Author Topic: Post your ride  (Read 232429 times)

Offline 52isntbigenough

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Re: Post your ride
« Reply #690 on: Nov 24, 2021, 02:25 PM »
I sold my Polaris 570 with tracks and just bought a lightly used 2019 Polaris 550 LXT ES last weekend. Looking forward to the mods.



Offline bart

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Re: Post your ride
« Reply #691 on: Nov 24, 2021, 04:09 PM »
I sold my Polaris 570 with tracks and just bought a lightly used 2019 Polaris 550 LXT ES last weekend. Looking forward to the mods.





Keep us posted on the mods!
"Many fish their entire lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after."-Henry David Thoreau
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Offline tlzkaasen

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Re: Post your ride
« Reply #692 on: Dec 18, 2021, 03:25 PM »
Hi Friends -

I have a nice 4 wheeler for ice fishing when the snow isn't too deep.  However, snow has been very deep the past couple years and I think it's time to invest in a snowmobile for ice fishing and just bombing around the lake.  I highly doubt I'll do any or much trail riding.  I'd like to keep the budget less than 5K (prefer $2500)?  What am I looking for?  Appreciate it.  ps. I've never owned a snowmobile before so all feedback is really appreciated.

Alva Lake in Harshaw, WI (15 minutes to Rhinelander, Tomahawk and Minocqua)

Offline SpitzoMT

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Re: Post your ride
« Reply #693 on: Dec 18, 2021, 03:45 PM »
Nice wheeler !! Honestly, if I had a 5K budget I would just get a tracks set up for the wheeler. Best of luck to ya in your search & have a great season !!

Offline badger132

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Re: Post your ride
« Reply #694 on: Dec 19, 2021, 12:05 PM »
Hi Friends -

I have a nice 4 wheeler for ice fishing when the snow isn't too deep.  However, snow has been very deep the past couple years and I think it's time to invest in a snowmobile for ice fishing and just bombing around the lake.  I highly doubt I'll do any or much trail riding.  I'd like to keep the budget less than 5K (prefer $2500)?  What am I looking for?  Appreciate it.  ps. I've never owned a snowmobile before so all feedback is really appreciated.

(Image removed from quote.)

A 5K budget would buy the first 4 snowmobiles I have owned. I picked up 2 sleds and a trailer for $1500- old Yamahas from the 80s- the guy had them as loaners for company, and took good care of them. I got 3 years out of them, just a little maintenance, and sold them for what I paid. That is my first suggestion: You care as much about the guy you buy from as the make and model. Since 5K means used, and you really don't care about advanced suspension or horsepower, you are looking for a guy that cares for his stuff. Granted, those guys don't sell every 2 years to get the newest color sled, but they will be as reliable as new, maybe better.

Second: Simple is better. It is getting tough to buy a basic sled, but they cost less to maintain and are more reliable. I stick to air cooled 2 strokes. Newer sleds can produce more power, but that means water cooling, and a radiator, water pump, ... Those old 550 air cooled engines keep plugging. I went so far as to drive halfway across the country to get an air cooled single cylinder sled for $5k, and they have not made those in over 10 years.

Third: I think you want to figure out how to get a rack or a box on the back. Utility sleds make this easy, but touring sleds sometimes also have something you can adapt. Pulling sleds is OK, but it beats up your gear, and slows down your speed. If there is slush, the drag of a sled can be the difference between getting stuck and not. The sled also fills up with slush and snow, and can be a mess at the end of the day.

As far as brands, I have had Ski-Doo and Yamaha- I think Yamaha builds a better machine for longevity- but they are being edged out of the market bit by bit, so there are not plentiful. I sold an old Phazer that never failed me for $400. I always thought a VK540 would be a great machine- it is one of the few still made with a 2 stroke air cooled engine, wide track, low range, and a big rack, but they are scarce, and people keep them forever. Near me, Polaris is popular, but I have never owned one.

Good luck in your search- you can get a good enough machine for a few hundred if you find the right guy- Wisconsin has not had a lot of snow lately, so there may be someone thinking about giving up a lightly used sled. Get searches going on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, and keep an eye out as you are driving around. I would also make an ISO post on the Wisconsin ice shanty group- someone might know someone.

