Maggot snowmobile thread

[45hill]

Take it apart and look for crease marks. Check you a-arms as well. If you got away with no suspension damage there must have been some divine intervention.

[seanpistol]

http://vimeo.com/35479621

some of the little bit of Utah pow we have had with high avy danger

[gwat]

Smithers sled access. A bunch of options for sled ski laps. Good stuff.

[ACH]

FKNA, that does look good gwat!

[45hill]

Tahoe/Eastern Sierra people, what happened at Thin Air? First the Mammoth shop closes, but he was a king sized doucher, and now this. Looks like we will have to buy out of state.

Open apology to all of Thin Air’s customers, Due to lack of snow this season, we are being forced to reorganize our current business model. All paid orders will be honored, and service work completed pending parts availability. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, and are currently working on our options moving forward. Thin Air is now closed for inventory and plans to re-open next week. Please check our website for updates. If you have Paid Orders, or Service Equipment that needs to be picked up please call 530-582-8081 and leave a Message with your contact information, or email to info@thinairmoto.com and we will get back to you, ASAP. Furthermore, we would like to thank all the Friends, Family, and Customers, for the Great Ride these past 20 years of doing business in Truckee. We realize there are still many questions to be answered and only hope to handle with as much dignity, and professionalism as possible, and appreciate any understanding, and patience through this very difficult time. Thank You, Team Thin Air

[kidwoo]

Tahoe/Eastern Sierra people, what happened at Thin Air? First the Mammoth shop closes, but he was a king sized doucher, and now this. Looks like we will have to buy out of state.

Open apology to all of Thin Air’s customers, Due to lack of snow this season, we are being forced to reorganize our current business model. All paid orders will be honored, and service work completed pending parts availability. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, and are currently working on our options moving forward. Thin Air is now closed for inventory and plans to re-open next week. Please check our website for updates. If you have Paid Orders, or Service Equipment that needs to be picked up please call 530-582-8081 and leave a Message with your contact information, or email to info@thinairmoto.com and we will get back to you, ASAP. Furthermore, we would like to thank all the Friends, Family, and Customers, for the Great Ride these past 20 years of doing business in Truckee. We realize there are still many questions to be answered and only hope to handle with as much dignity, and professionalism as possible, and appreciate any understanding, and patience through this very difficult time. Thank You, Team Thin Air

Did you get a chance to see their new digs?

That price on that place had to be paid with a 'winter 2011 mindset' It's pretty pimped.

But yeah.........now it's the random moto and boat dealerships in Reno, the tiny polaris/cat dealership in quincy, or god knows whatever is on the west side.

Thin air had/has their issues but damn it was nice at least having ONE local shop.

Need a cheap new pro or xp?


Isn't there somebody down in Bishop closer to you guys?

[AKturnanburn]

I'm replacing a top end and installing the working engine in a 06 RMK IQ for the first time, does anyone have any shortcuts, pointers or tips?

Ive replaced pistons in a few revs as well as a yamaha triple and so far its all pretty much the same thing. The repaired engine install has me a little worried though as I've never worked on poolaris (other than pulling an engine out of an older RMK in the backcountry).

[famous]

What he said, plus Skidoo 700s - which stopped existing in 03. 2004+ = "Rev" chassis, and a 2004 600 for $3k, ehhh, maybe? I've not seen one, but they should be around $3k. I'd take a Rev 600 over a ZX 700 ANY day, though - the Rev chassis is bunches better.

That said, ESPECIALLY if you're just looking to get back out there to put skins on, any of those would work & work well.

Don't get sucked into the $800 1996ish stuff - false economy, and a WHOLE LOT of improvments happened between the mid 90s and early 2000.



Iain

I have a 2002 summit 700, just rebuilt the top end, not because it blew up, but the reed boot cracked and leaned out a piston too much. No fault of the operator or engine, just bad luck. The thing runs like a top. Had 2600 miles at rebuild and one piston was still 140 psi. I am 6'5" and 220lbs, so i tore out the 144 track and skid and put in a 159 from a 2003 summit X, geared down the chain case a tooth, built a mesh hood, cut the seat in half and added three inches to the top, and took out all the unneeded bogie wheels from the skid. She took a 42lb diet, looks like an anorexic crack ho, but goes anywhere. It already had a CFR rack and has been hauling may ass around the BC Interior for three years now. With a new rebuild i should get another 4-5000 miles out of her.

To anyone with a ZX or Rev chassis, cut out the torsion rod, saves 3-4 lbs and is a thousand times easier to handle in the powder, side hilling, etc. Trails are a little twitchy, but the deep snow handling improvements are worth it.

I would buy any summit 700 i could get my hands on, as long as it was well maintained and cared for. Excellent sleds for the dollar!!

