Help me buy a sled (part deux)

mars_man

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Joined
Sep 6, 2003
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Age
39
Location
Chelmsford, ON
Alright, the SX 700 I was talking about in the forum was JUNK... The thing was rolled, and beaten to death. (who does that to a Yamaha?...grrrr...)

SO....

I can geat a pretty good price on a 1998 V-max 600 XT twin. I think that this sled would be better suited for me cause I am looking for a lightweight ditchbanger. I honestly think I don't need a 700 triple.

How are these 600 twins?? I rode a 1994 VX 600 and it hauled pretty good, but heavy... There is barely any info on them anywhere. The only aftermarket stuff I can find are AAEN twin pipes and reeds. Oh yeah, I also found a Power Shift clutch kit. But other than that nothing... Anyone make a thin headgasket?

Any input on this sled would be greatly appreciated.

Oh yeah, can I do the silencer mod on it?

Thanks.
 

Where are you from, my brother has a 00 srx with 800 miles and a 97 xt 600 vmax for sale.
I personally like the triples better, a little crisper and more responsive. If you buy the 98 600, I would defenitally put a thinner head gasket and clutch it. They ran pretty good tweeked a little.
 
For me the gas mileage improvement on the triples make the motor choice an easy decision. If you like the bumps minimized, then long travel is a plus. Sheer power, and performance make the SRX hard to beat. I'm not really helping am I?
 
Hey, I am in nothern Ontario. Where is the 97 XT 600 situated?

I haven't bought a sled yet, but I am still looking. (money is burning a hole in my pocket) I am leaning more and more towards a 500 SX SXR or a 600 twin SX.

Anyone out there have any input on the 500 twin? Every magazine out there says they are the slowest 500... Can they be improved upon with gearing and clutching. All I am looking to get here is a lightweight ditch banger sled.

my budget is 4K CND, not a penny more.

Descisions, descisions.

Later.
 
I got your PMs, but in case anyone else is looking for this info...

The Yamaha 500 sleds got a bad rep because of WAY conservative Grandma clutch set ups from the factory. With the set up I posted in the Tech Page (thanks again Turk!) you can really wake them up.

As far as head gaskets, Pioneer Performance makes one that helps, but some folks claim the 500 has detonation problems with more compression.

Honestly, I'm very satisfied with my sled, once I got all the power to the track.

XT's come with no rebuildable gas bag shocks, like the Vmaxes. They last forever and ride much smoother than the SX's and SXR's, but if you're a ditch banger and weigh 200lbs, the SXR's shocks are the way to go.

I'm putting Viper shocks on my Vmax after 4500 trouble free miles on the stock steel skis. I've yet to ride another sled that handled and rides as good as mine, all others are stiffer for those occasional big bumps! While mine will bottom once or twice a day when pushing it, it's also easy on ya.

XTC's come with softer valved KYB gas shocks like the SXRs. Great riding sled.

Good luck!
 
mars man- get a 700 single pipe tripple!
XT,XTC,SX,SXR-you will be very happy that you did. The 698cc single pipe
motor reminds me of the old phazer motors: bullet-proof,good on gas, never foul plugs, always consistent-always.most new 600cc twins will have more peak power-not yamaha 600cc twins-but the 700 yamy will have good throttle response and good power everywhere-just don't go race a xc700sp ,mxz700 or a firecat f7 and expect to win. the 600 yamaha twins were-not the best.most were fine, i have seen some that had the piston ring locator pins come out??-new cyl. and piston/rings??
I think they wanted people to put new updated pistons/rings/gaskets in them. they were also very poor for low-end response/power. The 500 is the better twin - just clutch it. It also had bad clutching-very bad backshift
from the factory.
Hope this helps,
-MATT
 
definately go for the triple, you won't be disappointed, much better on gas, in fact on of the best machines on fuel in general, better throttle response, plus you'll get pastic ski's and a few other extras. If you want a ditchbanger get the SX, a bit lighter, but they are not the fastest 700's for sure, if you want speed get the SRX, but by what I read, you'll want the SX, there an excellent machine
 
600 twin

I just sold a 97 600 XTC after riding it for about 4 years. I took me about 1 year to realize that I should have bought the 600 or 700 triple instead. If you can, try to find a 99 600 SX (triple) or a 700. In the long run you'll be much happier. There just aren't any performance parts available for the twin. You might be happy with it for a little while but when you want to start to "kick it up a notch", parts will be hard to come by. Remember, the 600 twin has not been made since 99, and the 500 is no longer made (2002?) and perf parts for that are fewer yet!

Just my $.02

WrdAl
 
Alright, so according you you guys, I should either get the 600 or the 700 triple. If I go with a twin get a 500.

Well, I going to have to make up my mind soon... I will most likey end up with a 97 700 SX. I like those sleds, I don't really want long travel, just a light ditchbanger... The reason I had the twin in mind was to stay light.

As for comparing the 700 triple to the 485 Phazer engine, well my Phazer was my favorite sled of all I have owned a 90 and a 93, had a PSI pipe and I loved them, they made awsome ditch bangers and I would often put 600, 700 riders to shame on it cause I could flick it around a pole lines easily, with the gas to the bar all the way.

I have 3.5 to 4K max to spend in Cdn dollars. I believe it will be difficult finidig a 99 or newer for that price. So i will look at 97's 98's.. or a little newer if they are 500's.

Another thing I was curiuos about was how well the 97 and up sled can transfer on take off? do they wheelie OK? I know this may sound dumb, but I like a machine that can stand up at least for a little while on the holeshots, makes it more exciting. I am mostly asking this for the 500... cause I know the 700 should be able loft the front skies easily.

I remeber last year, when the local lake froze up for the first time, there was a 500 SX that was cleaning house, he was smoking absolutlely EVERYTHING accross the bay, It was insane... even had the SRX for a good while before it would beat the 500... well, it had 500 badges on the side anyways...

Anyways, that is a long post sorry... I just wanna pick the right one... and well we have no snow yet and that makes test rides impossible.
 


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