Need me a snowmobile

[GoinAllTheWay]

Looking for some advice/input on snowmobiles.

Recently picked up some land in the water valley area and my brother has a cabin in Radium that's near a ton of snowmobile trails. As a result, I need a snowmobile! Know nothing about them though outside riding whatever friends and family have.

I don't need a speed demon, just looking for something that's built for comfort and range and not stupid loud.

What do you guys recommend? 2 stroke, 4 stroke? Power start? The only thing I know for sure I'd want to see is twin fuel tanks. Power start would be a plus but certainly not a deal breaker.

I'd be willing to spend up to 3k. What do I need to know?

[Hemi-Cuda]

My only advice is buy more than what you think you need, because once you start riding it and enjoying it, you'll probably want to buy a new one in a year or two if you start with the lowest end model you can get

[burn_this_city]

Get the biggest 4 stroke you can buy in a mountain sled and have a turbo installed.

[Tron_fdc]

I'm a Bombardier guy, so keep that in mind. I'm not a fan of Polaris or Arctic cat, so that's going to influence my advice.

The most reliable sled ever made (IMO) is the 2006 summit. I ahd an 800, put 5000k on it, and barely touched it maintenance wise. Sold it to a pal that I ride with, and it's still running tight.

3K probably gets you into a 2006 summit 600. Not as much power, but still just as reliable. If you're new, reliability should be paramount. Pulling sleds out of the backcountry is no fun at all. DO NOT buy a modded sled pre-2005, you are only asking for problems you likely can't fix. an 06 600 Summit will take you wherever you need to go, and won't strand you in the backcountry.

Bombardier sleds from 2007-2010 are garbage. They changed the platforms, and had nothing but serious problems. Do not, under any circumstance, buy a summit from these years. I sled enough to see and know what kind of issues they have. Pre 2004 is a different chassis, and will handle differently than an 04-07. In 08 they came out with the XP (new stance) and it's taken 4 years to get rid of all the gremlins.

Polaris makes a good sled, but I don't like the stance. I have a 2013 Summit 800, and going from that to the Polaris Dragon someone in our group rides is like going from a speedboat to a steamship. I hate it.

Arctic Cat is developing a new sled, but IMO anything they made pre-2011 is the same as the Dragon.

If you find one let me know, I can give you an opinion.

[Tron_fdc]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Get the biggest 4 stroke you can buy in a mountain sled and have a turbo installed.

That's probably a few dollars over his budget

[Hevishot]

Look for atleast a 600 to 800cc sled. For your first sled you want something you can enjoy not something that is going to kill you when you assume you can highmark with the big boys and get yourself into trouble. Check out Cycleworks Foothills in Okotoks. There are a few rich guys out that way that buy ("spare") sleds for their wives, dump a bunch of bling and tricked out parts into them and unload them every couple years.

[Northendzone]

When you buy a sled, you should outfit it withe the loudest possible exhaust system possible, under the guise of safety......

[DownhillGoat]

^I thought that was only applicable to motorbikes?