[cliffhucker]

gwats lucky ^^^^ that looks fun

I'm really interested in getting my hands on an arctic cat m8, power wise I've heard it isn't quite on par with the polaris 800, but handling is supposed to be incredible, my biggest reason is the stock hollow seat. With a long track, and the hollow seat, you can easily stuff a pair of skis in there and not even notice them, especially if sledding in at boots(its not too bad). Can any of you guys chime in on you/re thoughts on an 05-09 m8? The new polaris 800 rmk pro would be sick, but I think the cats for those years are more reliable than the same for the RMK and they have the stock hollow seat storage.

[Mannix]

I have a 2002 summit 700, just rebuilt the top end, not because it blew up, but the reed boot cracked and leaned out a piston too much. No fault of the operator or engine, just bad luck. The thing runs like a top. Had 2600 miles at rebuild and one piston was still 140 psi. I am 6'5" and 220lbs, so i tore out the 144 track and skid and put in a 159 from a 2003 summit X, geared down the chain case a tooth, built a mesh hood, cut the seat in half and added three inches to the top, and took out all the unneeded bogie wheels from the skid. She took a 42lb diet, looks like an anorexic crack ho, but goes anywhere. It already had a CFR rack and has been hauling may ass around the BC Interior for three years now. With a new rebuild i should get another 4-5000 miles out of her.

To anyone with a ZX or Rev chassis, cut out the torsion rod, saves 3-4 lbs and is a thousand times easier to handle in the powder, side hilling, etc. Trails are a little twitchy, but the deep snow handling improvements are worth it.

I would buy any summit 700 i could get my hands on, as long as it was well maintained and cared for. Excellent sleds for the dollar!!

Agreed; your 700 sounds a whole lot like mine. I did a top end on mine...two seasons ago? 4300 miles, did it Just Because, no torn boots, just figured it was time. It has close to 6k on it now, still works great.

They're pretty awesome - super durable, add a bunch of track & they do pretty well, etc etc etc.

A friend told me to avoid riding a rev until I could afford one/planned on buying one. He was right.

I got a deal on a 2005 RT1000 this year (RT chassis, but similar to the Rev) that I could not pass up - 162" track, 1000 miles, 1000cc engine. Spent some time this fall putting it together, making sure stuff was right, etc. Now I've ridden it a few times, ummmmm, yeah.

Sure, it has more track. Sure, it has more power - but the things it does _absolutely effortlessly_ are astounding as compared to the ZX. Heck, I rode a friend's 04 Rev 800/151" this weekend - all three sleds out, the RT1000, the Rev 800 and my old 700/156" track - you could ride wherever the hell you wanted with the Rev or RT, with ease. The ZX could certainly go anywhere we went on the Rev/RT, but you had to be careful, park facing downhill, etc etc etc.

Now that Revs are getting cheaper, IMHO, a ZX would have to be a REALLY good deal. None of us are great snowmobilers - the differences are all sled. The RT will just go places that make the ZX work. Get overzealous with the throttle, the ZX trenches and gets stuck. Pin the throttle on the 1000 (or the 800 with 151), it just jumps on top of the snow and goes.

Don't get me wrong, I really, really like my ZX 700 - it has more than earned it's keep, and it is more capable than people give it credit, but the RT/Rev chassis are just on another level when it comes to moving non-sledneck idiots around in deep snow. We were tandeming up stuff on the RT last weekend that I'd not even think of trying to ride up solo on the ZX. The difference is astounding.



Iain

[Tap]

Happy to say I can join this thread

2003 Arctic Cat 900 151 track
1200 miles, clean

[JTrue]

Tap, check the speedo side bearing, make sure you keep it lubed. Pretty good sleds for the money, beware of the right hand turn bog in deep snow. Any mods?

[Tap]

Orig owner replaced the can

Nothing else

Will check that bearing (where is it?)

[ACH]

Gah, parts ordered and waiting for me to replace the boots on both my 04 rev 800/151's...
Anyone performed this task here? Words of wisdom?

[Jethro]

Orig owner replaced the can

Nothing else

Will check that bearing (where is it?)

I am not sure about your sled, but on my 97 cat and 2002 rmk, the bearing is in the left side, behind the driven clutch. If you ever loose your speedometer, turn around and head home. You are riding on borrowed time. Usually the spedo goes out just after the bearing goes.

[AKturnanburn]

Gah, parts ordered and waiting for me to replace the boots on both my 04 rev 800/151's...
Anyone performed this task here? Words of wisdom?

Don't bother replacing with the stock boots, they will fail, trust me. V-force boots last a little longer but still delam. the boysen reeds/boots kit is 20% more expensive than the stock boots but are aluminum and are bomber. Also make sure to take off the stock spacer that sits on the cylinder, otherwise your carb sits too far back and your float bowels can rub on the drive axle.

if you haven't already done so I would highly suggest replacing the stock rings with new chrome ones before the old ones flake and fry the whole thing.

