$4500 to spend.....summit 800 or m8

ferniesnow

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Holy that turned into a pissing match quick!

No kidding.....:wetpants:

It is interesting reading (but kind of boring at the same time) but for $4500 who really gives a rat's ass? Other than the OP of course.

Find a sled (any make or model) that is in good shape and get at it! Check the compression, the front end, and the track......:d:D
 

GYMBRAT

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No kidding.....:wetpants:

It is interesting reading (but kind of boring at the same time) but for $4500 who really gives a rat's ass? Other than the OP of course.

Find a sled (any make or model) that is in good shape and get at it! Check the compression, the front end, and the track......:d:D

Totally agree.
 

trench

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No kidding.....:wetpants:

It is interesting reading (but kind of boring at the same time) but for $4500 who really gives a rat's ass? Other than the OP of course.

Find a sled (any make or model) that is in good shape and get at it! Check the compression, the front end, and the track......:d:D


Kind of sad but I have to agree with this, if your budget is $4500 maybe sledding is out of your price range!
 

d mills

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Kind of sad but I have to agree with this, if your budget is $4500 maybe sledding is out of your price range!
That's by far the dumbest thing I have read in a while. You don't need to spend 10 k plus to enjoy riding. If he has 4500 set aside for a sled then so be it. I'm sure he will find a good machine and enjoy riding as much as the rest of us.
 

bobsledder

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That's by far the dumbest thing I have read in a while. You don't need to spend 10 k plus to enjoy riding. If he has 4500 set aside for a sled then so be it. I'm sure he will find a good machine and enjoy riding as much as the rest of us.

Have to agree with that. I could sell him a hec of a sled for that price or less that will go anywhere and is reliable and is also.....fun to ride.

FS was just sayin..go get one in decent shape no matter what kind and have fun
 
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tantrumpipeline

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Bought the gf an 07 M8 last year for $4500 with 1800miles on it, perfect compression, slp complete exhaust, track was toast but I had a spare and you can buy Take off cheap, she loves it and it got a few buddies into the same areas we went last year, her gear and beacon were also $2000 though so you'll need to take into account that expense, seen M8's for $3500-5000 all over kijiji. Doo fan or not buying an xp for that price is madness, maxwell must be the only person other than my buddy with an 880bikeman to go over the 4000km mark without crank failure and I know for a fact my buddy brad rips his entire engine down re packs and replaces bearing etc, that in itself makes it not worth while to me, this being said 07-08 m chassis' are weak in the diamond drive and you will want to rip yours apart and replace the fluid and bearings, inspect the brass clips as well and replace if needed or they will end up in the gears and it will detonate, 07 wide bearing upgrade will require machining and if you replace it with a stock one annually you'll be fine, 08 you can do the bdx wide bearing and never look at it again with regular fluid changes and a how to is in the m series forum and shouldn't take long for you to do, pm if you have m chassis questions, my 07 may even be in your price range if I locate an xm with the options I want etc
 

Rjjtcross8

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My vote is for the cat. M series are going dirt cheap these days and are still a fun sled to ride.
 

trench

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Ok now you have a $4500 dollar sled, and no argument that you can't find a good sled for that price. What I was trying to get at was the cost to operate it and maintain it probably won't be cheap. It's a crap shoot as to how much it will cost you in the future, no matter what brand you bye, pretty easy to blow a $4500 dollar budget. It's an expensive sport, sorry if I offended anyone's sensibilities. To the OP, for sure you can find a decent sled for that money, good luck.
 
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sheebansavage

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M8 all the way. Had an 05 Rev and while it is a fun machine, the motors are junk..They are both equally fun to ride, just different riding style..All machines ride and handle differently but all will be fun. I like the reliability factor when I am in the backcountry...
 

waynemags

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Kind of sad but I have to agree with this, if your budget is $4500 maybe sledding is out of your price range!
are you f#**in kiddin me? if you only want to have a 4500 budget then sledding s out of your price range? gimme a break. what an insult to people like me and many others that cant spend 14k on the latest and greatest machine. I could have fun on a 70 skiroule the same as my dragon or wifes mountain max. maybe us poor people should stay outta the snow untill we can afford to keep up with the neighbors and the new XM'S and Pros. What a douchebag thing to say. im guessing that if we ran across each other in the snow somewhere we probably wouldn't ride together because my ride is to lowend to be fun. as for the choice in Doo and Cat, I had an M7 and M8. great sleds. had an 07 rev too but couldn't get used to the different ride. hey sorry if that offends anyone.
 
