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Looking for new to me mountain sled advice

IDspud

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Nice find.

One screw up though….
When she’s there that’s your wife’s sled, yours is the cheaper one you’re still shopping for.

Goes a long ways towards how often both of you ride.
 

mtncat1

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^^ My 2x 08 m1000's are still my fav!!! head cut, slp pipe and they are a turbo killer under 9k. a bit heavy but the low rpm torque was the biz! Mtncat1 was probably busy changing purse colors. ;) put 8K on one.
I rode nothing but cats from 95 to 2009 900 1m was the absolute best of the bunch , but was towed out of the mountains more times than i could remember with broken chains , went to a team chain and all was good til il moved on .on the other hand the day i sold that m1000 was the best day of my life ,i felt like i was just released from prison . steering was so heavy and belt life was unbelievably bad . you and i know the problems cat has had over the years , chain issues until they went to the diamond drive ,then belt issues until the 12 chassis came out . did cat learn ? no back to the same ****ty chains that were braking before . and even worse clutching . in fact clutching so bad that cat has came out with a new clutch every year since 2012 till the current model this year . there is a reason cat is last place in sales out west . so don't give me any more of your (i wanted a diferrent colored purse bullshit ) cat is garbage and soon will be out of business
 

mtncat1

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Thanks all, ended up finding a 16’ M8000 153 sno pro with fox evol shocks with under 1000 original miles for $5k. May keep my eyes open for a 06-08 Polaris 600 or an arctic cat M6 or M7 as a wife sled or back up sled let us know how that works out for ya . i will never buy another cat ever
 

hansenmac

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all sleds break at some point, to pretend that only one brand has flaws is ignorant. pro's fold A arms and bumpers like there paper mache, and ive seen multiple belt drive bolts holding the pully snap of in the back country. the polaris 800 was nothing to brag about for 10 years whether it was wearing out pistons or seizing a mile down the trail (two different freinds sleds). The 2012 cat was a flop no doubt. If a persons preferred brand changes things every year its evolution and progression, if the brand they dont like changes things they suck and there going out of business and everyone who rides one is and idiot blah blah blah. 2016 cat is a good sled the OP should be happy with it.
 

IDspud

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Let’s also consider if your sled isn’t disposable you won’t need a new one as often so sales may lag from the simple fact the non disposable one lasts longer, need replaced less frequently.
 
C
Sep 8, 2014
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Crested Butte
I rode nothing but cats from 95 to 2009 900 1m was the absolute best of the bunch , but was towed out of the mountains more times than i could remember with broken chains , went to a team chain and all was good til il moved on .on the other hand the day i sold that m1000 was the best day of my life ,i felt like i was just released from prison . steering was so heavy and belt life was unbelievably bad . you and i know the problems cat has had over the years , chain issues until they went to the diamond drive ,then belt issues until the 12 chassis came out . did cat learn ? no back to the same ****ty chains that were braking before . and even worse clutching . in fact clutching so bad that cat has came out with a new clutch every year since 2012 till the current model this year . there is a reason cat is last place in sales out west . so don't give me any more of your (i wanted a diferrent colored purse bullshit ) cat is garbage and soon will be out of business
What are you riding now?
I liked my old Suzuki powered 900 back in the day...
Im in the same boat as OP and just browsing around for a good deal on something early season.
Im hoping to find an axys rmk for a good price.
Seen some 2019 ish ones for about 8000.00

Also seeing a bunch of turbo sleds a couple years old...
Im hesitant to get back in to the sport with a tuning project that may arise from a BD turbo purchase.

Was considering snow bikes too, but the price for a bike and kit and all the other stuff is hard to embrace. You can get so much more bang for your buck out of a sled...
Might have some regret not being able to go every where the bikes do, but its exciting to experience all the advancements in sleds since my 2005 King kat.
That old chassis was so hard to side hill with.
 
N
Mar 13, 2011
33
4
8
41
Yeah, I’m really looking at 13-16 XMs and axys. I’m fine with the motor issues if a Polaris. It’s not that tough to rebuild, provided you don’t wait till it’s ****ed. I just wanna pull and go, and do general maintenance, and stupid me maintenance lol.


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N
Mar 13, 2011
33
4
8
41
Did you just say you want pull and go but your good if the motor blows?

I’m saying if there is a known issue, such as loose pistons, if the motor is in good shape, I have no issue correcting it so it’s pull and go. A rebuild isn’t a huge deal in the off-season. If the machine is priced alright, and a kit may cost me upwards of 1K, I’m not afraid of it. I’m not gonna buy anything down on compression, because that puts me in a bind to ride this season. Or be back on the RMK700


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IDspud

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Gotcha.

