21 replies to this topic

[calatis TT Bronze Member]

hello all

im on the prowl for a used snomachine but pretty clueless on what to look for . im looking to buy a 1996 polaris xlt 600 tripple sks

for a 1000 bucks, all i know abot it is that it was appenratly rebuilt 2 years ago sez the chassis has 8000 miles on it and the engine 1000 miles and claims its a 100 mph machine,the seats ripped and hand warmers dont work. what do you guys think of that? is there anything i should watch out for when buying a sled
any knownledge or information about this make and model would be greatly appreciated

Edited by calatis, 23 December 2012 - 05:00 PM.

[originalmonk]

How about you just stick with getting your Kawi running awesome and then work on getting a sled........

[calatis TT Bronze Member]

originalmonk, on 23 December 2012 - 04:41 PM, said:

How about you just stick with getting your Kawi running awesome and then work on getting a sled........

im selling kawi tomorow 1800 i got it starte put all plastics back on her and wd 40d the crap out of it

[originalmonk]

You spent $1800 for the bike, put in a few hrs worth of time and a bit of money and now your selling it for less? Seems kinda pointless!

[calatis TT Bronze Member]

originalmonk, on 23 December 2012 - 04:51 PM, said:

You spent $1800 for the bike, put in a few hrs worth of time and a bit of money and now your selling it for less? Seems kinda pointless!

i still have to fix that leak too havent got there yet

[SnowMule]

Triples, especially triple-pipes, are a b*tch to tune and get to run right.  Everything's gotta be in sync and right, or the whole thing runs like crap.  For that reason alone, I'd stick to a twin.

If the seat's ripped and the grips don't work, kinda makes me wonder what else is wrong with it.  Kinda tells me the previous owner didn't take care of it.  The grips are always kind of a pain, but it's not hard to keep those operational.

Who did the rebuild?  Cylinders resleeved at that time, or just new pistons?  What kind of miles?  8K sounds reasonable, albeit a bit high, on a trail sled... 8k mountain miles is end-of-life for the sled.... chassis, motor/crank, suspension ...

[calatis TT Bronze Member]

SnowMule, on 24 December 2012 - 06:52 PM, said:

Triples, especially triple-pipes, are a b*tch to tune and get to run right.  Everything's gotta be in sync and right, or the whole thing runs like crap.  For that reason alone, I'd stick to a twin.

If the seat's ripped and the grips don't work, kinda makes me wonder what else is wrong with it.  Kinda tells me the previous owner didn't take care of it.  The grips are always kind of a pain, but it's not hard to keep those operational.

Who did the rebuild?  Cylinders resleeved at that time, or just new pistons?  What kind of miles?  8K sounds reasonable, albeit a bit high, on a trail sled... 8k mountain miles is end-of-life for the sled.... chassis, motor/crank, suspension ...

he said he put in a crate engine has a 1000 miles on it

[skisnh TT Silver Member]

calatis, on 26 December 2012 - 01:38 PM, said:

he said he put in a crate engine has a 1000 miles on it

[calatis TT Bronze Member]

skisnh, on 26 December 2012 - 05:03 PM, said:

he called it a crate not sure if they make em or he good a whole new engine not sure if possible

[calatis TT Bronze Member]

im looking at 97 now polaris xlt trade for my 99 kx 250 am i crazy?

[skisnh TT Silver Member]

calatis, on 23 January 2013 - 03:49 PM, said:

im looking at 97 now polaris xlt trade for my 99 kx 250 am i crazy?

IMO yes...If you want a sled dont get a triple unless all you plan to do is run lakes and wide open trails. 2002 ish ZR600 is a great first sled for a dirt bike guy. Fast, handles and set-up correctly can bang ditches.

[calatis TT Bronze Member]

skisnh, on 24 January 2013 - 07:08 AM, said:

IMO yes...If you want a sled dont get a triple unless all you plan to do is run lakes and wide open trails. 2002 ish ZR600 is a great first sled for a dirt bike guy. Fast, handles and set-up correctly can bang ditches.

thanks for that running lakes is exactly what i plan on doing  i have the bay des chaleurs to play on campbellton newbrunswick

[calatis TT Bronze Member]

i got the sled but it idled fine iuntil i gave it a shot of gas then it idles at around 4000
i called the guy up and he said he adjusted it that way. i thought it was a ir leak somwhere but still not sure,7so i put the idles screws all the way in now im not sure how many turns out i need to make it run at around 1200 or 1500 not too sure.
the rear shock on it sucks it has no rebound at all if i sit on it shell drop right down  when i get up she only moves a bit . but if i pull up on the rear end shell stay up till ni sit on her. the guy tells me its because its cold out?? is that possible

