Not a sledhead and need help

[muc33]

I am really considering getting a 2up for my ice fishing. I have an older sled now and it a fine unit, but small track and with my fat butt and gear pulling behind it, I get stuck all the time. Plus I have the occasion to have my daughter join me or bring another guy with on long trips on the lake.

I know absolutely nothing about sleds and will ONLY use this for ice fishing. My sled never got started last year except to go ice fishing. So I don't want to spend much but want something that will serve my purpose, it doesn't need to be fast, or look good, just reliable and workable for what I described.

Help me FMers, what am I looking for?

[leech~~]

If you don't have a lot to spend, a 2up "so you can take your daughter with" 340 or 440 will work for just fishing and slow pulling a light porty. And a used one should not cost to much. But, get ready here comes the "you should buy a 700-800 RMK" guys!

[hydro]

I personally would not go with the 440 or smaller motor since they have very little power and you will not find a two up model in that motor class. Try looking at the 500/600 motor size since that's where most of the touring sleds will be. The motors are reliable, liquid cooled, make enough power for your needs, and you should find lots of them on the market in the next month or so. Try and get something as new as you can afford since the mechanicals and parts availability will be much better.

Also, when you look at the deals, try to get as many accessories as possible. Things like a cover, manuals, oil, any clothing or helmets that fit, and a trailer are nice to get in the deal!

[gregg52]

and reverse

[hydro]

I agree 100% on that one. Reverse is a wonderful thing.

[leech~~]

I personally would not go with the 440 or smaller motor since they have very little power and you will not find a two up model in that motor class. Try looking at the 500/600 motor size since that's where most of the touring sleds will be. The motors are reliable, liquid cooled, make enough power for your needs, and you should find lots of them on the market in the next month or so. Try and get something as new as you can afford since the mechanicals and parts availability will be much better.

Also, when you look at the deals, try to get as many accessories as possible. Things like a cover, manuals, oil, any clothing or helmets that fit, and a trailer are nice to get in the deal!

Polaris makes a few older models like the Sport lite that come in 340 & 440 which have planty of power to pull a porty at low speeds. Some also have Rev, & Elc start. You don't need to waste the power of a big eng, if your just going to be putting around a lake most of the time. If you can afford it then by all means get the bigger sleds. I have a Polaris Sport 550 2 up and it does everything I need it to do. And it's not bad on the trails if I want to hit them.

[BoxMN]

There are lots of other posts asking the same question, so if you do a search you will find tons of info. Many people stop answering after the fourth or fifth time Just saying... hehe...

But I will answer again - I got a 2002 Yammie Venture 600 two up and it works great for ice fishing. I actually pull two sleds behind it, one shack and one tub with "stuff" in it. I don't have studs, but if you are going to ice fish only, I would recommend studs.

I also pull a sled behind an old 88 Indy 400 and it has plenty of power and works great still. I traded an old canoe for it! I personally think the Artic Cats two up are the best for ice fishing that I have seen, though I don't have one, they seem to have best racks and just look heavuy duty.

I also have a 02 Polaris XC 500 but I don't pull a sled with that one, it just wants to go too fast and get high rpm. But I would say any of the Polaris 500 two ups would be great choices as well.

I agree on the reverse 100% and will say the electric start on the Yammie is darned nice. Good luck, let us know what you end up with! Here is a pic of mine:

[leech~~]

BoxMN, good advise. If you need an extra guy sometime on one of your sled porty outings let me know, I hit the Brainerd area a few times a year. Lost one of my fishing buddies (son) to Collage for the winter so I'm one man down!

[WTN4ICE]

I picked up a 95 XLT 2up for a grand it may be a little more machine than I really need for puttin around the lake but it's what I ended up with.Sometimes I find a smooth stretch and blow out some cobwebs. All in all it works great and the increased mobility is fun.

[Surface Tension]

If you have a friend that knows about sleds and what to look for in used, take them along and have them inspect the sled.

I've got two Ski Doo 380 Touring 2up 136" long tracks. On the ice and with a passenger, 50 MPH with a loaded Otter Lodge is fast enough. The smaller engine isn't going to spin down to bare ice when its time to go and I don't have triple lungs to cough out when putting along. Those 380s are excellent engines. Smooth and very little vibration.

Electric start is nice.

Reverse I can live without but then again I don't stop where I can't leave going forward. If your trailer has a ramp instead of tilt then reverse is a must have.

Liquid vs Air, if the right sled came along at the right price I'd take either one. Liquid is nice for a lake sled if the heat exchangers are in the tunnel for the reason slush isn't as apt to freeze.

[MN Mike]

Theres a couple good examples of some real nice 2 up sleds, I would imagine something like that XLT above you should be able to find in the $1k - $2 range depending on mileage and overall condition, good power to boot.