Offline tlzkaasen

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Re: Post your ride
« Reply #695 on: Dec 19, 2021, 04:52 PM »
A 5K budget would buy the first 4 snowmobiles I have owned. I picked up 2 sleds and a trailer for $1500- old Yamahas from the 80s- the guy had them as loaners for company, and took good care of them. I got 3 years out of them, just a little maintenance, and sold them for what I paid. That is my first suggestion: You care as much about the guy you buy from as the make and model. Since 5K means used, and you really don't care about advanced suspension or horsepower, you are looking for a guy that cares for his stuff. Granted, those guys don't sell every 2 years to get the newest color sled, but they will be as reliable as new, maybe better.

Second: Simple is better. It is getting tough to buy a basic sled, but they cost less to maintain and are more reliable. I stick to air cooled 2 strokes. Newer sleds can produce more power, but that means water cooling, and a radiator, water pump, ... Those old 550 air cooled engines keep plugging. I went so far as to drive halfway across the country to get an air cooled single cylinder sled for $5k, and they have not made those in over 10 years.

Third: I think you want to figure out how to get a rack or a box on the back. Utility sleds make this easy, but touring sleds sometimes also have something you can adapt. Pulling sleds is OK, but it beats up your gear, and slows down your speed. If there is slush, the drag of a sled can be the difference between getting stuck and not. The sled also fills up with slush and snow, and can be a mess at the end of the day.

As far as brands, I have had Ski-Doo and Yamaha- I think Yamaha builds a better machine for longevity- but they are being edged out of the market bit by bit, so there are not plentiful. I sold an old Phazer that never failed me for $400. I always thought a VK540 would be a great machine- it is one of the few still made with a 2 stroke air cooled engine, wide track, low range, and a big rack, but they are scarce, and people keep them forever. Near me, Polaris is popular, but I have never owned one.

Good luck in your search- you can get a good enough machine for a few hundred if you find the right guy- Wisconsin has not had a lot of snow lately, so there may be someone thinking about giving up a lightly used sled. Get searches going on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, and keep an eye out as you are driving around. I would also make an ISO post on the Wisconsin ice shanty group- someone might know someone.

Appreciate the response and the time it took write it! 
Alva Lake in Harshaw, WI (15 minutes to Rhinelander, Tomahawk and Minocqua)

Offline RIfish

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Re: Post your ride
« Reply #696 on: Dec 20, 2021, 08:38 AM »
Just gonna ad ice screws to tires

How are the edges ?

Offline RIfish

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Re: Post your ride
« Reply #697 on: Dec 20, 2021, 08:40 AM »
And mounted a rear rack for milk crate and welded a hitch under rack for towing jet sled

How are the edges ?

Offline Chillygills

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Re: Post your ride
« Reply #698 on: Dec 27, 2021, 09:20 PM »


 
2010 skidoo skandic  wt
1990 arctic cat prowler
 


Offline sra61

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Re: Post your ride
« Reply #699 on: Jan 06, 2022, 03:54 PM »

Not new but nice to be in a cab!


Offline FreshwaterPhil

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Re: Post your ride
« Reply #700 on: Jan 06, 2022, 06:37 PM »

Offline badger132

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Re: Post your ride
« Reply #701 on: Jan 12, 2022, 08:47 AM »
Finally got her out on the ice!
We were able to get out on the ice yesterday, but it was very inconsistent I think I am going to like it!


Offline Wyo Outdoorsman

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Re: Post your ride
« Reply #702 on: Jan 21, 2022, 09:20 AM »
Thanks for the ideas, I used them here in Wyoming for my setup.  I'm real happy with the winter access I now have to the back country lakes.









Offline Dan in NH

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Re: Post your ride
« Reply #703 on: Jan 26, 2022, 07:50 PM »
Here's mine. Just finished it.


Offline MNice

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Re: Post your ride
« Reply #704 on: Jan 28, 2022, 03:09 PM »
Honda pioneer 700, otter lodge. Made a “tonneau cover” that Carry’s  my auger,  anything in the box stays dry and clean. I’m lucky enough to live on a lake and can just drive out from my yard.




Offline Baetis62

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Re: Post your ride
« Reply #705 on: Jan 28, 2022, 05:02 PM »
Honda pioneer 700, otter lodge. Made a “tonneau cover” that Carry’s  my auger,  anything in the box stays dry and clean. I’m lucky enough to live on a lake and can just drive out from my yard.



You're living my retirement dream right there MNice!

 



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