FIRST THINGS FIRST
Resist the temptation to buy the first sled you see. Look at a few of them to
get a better idea of the used sled market/options before you buy one.
Bring
a friend to help you stick to your guns, or to help you load your new sleds onto
a truck, or help you to inspect the track. Sled-savvy friends may also notice
things that you forgot to check. Make sure they also read this guide ahead of
time.
Bring a flashlight to aid inspection.
Even in daylight.
Request that the owner not
have the sled warmed up when you get there, but tell him/her to make sure that
the sled will start. If the owner asks why, tell them that you want to test the
sled's ability to start when cold. (It's a lot easier for engines to start when
pre-warmed.)
You don't need to follow these
instructions in any particular order, but I do recommend reading through them
before you get to the seller's house. If you're new to snomobiling, you may find
some of the terminology complicated. Try studying some of the INSPECTION PICTURES
listed below. be kind enough to bring his/her gear, and do a test ride for you.)
You'll have to go through and carefully inspect
used sleds being sold by dealerships, too, since many dealerships take used sleds
as trade-ins, make minimal (if any) repairs, and
And
as noted previously, try to bring a friend, particularly one who knows sleds.
Bring riding gear in case the seller will
let you test ride the sled. (If you're new to snowmobiling and don't have any
gear yet, perhaps the sleddin' friend accompanying you will
mark the sleds up over "blue book" value. It's up to you to find defects
(and to know what the used sled's real value is!!) to get these guys back down
to earth.
As a general rule of thumb, when
work needs to be done to repair a problem with the sled, most dealerships charge
around $50/hour for labor.
If you aren't really
experienced with sleds, do some practice inspections! Find a couple of friends
with sleds and pretend that you're at a seller's house inspecting a used sled.
Go over a couple of sleds in minute detail. You'll learn a lot about how sleds
are put together, and you might even find some things that your friends missed.
Take notes while you're doing the inspections, and go over your findings with
your friends after each inspection.
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OVERALL APPEARANCE
Does
the sled look nasty? Cracks and scratches all over the thing? Appearance can be
deceiving, but it should give you some indication of the general condition beyond
what you can see.
Do fasteners look stripped
or gouged? Is everything kinda loose and ill-fitting? You don't need to be a mechanic
to tell when the person has mangled something on the sled. The sled should also
be phsically and cosmetically symmetrical.
Step
back and look down the centerline of the sled. If something looks obviously wrong
( the windscreen is tilted, etc.), the sled has probably been crashed.
Basically,
try to answer the question: "How does the overall cosmetic appearance of
this sled affect how much I want to pay for it?"
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HAS
IT BEEN CRASHED?
Look
for: deep scratches on the running boards and on plastic, a different/non-standard
paint job (the owner might have repainted it to hide damage); cracks in plastic
bodywork obscured by stickers. Sometimes handlebabrs will be bent in a crash and
replaced with a slightly different style, or it'll be hammered back into shape
so it doesn't look obviously bent. (In the latter case, look for thin cracks in
the plating or powdercoats of the bars... it'll look something like a spider web
of hairline cracks.) .
Sometimes a crash will
twist the skis. Sit on the sled with the bars pointed straight, sight along the
skis and see if they're at all twisted, bent, toed-in, or toed out. If you get
a chance to test ride the sled, get the sled going straight, and take a quick
look down at the bars to make sure they're pointed straight -- if they aren't,
the front has probably been twisted in a crash.
Scratches
and shallow chips tend to indicate a tip-over rather than a crash at speed. (Crashes,
of course, tend to do more damage -- tip-overs rarely do more than minor cosmetic
damage.)
Crashes can cause bodywork problems
for two reasons. Besides scratching and cracking the bodywork, crashes can bend
the bodywork's mounting brackets and break mounting tabs.
Check
to make sure that bodywork pieces that fit together do so easily and have an even
seam where pieces come together. And check to make sure that the bodywork isn't
loose because mounting tabs were broken off.
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HAS
IT BEEN RACED?
Racing
puts tremendous stress on machinery. You may or may not want to buy a sled that's
been raced (the price ought to be lower than it would be otherwise). Having said
that, sometimes, racing sleds are some of the best maintained sleds out there.You
should definitely try to find out if it has or hasn't been raced, so you can adjust
the price accordingly if need be.