If you happen to get on CList, you'll find lots of 2 ups, if a person was looking for a Cat, the Panthers are probably what you want to look for, should be able to find 340, 440, 370 and 570 Fans, 440, 550 and 660 Liquids in just about any price range you're looking for. If you find one, Panteras are a step up in the touring / 2up class and will have a few more options. A couple others worthy of a look are the z440 ( fan ) and zl440 ( liquid )sleds in about the '98 - 2000 year range, not sure if you will find a 2 up unless someone put a 2up seat on them but a couple of very dependable sleds for sure.

A couple nice things with the liquid cooled sleds is the power and a few of the Cats you'll find will have EFI on them, an option that is definetly worth it! Of course one of the downfalls with a liquid is cooling on either hard pack snow or low snow conditions, you can take measures to help the cooling but you have to be aware of that.

If you're looking at the 2up class of sled, you'll probably end up with a 136" x 1" track which will be just fine for fishing.

A couple times a year we have a pretty sizable crew on Lake of the Woods, sleds range anywhere from a 340 Fan to a 900 EFI, haven't had to go retrieve anyone yet because they didn't have enough power, sleds are a whole different animal these days.

Good luck shopping, let us know what you get.

Mike

[muc33]

Thanks guys, most of the technical stuff you said was WAY beyond me, but Surface Tension and I fished together last year and I think he knows the pain I am in as far as the sled I have. It works fine late season on LOTW when things are packed and such, but on a fresh snow I kept burning down to the ice and had to get up and tug and over and over I am way to fat and out of shape for that. And I don't understand sleds enough to really know better on what to do. I was hoping to keep it to the grand price point but have my sled to sell to help out as well, if I can get a few hundred for it, I have more options. I just don't want to go to overboard being I live in extreme SW Mn and we usually don't have any snow to ride on like real sled guys like so thi really will just be an ice fishing machine.

I appreciate the help and will start my hard searching with the tips you have given, thanks. I will give an update when I make a decision.

[broken_line]

i have a 1999 arctic cat jag 340 and it has PLENTY of power to do really whatever i want it to other than plaster my buddies snowmobile when you can it..

[Esox_Magnum]

I'm in the same boat, have 1 I'm looking at a 550 Pantera look like new for a 2000, now to get my bonus.

[gregg52]

muc33

i see you are way down in wortington

use to pheasant hunt down in lakefield my dad and his frends had 4 farms down there that they were the onlys they hunt

it was fun

any way not sure if you bought a sled i just happen to see a 550 2 up 550 cat on the board up at the store last night

looked good they were asking 1100 so alittle haggling who knows

it was like a 96 or something i dont know if thats a good deal or not

it looked pretty clean i thought

[Neversummer]

what about putting studs on your old sleds track. If u say your sled Is a good runner why not try it out. if u only use it for ice fishing u shouldn't run into any problems Then u have a grand to upgrade other things

[muc33]

muc33

i see you are way down in wortington

use to pheasant hunt down in lakefield my dad and his frends had 4 farms down there that they were the onlys they hunt

it was fun

any way not sure if you bought a sled i just happen to see a 550 2 up 550 cat on the board up at the store last night

looked good they were asking 1100 so alittle haggling who knows

it was like a 96 or something i dont know if thats a good deal or not

it looked pretty clean i thought

Gregg52, I would love the info. Please email me at [email protected]

Thanks

[gregg52]

not a whole lot more i can tell you

heres the # 218-963-9763

[cementhead21]

Personally i would look for a Trail Indy with the 488 fan cooled. reason being is most of the liquid cools need snow to kick up on the heat exchangers to keep cool. The 488 motor is for the most part bullet proof also. and enough power to take for a decent trail ride if you care to. They can be found fairly cheap also. I have owed two of them and the last one i picked up for 1200$ and it had just over thousand miles on it and mint. the first one i would have still had but went to the ex in the divorce.

[NoWiser]

In MY experience (not trying to tick anyone off or start a debate, this is what I have personally noticed) the older Arctic Cats have been much less dependable than some of the other brands. If I were looking for a good, dependable fishing machine on a budget there are only two models I would look at. The first being any Polaris with the 488 motor in it, like Cementhead said, they are as bulletproof as they come. The second would be about a 10 year old Ski-Doo LE with the 440 fan in it. Starting in the late 90's they came with the RER reverse, which runs the motor backwards rather than having the additional weight of a mechanical reverse. My dad has a 1999 Ski-Doo touring LE and that thing is absolutely great for fishiing. Its very light for a 2 up and has been the most dependable sled he has ever owned. The electric start is nice, too. It won't handle as nice as the newer sleds, but hard to beat for a fishing machine. My two cents....