tmix
Active VIP Member
looking at getting my kids a backcountry 550f just wondering how they ran in the big hills.
Freestyle Backcountry
- Thread starter tmix
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2003Summit
Active VIP Member
For steep: Not as good as you would hope; so I have heard. Will get you around up there but not enough power to play with. More of a cross country sled. Handles quite good in the powder, just doesn't handle the steep. Won't climb. However, if your kid is real light and will be following others and is not looking to climb big hills, might be ok. It is a fun and light sled and easy on the pocket book. There are other posts about this from a year or two ago. Also try checking dootalk.com.
dooryder
XP V.I.P. Member
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tmix
Active VIP Member
thanks guys, would be nice to do mods but will see what it can do stock for now, will check doo-talk.
J_E_SUMMIT
RIP, Fallen Sledder
Look up Smittys800 on dootalk, I think he has one.
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tmix
Active VIP Member
took my kidz to clemina the backcountry freestyle rode real well was very impressed, ran 150 jets worked great, kidz and wife had great time in the big hills, they can't wait to go again...let ur snow!!!!!!!!!!!!
summitron
Active member
I know it's the not even close but I took a Freestyle session out to Sicamous a couple weeks back, and it was a borderline boat anchor. Nice little sled to bomb around on on hard pack maybe a few feet of fresh. The track was way too short with 3/4" nubs and no power. The 289cc session just didn't have what it took to even climb packed trails into the alpine. My nephew had a blast and pounded out the area arond the cabin at Owlshead, but I had to tow it up a few of the hills. We were wishing we had bought a 550 backcountry. It was really cool to see all the attention he got on it, at the cabin everyone just treated him like a king, and he really enjoyed the atmosphere of the mountains. He is only nine and he is quite small so all the big guys were giving him high fives and patting him on the back. It was still a fun time.
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tmix
Active VIP Member
that's cool it's important that the next generation of sledders have a safe start, that's why i thought the backcountry would be a smart buy, and i guess if the kidz out grow it you could mod it out... that would be fun!
barefooter
Active VIP Member
Tmix:
I have gone through both. What do you consider the "Big Hills" in the context of the Freestyle? How big are your kids and what are they going to be climbing?
My daughter's first sled was the Freestyle when it first came out - she was 7 and about 70lbs. That thing was fun - especially around the acreage here in Strathcona County. Our first trip to Vernon showed me two things:
1.) You have to jet these things rigt or they are a dog. They are set up for sea level, and I think I went down two sizes on the main. There is no compensation system for it. This really perked it up at altitude - we didn't have any of the issues SummitRon had. She was able to easily get to the top of the Gordon Sydney at Hunters, and all over at Blue Lake.
2.) The 3/4 inch track on the 300F is useless once there is more than 2" of snow. I ended up putting a 1.5" X 121 track on it, with the stock gearing. Since I was under there i also put on extrovert drivers.
With these two changes - that 300F was a little tractor for her. She rarely had to use full throttle to get up any trail she wanted to in the mountains - Hunter's Range, Blue Mountain, Owlshead and Quartz Creek were a few we visited that year. The biggest issue was a lack of flotation in the stock skis.
Last year the 300F met an unfortunate demise falling off the back of a sled deck at 100kmh (circumstances of how this happened will not be revealed to protect the guilty) on our way to Golden. Randy at Motortech took it on trade for a 550 Backcountry. Since she was 9 and a little bigger - I had been thinking that a larger sled could be in order anyway - so this was just a push in that direction. I had been looking at a couple of 550F Summits and the Yamaha Phazer MTX at the same time. Here is why I think that the 550 Backcountry is a better sled for the kids:
1.) The seat height to the boards is about 3 inches shorter on the Backcountry than the Summit and the seat is narrower. Way easier for her to stand up and go side to side than the Summit.