Look for
holes drilled through the heads of bolts, which racers use to safety-wire bolts
in place. Check: brake caliper mounting bolts, exhaust pipe bolts, engine case
bolts, water drain bolts, etc. The holes will be small, about 1/16", and
should not be confused with the 1/8"-3/16" holes and castellated nuts
that are often used with cotter pins.
Check
the frame for cracks, usually along welds or in key stress areas. Check around
the engine mounts, and, if possible, welds in the front cowling brackets and rear
frame area.
Pay attantion to riveted areas of the chassis. Look closely around
the rivets for dark marks indicating that the joint is becoming loose and the
rivet or parts are moving.
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SLED-SPECIFIC
Some models have
specific problems that you should be aware of. Ask dealerships, sled-savvy friends,
etc. Read magazine reviews.
Learn as much as you can about the models you're
interested in. (Try old sled magazines, local dealer service department, etc.)
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BRAKES
Support
the rear of the sled and, gently apply the brakes*. They should engage smoothly
and prevent you from moving the track . (Though you may hear a click as the brake-light
switch engages.) Now release the brake lever and verify that the track may be
turned... Are the brakes off, or are they dragging? (They should be off.) If not,
the brake calipers need adjustment or work.
*=If
you squeeze the brake lever and it comes all the way back to the bar without much
resistance, something's very wrong. Check to make sure that there's adequate pad
thickness, and make sure you get a professional mechanic to inspect the brakes
before you try riding the sled.
At the very
least, the system needs to be bled. About $5 of brake fluid and half an hour of
labor.
Check remaining brake pad material. There should be at least 1/8"
of brake pad material on each brake pad.
For
sleds with disc brakes, get in front of the sled and look into the calipers, on
either side of the rotor(s). A flashlight might help here, even in daylight. The
pads are the raised parts that directly contact the brake disc.
Disc
brakes continued: rotors should be a certain minimum thickness and shouldn't vary
more than a certain amount when spun. This kind of information will be in the
service manual. Even if you don't have the tools for those measurements, you can
inspect the rotors for cracks, deep wear grooves and other damage.
Brake
fluid should be a very light amber. Darker than honey means it's time to replace
the brake fluid. Not expensive, but possibly an indication that the owner hasn't
followed the maintenance schedule. (Or maybe the sled has just sat for a long
time.)
Inspect the brake hoses for nicks,
cuts, dry-rot, and leaks.
New brake pads are around $25-30 per pair. Brake
rotors are usually around $150-250 each. OEM brake lines can be expensive, but
if you have to replace them, a very good alternative is braided stainless-steel
lines, which cost a lot less and offer better brake feel and longer life.
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TORQUE CONVERTER
Ask the owner how
many miles it's been since the torque-converter was serviced. Owners who keep
close tabs on sled maintenance will know. That's a good sign. Most owners probably
don't know.
Hopefully, it won't be all covered
with burnt rubber and rust, indicating neglect. There should be no discoloration
or grooves in the pullies. Inspect the belt for signs of wear. The best way to
do this is to remove the belt from the sled and turn it inside-out, this is where
the cracks will initially form.
The only practical
way to test the clutch is to get the track off the ground and start the sled...the
clutch should engage and operate in a nice smooth and quiet manner.
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GAS
TANK
Most modern sleds
today have plastic fuel tanks, but is you are looking at an older sled with a
metal tank, look for dents, rust and/or loose sediment. Rust/sediment is bad --
it clogs carburators.
Sleds with rusty tanks
need to have the rust removed... drop the price $150 or so. You should open the
tank up and see gas and either plastic, or bare metal. If you see a milky paint-like
coating on the inside of a metal tank, the tank has probably been etched and coated.
Make sure it runs -- sometimes this recoating can clog the fuel's path out of
the tank.
Knock on the side of the tank to see if it's metal or plastic.
It should be fairly easy to tell whether or not you're looking at metal or plastic.
Evaluate the tank's condition accordingly.
Ask
the owner about Sta-bil or other fuel stabilizers....these are a must to keep
a full tank of fuel from deteriorating and ruining the fuel system.
Dark
(coffee or tea-colored) gas in a oil injected sled indicates that it's been sitting
around for a long time. Not a good sign. Get it changed immediately, and anticipate
needing a thorough fuel-system cleaning. (Around $5 of parts plus 2-3 hours of
labor.)
Obviously, sleds that use pre-mix
fuel can have a wide variety of colors. Again, ask about Sta-bil.
