Dont forget the Phazer
I think you have to put the Phazer in that list too. Ive got one and its been great.
Not all that fast but reliable and pretty decent fuel milage.
Last winter I was out riding with my brother and his wife. It had been 40 degrees all that day so we decided to do a night ride.
Well, let me just say that the conditions werent exactly what you would call, "ideal". It was about 45 degrees with a light rain. For the most part the trails we found were pretty bare in spots with "snirty" snow. Shortly before we got home we had to cross a lake. About halfway across the lake had about 3" of water on top of the ice. The whole way across my sled would sputter on occasion from the spray of water hitting the exhuast pipe.
Needless to say, I shouldve stayed home on that one.
However, the Phazer ran just fine. My brother and his wife had to stop about every 10 miles (he had a '97 Polaris 440 XCR and she has a '98 Polaris Indy 500) because they sleds would start to overheat. I didnt have any problems with overheating (I was glad that my sled is fan-cooled on that day).
Also, on average my Phazer gets about 16-18 mpg and it will do about 70 mph on the lake. Thats pretty good for a 15 year-old sled if you ask me.
Sure, the suspension isnt exactly the best (I can make the front bottom out pretty easily) but overall its a very nice sled.
I think in the next year or 2 I will be in the market for a nice '01 or newer 700 SXr or SX Viper. Ive been able to find some '97-'99 600/700 SXs but most of them have 5,000 miles on them. Besides, those years the sleds were red. Im a pretty big fan of motocross, and to me its just not right unless a Yamaha is BLUE. I have heard that in he past, Yamaha's race colors were red. I believe the Moto GP factory team's bikes are red also. The Phazer is really nice but I want something with a little more power and better suspension. Its good to hear that the 700 is pretty bulletproof, does the same hold true for the 600?
Do you think it would be worth it to wait another couple or years and save up for an SX Viper? I dont really race that much or do any ditchbanging, most just trailriding. However, the rest of my family rides Polaris, so we have a lot of "friendly" competition when we go out riding and I want something that wont take a backseat to a 2002 Polaris 600 XC.
Thanks