I thought you were referring to the frequent need to rebuild not being a concerning issue.
 
N
Mar 13, 2011
33
4
8
41
Gotcha.

I thought you were referring to the frequent need to rebuild not being a concerning issue.

No, I won’t be buying something that needs major maintenance every few rides or season. My season probably won’t be a big one this year. Maybe 1000km or so, since I’m going to Panama again in feb for medical treatment with my son. That’s gonna keep me fairly central. I don’t want to be doing mid season sourcing of parts. Also why I probably won’t go 15 down on Polaris, don’t need to be dealing with motor and a-arms etc. I’m a ****ty rider. Why I’m also gravitating to an XM t3


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mtncat1

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Oct 19, 2008
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What are you riding now?
I liked my old Suzuki powered 900 back in the day...
Im in the same boat as OP and just browsing around for a good deal on something early season.
Im hoping to find an axys rmk for a good price.
Seen some 2019 ish ones for about 8000.00

Also seeing a bunch of turbo sleds a couple years old...
Im hesitant to get back in to the sport with a tuning project that may arise from a BD turbo purchase.

Was considering snow bikes too, but the price for a bike and kit and all the other stuff is hard to embrace. You can get so much more bang for your buck out of a sled...
Might have some regret not being able to go every where the bikes do, but its exciting to experience all the advancements in sleds since my 2005 King kat.
That old chassis was so hard to side hill with.
i'm on my 4th
800 polaris since i left cat 19 800 163 boondocker side kick
 
Last edited:
N
Jul 23, 2008
66
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18
Thanks all, ended up finding a 16’ M8000 153 sno pro with fox evol shocks with under 1000 original miles for $5k. May keep my eyes open for a 06-08 Polaris 600 or an arctic cat M6 or M7 as a wife sled or back up sled for me

Damn that's a good find! Been looking for that exact sled at that price for over a yr now.
 

Devilmanak

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Dec 12, 2007
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Thanks all, ended up finding a 16’ M8000 153 sno pro with fox evol shocks with under 1000 original miles for $5k. May keep my eyes open for a 06-08 Polaris 600 or an arctic cat M6 or M7 as a wife sled or back up sled for me
That is a smoking deal. Tater's 16 M6000 is being retired, cannot decide what to do with it. 3000 miles. It has some issues, gauge is dieing, speedo quit working (may be gauge) wear and tear. I figure that I will just keep it for a wife sled at this point, put 100 miles a year on it. The engine will NEVER die.
 

Devilmanak

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Dec 12, 2007
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Thanks all, ended up finding a 16’ M8000 153 sno pro with fox evol shocks with under 1000 original miles for $5k. May keep my eyes open for a 06-08 Polaris 600 or an arctic cat M6 or M7 as a wife sled or back up sled for me
I have a 2005 M6 that I will let go. Lots of miles. 4000. But in pretty good shape for that mileage. I paid $2500 for it a year ago, would need that now.
 

Devilmanak

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Problems with the 2017 doo's were specific to the new G4 platform, not the XM.

If you're looking at a T3 XM, it should be a solid sled, the XM debut was in 2013 so all the bugs were worked out and the 2015 and later versions are great sleds.
Agreed. Avoid the 2017 G4 sleds like the plague. I HATED both of mine so badly that I sold one in February, I was terrified that I was going to be stuck with it. BUT. There WERE good ones. Both of mine were not. Belt eaters, and I am easy on belts. I do know guys that got regular or better belt wear out of theirs. But not worth the gamble to me. 18 were a bit (much) better, but still not acceptable. 19 dialed. 20 Super dialed. 21 mind blowing good. XM T3 or not T3 were very good sleds. "Damn, she thick!" Yah, they were. Paneling out POS. But it took some more extreme type riding to notice. What you really need to look at is the front end. I look at and part out a lot of sleds, I would say that 1 out of 10 Doos that I look at DON'T have a tweaked module. Look to see if the shock is in the same place in the upper arm, left to right.
 

sno*jet

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^i agree with that.
not so much the ex-cat guys assessment above tho.
people want too much for nice proclimbs tho, just like clapped out polaris'. might as well go to the dealer for those and break it into a couple payments for a like new sled.
Cant think of a bad year doo from 11- 16. newer the better of course. you can sometimes find a "wifes old ride", garage kept for good price too. etec 800 has great top end and the saw tooth 16" wide tracks work good all around imo.
 
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