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SEAT
Look
for: tears in the vinyl cover. New upholstery will cost around $100-150 from an
auto/marine upholstery shop. Seats with cracks and tears retain water and get
your butt wet . Highly annoying.
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TRACK
Check the track for
cracking, dry-rot, delamination, excessive rust, etc. Tracks are not cheap and
a faulty track can leave you and your sled stranded. Look closely.
Pay
attention to the track clips also.The track clips are used to prevent wear on
the track from the sliders and suspension components.
The
more spikes that a track has, the better it's traction on hard surfaces. They
do get torn out occaisionally so don't be surprised if you see an empty spot in
the patterns. Spikes also weaken the track, expect a shorter lifespan with a fully
spiked track.
A new track can cost anywhere
from $500-$1000. Adjust the price according to what you find.
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ELECTRICAL
& BATTERY
Check
to make sure the headlights (high/low) work. (On some sleds, the headlight won't
come on until the engine does, so you may need to start the engine to test this.)
Make sure the starter works if so equipped. Make sure the brake lever lights up
the brake light. Make sure the horn works.
Basically,
check all the switches as well as the signalling and instrument-cluster lights.
(Bulbs are pretty cheap to replace.)
If the
sled has one*, you should also test to make sure that the tether kill switch stops
the engine when it's running. Make sure the kill switch on the handgrip stops
the engine when it's running.
Batteries are
very hard to test without the appropriate tools, and even then they're kind of
mysterious and unpredictable. For our purposes, if the battery starts the sled,
it's good. If it doesn't, $50 to replace. As noted below (in ENGINE/FLUIDS/CARBURATORS),
warm sleds start much easier, so take that into account when making a subjective
evaluation of the cranking sound.
If the sled
doesn't have an electric starter (i.e., it's a pull-start), there's no good way
to test the battery without examining the lead plates for white sulfide deposits
(bad) and checking the specific gravity of the acid with a battery hydrometer.
Most auto parts places should carry those; just make sure you get one with a long,
thin tube, since most automotive battery hydrometers are too large to fit into
snowmobile batteries.
On the other hand, if
your sled is a pull-start, it doesn't depend on the battery too much, and checking
it is less important.
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SUSPENSION
Ask the owner
how long it's been since the front suspension has been serviced, (miles and/or
years.) it should probably be greased every year. Rod ends and pivot joints wear
very fast without adequate lubrication. Replacing them is not necessarily a complicated
fix, but it is if you don't have the right tools, and most people don't.
Straddle
the sled, and push down vigorously on the front end. It should go down and come
back up with some resistance. Do this a few times. Inspect the shocks. They should
clean and free of oil. If, after bouncing the front end, you see little rings
of dirt on the shock rods, that's probably fine, but wipe them off with a rag
and bounce the front suspension a couple more times. Not good if you see oil left
on the shock rod after you do this.
Check
the steering bearings and tie-rod ends. There should be minimal play and smooth
operation.(If the owner doesn't have a workstand, you might be able to use a jack
or a block to raise the sled off the ground, but be careful not to damage a sled
that you don't own.)
The suspension should
move up and down almost silently if you bounce it up and down. Clunking or squeaking
noises are bad. Binding is very bad and indicated bent shocks or worse.
Push
down on the sled's grab rail (or passenger seat), hard. The sled should spring
back up, but with a little resistance. If you don't feel any resistance at all
(like you're just pushing down on a spring), it's time to replace the rear shocks.
(Reasons: either a seal has failed inside the shock, or the oil has broken down
so much that it doesn't provide useful resistance.)
Certain
premium aftermarket suspension units (Ohlins, Fox) offer substantially increased
suspension performance and are fully rebuildable. Expect to pay a little more
for this equipment. Aftermarket shocks often have remote reservoirs (typically
a cylinder attached to the frame and connected via a hose), though since many
late-model high-performance sleds come from the factory with remote-reservoir
shocks.
It pays to do a little research to
find out whether the sled you're looking at came with one stock, or had some money
put into upgrading its suspension.
Rear suspension
sliders are a "wear item". If the sliders are worn unevenly, they may
need replacing, or this may indicate that something is out of adjustment. Proceed
with caution.
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SKIS
Look carefully at both
sides of both skis for bends. Look at the underside of the skis for wear indicating
that the previous owner didn't change worn skegs in time. Check the condition
of the skegs and if so equipped, the carbide inserts on the skegs.
The
rule of thumb is that if you have carbide in your skis, then you should have spikes
or cleats in your track, so ask why if you only see one.