2.) That little 550 has a lot of mod room. The jetting is critical - and when spot on it is really snappy. I ended up putting on an Attac system so I didn't have to screw around. It responds really well to clutching changes. Frankly - stock it is a bit mushy. That little Lite primary comes set up pretty "mushy". This really wakes that 550 up. Third, both the carbs and pipe are both smaller than a 550 Summit. LRD (on Dootalk) thinks that there is about 10hp to be gained right there, and there is plenty of room under the hood. Check out his threads on Dootalk.
ski-doo snowmobile forums - DOOTalk.com
ski-doo snowmobile forums - DOOTalk.com
3.) The stock skis suck. I put Mods on for my daughter. $ for $ best mod for the Sled. The 2008 went with the wider skis - I don't know how they worked.
Last year bone stock - that thing was climbing in Feb and Mar up hills that frankly - I was uncomfortable seeing my 10 year old go up. In late March we went out with "Dare Ya" Rene and his daughter, who was riding a 600 SDI Summit. They spent the entire day trading off sleds. They were both able to do way more on the Freestyle in terms of climbing and generally having fun.
For this year, I changes out the 1.25" track for a 1.75", replaced the skis with mods, put on the Attac and put on extrovert drivers. Little thing is like a mountain goat.
We were at Hunters 2 weeks ago when we were just getting pounded with snow out there. At the first cabin there was at least 2 feet of fresh snow. That thing just motored everywhere. You couldn't actually tell there was a trail to the Gordon Sidney - there was that much snow. We broke trail the whole way - and she was right on my butt the whole time. She was able to take that thing all over the backside of the Gordon Sidney at Hunters (except for the chutes of course). With as much snow as there was - I could not expect anything more out of a sub-600cc machine.
Just remember who the sled is built for - I might not think it is a climber - but it works great for a 5', 90lb 11 year old. Plus I think there is at least enough growing room for her until she is 16-17 at least.
I got a smoking deal on one of last years Phazer MTX's, so I bought it. My daughter has ridden it about 5 times. Although she likes the sled, she much prefers the Freestyle. It feels like a 100lb difference between the sleds in weight, and only a 10hp difference (if) at the track. Plus - the center of gravity is lower on the Freestyle - so it feels less "tippy" than the Phazer.
I included a couple of Pics. One with with her on the 300F - this was a couple of years ago when she was 7. And one last year on the Saddle at Quartz with her 550 Backcountry just so you can see what her size is.
Hope this helps
I have gone through both. What do you consider the "Big Hills" in the context of the Freestyle? How big are your kids and what are they going to be climbing?
My daughter's first sled was the Freestyle when it first came out - she was 7 and about 70lbs. That thing was fun - especially around the acreage here in Strathcona County. Our first trip to Vernon showed me two things:
1.) You have to jet these things rigt or they are a dog. They are set up for sea level, and I think I went down two sizes on the main. There is no compensation system for it. This really perked it up at altitude - we didn't have any of the issues SummitRon had. She was able to easily get to the top of the Gordon Sydney at Hunters, and all over at Blue Lake.
2.) The 3/4 inch track on the 300F is useless once there is more than 2" of snow. I ended up putting a 1.5" X 121 track on it, with the stock gearing. Since I was under there i also put on extrovert drivers.
With these two changes - that 300F was a little tractor for her. She rarely had to use full throttle to get up any trail she wanted to in the mountains - Hunter's Range, Blue Mountain, Owlshead and Quartz Creek were a few we visited that year. The biggest issue was a lack of flotation in the stock skis.
Last year the 300F met an unfortunate demise falling off the back of a sled deck at 100kmh (circumstances of how this happened will not be revealed to protect the guilty) on our way to Golden. Randy at Motortech took it on trade for a 550 Backcountry. Since she was 9 and a little bigger - I had been thinking that a larger sled could be in order anyway - so this was just a push in that direction. I had been looking at a couple of 550F Summits and the Yamaha Phazer MTX at the same time. Here is why I think that the 550 Backcountry is a better sled for the kids:
1.) The seat height to the boards is about 3 inches shorter on the Backcountry than the Summit and the seat is narrower. Way easier for her to stand up and go side to side than the Summit.