Now, where's my help with this poolaris?

[45hill]

Did you get a chance to see their new digs?

That price on that place had to be paid with a 'winter 2011 mindset' It's pretty pimped.

But yeah.........now it's the random moto and boat dealerships in Reno, the tiny polaris/cat dealership in quincy, or god knows whatever is on the west side.

Thin air had/has their issues but damn it was nice at least having ONE local shop.

Need a cheap new pro or xp?


Isn't there somebody down in Bishop closer to you guys?

The Bishop guy is an asshole. He used to own the Cat dealership up here but went to Bishop after Brian took over the Poo shop. Brian sold it to the new guy who ran it into the ground. Too bad. Tri-City Polaris here I come. If I ever get to ride that is. So far this season I have put about 30 miles on my sled. Tomorrow it is coming off the trailer and getting put in the garage. $5 a gallon gas and no snow really sucks hairy goat balls.

[RonMexico]

Can any of you guys chime in on you/re thoughts on an 05-09 m8?

At the risk of jinxing myself, I've got a '09 M8 that I love. Aside from some steering issues (busted spindles) it has been nearly problem free (see - officially jinxed).

It's got more power than I can use as a fairly inexperienced rider and is a sled I look forward to 'growing' into over the next couple of seasons.

[Tap]

Here's the new ride

[skibum193]

My rev has been one pain in the ass after another. It's to the point where i don't want to ride, for fear of having to dump more money into it. First the coolant tank exploded, then I had issues with the key, then i crashed it (new bumper, my fault), then I've been having a huge electrical issue the shop can't figure out, which means a lot of troubleshooting (new relay, new plugs, pulling all the connections). When it runs well it's so fun, but holy shit, I'm really tired of every ride being a project.

[kidwoo]

gwats lucky ^^^^ that looks fun

I'm really interested in getting my hands on an arctic cat m8, power wise I've heard it isn't quite on par with the polaris 800, but handling is supposed to be incredible, my biggest reason is the stock hollow seat. With a long track, and the hollow seat, you can easily stuff a pair of skis in there and not even notice them, especially if sledding in at boots(its not too bad). Can any of you guys chime in on you/re thoughts on an 05-09 m8? The new polaris 800 rmk pro would be sick, but I think the cats for those years are more reliable than the same for the RMK and they have the stock hollow seat storage.

Engine-wise f it's a 2010 or later, it's stronger than any polaris 800. Even then the earlier ones aren't exactly slouches. Plus any cat motor is 1000 times less likely to blow up on you or lose a crank.

The pro is the only sled with a polaris 800 motor I would even look at. That whole 07-10 range for polaris is where you should be lookng at the 700s or even the 600s. The cats from your year range have their issues but they're kind of minor compared to the timebomb 800 motor polaris made.

Either way, I wouldn't stuff skis in the seat and expect that to work as a rack. Just build or buy a rack and stuff some socks, beer food and your extra belt in the seat. And even the 10-11 cats have big storage seat-wise as well.......and much better reverse systems/geometry and motors.

[kidwoo]

Here's the new ride

AW SHIT!!!


When am I coming up to teach you how to ride that thing?

Tahoe still sucks and now I can legitimately say "hey tap, you up for some sled skiing" and there will be an answer.

Stoked!!

[simple]

Here's the new ride

Nice to see another person towing their sled with an Outback! I have the XT version and it cruises. Yours?

[kidwoo]

My rev has been one pain in the ass after another. It's to the point where i don't want to ride, for fear of having to dump more money into it. First the coolant tank exploded, then I had issues with the key, then i crashed it (new bumper, my fault), then I've been having a huge electrical issue the shop can't figure out, which means a lot of troubleshooting (new relay, new plugs, pulling all the connections). When it runs well it's so fun, but holy shit, I'm really tired of every ride being a project.

Sounds like a bad harness. There isn't really much of an electrical network on those things (compared to newer sleds). You checked the stator output, tried a new harness, checked for grounding at all the handlebar junctions?

Did your coolant problem get figured out? There's a little thermostat replacement thing for revs that that's pretty cool. I ran one on my rev the whole time I had it and never had any cooling problems. It's a little aluminum cylinder that has an orifice in the middle that you put in the coolant line instead of a thermostat. It's basically a flow regulator. It doesn't let coolant free flow like it would with no thermostat but does keep it constantly cycling and never has anything to get stuck.

[fivefourtwo]

Anyone riding one of the Pro RMK's. I'm thinking about upgrading this summer to a 2012 sled. I've been learning to ride on a 01 RMK for the past few seasons and I think its time to upgrade. Sleds sure have come a long way. It seems like alot of guys around here have been going with the pro's and not having too many issues but I'm looking to hear some other opinions.

If you were looking at picking up a new 2012 sled what would you be looking at?