Metal
skis can develop cracks after a while. Pay attention to the area where the ski
mounts to the suspension. Many late model sleds have plastic skis that wear very
well except on pavement and rock.
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CHAIN/
SPROCKETS/ GEARS
Fortunately,
the drive chain for a sled has a pretty good life...sealed in a housing with either
grease or oil, it has the easiest job of the entire machine as long as there's
adequate lubrication.
Open the drive chain
enclosure. Inspect the lube. Does it look like it's been in there since "day-one"?
How about the level?
Grab the chain and pull
away from the sprocket. If you can pull it off the sprocket enough to expose half
of a sprocket tooth (or more), it's time for a new chain. Sprocket teeth should
be absolutely symmetrical.
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EXHAUST
Look for holes (from
a crash or from advanced rust.)
Rust on the
exhaust is usually cosmetic, but advanced rust (older sleds?) might have caused
holes in the exhaust pipes requiring pipe replacement.
Exhaust
pipes are a common aftermarket accessory... see ACCESSORIES, PRICE, and DEALING,
below.
If the sled has more than one exhaust
chamber, start the engine and, holding your hand a few inches back from the exhaust
tip, feel to see if the pressure coming from each cannister is roughly equal.
It should be. (If it isn't, one of the cylinders probably isn't firing.)
If
the sled has aftermarket expansion chambers, ask the owner if the carbs were rejetted
to compensate for the new exhaust.
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ENGINE/FLUIDS/CARBURATORS
We want to see how
this sled starts in cold weather so if the engine is warm, let it cool and check
back later. Electric start makes starting even tempermental sleds easy but if
the sled you're looking at is a pull-start, make sure you can start the engine
when it's cold.
The engine should start easily
(with some choke*, if it's cold) and sound reasonably good. If you hear obviously
bad sounds like rapping, clacking, or uneven exhaust note, you might be looking
at en engine that needs some work. The engine should rev smoothly off idle.
Don't
redline it when cold. After it's fully warmed up, open the throttle and see what
happens. Hesitation & stumbling = carburation problems.* A test ride will
help you gauge whether or not these will be easy to live with.
*=These
comments refer to carburated sleds. Some more modern sleds are fuel-injected:
instead of carburators, the sled is equipped with throttle bodies and fuel injectors.
Fuel-injected sleds sometimes have a "fast idle" lever instead of a
choke lever, but some detect the need for an enriched (choked) mixture by computer,
and automatically adjust the fuel-injection accordingly.
You should not experience any "carburation" problems with a fuel-injected
sled, and if you do, they may be harder to correct than on a sled equipped with
carburators.
Some sleds use a fuel pump which
may need to build pressure before the sled will start. If you flip the ignition
switch to "on" and hear a whirring sound from the gas tank, wait for
it to finish before thumbing the start button.
If
the throttle opens with a lot of resistance (and then won't snap closed), there
are a couple of possibilities, none of which is really good news: The carbs may
be fouled with gas and varnish.
If the sled
won't start, that definitely points to this possibility (rather than either of
the next two.) A good carb cleaning will either cost around $200 of shop labor
or $5 + 1-3 hours of your time, depending on whether you have a shop do the work
or you do the work yourself. (Warning: not for the inexperienced or mechanically
challenged -- there are lots of small and easily-confused parts.)
The
throttle cables may partially seized, or simply routed improperly. This may mean
that the carbs are fine. It's very hard to check while you're visiting a prospective
acquisition, but try straightening cables or untwisting them and see if the behavior
changes substantially.
Liquid cooled sleds
either have radiators up in the engine bay, or a heat exchanger above the track
in the tunnel. Inspect these very close as they can be expensive to repair or
replace.
Check coolant level. Find the radiator
overflow bottle, and see if the coolant is between the "high" and "low"
lines on the bottle. If you can't find the coolant overflow bottle, trace the
thin coolant tube back from the radiator cap assembly -- it almost always goes
to the coolant overflow bottle.
The coolant
itself should be a neon green, not brown or even a murky green-brown. You'll need
to remove the radiator cap to check the coolant color, something you never want
to do when the engine is still hot. If the radiator cap is hot (be careful!),
do not open it -- come back to this step later, when the engine's had time to
cool down. If you can safely open it:
Bright
green coolant is good. Brown-colored coolant probably has rust in it (bad!) .
