The snowmobile bug bit again..

[vtfireman85]

I helped a friend move his lawnmower, this was at the big repair shop/power equipment dealer. It was a private sale, says 330 miles on the clock but that is clearly not accurate. But i don’t believe it has been hammered. 
98’ Indy Trail Touring 488 fc needs a few little things. But I think it was a fair price. 

[yellowrosefarm]

2 hours ago, vtfireman85 said:

I helped a friend move his lawnmower, this was at the big repair shop/power equipment dealer. It was a private sale, says 330 miles on the clock but that is clearly not accurate. But i don’t believe it has been hammered. 
98’ Indy Trail Touring 488 fc needs a few little things. But I think it was a fair price. 

Looks great!  I will hope that you get all of our snow allotment for next winter so you can try it out🤠

[Ihfan4life]

1 hour ago, yellowrosefarm said:

Looks great!  I will hope that you get all of our snow allotment for next winter so you can try it out🤠

That’s specifically for lower central Vt. And points south…all yours Seth😂

[TractormanMike.mb]

Looks nice. Looks like it was either never trailered or washed good if it was.

[CC_Ranger]

A 2 up unit is nice to have. I am toying around with the idea of selling my Cats. If I could find a 2 up fan cooled unit to play around with that would be all I need at this point.

[vtfireman85]

2 hours ago, TractormanMike.mb said:

Looks nice. Looks like it was either never trailered or washed good if it was.

Yeah, that snot is rough on a sled

[brahamfireman]

I bought a 2002 classic in March to go riding with the kids. liquid cooled, 2 up, front and rear hand warmers, electric start, reverse. Only put 75 miles on it so far but the kids and I had a blast!!!!

Good luck, they're great sleds,  them fan cooled motors don't make enough power to hurt themselves, they go forever. 

[vtfireman85]

12 minutes ago, brahamfireman said:

I bought a 2002 classic in March to go riding with the kids. liquid cooled, 2 up, front and rear hand warmers, electric start, reverse. Only put 75 miles on it so far but the kids and I had a blast!!!!

Good luck, they're great sleds,  them fan cooled motors don't make enough power to hurt themselves, they go forever. 

Dad had a 90’ trail, he picked me up from school in the Power Wagon one day when i was in grade school. We went to a local shop where it was in the showroom, it was maybe 5 years old , but really nice shape. 
i was SOOO excited! 
that thing would really scoot, 90 was about all i ever got out of it, but it sure didn’t seem underpowered at the time. I know new sleds are faster, better suspension, etc etc, but i don’t have a ton in it and i can and will enjoy it. 

[Red River North]

Looks nice. Seems strange that it doesn't have a tach.

In 2002 or 2003 we bought and still have a 1998 Indy Trail ( not Touring ) with the 488 fc. Overall it has been a very good machine.

[Cattech]

First snowmobile that dad bought back when I was a kid was an '89 Trail SP. If I would have had more gas money, I would have worn that thing out in a yr. Now, it's on my list to find another one, but the "SP" is a rare bird to find.

I've had a 95 and a 96 just like that one pass through the fleet over the years. Neither was nearly as nice & those came/went 15 yrs ago.

BTW, why do you doubt the odometer reading? The condition of the machine sure supports it not getting used! There's lots of sleds out there that people bought and then decided snowmobiling wasn't for them. My aunt just sold the '92 Indy Sport she bought new... about 250 miles on it, still had the showroom tag on the bars.

[iowaboy1965]

And so it begins......

[vtfireman85]

2 hours ago, Cattech said:

BTW, why do you doubt the odometer reading? The condition of the machine sure supports it not getting used! There's lots of sleds out there that people bought and then decided snowmobiling wasn't for them. My aunt just sold the '92 Indy Sport she bought new... about 250 miles on it, still had the showroom tag on the bars.

Running boards have more than 300 miles, has registration’s from several different states suggesting several owners. I haven’t looked for a date code on the speedo but it went from 2012-22 without being registered. I would almost bet that speedo has a date stamp from much more recent time. 

[Cattech]

7 hours ago, vtfireman85 said:

Running boards have more than 300 miles, has registration’s from several different states suggesting several owners. I haven’t looked for a date code on the speedo but it went from 2012-22 without being registered. I would almost bet that speedo has a date stamp from much more recent time. 

UR Probably right, just asking.

I just noticed that while the seat has a split, it doesn't have the polished look from having someone bounce around on it that they usually get, the track edges don't have any stray threads sticking out, the tunnel decals haven't been worn white front or back... & the pipe has a majority of the original paint on it - that's usually gone after a few yrs or 1000 miles.

Looks like a dang nice sled!

[vtfireman85]

1 hour ago, Cattech said:

UR Probably right, just asking.

I just noticed that while the seat has a split, it doesn't have the polished look from having someone bounce around on it that they usually get, the track edges don't have any stray threads sticking out, the tunnel decals haven't been worn white front or back... & the pipe has a majority of the original paint on it - that's usually gone after a few yrs or 1000 miles.

Looks like a dang nice sled!

I suppose anything is possible, it has spent time outside for sure, doesn’t look like a high mileage sled, but 330 in 25 years, and several owners is hard to buy. I would like a tach. And electric start is alleged to work, but has a button under the hood? I will need to fix that, stuff like that bugs me. Also I never felt the need but it might be a selling point for the wife. 

[Cattech]

Yeah, hard to believe, truth will be in if the speedo works. Doubt anyone unhooked it just to hook it back up.

