Favorite snowmobile? (Hope: buying, living, price)

[wanashunkaha]

Hi Folks,
I'm doing some resaerch before buying my first sled and I'm wondering what the people who have all the snow are riding. I'm looking for something that will be a cross breed (if it exists) between a workhorse (towing a sled with supplies) and a joy ride, that will carry two riders. I'd like an established, trouble free (or minimum) brand with readily available parts. Being my first, I think I'd like to avoid the triples, as I've heard they can be harder to sync. I'll be buying used and would like to stay below $3000. I heard about Alpinas and though "perfect" until I got the brochure that listed the "basic" price @ $35,000 +/-!!! OUCH! ROTFLMAO! As always, thanks for any and all input.

[RANGER.101ST]

i have a polaris touring 700 2up.and i like it verry much it will carry 2 ppl go for ever on a tank of gas and pull the dog sled.i had a cat but it was hard on fuel got like 9mpg's but my bro has a cat that gets 12 or 14 mpg's.so i gess it all depends on what you like to look at the cat is a nice looking sled and it go's good but i still prefur the polaris.if i were you id look at the 4 stroke its not a speed demon but it will do 70 or 75 and great on fuel.good luck.

[Valley Living]

I've got 25 years expierence on snowmobiles and consider myself a fanatic. I am not brand loyal and if I could would own one of each. Relating to your question I find that any Ski-Doo Skandic in the YETI platform to be the best of both worlds. Truly a cadilac on the trail but slap that thing in low range and you have a skidder!!! I also am very fond of the Yamaha VK 540 which has proven to be an excellent sled for all applications. Hope this helps.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

I agree completely with Valley Living. I own two VK-540s and a Skandic.

[Bydand]

I'll agree with Vally Living's observations as well. Both great sleds.

[mainebrokerman]

i have (had) a few brands of sno-sleds,,,i do like the triple arctic cats, last yr i traded in my mxz for another triple arctic cat (used) very dependable, and starts on second pull,,, and they are very fast.

one of my fav all time sleds was a '74 hurricane (640) what a tank!!!

[fxtrader]

Been snowmobiling since the 70's and have owned every brand at one time or another. But all the manufacturers today are reliable including the triples as long as you don't start tinkering with them and adding mod's. You don't really need a utility sled to haul a dog sled unless your hauling a lot of weight. You can pretty much use most any sled and most of them have reverse now to, making it much easier hauling a sled. Ditto the VK-540 suggestions. Haven't owned any myself but know a few people that have them and they swear by them. If you are traveling long distances the Arctic Cats have small fuel tanks and have had times where we had to siphon fuel out of another model in the group to make it to the next station.

[Shuffler]

I'm a dirtbike guy but have always been curious about snowmachines, just never had a good reason to consider one. Now that a move to Maine might be happening, it is time to get familiar...both for the fun factor and the utility factor.

Seems like EFI is on all the ATVs and snowmachines and PWCs these days, but dirt bikes haven't caught up yet...Kawasaki has it on their '09 KX450 motocrosser, and 'boutique' brands like GasGas and Husaberg are featuring it on their enduro machines, but all the other big guys are still carbing their bikes.

I've noticed the Colorado ski areas have mostly ditched their 2strokes in favor of the new 4stroke snowmobiles.

Anybody here who's had both 2-stroke and 4-stroke w/EFI care to speak up on performance & reliability?

Hands down, what is the best brand of snowmobile these days in terms of affordability, reliability, and service? Or is just one of those 'it just depends' kind of questions to which there is no single answer?

[fxtrader]

Originally Posted by Shuffler

I'm a dirtbike guy but have always been curious about snowmachines, just never had a good reason to consider one. Now that a move to Maine might be happening, it is time to get familiar...both for the fun factor and the utility factor.

Seems like EFI is on all the ATVs and snowmachines and PWCs these days, but dirt bikes haven't caught up yet...Kawasaki has it on their '09 KX450 motocrosser, and 'boutique' brands like GasGas and Husaberg are featuring it on their enduro machines, but all the other big guys are still carbing their bikes.

I've noticed the Colorado ski areas have mostly ditched their 2strokes in favor of the new 4stroke snowmobiles.

Anybody here who's had both 2-stroke and 4-stroke w/EFI care to speak up on performance & reliability?

Hands down, what is the best brand of snowmobile these days in terms of affordability, reliability, and service? Or is just one of those 'it just depends' kind of questions to which there is no single answer?

Also a dirt bike guy. I haven't ridden since I shattered my leg on the last lap of a motocross race almost 10 years ago but had a 99 YZ 400. Still snowmobile and ATV. I haven't had a 4 stroke snowmobile but the people I know that have them like them quite a bit. All the brands today are pretty similar in all aspects although the price for a new sled is getting around 10 grand for a good performance sled.

[Maineah]

I too am an old MX guy. The EFI bikes are becoming more and more common. Unfortunately you'll have to be an MIT graduate to figure out the mapping involved with the injector settings. Luckily it's all programmable and for a mere $1000 you can buy the programmer to set the injectors to your liking. The good news is they are set pretty well at the factory for most areas.
The new outboards from Evinrude which couple 2-stroke weight and power with fuel injection economy seem to be the best combination in years. Two strokes have far fewer parts, are relatively easy to repair, are lighter and with EFI are more economical and non polluting than even the best 4 stroke engines. As two stroke fuel injected engines show up in snow machines they will really take over the industry in my opinion.
I sold my two 2 stroke Arctic Cats last spring. They were smoky, heavy , and hard to get parts for. We have one old Ski-Doo single cylinder two stroke left just in case we need it. I bought it years ago for ice fishing and for the kids use when they were little. It still runs and will haul my fat butt around (though top speed is about 35). It will get us to the store if the roads are impassible!
We thought about buying a couple of new sleds and an enclosed trailer but with a total price tag topping $25,000 they have not come to the top of the priority list.