This indicates that the insides of the engine have started rusting. I'd have a
professional mechanic look at the sled so you know how bad the problem is. And/or
consider giving up and looking at other sleds.
Finally,
no coolant in the radiator is extremely bad.
And
of coarse, fluids leaking from the engine are a bad thing. Probably just new gaskets,
but possibly worse. If you don't feel qualified to decide, I'd recommend having
a mechanic give you his/her opinion, or simply giving up on the leaker.
Engine
compression: engines are basically air pumps, and must seal tightly to work well.
Engines that don't seal well will be hard to start, will burn lean , and will
have reduced power.
Old engines will tend
to exhibit this more than low-mileage ones, but newer engines that have been abused
may also have low compression numbers. Unless you know what you're doing, have
a shop do a compression test on the sled.
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SERVICE
Ask
the owner if the sled has been serviced according the manufacturer's specifications,
and, if so, ask for service receipts as verification.
If
you feel uncertain about the sled's condition, it's not unreasonable to request
that the seller take the sled to a mechanic of your choosing for inspection --
at your expense.
It's also not unreasonable
to expect that the seller might to try to sell to someone who won't make him go
through the added hassle of doing this.
As
noted in the FIRST THINGS FIRST section, labor rates are typically around $50/hour.
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ACCESSORIES,
PRICE, and DEALING
If
the owner has lost the owner's manual and/or tool kit, drop a little money off
the price of the sled. They're usually around $15-20 each to replace, and they're
definitely nice things to have, particularly if you're new to riding.
Similarly,
even if you don't plan to do work on the sled yourself, it's nice to have a service
(or "shop") manual, and I'd recommend picking one up even if the owner
isn't selling one with the sled. You can learn a lot about your sled this way.
Factory service manuals are usually the best.
Often times the owner will have added accessories
to the sled and will use them to justify an inflated price at sale time. (This
includes helmets, but see below for those.) Exhaust pipes are another common example.
The important issue is, would you pay extra for the accessories?
If
you don't really care about the accessories, and they have no value to you, and
you shouldn't pay more for them. If you want them (if you value them), only then
are they worth paying more for. Note that "more" doesn't mean "more
than the seller is asking", but "more than a stock sled without these
accessories."
If the seller isn't willing
to deal, find a sled that doesn't have said accessories, and you won't have to
pay more for stuff you don't want. Some accessories are very nice to have, but
you need to make that decision for yourself. Here are some examples:
Exhaust:
Aftermarket exhausts are generally lighter and louder and make more power than
stock. Depending on condition (and whether the jetting is right -- see the section
on carburation, above) full systems are probably worth $100-300.
Suspension
components are a frequent upgrade. Units from Ohlins, Fox (and others) typically
perform better than stock equipment, giving the sled better handling and comfort.
Expect the seller to want a little more for such units. Typically $200-400 more.
Modifications: generally, you'll want to stay
away from heavily-modified sleds. Even when done by a competent professional,
high-compression pistons, overbores, porting, etc. all lead to reduced engine
reliability in the name of increased performance, and that's something you don't
need when you're 15 miles out in the wilderness. Make sure you ask the seller
what modifications were made to the sled.
On
price... know what the sled is worth! Visit the NADA Blue Book web site's Snowmobile
blue book values section. Used sleds being sold by dealers will probably be very
close to the retail price.
Most privately
sold used sleds are sold "OBO" ... or best offer. Offer a little less
than how you value the sled (see above), and see if you can come to an agreement
somewhere close to where you value the sled. Be flexible, But don't be afraid
to walk away and look at other sleds.
The
longer a sled has been for sale, the more flexible the owner is likely to be concerning
price.
Sled prices follow the laws of supply and demand like any other goods...
in the summer, when no one can ride and everyone needs to pay for vacations, sleds
are cheaper. In the fall, when the smell of winter is in the air, sleds are more
expensive.
You may have your own preferred
method for arriving at a number to offer for the sled, but here's a reasonable
approach: take the "blue book" value of the sled , and deduct the cost
of repairs for each problem with the sled. The used sled buying guides assume
a clean, completely functional vehicle, with appropriate wear and tear for its
age. So it makes sense to deduct the cost of repairs to bring a used sled up to
that standard.
If the owner is asking less,
great, if the owner is asking more, see if you can work them down a bit. If need
be, explain how you arrived at your number -- sometimes the owner won't know about
problems you've found!
