XF High Country or M??

RiotCountry · Dec 3, 2012

I just sold my 2010 M8 Sno Pro and am in the market for either an XF High Country or a Proclimb M 800. I am wondering what everyone thinks about the high country's. I will be riding mainly out west in Colorado but will potentially be moving back to MN in the next year or so, so I am thinking the high country would allow me to do both types of riding (Sway bar and short track will help with trail riding and ditch banging). I know the M and the high country are virtually identical aside from the shorter track and sway bar so looking for some advice on what works for other people.

I found a sweet deal on a 12 High Country so I am leaning that way and if I went for an M it would be a 13 LE 153". The LE's are sweet but we are also talking about $3K more in price which means that could be $3K I could put into the high country.

Appreciate any input.

Thanks,
David

SaberKitty · Dec 3, 2012

Get the M, it'll ditch ride just fine. I've had mine back in MN and it's funny to see the looks on the Indy 500 kids faces.

bearpaw1977 · Dec 3, 2012

I'm goin the other way on this one. Got a 12 HC, sold the 141 PC, bought a take off Cobra, found a M track and rear skid. the whole transaction cost me less than $1000 and now I run the short track in the midwest and swap everything out to head to WY. sure swapping the tracks/skids is a pain in the *** but it's good beer drinking time.

RiotCountry · Dec 3, 2012

bearpaw1977 said:
I'm goin the other way on this one. Got a 12 HC, sold the 141 PC, bought a take off Cobra, found a M track and rear skid. the whole transaction cost me less than $1000 and now I run the short track in the midwest and swap everything out to head to WY. sure swapping the tracks/skids is a pain in the *** but it's good beer drinking time.

I was honestly thinking of doing the exact same thing. I figured with the money I was saving by buying the HC I could mod it and do what I wanted with it.

Have you had any issues with your HC?? Everything I have heard about them has been pretty good. How do you like it??

I do love the look of the all black LE but I found an HC with 300 miles on it (all updates done) for less than $9K which is a steal IMO. The M I can get out the door for $11,600 and that is a 2013 800 Limited 153 which is also a good deal.

I figure with the roughy $3K i'll save I can mod and add a few goodies to the HC and make it the way I want.

Mr. High Country · Dec 3, 2012

I would have to go towards the high country as well. With the shorter 141 you can ditch bang and then take it to the mountains. like you said, with the extra 3k you could get a skid and track for the mountains. and have mod money left if you get a deal $$$. havent had any big issues with my 12 high country yet. There is also a contradictory as well (dont know wat you view as important), the 13's do come with a few updates the you may like better, the track is mounted lower, the spindels are drilled a bit further ahead of the 12's to allow a tighter turn, and a few little pickey things. All of which can play a part in the decision.

JSun · Dec 3, 2012

From the sounds of it I would go with the High Country. Sounds like a great deal to me. Pretty much every day I ride in MN I wish I had a shorter track (although I didn't get to ride in MN last year.. no snow...) and in the years I have been riding out west there have really only been a few days I have really needed anything longer than a 141" for the kind of riding I do!!! I am thinking my next sled will have a shorter track just to have a little more flexibility around home.

Joe

RiotCountry · Dec 3, 2012

Mr. High Country said:
I would have to go towards the high country as well. With the shorter 141 you can ditch bang and then take it to the mountains. like you said, with the extra 3k you could get a skid and track for the mountains. and have mod money left if you get a deal $$$. havent had any big issues with my 12 high country yet. There is also a contradictory as well (dont know wat you view as important), the 13's do come with a few updates the you may like better, the track is mounted lower, the spindels are drilled a bit further ahead of the 12's to allow a tighter turn, and a few little pickey things. All of which can play a part in the decision.

Yeah I was reading about a lot of those updates as well. From the sound of it though they are all updates I could potentially do myself with a case of beer... Also, it appears it wouldn't take much to make the 12 look like the 2013 haha so basically is 12 in sheeps clothing...

I think the HC is what I am going to go after, sounds like it will be a perfect "Hybrid" for what I am looking to do...

RiotCountry · Dec 3, 2012

JSun said:
From the sounds of it I would go with the High Country. Sounds like a great deal to me. Pretty much every day I ride in MN I wish I had a shorter track (although I didn't get to ride in MN last year.. no snow...) and in the years I have been riding out west there have really only been a few days I have really needed anything longer than a 141" for the kind of riding I do!!! I am thinking my next sled will have a shorter track just to have a little more flexibility around home.

Joe

There's the flip side, MN didnt get any snow last year so will I actually be riding in MN ever again?!?!?! haha I was born and raised there so I am not too worried about them losing winter forever although this year is off to another slow start...

