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altaredneck
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What do you guys think about an 97 summit 500.
Looking for sons next sled
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motorheadracing
Active member
I will be in the same prediction next year so I have started to source out transition sleds for next year. At first I was looking into the "phantom" with e start and reverse.. Undecided because I am a skidoo guy and the mxz 380cc is appealing if you can find one
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We were in the same situation exactly! My son rode and still rides his Z120 but when he was 7 years old I started taking him with me to the Mtns where we rode double till he was 9 years old. In safe areas like meadows I would let him drive with me riding right behind him until he had good throttle control (on my 900 King Cat). Once he got it nailed, I turned him loose to ride circles around me where I could see him, again in a safe meadow or bowl. At 9 years old he then jumped right to a 2001 800 RMK with a 151" which he quickly learned to handle well. The upside is I could always slide down and double him up any hills that were too much for him. If your son has a good mature attitude combined with good throttle control and ability to ride, I would definitely skip the 340 cc stage so you and he will be able to ride mountains in the alpine and not just trails. We eventually moved to a Nytro when he was 12 years old for the reliability, electric start and reverse. Although heavier, he sure learned to be a very good rider and could handle it as long as he rode aggressively. Suggest getting a full size sled with electric start and reverse for sure! His younger brother is not as aggressive and so at 12 years old (he rode a Nytro for two years with the odd tree taking rub LOL!) we got him a 2013 Polaris Pro 800 163" which he LOVES compared to the hand me down Nytro. Plus, its a great back up sled for me! For a beginner, a sled that you can have tipped updside down without worrying about all the oil draining out (a la 4 stroke) is extremely important. It will take a moment to get back or up him when he tips it on its side so ensure he has a tether & knows how to use it to kill the engine immediately. On that note: ensure you get him a kids Tek Vest! They will run into stuff and you want him as protected as possible. Will last him for years too.
Good luck in your search and remember to take the time to teach him safely how to ride in the mountains and be patient no matter what...
It's not easy, or cheap getting your kids into mountain sledding but a great investment in developing a good relationship with your kids before they hit their teenage years. Then when they are teenagers, they want to spend the weekend with you sledding instead of smoking up behind 7-11...
If you ever want to join us just pm me as I take my boys riding all the time.
Good luck in your search and remember to take the time to teach him safely how to ride in the mountains and be patient no matter what...
It's not easy, or cheap getting your kids into mountain sledding but a great investment in developing a good relationship with your kids before they hit their teenage years. Then when they are teenagers, they want to spend the weekend with you sledding instead of smoking up behind 7-11...
If you ever want to join us just pm me as I take my boys riding all the time.
gedakbx
Active VIP Member
All depends on the kid mine is about to turn 12 this is his 3rd year on a 700 rmk 155 he is tall for a 12 year old weighs 105 lbs and ride that sled every where we do in the mountains in control. He has great throttle control can side hill it for ever. he has had a 120 from 3-5 years, indylite 250 5-7, a 550 freestyle with a 136 1.75 track when he was 7-9. His 15 year old brother on the other hand is a different story he spends all day stuck or upside down not one bit agressive Haha.
gedakbx
Active VIP Member
Also forgot to mention the first thing he does when he gets on any sled and has since he was 3 is put on a tether.
2012ProRMK
Active member
I also agree with the 340 Indy Light. Polaris also makes newer 340's, i believe they are called 340 edge's.
X-it
Active VIP Member
They quit making sleds that would fit him perfect, for 8800 dollars i would by him summit 600 sport carbed. It comes with the fancy new rear skid which makes it super easy for him to pull over. He will be laying a licking on you and having a great time to boot.
barefooter
Active VIP Member
I have built a bunch of fan coolers for kids sleds Of course they are really reliable sled.
Two issues. Not enough power and old school handling. My youngest daughter was 8 when I wrecked her 300 freestyle in a rather unfortunate sled deck accident. I immediately bought her a 550 Freestyle. That lasted about 2 years. The front end was too wide for her to learn to carve in the powder so ended up with shorter A-Arms. shocks, etc.
She was 11 when she started riding a 600 for fun. At 12 she was on my 600 Etech and never looked back. At 16 she is riding an 800.
For a 14 year old, I would look at a 600. One thing I did to smooth it out was put in closed cell foam behind the throttle trigger. I though if she ever got scared and yanked, at least that would slow things down.
That actually was never necessary and we ditched it after 3 rides.
For about $1,000 more than than a fan cooled sled, you could get the carbed Skidoo 600 summit. Comes with Flex Track and T motion. Altitude compensation. Adjustable front ski stance. The works. Best deal out there and will last your kid a long time. I wish there had been a sled out there like that when I was buying the 550 for her. Would have saved me a lot of $
We never said it was easy, just that it looked cool.
Two issues. Not enough power and old school handling. My youngest daughter was 8 when I wrecked her 300 freestyle in a rather unfortunate sled deck accident. I immediately bought her a 550 Freestyle. That lasted about 2 years. The front end was too wide for her to learn to carve in the powder so ended up with shorter A-Arms. shocks, etc.