My buddy's sled was low mileage like that. His uncle bought it new... 2014 Skandic 600 ETEC. The uncle rode it around the lake and back to the cabin a few times, but never felt comfortable with such a large machine. 45 miles on the clock 8 yrs later... sold it and found a really clean Yamaha Enticer 250.

[TractormanMike.mb]

My zr580 cat is a retativly low mile sled, story I heard was the original owner bought it for his wife to ride and it never got much use. The friend I bought it from didn't ride it much, he could never get it to run right. 

Anyone who ever owned a carbureted Arctic cat would also know that it might have been due to the fact that it costs a small fortune to keep gas in the tank, those sleds are thirsty.

[vtfireman85]

1 hour ago, TractormanMike.mb said:

My zr580 cat is a retativly low mile sled, story I heard was the original owner bought it for his wife to ride and it never got much use. The friend I bought it from didn't ride it much, he could never get it to run right. 

Anyone who ever owned a carbureted Arctic cat would also know that it might have been due to the fact that it costs a small fortune to keep gas in the tank, those sleds are thirsty.

We had a couple, one was a ZL550, I can’t really say it was a lemon, I believe it was possessed. Weird stuff broke on it, clutch came in pieces at low speed one day, just out of the blue. The flywheel sheared all of its rivets one afternoon, crankshaft broke clean in two, banjo bolt on the oiler backed out, ruined one cylinder, there were other smaller things, one of the C clips fell off the carb needle, seems it was one thing after another after another. 
it got flooded in 2011 and we said good riddance. 
2004 F5 carbureted was and still is a great sled. My brother has it currently, had very good luck with all but that one ZL. 
as an aside, i never liked the Z chassis cats, heavy as heck and nothing to hold onto when they get stuck. An Indy has the trailing arm to grab and the F-cats have enough leverage to get them to start to roll over. 
uncle had a ZR(T?) 900 , that machine would absolutely scream but it was like trying to wrestle a Farmall 560 out of a snowbank when it got stuck. We had to carry a come-along. 

[TractormanMike.mb]

The carbs were all out of wack when I bought my 580. The first trail ride I took with it I went 40 miles on a tank of gas, the tank is nearly ten gallons by the way. I'm surprised the thing even ran. Besides that, fuel injected sleds and carbureted sleds take a different drive belt, the fuel injected belt is longer and at some point someone got the numbers crossed and put the wrong belt on. I was turning seven to eight thousand rpms at cruising speed. I spent some time getting the carbs tuned, put the right belt on and serviced the clutches and now I can get about 80 or 100 miles out of a full tank of fuel depending on the riding we are doing.

[Cattech]

^^^There's a reason only 3 of the 28 sleds I've owned over the years have been Arctic Cat.

I would take a '01 ZRT 800 and would actually pay money for a Thundercat 1000.... just because they're cool..... a good running Polaris XCR 800 will hand the Tcat its arse, and a Liberty 800 twin will holeshot nearly any sled ever built.

[vtfireman85]

4 hours ago, Cattech said:

^^^There's a reason only 3 of the 28 sleds I've owned over the years have been Arctic Cat.

I would take a '01 ZRT 800 and would actually pay money for a Thundercat 1000.... just because they're cool..... a good running Polaris XCR 800 will hand the Tcat its arse, and a Liberty 800 twin will holeshot nearly any sled ever built.

I always felt that 600cc was about the tipping point of a good power balance, bigger than that seemed over powered and that much heavier, less seemed like it could use a bit more. Trails around here tend to be narrow and twisty so that may make the difference in my mind. I was also a huge fan or the XLT. They had endless power and lots of torque, never as snappy as an XCR or ZR, but they would hold their own.

[TractormanMike.mb]

My opinion, unless you are playing in the mountains out west with a long, deep cleated paddle track there really isn't a need for that much power.

I've gone riding with guy that take their mountain sleds, as I call them, trail riding. Yes, they can leave a corner like a shot out of a gun but then they have to slow way down at the next turn and struggle and use lots of English to try and turn. Then they also have to mess with the scratchers also. Meanwhile I just sit on mine and enjoy the ride. Not to mention the damage it does to the trail. The last few years we just haven't gotten enough snow locally, unless you get out early enough to get out after the groomer went through most of the corners are spun down to bare dirt.

[vtfireman85]

41 minutes ago, TractormanMike.mb said:

My opinion, unless you are playing in the mountains out west with a long, deep cleated paddle track there really isn't a need for that much power.

I've gone riding with guy that take their mountain sleds, as I call them, trail riding. Yes, they can leave a corner like a shot out of a gun but then they have to slow way down at the next turn and struggle and use lots of English to try and turn. Then they also have to mess with the scratchers also. Meanwhile I just sit on mine and enjoy the ride. Not to mention the damage it does to the trail. The last few years we just haven't gotten enough snow locally, unless you get out early enough to get out after the groomer went through most of the corners are spun down to bare dirt.

My friend is a real throttle jockey, 12” bar risers, rides an M8 i am always giving him a hard time about wearing out throttle parts , he rides in burps and bursts, little piles of snow every 100 yards. 
I will say I am envious of his sled when we ride in deep snow, I always wanted a longer track on the F5 and lower gearing. Most of where i would ride is narrow goat paths on steep hills. Where I will have to wrestle it out and stomp a path he just stands on the throttle harder and wiggles.