I think the shorter track will work well for the type of mountain riding I do also as it is mostly boondocking in the trees and we don't do much hill climbing, I enjoy the technical stuff, I'm not really the point and shoot type of rider.

dirty_duramax · Dec 4, 2012

I ride with 3 high country's... the sleds are fine for flat landers, but if you want to do any kind of serious mountain riding 153 is way to go. i prefer the handling of a 153 even ditch bangin. 141 wheelie and trench out too easily in the hills. pack a good shovel i guess. good luck!

backcountryislife · Dec 4, 2012

tbss1121 said:
I think the shorter track will work well for the type of mountain riding I do also as it is mostly boondocking in the trees and we don't do much hill climbing, I enjoy the technical stuff, I'm not really the point and shoot type of rider.

It's the exact opposite actually.

The shorter track is better for point & shoot, wide open areas, than it is in the trees & technical stuff.

I ride a 141 in the trees, climbing, jumping... it's my every day mountain sled, I love it.
BUT in the trees you need to ride faster than you do on a longer track... just have to think further ahead & think quicker.

Guys that can't keep them from wheelieing & trenching likely just need some skid setup work. I do it every day, have for the last 3 years, and not a day has gone by where someone got somewhere I couldn't. In 3 years there has been 4 days where I wished for a longer track... and on those days I spent just as much time digging out all my buddies as I did digging out myself.

The 141 is more fun, will do things the 153 won't, and when you kick your buddy's AZZ on a 141 he shuts up quick about the excuses as to why:face-icon-small-sho

bearpaw1977 · Dec 4, 2012

tbss1121 said:
I was honestly thinking of doing the exact same thing. I figured with the money I was saving by buying the HC I could mod it and do what I wanted with it.

Have you had any issues with your HC?? Everything I have heard about them has been pretty good. How do you like it??

I do love the look of the all black LE but I found an HC with 300 miles on it (all updates done) for less than $9K which is a steal IMO. The M I can get out the door for $11,600 and that is a 2013 800 Limited 153 which is also a good deal.

I figure with the roughy $3K i'll save I can mod and add a few goodies to the HC and make it the way I want.

Like the sled, but didn't get much seat time last year. Snow sucked at home last year so I only put about 350 miles on in the U.P. with the 141 cobra. It was a blast. Wife had a baby in Jan so the west trip was poopoo'ed. Heading to WY in January and we'll see how the 153 does. have the best of both worlds with a few hours and some wrenching, which I like anyway

RiotCountry · Dec 4, 2012

bearpaw1977 said:
Like the sled, but didn't get much seat time last year. Snow sucked at home last year so I only put about 350 miles on in the U.P. with the 141 cobra. It was a blast. Wife had a baby in Jan so the west trip was poopoo'ed. Heading to WY in January and we'll see how the 153 does. have the best of both worlds with a few hours and some wrenching, which I like anyway

Yeah the snow in MN was non existent so I was glad I was living in CO!!

Do you or anyone know if te rails from a 2012 153" track mount up to all of the components of the 141? Seems like this was be a cheaper option than buying the entire skid and only require a couple additional hours of work... Could have a 153" for both types of riding for about $600 with the track.

bearpaw1977 · Dec 4, 2012

tbss1121 said:
Yeah the snow in MN was non existent so I was glad I was living in CO!!

Do you or anyone know if te rails from a 2012 153" track mount up to all of the components of the 141? Seems like this was be a cheaper option than buying the entire skid and only require a couple additional hours of work... Could have a 153" for both types of riding for about $600 with the track.

Starting digging into that option then found a whole skid and track, minus the rear shock, for a super price. As far as I found I believe everything was the same except some shock valving and rail length. Kind of an eyeball mechanic so I laid them next to each other and everything lined up, so take that for what it's worth. Come to think of it I was shocked to see how little difference there was in the length too. Thought the 153 skid would look longer? but, I'm a petty little man and still think I need the "long track" :face-icon-small-hap

backcountryislife · Dec 4, 2012

bearpaw1977 said:
but, I'm a petty little man and still think I need the "long track" :face-icon-small-hap

Yeah... I'd always heard that they raised a bunch of sallies up near Fonduelack... must be true!:face-icon-small-ton:bounce:

It'll be nice to have the option of both though, at least then when you compare short track to long track you're comparing same sled, apples to apples.

mountaincat 800 · Dec 4, 2012

I totally agree with BCL but I believe he is a technical rider that has rode the mountains for years. I.E. He has learned how to ride quickly through the trees on a short track. If you are just learning to ride the mountains I would suggest at least a 153" track, you will enjoy the learning curve more. Buy the way I have been looking for a 141" PC to put on my crossfire. If you are thinking of selling it I would like first dibs.

backcountryislife said:
It's the exact opposite actually.

