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Tri-County Snowmobile Club is a member of the Alberta Snowmobile
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Ministik trail system:
CLOSED
Opens December 1,
With 6" of snow
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This editorial had started out as a response to the question "What should I
buy for my first sled?" Written in the spring of 07.
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Lets see if I can help. This first part goes for all brands.
If you get something with a 144" track it will be big enough for the mountains
and small enough to ride around here. You can get by with a 600cc in the
mountains as well, a 800 is nice but not necessary until you are a bit more
experienced and looking for some harder climbs deeper snow but mostly just cuase
you want to feel the power. In truth a 600 may not be as glamorous or as fast,
but it will go there as long as you are not trying to go silly high/steep. The
600 will cost less and get better fuel mileage and be a bit lighter (easier to
handle). The larger engines tend to make for a heavier sled. A 1000cc or a four
stroke are getting quite heavy. Heavy is not good for a novice rider, not good
at all. Remember you can always trade up if you advance past the abilities of
your sled, but if you start to big it will be unpleasant. Anything smaller than
a 600cc will probably be too small these days in the hills (trying to go where
other riders are going), unless you are a very light person.
There are sizes of sleds and brands of sleds, but there are also applications.
Lets talk about that for a bit.
Differences between cross country sleds, trail sleds, muscle sleds and mountain
sleds are subtle at first glance. What's immediately obvious is mountain sleds
normally have longer tracks and deeper lugs. Other than that and besides little
features like mirrors or extra seats, storage etc, often the only difference to
the inner works of the different models is the gearing and sometimes clutching.
But this makes all the difference in where it can operate well. Mountain sleds
tend to be geared lower to make more power but less top end speed - necessary
for deep powder. Trail sleds and muscle sleds are the other way around. Cross
country sleds try to be in between. In this end of the country more people run
some version of a mountain sled. This is because of the type of snow we usually
ride in. Down east where there are very large trail systems they have almost no
mountain sleds, they are all short tracks and fast.
If you are going to go into the mountains occasionally to experience some deep
powder, I would not recommend anything other than a mountain sled, it can be a
smaller one, but a mountain sled. Taking one of the other sleds does not work
well even if they do have an aggressive track because gearing and clutching is
not right. I started out with a mountain sled even though I don't get to ride in
the mountains much and I am glad I did. They work well around here. With some of
the snow we have been having around here these days, a mountain sled is very
appreciated when you are going cross country. And they are not a determent when
you trial ride as long as they are not too long. People with longer sleds (151",
156" etc) will occasionally complain about maneuverability and handling issues
but 144" are ok (the complaints go up fast as the track gets longer). 136" can
get by as well if you are a bit lighter or if you do not go into silly deep
snow. 144" tracks are really kind of a sweet spot though for their versatility
IMHO.
Used sleds are sometime a bit hard to buy. I have seen used sleds that have a
lot of km on them but if they are well cared for they are good buy. I have seen
newer used (like 1 or 2 yo) sleds that have only a few thousand km on them but
if not well cared for or rode hard they can be quite a bad buy. New sleds are
pricy these days but if you can afford one at least you have some piece of mind
about what you are getting. I would say look for sales on last years models but
with all the hot selling this season it you may not find one, but still worth it
to call around. Even a *NEW* 1 or 2 model year old sled can work very well for
you and you might save some serous cash on one if you can find one somewhere.
As far as brands go, well I can start a war in here talking about this. One
thing to consider is who you ride with and who you know and what brand they
ride. The reason is that "know how" will be very important. Know how to ride it,
know how to fix when it breaks unexpectedly on the trail and know how to
maintain it. And it's the people you ride with that need to know *your* sled if
they are to help you. You will do better with the same brand as people you are
riding with on just this alone. And if you get a brand that few people you ride
with have you will need to be a lot more self sufficient, not at all good for a
new rider.
Which band to buy can also depend on which model year as well. For example,
Polaris Edge chassis, made up till about three years ago have a good reputation
for being very easy to ride in deep power, the next generation chassis from
Polaris that came out with the 900 engine was very hard to ride. The 600cc in
the same newer chassis was fine though (had to do with how high the engine was
mounted in the chassis). I could go on like this and probably write a book on
each brand but you will get overwhelmed with info. But safe to say there are
issues, or at least important things to know with one model or another of all of
the brands. So you need to ask impartial people before buying.
In the end though, the short safest answer will probably be buy a sled similar
to the ones most of the people you are riding with are riding. Not necessary as
large, because experience riders get into large sleds and that may not go good
for a beginner, but the same type of sled (brand and application).
If you check with your friends on what brand they ride and tells us where and
how often you ride in each type of riding area (groomed trail, cross country and
hills), and determine what your budget is then re-post your question you will
probably get some very specific answers about what sled to buy.
Hope this helps you and was not too long to read.
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