[skisnh TT Silver Member]

calatis, on 28 January 2013 - 01:26 AM, said:

i got the sled but it idled fine iuntil i gave it a shot of gas then it idles at around 4000
i called the guy up and he said he adjusted it that way. i thought it was a ir leak somwhere but still not sure,7so i put the idles screws all the way in now im not sure how many turns out i need to make it run at around 1200 or 1500 not too sure.
the rear shock on it sucks it has no rebound at all if i sit on it shell drop right down  when i get up she only moves a bit . but if i pull up on the rear end shell stay up till ni sit on her. the guy tells me its because its cold out?? is that possible

seller doesn't want to take responsibility for the sled...ask him when he rebuilt the shock ( i bet the truth is never ) with regards to the air leak check the carb boots before you burn the thing down.

[calatis TT Bronze Member]

skisnh, on 28 January 2013 - 04:25 AM, said:

seller doesn't want to take responsibility for the sled...ask him when he rebuilt the shock ( i bet the truth is never ) with regards to the air leak check the carb boots before you burn the thing down.

i turned the idle screws each 2 turns out and tried to pull it over this morning ,its very hard to pull the first few pulls then  alil easier but no go dont know if i flooded it maybe the idle screws are important for start up i have no idea what im doing she just wont start

[skisnh TT Silver Member]

calatis, on 28 January 2013 - 09:18 AM, said:

i turned the idle screws each 2 turns out and tried to pull it over this morning ,its very hard to pull the first few pulls then  alil easier but no go dont know if i flooded it maybe the idle screws are important for start up i have no idea what im doing she just wont start

It will be hard to pull over when cold....

Have you pulled the plugs? are they wet or fouled. Triples are known for fouling plugs.

[calatis TT Bronze Member]

skisnh, on 28 January 2013 - 09:35 AM, said:

It will be hard to pull over when cold....

Have you pulled the plugs? are they wet or fouled. Triples are known for fouling plugs.

i pulled them and they are a lil brown there a 2 new and 1 old one all pretty brown i let the old one soak in carb cleaner for a bit but not the others but before i try to start it id like to make sure my idle screws are all right ,im not sure if they effect the start up procedure, know what i mean..? i srewd them all the way in put some nail polish on the tops of them and turn them each 2 turns out but they dont look all the same lenght out tho, i hope i didnt screw shit up, besides that i pulled the clutch side cover off and noticed a cable under the clutch with like a rod sticking out of it like an inch long not sure what it is but looked under it some more and noticed a thing it might fit in and sure enough i screwd it back in not sure what it was but it wasnt connected before  i doubt he fixed anything on it that guy he told me he redid the engine last year and fixed the chain case and stuff pff! the hand and thumb warmers work real good tho. do you have any iudea how i can readjust these idles screw to stock and do you know what that cable is under the clutch that i fixed? the temp gauge doesnt work i dont think either it never moves there some sort of long copper looking cable out of it with like a spring around it, its not connected to nothing he just has it wrapded around the cable that keeps the cab from falling to far over .
any ideas?? do you know of any tricks to find out if i have a decent sled?

[yamahakid88 TT Silver Member]

check the track for any wear on it, check bogey wheels for bad bearings, any lost clips or guide clips, i think the guides are actually built into the lugs on this model but i could be wrong. You can check the runners on the front ski's aswell.


EDIT: oops old thread!

Edited by yamahakid88, 14 February 2013 - 05:58 AM.

[tractorferret TT Bronze Member]

calatis, on 23 January 2013 - 03:49 PM, said:

im looking at 97 now polaris xlt trade for my 99 kx 250 am i crazy?

why would you trade one of the best dirt bikes to be made that can go year round for a sled that can only be used at very specific times of the year?

Edited by tractorferret, 02 March 2013 - 02:42 AM.

[leafsrule16 TT Silver Member]

Don't get a sled. I live in NB and although we seem to have had a good month or two of sledding, dirtbiking is a may to november passtime, if you're lucky you might get a month or two of good snow for a sled. Not to mention at that price range all you'll find is junk, they're much higher maintance and cost a ton to fuel. A good day on the sleds cost us $100, I got rid of my sled and am not looking back. Your 125 is nice, seen it on kijiji a few times (just sold my kx125 on kijiji NB a few weeks ago).

Warning you right now though, you're going to be all summer without a bike to have a shitty worn out sled. If you're going to buy a sled and you're hell bent on them buy one nice or don't buy one at all. There's so much to go wrong on them and no matter the condition they're almost always broken or in the shop.