97-99 600 twins

Shopping for newer sled

Can't afford new

Anyway I seen a few 97-99 Vmax 600 twins for sale at fair prices $2000-3000 canuck

XTer and XTCs mostly

I know they are not the fastest 600s

I sure I read the 97s had piston problems

I want to know what kind of reliability these 600 twins have

How are the chassis' after many miles aka thing to look for

I have ridden the 99 and 97 before for a few miles and found them ok riding sleds good comfort and good handling

As long as they will do 90mph I am happy,I ride mostly in 50mph range anyway

I would rather have the 700 triple but they have kept their price compared to the 600 twins

I want something reliable I know most Yamahas have been extremely reliable over the years-I owned 2 SRVs and still consider my 86 SRV the best sled I owned

I am coming off a 95 STX 583-heavy but reliable over 15,000kms on sled

My dad has a 98 XTC 500 if you are looking for a nice sled that is not

beat this is one nice clean sled. it is all stock no studs the track is has 2

years on it sled will start 1st or 2nd pull. there is more but i cant think of

it if you have questions ask Thanks Jeff!

Twins

Now this opinion is only an opinion. I have owned a 97 600 twin and the power was great. The sled handled great and ran with the group on the trails. The twin will shake prety bad compared to a triple. Now for the economy, the twins drink oil and gas like a 800 ski doo. They are very thirsty. The triples are on the other hand smooth, very economical on gas and oil. You will be better off saving your cash and finding a triple sled. Just my opinion but I am telling the truth.

ya but if you like to hanle your sled instead of it handling you stick with the twin. i find my bros viper too muleish to handle in the trails. on the lake look out cause its up and gone but in the trail he looks at my 500 sxr's flap all day either that or i pass him . yes it drinks more but it is totally propotionate to how hard u use your right thumb. i can come close but the tripple is still better on gas. i am willing to sacrafice a little fueleconomy for the trail handling any day. and for mnote the oil consumption is only slightly worse than the viper if it is set right and you are using synthetic oil whitch i did all last season.

I've got a 97 500 XTC and a 98 700 XTC. Everything these guys have told you is right on the money. The 600 is a shade heavier than the 500 but if you like to play the twins are a ball to throw around. As far as fuel consumption goes, the twins love it. You will be paying the same as your buddies with 800's. I haven't seen a big difference in oil consumption however. My 700 gets about 4-5 mpgs better on the fuel mileage but the front end is no comparison to the 5. After riding the 5 for a few hours and hopping on the 7 its feels like someone dumped a cord of wood under the hood. Don't get me wrong, I love my 700 and thats my prefered sled to ride but when its going to be a play day I take the 500. If I plan on a long trail ride and some lake playing its the 700 hands down. Seems there's always a time in every ride where we will find a nice gravel pit or some rolling hills to play around in and each time I wish I had the 500. But when it comes to wide open, long flat trails, and long flat lakes...Theres no replacement for displacement! Also, I've got 6000 miles on my 500 and 7000 on my 700. Never had to turn a wrench on either except for mods. Stone cold reliable sleds.

Thanx for the replies

Yman i am in Ontario,but thanx anyways

Other then engines how are the chassis holding up after many miles???

I had a 600 twin and it was a great sled. The only problem I had on it was I took out a piston and cylinder, but that was my own fault. I ended up putting on twin pipes and some other goodies and it ran real strong. It was great on the trails and shined when they got twisty. I ended up with over 6k miles and never had any other problem. Stock they were sort travel (8"). I ended up putting maxx performance long travel shocks under it, and then later a viper rear suspension and camo 9830 track. This sacrificed some speed, but helped in the big bumps. I also ended up putting long travel shocks up front. All this was relatively cheap to do as I got the parts used off of TY. Another great improvement was putting on C&A skiis. The stock steel ones are crap.

I'm now riding a warroir but still have the ol '97. It is a little different now with a 700 tripple-tripple under the hood and a f-cat rear suspension.

The only chassis problem I've had was the rivets holding the left trailing arm mount under the footwell loosened up. Not a big deal as I just put some new rivets in it and it has been fine. That was on the 500. The 700, with 1000 more miles on it, is still just as tight as it was new. Of course, the 500 has taken alot more pounding than the 700. For what its been through I'm very pleased with the chassis longevity.

If your not stuck on getting a twin,you can pick up a used sxr 600 or 700 pretty cheap.I had a sxr 600 and it was the best handling sled i ever had.I ride very agressivly and that engine never skipped a beat,ran great and sounded even better.

i have a 97 600 sx with 6000 miles, This sled has been very good and reliable. Its has had some problems as most do. Never been stranded.

Issues
Broken w arm

elongated rivet @trailing arm mount on foot rest

track lasted 3 years 2500 miles. The new track after 3.5k is still 100 % better than the stock was.

Head light leaves allot to be desired

and i did change the piston after 3000 miles or so

Good luck