She was 11 when she started riding a 600 for fun. At 12 she was on my 600 Etech and never looked back. At 16 she is riding an 800.
For a 14 year old, I would look at a 600. One thing I did to smooth it out was put in closed cell foam behind the throttle trigger. I though if she ever got scared and yanked, at least that would slow things down.
That actually was never necessary and we ditched it after 3 rides.
For about $1,000 more than than a fan cooled sled, you could get the carbed Skidoo 600 summit. Comes with Flex Track and T motion. Altitude compensation. Adjustable front ski stance. The works. Best deal out there and will last your kid a long time. I wish there had been a sled out there like that when I was buying the 550 for her. Would have saved me a lot of $
We never said it was easy, just that it looked cool.
if u think he is ready then the 600 Summit carb would be a good sled if ur willing to spend that kind of cash on his first real sled. I just got my 10 yr old a 2007 f5 with a 136 2" track,e start and reverse and he loves it. also a good choice if u can find one for a good price.
pano-dude
Active VIP Member
jesus i can't believe the risk you guys are taking with kids. 12 years old riding a '13 800 163..... wtf?
kids of that age should not be on sleds with more than 50 hp. they should not be climbing hills or be exposed to avy risks. can they ride the big sleds sure.... should they NO.
just seeing that avi pack on your kids makes me cringe, if you think he needs a bag you're taking him into places he should not be.
i'm all for taking kids into the backcountry, but they should never be put into a situation where they could be caught in a slide. play in the trees, do donuts in the meadows come home safe.
i watched a 10 or 12 yr old riding an 800 xp try to climb up a huge face up to thunderwater lake last year, heard dad saying just pin it to the top. kid got spooked tried to turn around and augered in. dad goes racing up to help, now they are both in danger and i may be involved if the face lets go and i gotta go searching.
start small, move up as needed and have the piece of mind your kid is going to be safe and learn to ride properly. you will never lose money on the small used sleds.
kids of that age should not be on sleds with more than 50 hp. they should not be climbing hills or be exposed to avy risks. can they ride the big sleds sure.... should they NO.
just seeing that avi pack on your kids makes me cringe, if you think he needs a bag you're taking him into places he should not be.
i'm all for taking kids into the backcountry, but they should never be put into a situation where they could be caught in a slide. play in the trees, do donuts in the meadows come home safe.
i watched a 10 or 12 yr old riding an 800 xp try to climb up a huge face up to thunderwater lake last year, heard dad saying just pin it to the top. kid got spooked tried to turn around and augered in. dad goes racing up to help, now they are both in danger and i may be involved if the face lets go and i gotta go searching.
start small, move up as needed and have the piece of mind your kid is going to be safe and learn to ride properly. you will never lose money on the small used sleds.
I have a 2000 Polaris Super Sport 550 fan in really great condition with only 1300 miles, if anyone is interested send me a PM. My kids are older and on 600s now so this one is taking up space in the shop. $2250, white and runs great. Screen kit, muff pot and new sliders and scags. Needs nothing but some young riders.
Trax 2 Treadz
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We have 5 kids and have been taking our youngest daughter to the mountains with us since she was 6 months old. We have a ton of experience as to what works and what doesn't.
Our kids started out in the backpacks and moved to the child riding belts when they developed enough core body strength to support themselves for extended periods of time. Our kids always always always rode BEHIND us. When you put your kids in front of you they act as your airbags should you be in the unfortunate situation of hitting something. It is the same principle as riding with your kids on your lap in the front seat of a car. Anyone remember those commercials? Force equals mass times acceleration!!!
When they were ready to ride their own sleds we moved them to a 340 Indy Lite fan cooled with a throttle block. Jaymie started riding her own sled at 5 because she had the size and maturity to do it. Trennis won't get to start riding his own sled until this year when he is 7 because he didn't have the size nor the maturity level to handle it his own sled. Jaymie is 9 this year and will move up to the powder special.
We have heavily modified the Indy to fit the kids. We put a different seat on, changed out the rear bumper, changed out the track from 1/4 inch to 1 1/4 but the most significant change was going from a cable action brake to a hydraulic brake. It was a sick feeling watching the sled go down the trail on the south side of Blairmore with her on it last year and her squeezing the brake and it not responding because the tension had come loose. She had enough experience to keep her cool drive it into the ditch bail off the side and let the sled run up the other side until it came to a stop. We also did some changes on the boards to allow them to clear snow better.
The biggest thing though with riding with kids is you ride to their ability!!! They are not one of your riding buddies that you take to the steep and deep. Maybe someday you will be able to but it probably won't be for a long long time. There is no point yelling at them and getting all worked up because they are holding you back. Believe me we have seen this. They don't have the attention spans to go long days with you either. We had the experience coming in from Fernie one afternoon of meeting a Dad and his young son. The child was only about 5 or 6 riding a 600 summit. We met them coming around a corner and the kid was riding on the wrong side of the trail. He ran right up on top of Larry's hood and his sled tipped over. The kid's sled thankfully rolled into the side of the mtn and not over the edge. The Dad got all upset with the child and started yelling at him etc etc. It was not a good scene. The kid was on a sled way too big for him and had obviously lost interest a long time ago. My point is stuff like this happens all the time.
