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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 3/5/2007 10:44:31 AM
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I am in the process of purchasing my first mountain sled and have narrowed my choice to three. a new 2002 Arctic Cat 800 EFI Mountain Cat, a new 2003 Polaris RMK 800 and a new 2003 Yamaha RX1 Mountain. I will be riding in elevations ranging from 600 ft to 10,000ft (not all in one day ha!ha!) How do these different sleds compensate for the elevation change? I was told that the Arctic Cat with it's EFI does it automatically. What do I need to do to the others? Is the Arctic Cat the best way to go as far as simplicity for elevation changes? Thank you for your suggestions and help. |
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 3/5/2007 10:44:31 AM
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| | You cannot go wrong with Ski-Doo's Summit! Its the highest form of mountain sled! |
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 3/5/2007 10:44:31 AM
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| I ride a 2003 Polaris 800 Vertical Edge 144" with PERC, ATTAC, SLP air box mod and ceramic pipe... I seldom get stuck..
it really is all about mustangs and camaros.. they are all good, just a matter of personal taste but I must say in my many years of riding here in Alaska.... Polaris is reliable and easy to fix, Cats seem to have little problems that go wrong in the middle of nowhere, Ski Do's are good but a bitch to start and don't ever loose your key or you are walking home, and Yamaha... well, bury a RX-1 and find out who your real friends are.. no way is that fat elephant a Mtn sled.... sledding is FAR different up here than the lower 48 and we have few trails and it's mostly wilderness riding, better know your area, sled and pay attention to your fuel gauge... all the sleds you mentioned are BIG machines, are you experienced enough for the power or is this ego driven.. you need to be honest with yourself and abilities/needs... and do you REALLY need a long track.. my 144" goes great in the deep and rips up the trails also.. longer than that and you'll notice the handling trade off... get an ATTAC from Holtzman and you won't have to worry about altitude... if I'm paying then I'm buying another Vertical Edge.. they haven't been at the top this long for nothing....
JR Malesic |
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 3/5/2007 10:44:31 AM
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| All new sleds do good job of compensating for altitude and temperature but the EFI is going to be able to ajust to that broad of an elevation range the best in my opinion. One thing to be aware of these mountain sleds come with high compression heads and if you are really dropping below 4000 feet on any of them you will likely need to change the heads or you will be replacing the motor.
Greg |
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 3/5/2007 10:44:31 AM
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| even tho Skidoo Summit Highmark 800 your not considering buyin. It has the DPM (Elevation Compesation)
Mat |
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 3/5/2007 10:44:31 AM
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| the 03 rmk 800 is bad bye it now
carl |
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 3/5/2007 10:44:31 AM
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| get the arctic cat EFI because fuel injection is very easy to start and it auto adjusts to air cahnges
Kyle Richardson |
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 3/5/2007 10:44:31 AM
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| Yes the Artic Cat much easier. You don't have to change it. With RMK or RX1 you would have to change carb settings. Don't go with the RX-1 beacause its four stroke. Sure its got great fuel economy but when you get off the throttle it's like it dies. You'll take a trip over the bars.
I own a 2003 RMK 800 Edge it works just fine. |
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 11/28/2007 7:02:44 PM
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| I have done many upgrades to my sled I bought new in January 05. The heel clickers and gears made the sled ride able but the best addition I have done is the wider/longer track.
The stock track is too much of a finger track and does nothing for the ride unless a person whishes to dig trenches. I have watched different tracks go side by side up a slope and observed deeper trenching on the stock Polaris track. Too many nails weaken the structure and too many fingers dig too deep a trench.
The 16" wide track fits in the RMK with 3/16" to spare up front yet rubs the rivet heads on the back idler bracket supports. To compensate for this I will be installing spacers.
I tried a 2" riser block the 1st year but still had to bend over too much. With the 6" block I can stand up and greatly reduce fatigue. A note of caution here -- added block height increases leverage in the steering column. A friend with the same sled and identical riser set up ended cracking the mounting plate at the top of his steering column and had to have a rod welded in place for extra support.
I feel the stock suspension was installed for the express purpose of getting replaced but have not done so yet.
The seat does not sit high enough which makes for a more difficult sitting to standing transition. Additionally I would like to see a seat be shorter in length to allow for easier movement of feet from one side of the sled to the other. A Pro X seat may be in my future.
Last but not least my longest complaint with an otherwise very buildable platform is the narrow running boards I can do nothing with. My only guess is the guys at Polaris new the machine trenched so severely it couldn't handle the added width of a wider more rider friendly foot platform.
While I am giving this sled a 4star over all based on its stock condition I have built this sled to just about where it needs to be for my riding style and am very happy to own a quality piece of hardware.
Additions and upgrades to my sled include:
6" riser block
4" flowrite intake
ATEC altitude compensator
Heel clicker clutch weights
team roller secondary clutch
different gears
SLP ceramic pipe and silencer
SLP powder pro skies
8" bigwheels
16x151 camoplast challenger track
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