New sled or upgrade 97 Polaris Ultra SPX?

New sled or upgrade

  • Buy sled from Dad and leave alone

    Votes: 4 26.7%

  • Buy sled from Dad and install M-10 or M-12

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Buy sled from Dad and install Expert-X skid

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Buy sled from Dad and upgrade shocks only

    Votes: 4 26.7%

  • Wait till next year and possibly buy new sled.

    Votes: 7 46.7%
  • Total voters
    15
sandmanmike1

sandmanmike1

New member
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
847
Age
52
Location
Wyandotte MI
My dad has a 97 Polaris Ultra SPX 700 with triple cylinder, pipes and carbs. The sled only 253 miles on it. It kinda has a heavy feel to it. I can buy it off of him pretty cheap and change the suspension with a M-10 or Expert-X and have less $3500 total in the sled. If I buy a new sled I am talking $8000 or more. Do you think I should this or not. How much would a Expert-X cost. I have not seen pricing.
 
Not sure at the moment. Waiting a year to see what happens with new products and we have contracts expiring in Sept of 2007 for DaimlerChrysler. Most likely a Vector GT or something like that. HP is not a major concern. I mainly trail ride.
 
i wouldnt stick that much money into a sled that old. throw a good set of shocks in it or swap the suspension for one out of an edge chassis polaris. you can make a huge difference for under $500.
 
age is the killer with sleds. technology has come a long way. its a good reliable sled, but the suspension and ergonomics leave a bit to be desired. if you like the sled then upgrade the rear suspension and throw some straiter handlebars on it. it will be a lot more enjoyable then. i just wouldnt throw $1,700 into it.
 
My dad wants to sell the sled and I don't want to see him give it away. What updates to the suspension should be done. I can workout out a good payment plan with my dad.
 
ive heard nuttin but problems with the fugi triples. buy buddies 600 blue up tiwce in less then 50 miles if that. he paid 1500 for it and only went on one real ride. he has totaly given up on snowmobiling becuase of the sled. plus IMO polaris hasnt had a state of the art chasie untill the IQ racer. and in mhy eys a company that uses a chasie(indy) for almost 20 years isnt too concerned in thier sleds. its pretty bad when they cme out with teh indy prototype in 79 and kept it till 98. id much rather ride teh sled u have or spend the money on a new sled then go half a$$ on a sled that no better then ur sled now and alot less reliable.
 
terret725 said:
ive heard nuttin but problems with the fugi triples. buy buddies 600 blue up tiwce in less then 50 miles if that. he paid 1500 for it and only went on one real ride. he has totaly given up on snowmobiling becuase of the sled. plus IMO polaris hasnt had a state of the art chasie untill the IQ racer. and in mhy eys a company that uses a chasie(indy) for almost 20 years isnt too concerned in thier sleds. its pretty bad when they cme out with teh indy prototype in 79 and kept it till 98. id much rather ride teh sled u have or spend the money on a new sled then go half a$$ on a sled that no better then ur sled now and alot less reliable.
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some fugi tripples had trouble, but the ultra 680 was one of the best ones. i had a 97 ultra and sold it with almost 6,000 miles and it NEVER took more than 3 pulls or ever gave a hint of trouble. and dont start bashing polaris about outdated components. the proaction was hardly high tech and polaris has had superior suspensions for a long time. how many polaris owners have swapped the stock suspension for a yamaha suspension? its the other way around!
 
i wanst trying to bash but ive seen nothing but trouble with the mid 90s Polaris triples. thats just my experience tho. i wouldnt mine owning a new polaris but not anything from before the edge chaise came out. id rather ride a 92 yamie then a 97 polaris but then again id really like to ride the IQ. and its easier to switch out a suspension to one that rides better then it is to put a motor in ur sled that will last 10 times longer.
 
I won't claim to know much about them. My father-in-law has a 95 or 96 Polaris 600xlt tripple and it's super smooth. Starts easy and he doesn't have any problems with it really. It probably needs a tune up but he doesn't mess with it and it keeps running. I personally am evidence of the family payment plan and that's why I have my 96 xt.
 
i actually had really good luck with my polaris fuji triples, had two of them, the XLT Specials with the fuji 580cc monoblock triple. The '93 i had was PSI tripple piped and clutched its whole life and i finally smoked the crank bearing with 9,900 miles. But in '95 they ran a dedicated oil line to the pto bearings and that greatly improved the durability. Or there was always the option of the big dog pto bearing.
 
Do you want to buy our 2005 Vector ER for 5K? It is in new condition with around 750 Miles on it. Awsome sled! Don't want to sell, but have to. PM me if your interested. My wife stays though! This is a pic of us picking it up.
 

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Id say buy it, and ride it for the year, jsut for something to ride, cuz I mean, being a snowmobiler not snowmobiling in winter just doesnt work!. Dont put any money into it tho, wait to get a better one next season.

The Polaris triples suck, cant even count how many times Iv seen the inside of those motors, or seen them on the sides of the trails with their hoods up. I will say that on the right day (very rare), they run liek a absolute champ, but if the temp or snow conditions are a little off, they run really doggy.
 
This sled pulls hard and steady. It starts with 1 or 2 pulls. If I ride it every few days it starts with 1 pull. I have a 94 Vmax 600 with pro-action venture skid already. I can install better rear shock in this sled for 209 dollars. It is a Ryde FX 9200 which I am told should need to be rebuilt every 3 or 4 years compared to every year with a fox shock.
 
depends on if you like the sled or not....me, I think they are a bit ugly and not really a great trail sled. you said you mainly ride trails, and thats not eally where that sled would shine. I liked the wedge polaris sleds a LOT more!
 
Ride it! I believe it has a extra 10 rear suspension which don't ride bad at all. The 680 was a good motor also. Yes they are a little nose heavy but for that price go for it.
 
used to have a polaris rxl 650 fuel injected.. all i had was problems left right and center..wasnt pulling like it was supposed to changed the computer ran ok for a week ..was pulling real hard..it was quite fast.. then the computer blew again..after that i had it changed to carbs... worked well then i found a deal on my srx so got rid of it( sold to my bro in law) still runs like a charm if taken care of properly
 
I like those old wedge sleds like that rxl. seems like a fun project sled. I would like an old xcr 440 some day :) like I said, if you like the sled (try it where you ride it for a day first) then what the hell. you might be able to sell it or at least use as a trade-in when you want a new sled :) keep the sled youhave now though, wont get enough for it and it is worth more to you I bet
 
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