History lesson

jtwatkins86 · Sep 20, 2015

As someone who is a bit of a history geek I thought it would be fun and enteresting to hear everyones perspective on how mountain sleds have evolved over the years and which models helped push our sport to where it is today.

You don't know where you are going until you know where you've been

I believe in 2005 arctic cat took things to the next level with the m series but I have only been riding since the m series came out So where did it all start??

Radar78 · Sep 21, 2015

I'm far from the expert but from what I've heard, you kinda hit the nail on the head with the 05 M7.

DUKHTR3 · Sep 21, 2015

I would have to say the ski doo rev was the biggest change to this day. First sled with rider toward ergos.

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volcano buster · Sep 21, 2015

Yamaha Phazer

Light, powerful, flickable before flickable was a fad.

Timbre · Sep 21, 2015

volcano buster said:
Yamaha Phazer

Light, powerful, flickable before flickable was a fad.

I remember those sleds well =)
Huge leap forward over other sleds in those days. As i recall, an Independent front suspension like they had was unheard of at the time. And yes, light and "flickable" too =)

jtwatkins86 · Sep 21, 2015

So what is coming down the pipeline as the next game changer

Factory turbo 800?, 4 stroke? (There was a time when you were laughed at for riding a 4 strike bike but those days are long gone)

volcano buster · Sep 21, 2015

To add to that history lesson, the 1990 Phazer II 121" weighed in at 406# and retailed for $4599.

2016 Polaris Axys 800 155" weighs in at 408# and retails for $13,199.

I am baffled that it took the manufacturers this long to get a mountain sled back down to the same weight as a Phazer from 26 years ago. You have to admit they have made some drastic changes in the process.

snowhunter87 · Sep 21, 2015

change

I would have to say the RMK 700 from Polaris (they are like a Chevy 350, been around forever and bulletproof since day one) and the Rev chassis (going to independent/A-arm suspension with "pyramidal geometry")

Pro RMK set a new chassis "stiffness" mark with probably the ETEC ski doo motors setting new benchmarks for Fuel mileage and oil consumption efficiency. Just a few thoughts i had on impulse.

Himark · Sep 21, 2015

I know when we started getting long tracks ie, 136" sleds (all brands) really turned the corner. **even YAMAHA

You can say this model or that model but IMO when we started seeing factory sleds pushing 136 it just exploded. I bet someone that is good with research and charts could really point that out. The ramp in that chart would amaze you how steep it has gone in the last 5 years! Kudos to all brands for listening to us mountain rider and answered it. Now we need to quit whining about 10k and up cost! It would amaze you how much I used to spend on old chassis to just get the same power to weight as we are seeing STOCK.

polaris dude · Sep 21, 2015

volcano buster said:
Yamaha Phazer

Light, powerful, flickable before flickable was a fad.

This is what I started on(ended up with 10k miles before selling it in working shape) and moved up about 5 years ago to what I got now.

It is funny though, because those phazers almost all lasted that long. I'd like to see a 07+ sled manage to rack up that many miles without a major failure. I managed to hit a big boulder at speed buried under the snow and hurt my elbow fairly severely after it tipped, but the only damage to the phazer was a pushed in underbelly(under the motor). I thought I broke something pretty bad, but my dad opened the hood and pushed the dent out and it was back to normal. That would never happen with sleds these days. I have already tweaked 2 sets of A-arms on much smaller unexpected bumps.

kanedog · Sep 22, 2015

97 polaris 700 rmk. Changed snowmobiling like the ipod changed portable music.

tuneman · Sep 22, 2015

For me I saw the change waaaay back in the late '80s. My father and I were regulars at Togwotee Mountain Lodge back then. So much so that my dad even guided a few times and he also got remarried there.

Anyway, back then it was all about high marking. Then Ski-Doo came out with the Safari 503 long track. There was a crazy guide there that I know some of you probably know, or knew. If I remember correctly, his name was Lance. He, and some of the other guides came up with this crazy idea on those old Doos (new at the time) of rolling the sled up on its side and driving up the hill sideways. They could go forever! We all know this today as boondocking, but I was there on my John Deere Liquifire 440, witnessing the pioneering of our sport.

sledheader · Sep 22, 2015

tuneman said:
For me I saw the change waaaay back in the late '80s. My father and I were regulars at Togwotee Mountain Lodge back then. So much so that my dad even guided a few times and he also got remarried there.