The shorter track is better for point & shoot, wide open areas, than it is in the trees & technical stuff.

I ride a 141 in the trees, climbing, jumping... it's my every day mountain sled, I love it.
BUT in the trees you need to ride faster than you do on a longer track... just have to think further ahead & think quicker.

Guys that can't keep them from wheelieing & trenching likely just need some skid setup work. I do it every day, have for the last 3 years, and not a day has gone by where someone got somewhere I couldn't. In 3 years there has been 4 days where I wished for a longer track... and on those days I spent just as much time digging out all my buddies as I did digging out myself.

The 141 is more fun, will do things the 153 won't, and when you kick your buddy's AZZ on a 141 he shuts up quick about the excuses as to why:face-icon-small-sho

RiotCountry · Dec 4, 2012

mountaincat 800 said:
I totally agree with BCL but I believe he is a technical rider that has rode the mountains for years. I.E. He has learned how to ride quickly through the trees on a short track. If you are just learning to ride the mountains I would suggest at least a 153" track, you will enjoy the learning curve more. Buy the way I have been looking for a 141" PC to put on my crossfire. If you are thinking of selling it I would like first dibs.

I have actually been riding the mountains for a few years now, been riding snowmobiles in general since I was about 4. I was riding a M8 SP that I just sold, I am really just looking for something I can ride in the Midwest as well as in the mountains which is why I am considering the high country. I will probably rip the 141 for a while and see how it does before doing any swapping over to the 153".

bearpaw1977 · Dec 5, 2012

backcountryislife said:
Yeah... I'd always heard that they raised a bunch of sallies up near Fonduelack... must be true!:face-icon-small-ton:bounce:

It'll be nice to have the option of both though, at least then when you compare short track to long track you're comparing same sled, apples to apples.

Good thing I was raised in Krakow, WI... wait... maybe not??? DAMMIT! Either way I'm a sally

hwell:

Sled208 · Dec 5, 2012

bearpaw1977 said:
I'm goin the other way on this one. Got a 12 HC, sold the 141 PC, bought a take off Cobra, found a M track and rear skid. the whole transaction cost me less than $1000 and now I run the short track in the midwest and swap everything out to head to WY. sure swapping the tracks/skids is a pain in the *** but it's good beer drinking time.

I'm doing the exact same thing. Got a full 153" skid and track from a 2012 m8. I was switching to a cobra track all last year to go to UP of Michigan and then putting the powerclaw on for going out west. I switched the track out many times. It's not the most fun but you get better at it with practice. This year i decided that since i have the track/skid out anyway, might as well put a big shoe under it when I'm setting it up for riding out west.

tbss1121 said:
Yeah the snow in MN was non existent so I was glad I was living in CO!!

Do you or anyone know if te rails from a 2012 153" track mount up to all of the components of the 141? Seems like this was be a cheaper option than buying the entire skid and only require a couple additional hours of work... Could have a 153" for both types of riding for about $600 with the track.

Sure looks to me like you could just swap rails but that seems like a lot more work yet

RiotCountry · Dec 5, 2012

Sled208 said:
I'm doing the exact same thing. Got a full 153" skid and track from a 2012 m8. I was switching to a cobra track all last year to go to UP of Michigan and then putting the powerclaw on for going out west. I switched the track out many times. It's not the most fun but you get better at it with practice. This year i decided that since i have the track/skid out anyway, might as well put a big shoe under it when I'm setting it up for riding out west.

Sure looks to me like you could just swap rails but that seems like a lot more work yet

I agree there is quite a bit of work involved in the transfer if you are talking about swapping rails as well. For me though it shouldn't be too bad, I'll be riding the mountains for the large majority of the year so I would only need to do the swap maybe once or twice a year. I figure for the money saved and having the best of both worlds seems like a no brainer.

Pretty happy you guys suggested the swap option because I wasn't even taking that into consideration. Now I just hope the HC doesn't have any belt issues, if thats the case, the money saved will be quickly spent!!!

mountaincat 800 · Dec 5, 2012

tbss1121 said:
I have actually been riding the mountains for a few years now, been riding snowmobiles in general since I was about 4. I was riding a M8 SP that I just sold, I am really just looking for something I can ride in the Midwest as well as in the mountains which is why I am considering the high country. I will probably rip the 141 for a while and see how it does before doing any swapping over to the 153".

Understood. I have buds that have been riding for 5+ years but still get dusted in the trees. Trees aren't for everyone. :face-icon-small-winRyan, Steve
Anyway if you change your mind on the 141, please get in touch with me. Thanks.

XF High Country or M??

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