2.) That little 550 has a lot of mod room. The jetting is critical - and when spot on it is really snappy. I ended up putting on an Attac system so I didn't have to screw around. It responds really well to clutching changes. Frankly - stock it is a bit mushy. That little Lite primary comes set up pretty "mushy". This really wakes that 550 up. Third, both the carbs and pipe are both smaller than a 550 Summit. LRD (on Dootalk) thinks that there is about 10hp to be gained right there, and there is plenty of room under the hood. Check out his threads on Dootalk.
ski-doo snowmobile forums - DOOTalk.com
ski-doo snowmobile forums - DOOTalk.com
3.) The stock skis suck. I put Mods on for my daughter. $ for $ best mod for the Sled. The 2008 went with the wider skis - I don't know how they worked.
Last year bone stock - that thing was climbing in Feb and Mar up hills that frankly - I was uncomfortable seeing my 10 year old go up. In late March we went out with "Dare Ya" Rene and his daughter, who was riding a 600 SDI Summit. They spent the entire day trading off sleds. They were both able to do way more on the Freestyle in terms of climbing and generally having fun.
For this year, I changes out the 1.25" track for a 1.75", replaced the skis with mods, put on the Attac and put on extrovert drivers. Little thing is like a mountain goat.
We were at Hunters 2 weeks ago when we were just getting pounded with snow out there. At the first cabin there was at least 2 feet of fresh snow. That thing just motored everywhere. You couldn't actually tell there was a trail to the Gordon Sidney - there was that much snow. We broke trail the whole way - and she was right on my butt the whole time. She was able to take that thing all over the backside of the Gordon Sidney at Hunters (except for the chutes of course). With as much snow as there was - I could not expect anything more out of a sub-600cc machine.
Just remember who the sled is built for - I might not think it is a climber - but it works great for a 5', 90lb 11 year old. Plus I think there is at least enough growing room for her until she is 16-17 at least.
I got a smoking deal on one of last years Phazer MTX's, so I bought it. My daughter has ridden it about 5 times. Although she likes the sled, she much prefers the Freestyle. It feels like a 100lb difference between the sleds in weight, and only a 10hp difference (if) at the track. Plus - the center of gravity is lower on the Freestyle - so it feels less "tippy" than the Phazer.
I included a couple of Pics. One with with her on the 300F - this was a couple of years ago when she was 7. And one last year on the Saddle at Quartz with her 550 Backcountry just so you can see what her size is.
Hope this helps
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summitron
Active member
Let me know when she's ready to move up, and that 550 is for sale.
I jetted the 300 for sicamous, but I just used the Jets the dealer gave me, and it ran ok, but just had no traction with that track.
I jetted the 300 for sicamous, but I just used the Jets the dealer gave me, and it ran ok, but just had no traction with that track.
barefooter
Active VIP Member
Ron:
i got two other kids coming up behind her - but I will give you a call if it is for sale. make you a better deal - put a 1.5" on the 300f and I'll trade you in a couple of years!
I know what you mean about the 3/4" track on the 300f. The 1.5 X 121 conversion cost me net about $550, through Specialty Sleds. That included the extroverts. Didn't seem to be too much for that sled - it handled it pretty well. I don't think extending the skid is required, and the thing had great traction.
The Tundra I think uses a 136 x 1.25 track.
summitron
Active member
I'll keep that trade in mind. My brother has a nine year old little guy, Tyler, and a 2 year old little girl. Right now his little guy has the 300, my 6year old still has her mini-z and my 5 year old has her own mini-z. Our plan is too next year either buy a 550 for the little guy and the 300 goes to my oldest, and her mini goes to his youngest. Or we might just give Tyler my wife's 06 summit 600, and she gets an XP(or not, she hardly rides now) . Maybe we'll have to work some three way trades and maximize the use of all these sleds. I'm not sure if my soon to be 7 year old is ready for the session, she only weighs about 50lbs. I was thinking of just doing a few mods to her mini and I think she would be good for another year or two. If we ever finish ringette and it is actually a warm day, we should try to get together for a family day.
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tmix
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yeah, my daughter and son are about 5'7' tall but after changing the jets i thought the backcountry ran great.I get scared when the kids climb the stuff they can with this "little sled" i think that this is a great starter sled.So far we only rode 2 days at clemina but they had a super time.
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