Anyway, back then it was all about high marking. Then Ski-Doo came out with the Safari 503 long track. There was a crazy guide there that I know some of you probably know, or knew. If I remember correctly, his name was Lance. He, and some of the other guides came up with this crazy idea on those old Doos (new at the time) of rolling the sled up on its side and driving up the hill sideways. They could go forever! We all know this today as boondocking, but I was there on my John Deere Liquifire 440, witnessing the pioneering of our sport.

My uncle had a 97 700 RMK when I first got into snowmobiling, and that thing was crazy fast! I own one today as a backup (for sale) for someone who wants to go to ride, and it still is pretty fast, I gotta say.

But I also remember him teaching me how to sidehill. He would go up the road banks and do it on his sled and I would follow with my 1988 Indy Trail 488cc fan. I rode the crap out of that thing and yes, I did learn to sidehill that machine for a LONG ways. I attribute most of my riding skills to that machine and I still believe a little short track sled like that is what every kid should learn to ride on. These newer sleds have too much ability to cover up poor riding skill IMO

Mort2112 · Sep 22, 2015

kanedog said:
97 polaris 700 rmk. Changed snowmobiling like the ipod changed portable music.

I agree completely. That sled was (and still is) a terrific ride.

freekweet mods · Sep 24, 2015

The 1994 Ski Doo Summit was touted as being purpose built for mountain riding. If I remember correctly the summit 670 was the first stock snowmobile over jackson- ridden by Mark Thompson.

Deep Powder Guy · Oct 10, 2015

The biggest improvement to mountain sleds were Paddle Tracks for deep powder riding My 1995 Summit 136 came with a 1.5 paddle track WoW what a huge improvement....Back than Chrome Molly light weight parts were also a bonus, today light weight parts are standard.

Paddle Tracks Rule.

DPG

gonehuntnpowder · Oct 10, 2015

A short lost imo
84 phaser 116 track 389 lbs. with a 136 track nothing at the time was better
87-92 Indy 500 SKS. First appearance of the long track. The sled all others were judged against for years
96 670 summit. The 700 RMK was a little better, but it came about because the 670 was so good.
01 700 summit high mark. First appearance of the 151 track. A game changer.
03 vertical escape. First mountain specific premium sled. To this day a great ride.
05 M7. Started the on edge craze. Redefined what a mountain sled is.

CatndHat · Oct 11, 2015

Well built power tuna boats

2003.5 1M 900.
Still gets good respect reps in the high country to this day. A model that could go the distance with a fair amount of power WITH reliability- And reliability was / is # one as a market priority.

Started and sustained up to the long track oem war lengths that we still see today.
A bullet proof bottom end -accepted after market mods including big bore kits unless pushed to the ragged edge.

joshkoltes · Oct 12, 2015

this opened peoples eyes
this isn't the style I remember but some here will remember
I remember kimpex had a plastic version that was kind of dished

http://assets1.mytrainsite.com/501450/ti_paddle-2_500nolines.jpg

I wanted them pretty bad back in 95 but bet they were putting them on clear back n the eighties

I recall a book that was published in the early nineties called some thing like "how to build your own fire breathing mod sled" or something like that. it was built out of an xlt probably 94-95. it looked like the mountain scene was in full swing at that time. the sky was the limit, there were no real mt sleds, people were trying all sorts of things mixing brands, custom parts, using their imagination. lots of wedges with doo motors. I vividly remember a 93 wedge a 583 twin piped doo 151 with those bolt on paddles shooting a 30 foot rooster in the air then the drop brackets ohh the drop brackets.

joshkoltes · Oct 12, 2015

Now that I'm thinking about it, anyone remember the brand lineup vhs tapes? I used to collect them all and still have some somewhere. I almost wore out the skidoo 1995 video I wanted a mx-z so bad... It remember that was the second year of the summit too.

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