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tantrumpipeline

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Not going to lie on this topic, while I agree you can get a sled for $4500 the starting price of sledding with gear etc can be a little much when it comes to mountain riding. A guy can always find used stuff at swap meets and on kijiji though and still get into the sport at a reasonable investment, my buddy basically stole a used set of klim boots for $100 the other day that aren't even scuffed, I sold my klim helmet for 150 with spare visor and bag and all my klim head to toe setup that was a year old for $650. I do however skip riding with people based upon their sleds quite often, been stuck dragging out quite a few, won't ride with anything pre 07, no dragons, and anything heavily modded I avoid like the plague, when your time in the mountains is limited by work and kids you can't put people's feelings in front of your happiness, this is really how my entire riding group goes about choosing riding partners
 

Mr Husaberg

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I would go m7 or m8 any day. The rev changed the sledding game but the m7 was an evolution. Efi and handling was much better. The xp would go higher and was better in the big bumps and trails but the m7 and m8 are great sleds. I have owned them both. As with buying any used sled condition and miles are the most important differentator.
 

sirkdev

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Not going to lie on this topic, while I agree you can get a sled for $4500 the starting price of sledding with gear etc can be a little much when it comes to mountain riding. A guy can always find used stuff at swap meets and on kijiji though and still get into the sport at a reasonable investment, my buddy basically stole a used set of klim boots for $100 the other day that aren't even scuffed, I sold my klim helmet for 150 with spare visor and bag and all my klim head to toe setup that was a year old for $650. I do however skip riding with people based upon their sleds quite often, been stuck dragging out quite a few, won't ride with anything pre 07, no dragons, and anything heavily modded I avoid like the plague, when your time in the mountains is limited by work and kids you can't put people's feelings in front of your happiness, this is really how my entire riding group goes about choosing riding partners

You can beat around it a million different ways but this is how it is for me as well.
 

SIRsleeper

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A well maintained older machine can be just as reliable as the new ones so I don't get the argument. Yes it's not a cheap sport I get that, we all spend some big bucks to participate but age of machine should not be a factor (within reason of course) After all it's all about having fun not who's got the bigger bank account, or biggest debt load for that matter.


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trench

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are you f#**in kiddin me? if you only want to have a 4500 budget then sledding s out of your price range? gimme a break. what an insult to people like me and many others that cant spend 14k on the latest and greatest machine. I could have fun on a 70 skiroule the same as my dragon or wifes mountain max. maybe us poor people should stay outta the snow untill we can afford to keep up with the neighbors and the new XM'S and Pros. What a douchebag thing to say. im guessing that if we ran across each other in the snow somewhere we probably wouldn't ride together because my ride is to lowend to be fun. as for the choice in Doo and Cat, I had an M7 and M8. great sleds. had an 07 rev too but couldn't get used to the different ride. hey sorry if that offends anyone.


Bit of an over reaction don't ya think? I would ride with anyone that wants to go, don't care what you ride, as long as it works well. A couple years ago the guys I usually go to the mountains with wanted to do a retro ride. The rules were you couldn't spend more than 3 grand for purchase and maintenance on the sled you brought to the ride. Of the five sleds brought out only two worked OK for the whole weekend, one didn't make it up the trail, one burnt belts all weekend, and one trashed the chaincase. None of these sleds ever made it back to the mountains with our group, just not worth the cost and hassle to make them reliable. Buying, riding and maintaining a sled is an expensive proposition, most douchebag thing I've read on this thread is you making an assumption about me not riding with you because your sled is not expensive enough!
 
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d mills

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Ok now you have a $4500 dollar sled, and no argument that you can't find a good sled for that price. What I was trying to get at was the cost to operate it and maintain it probably won't be cheap. It's a crap shoot as to how much it will cost you in the future, no matter what brand you bye, pretty easy to blow a $4500 dollar budget. It's an expensive sport, sorry if I offended anyone's sensibilities. To the OP, for sure you can find a decent sled for that money, good luck.
Why i said that was f*cking stupid is because the op said his budget for a sled allowed him 4500. I bought a 15 k sled. That was in my budget for the purchase of a snowmobile. I also have budgeted monies for maintanance, fuel, repairs, trips etc. see where this is going? He didn't say he had 4500 to ride all year/years. Not that complicated really.
 
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