountain Cat 3". I don't know if AC still makes a hitch that attaches to the adequately strong bumper but that would be ideal for towing your ice-fishing gear. It's plenty enough of a sled for Montana boondocking until it gets 3+ feet of snow. All of your sled choices will have to be clutched for your riding altitude. Just a thought.:juggle:

I'm in Northern Utah. Riding anywhere from 6000'-10000'
What did you pay for the DD bearing fix? I don't think I've seen Crossfires for sale near me, but I'll look into it. Hoping to keep the cost around $3000 for each and I'm seeing that for M8's in those years.

Thanks again for all the great information guys. Much appreciated.

kiliki · Nov 25, 2018

stay with the m 8 in your area better for resale. DD bearing is cheap and easy. if the ride you buy doesn't have it yet as most are already done the 4m has done all the work for you.

summ8rmk · Nov 25, 2018

If the bearing hasn't been updated,
Get the correct bearing from BDX and put it in ASAP.
$20? I can't remember what it was. Kinda stupid not to do it.

BDX designed the diamond drive, cat purchased the rights and decided to save a few pennies and use a single row bearing with a spacer instead of the correct double row bearing.

skid_68 · Nov 25, 2018

Good to know the bearing isn't too bad. Sad to know Arctic cat dropped the ball on something like that.

summ8rmk · Nov 25, 2018

I put 4k miles on my 09. Loved it

joshkoltes · Nov 25, 2018

What about a nytro, they gotta be dirt cheap by now. I mean if your just fiddling around riding and looking for reliability.

Jaynelson · Nov 26, 2018

Not sure if dependability and a 9 year old 800 class sled go in the same sentence....but in those years the m8 would be the better way to go. Count on it needing a primary clutch at minimum (if it hasn’t been replaced recently).

M8 or Rmk? Dependability.

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