As noted previously,
beware used sled prices at dealerships, and prepare for sticker shock. They know
that there are plenty of uninformed buyers out there who just want a sled and
don't know what an appropriate price is. (Shop around and figure out what the
going price is!)
The potential plusses that
you get from buying from a dealership are that: 1) at least in theory, the sled
has been tuned up prior to sale; 2) dealerships are typically more willing to
fix any problems that you discover with the thing (inspect sleds thoroughly!);
3) if you're a new rider, you'll probably need to buy gear, and you can usually
get a break on the price of gear if you also buy a sled from a dealership; and
4) Buying a sled from a dealership is a good way to start a long-term relationship
with a them -- just make sure that if you decide to go this route, that you buy
the sled from a good and reputable dealership with whom you'll want to have a
long-term relationship.
And now, the
potential downsides: 1) some dealerships may not do work on the sled between buying
it and reselling it (yet another reason for a close and thorough inspection);
and 2) many times used sleds come only with an "as is" (or extremely
limited) warranty -- no better than what you'd get from a private sale.
The
bottom line is that there may be benefits to buying a used sled from a good dealership,
but some dealerships won't be any better than a private buyer.
Top
HELMETS
Used
helmets are worthless. Regardless of whether it fits you or not, do not count
the price of a used helmet as part of the value of the sled. The owner may want
to sell the helmet, either because it matches the sled or because (s)he is quitting
snomobiling, but since you'll be throwing the helmet out, don't count its value
towards the sale price of the sled.
Used helmets
are worthless because you cannot tell if they are damaged or not, and (in many
cases) you don't know when they were made. Even if they look good, used helmets
might well be junk.
All helmets work by allowing
a layer of expanded polystyrene (EPS) to crush, absorbing much of the force of
an impact. Unless the hard outer shell is damaged, you cannot tell if the EPS
inside is compressed or not. And even then, sometimes you can't -- covering damage
with stickers is just as common with helmets as it is with plastic fairings.
The
bottom line is, despite what the owner says, you do not know what condition the
EPS liner is in, and the EPS liner is the vast majority of the helmet's crash
protection.
It's not worth the risk.
Yes, in some cases, you can send the helmet back to the manufacturer to have it
X-rayed. But that will only tell you if the EPS liner has been compressed, not
if it has been chemically damaged. Since you'll never know for sure, buy yourself
a good quality new helmet from a good quality manufacturer, and stay away from
used helmets.
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TEST
RIDE
You can learn
a lot about a sled from a quick test ride, things you'd never notice by even the
most thorough inspection. Sometimes sellers that won't give you a test ride will
let you ride the sled once you've purchased it, with a money-back guarantee if
you don't like it.
It's a good idea to do
the test ride last, after you've had a chance to go over the whole sled, since
you won't want to ride a sled with safety problems. Don't ride the sled until
you're satisfied that it's safe to ride, pay very close attention to the brakes,
for a stuck throttle with no brakes spells trouble.
You're
going to be riding an unfamiliar sled, so take it easy. This guide cannot possibly
warn you about all the dangers that you might face riding someone else's snowmobile.
Just be careful, and don't test ride a sled if you aren't comfortable with its
mechanical condition or behavior. Test rides are done at your own risk.
What
you're looking for on a test ride:
Engine/Clutch/Brake
Operation: see how it revs, how the torque converter feels , how well the brakes
work, etc.
Strangeness... strange noises or
thumping, having to hold the bars a little bit to one side to get the sled to
go straight (a sign of crash damage!), etc.
Do
you want it? It can take a while to get comfortable with a sled. Nevertheless,
to the extent possible in the short time that you're getting to ride this machine,
try to answer some very important questions:
"Is
this the sled that I want to buy?" "Do I feel comfortable with this
sled?"
Another thing you can test is
transmission operation if so equipped... Some late model sleds have a reversing
gearbox that enables you to back up the sled short distances with the flip of
a lever....Go ahead, give it a try.
Top
INFO
FOR NEW RIDERS
Go to
a dealership and sit on a lot of sleds to feel what sort of riding position you
like. Think about the kinds of sleds that are available...trail, performance,
touring, mountain, etc, what you're interested in, and what you're willing to
pay.
Generally speaking, it's good to start
out with a smaller, lighter-weight used sled rather than buying the latest, coolest,
fastest, sexiest sled new. Snowmobiling is a passion you can pursue for many,
many years -- don't scare yourself silly with a sled that's not meant for beginners.