The bigger issue than what type of sled in my opinion is what are you doing as parents to insure the safety of your children? We lead by example in the care and caution we take in our riding styles. We don't drink on the hill or when we are riding. We all ride with Tek Vests. Every single member of our riding group rides with 3 wire beacons. We enrolled Jaymie at 8 years old last year in an AST 1. Was she a bit young, I don't think so. I know the maturity level of my daughter. Trennis at 8 would be a different story we might wait until he is 9 but he will start early too. Our kids all have good gear. We go over and over with them the rules of riding. We don't spend long days out with them and our days are geared to the least able rider.
You know what all our days are still fun!!! Our kids have seen more things and done more things than 100% of their classmates. Our kids have a certain maturity and sense of self that you can't name or put a finger on. I wouldn't change this life for anything!
Riding with your kids is about way more than the sled!!!!
Jan
Our kids started out in the backpacks and moved to the child riding belts when they developed enough core body strength to support themselves for extended periods of time. Our kids always always always rode BEHIND us. When you put your kids in front of you they act as your airbags should you be in the unfortunate situation of hitting something. It is the same principle as riding with your kids on your lap in the front seat of a car. Anyone remember those commercials? Force equals mass times acceleration!!!
When they were ready to ride their own sleds we moved them to a 340 Indy Lite fan cooled with a throttle block. Jaymie started riding her own sled at 5 because she had the size and maturity to do it. Trennis won't get to start riding his own sled until this year when he is 7 because he didn't have the size nor the maturity level to handle it his own sled. Jaymie is 9 this year and will move up to the powder special.
We have heavily modified the Indy to fit the kids. We put a different seat on, changed out the rear bumper, changed out the track from 1/4 inch to 1 1/4 but the most significant change was going from a cable action brake to a hydraulic brake. It was a sick feeling watching the sled go down the trail on the south side of Blairmore with her on it last year and her squeezing the brake and it not responding because the tension had come loose. She had enough experience to keep her cool drive it into the ditch bail off the side and let the sled run up the other side until it came to a stop. We also did some changes on the boards to allow them to clear snow better.
The biggest thing though with riding with kids is you ride to their ability!!! They are not one of your riding buddies that you take to the steep and deep. Maybe someday you will be able to but it probably won't be for a long long time. There is no point yelling at them and getting all worked up because they are holding you back. Believe me we have seen this. They don't have the attention spans to go long days with you either. We had the experience coming in from Fernie one afternoon of meeting a Dad and his young son. The child was only about 5 or 6 riding a 600 summit. We met them coming around a corner and the kid was riding on the wrong side of the trail. He ran right up on top of Larry's hood and his sled tipped over. The kid's sled thankfully rolled into the side of the mtn and not over the edge. The Dad got all upset with the child and started yelling at him etc etc. It was not a good scene. The kid was on a sled way too big for him and had obviously lost interest a long time ago. My point is stuff like this happens all the time.
The bigger issue than what type of sled in my opinion is what are you doing as parents to insure the safety of your children? We lead by example in the care and caution we take in our riding styles. We don't drink on the hill or when we are riding. We all ride with Tek Vests. Every single member of our riding group rides with 3 wire beacons. We enrolled Jaymie at 8 years old last year in an AST 1. Was she a bit young, I don't think so. I know the maturity level of my daughter. Trennis at 8 would be a different story we might wait until he is 9 but he will start early too. Our kids all have good gear. We go over and over with them the rules of riding. We don't spend long days out with them and our days are geared to the least able rider.
You know what all our days are still fun!!! Our kids have seen more things and done more things than 100% of their classmates. Our kids have a certain maturity and sense of self that you can't name or put a finger on. I wouldn't change this life for anything!
Riding with your kids is about way more than the sled!!!!
Jan
Last edited:
goodngrubby
Active VIP Member
I picked up an '08 short track GT for my 11 year old daughter this year. The MTX 144" falls over without much effort, but the GT is fairly stable. They don't come with a tether, but the electric start and electronic reverse is great for the young'ns. If I was going to have her in the mountains, I would rethink things, but for flatlands and trasil riding, the Phazer is a great machine.
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altaredneck
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Don't no how to pm but do you have pics could defiantly be interested. Thanks Vince
06 Dragon
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Have a 1998 600 Yamaha mountain max for sale. Pm me.
CatMan16
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I took my daughter out on her 300 Enticer on Sunday. It was her first ride on it after upgrading from the Kitty Cat. She spent the first 30 minutes or more circling the field behind my friends house. Then we took both kids out for a longer loop through some fields. She will be 8 in January and was able to control it just fine. Didn't set any speed records but we put on close to 15 miles. No crashes or incidents so it was a great afternoon.
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altaredneck
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Just wondering if Anyone knows if there is a size difference on a polaris rmk 136 fan cooled compared to the Indy 340's or 440's thx
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