New riders should probably start with a two-cylinder sled of less than 500cc's.
Find a good dealership and form a relationship with them. Talk to other
sledders or folks on the 'net and get recommendations. Unless you've been doing
this this for a long time and have a lot of money to spend on very specialized
tools, you will almost certainly want to have a local shop that you can turn to
when the sled isn't running right.
It's true
that you will pay a little more for stuff at a dealership, but in return, you're
sure to get the right stuff, and you foster good relations with the shop -- you'll
have somewhere to go when you need help.
Sled
shops are run by people and generally act like people -- the nicer you are to
them, the nicer they'll be to you. Just find one that you like, one that's honest
and fair, and treat them the same in return. Don't support dealerships that are
dishonest.
Get (and wear) good gear! Don't
spend all your money on a sled and only have enough money left to buy the minimum
gear.
Take safety seriously. There are many
ways to get into trouble out on the trails. Just because your buddies do it doesn't
mean you should. Take special care around frozen water, steep icy hills, blind
corners, etc.
Top
AFTER
THE PURCHASE
Have
a professional mechanic do a full tune-up on the machine.
Ask
friends, other sledders, and/or Internet forums for recommendations on dealerships
with good/honest service departments.
Get the
sled registered.
Take it easy as you get used
to a new machine. Respect your sled's power and abilities and get used to it slowly.
Congratulations! Enjoy your new sled!
Top
INSPECTION
PICTURES
Is everything clean, straight, and square....first impressions.... Same here,
clean, straight and square. Don't be afraid to raise the front end and check for
excessive play in these areas.
This is the steering pivot under the
hood, wiggle the bars while watching here. Also check for adequate lubrication.
Another front suspension shot. Inspect all
the pivot points and the shocks.
There's a lot to look at here so take
your time. Inspect pivots, bearings, shocks, sliders, track, clips, spikes, etc.
This is just one style of heat exchanger found
on liquid cooled sleds. this style is mounted in the tunnel. They're all vulnerable
to damage when mounted down low.
Does the sled have hydraulic brakes?
Check for proper operation and fluid condition. There's the sealed chain case
in front; check lube.
Here's a mechanical /cable operated brake system. Go
ahead and inspect the cable as well as the operation of the system.
Along with big power comes a big engine with many more things to look at. Inspect
closely for leaking fluids, missing things like exhaust springs, hose clamps,bolts,
nuts, etc.
By contrast, the fan cooled twin's engine bay is empty!..don't
get careless though. Take your time and ask plenty of questions.
The battery should be generally, clean and healthy looking, with a minimal amount
of corrosion. You can usually see the fluid level through the side of the battery....if
not, remove the caps for inspection.
<caution:
acid>
One of the hardest items to inspect,
they're always nestled way back there out of sight. The carb/s shouldn't be all
filthy...if they are, they're probably leaking. All fuel lines should have hose
clamps or zip-ties on them.
Obviously, the clutch is best evaluated
during a test drive, but you can have a look for missing nuts/bolts, belt condition,
etc.
Here's a shot of a set of power valves
on this triple. Power valves help to broaden the power band on two stroke engines.
They're often controlled by cables from a computer with electric servo motors.
The best way to check operation is to watch the servo motors when the engine is
running.
Top
RECOMMENDED
READING AND LINKS
Manufacturer's
Links
Arctic
Cat Snowmobiles
Polaris
Snowmobiles
Redline
Snowmobiles
Ski-doo
Snowmobiles
Yamaha
Snowmobiles
Other Industry
Links
http://www.amsnow.com/
American
Snowmobiler Online.
http://www.ishof.com/
The site of the International Snowmobile
Hall of Fame.
http://www.snowmobile.org/
The International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association (ISMA) site provides
the latest news, safety information and stories on nowmobiling to consumers, media
and public officials.
http://www.sledcity.com/
or http://www.snowtracks.com/
These online communities feature trail conditions,
online maps, trip planning advice and more.
snow.yahoo.com
Yahoo's Ski and Snow Report also includes links to more snowmobiling and
snowboarding sites.
maximumsled.com
The
number one online snowmobile magazine for 2002 sled news, products and reviews
.
http://www.vsca.com/
The Vintage Snowmobile
Club of America offers the latest on the antique and vintage snowmobile market.
Top
Good luck, and "keep the shiny side up!"
(Reprinted
without permission, (ooops) !
Could not find the writer's name.
Darn
nice job though eh??) zw
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