View Full Version : 144 vs 155
ChillyKen
10-05-11, 12:10 PM
I was down talking to a sales guy at Bend Polaris today and he was showing me a 600 RMK 144. He was kinda biased toward the 144; but he was like half my weight too. What are some of your thoughts regarding track lengths? I know it depends on what kind of riding I'll be doing; and I can say right up front; I'm not in to trail riding really. I realize you have to use the trails to get to where your riding; but I wanna be out in the open for the fun stuff. I'm an older guy; and am not in to "NO FEAR" radical riding (other than watching others do it); but I also won't ride like a granny either (NOT speaking from experience). I just usually am careful not to ride way outside of my confidense level and skills. Thoughts?
Track length is one of those long running questions. Speaking from experience, the 155 is a really good track length for our mixed bag of snow conditions throughout the season. A 144 is not a bad length either, but on those rare dry wyoming powder days that we do get once in a while, you will be glad you have the 155. The difference between the two is floatation.
Are you looking for a 600? I only ask because if you think you might want more power a little later, it isn't as easy to replace that new sled a year or two down the road for some of us.
I am by no means dogging on the 600, I have ridden a 600 155 up on Mt Baker for a weekend and dang near bought one.
Oregonsledder
10-05-11, 12:27 PM
I was down talking to a sales guy at Bend Polaris today and he was showing me a 600 RMK 144. He was kinda biased toward the 144; but he was like half my weight too. What are some of your thoughts regarding track lengths? I know it depends on what kind of riding I'll be doing; and I can say right up front; I'm not in to trail riding really. I realize you have to use the trails to get to where your riding; but I wanna be out in the open for the fun stuff. I'm an older guy; and am not in to "NO FEAR" radical riding (other than watching others do it); but I also won't ride like a granny either (NOT speaking from experience). I just usually am careful not to ride way outside of my confidense level and skills. Thoughts?
That's kind of a tough call. I’m 58 and a bit over weight and I ride pretty hard, and like you I try to avoid trails. A 600 144 will certainly get you most places in most of our Central Oregon snow, but if you start riding with a group of “typical” mountain sledders you will soon find you don’t always have enough power or track, especially when we get a good dump of fresh snow.
It really comes down to how serious you are about riding the steep and deep.
ChillyKen
10-05-11, 12:32 PM
Yeah; thats another consideration as well. Being a beginner; it's hard to tell; BUT........... I know when I first bought my Honda Rincon; I was looking first at a 400 EX quad. But my wife and others said someting like.... "OH your old and will hurt yourself on a sport bike. Besides...don't you wanna plow snow for the neighbors ?" (Thats not what they said; but it turned out that way) A month after I bought the Rincon; I was deeply disappointed. No wheelies; no jumping. It slid like a sprint car though! (So there's THAT) I'm afraid if I get a 600 144" track; and the 800s 155"- 163" go everywhere i can't go;.....Im gonna be bummed! :( I think I have my answer :) Now if I can sell my side by side; I'm about ready to make a decision.
(It's in the classifieds here and on local Craigslist)
Track speed versus track length. This thread is going to get plenty of input. I have not personally ridden the 600 but am a firm believer in track speed can compensate for some floatation. I would think that a 600 would benefit with or would be fine with a 144. My reason of thought would be that it would allow for the engine to get into the power band quicker or help it keep the track speed up. It is defiantly going to make a difference in the snow and how you ride. If it gets around ok I think a shorter track is more fun to through around and a lot less fatigue at the end of the day. Like Tedd says might be a little harder to sell although the next use may be a lady ( not that a lady can't out ride a 600 but, many can't) ( just wanted to cover my butt on that one) or younger rider. It sounds like Tedd has ridden one and said it is fine but, remember I don't think he likes to get very far off the trail. :eek::rolleyes::)
Oregonsledder
10-05-11, 01:16 PM
I have ridden a 600 144, I just sold it last winter. After more thought on the issue, here is what I experienced and what a guy who I have ridden with for several years on a 700 144 experienced.
In the trees in firm snow you can go any where an 800 155 can go, but you may have to go faster to stay on top of the snow. An 800 155 can go slower with more finess, and still have the torque and floatation to get you though the tight spot without getting stuck as often. My buddy did real well with his 700 144 but when I put a 151 under the same sled, he said it was much easier in the trees because he didn't have to go so fast.
It all comes down to how and where you think you will ride.
Like Tedd says might be a little harder to sell although the next use may be a lady ( not that a lady can't out ride a 600 but, many can't) ( just wanted to cover my butt on that one) or younger rider. It sounds like Tedd has ridden one and said it is fine but, remember I don't think he likes to get very far off the trail. :eek::rolleyes::)
Careful there Timmy, nice butt coverage on the "Lady" comment. You know better than that...... ;)
Trail riders unite! We ride there so our friends with their Ski-Doos can hang with us a little longer than the first hour of the day. ;):p
Tedd I forgot to mention the advantage of being lighter if a person were to run over himself.
Tedd I forgot to mention the advantage of being lighter if a person were to run over himself.
Bwahahahahahaha..... Now THAT'S funny!
I'm going to throw out another point of confusion..... The 146 on the Doo, with the extra 1" of width, is what a lot of the BC riders seem to go with. Master, your XP was a 146, right? Do you notice much difference between the Dragon 155 and the XP 146?
The 600 Pro is supposed to be pretty fun. However, in the past I have heard more than one 600 person talk about wishing they had the little bit of extra the 800 could dish out when needed.
I haven't put enough on the 155 yet. I LOVED the 146. That was part of track speed over length. It took me anywhere my buddies went with longer tracks. You just have to plan your route and where you want to stop. There was a bit of a learning curve. I think a 600 would be fun if the rest of your group was on 600s.
ChillyKen
10-05-11, 06:51 PM
Wow; alot for a newb to consider. So the Doo track is an inch wider than the RMK track? Hmmmm, I can see where the extra floatation and track speed might be comparable. Digging is a big concern for me. I've seen a few video's of RMKs digging there selves out of a stuck condition. Do ya think maybe an inch extra wide track may also have more traction? A 146 sounds like a happy medium; and i know the Doo motors are rated as some of the best (According to the sales guys over at Pro Caliber) :)
Oh; and one more question......Does the shorter track (144" - 146") make the front of the sled loftier? (For some reason the Doos just LOOK like they are front heavy....but I don't know)
Personally I would stay away from the Ski-doos for that one simple reason, especially as a newb..... One of the biggest learning curves for many riders is one of the best tools that you can have for riding the backcountry and that is the ability to carve and side hill. I have found on every Ski-doo that I have ridden that 1" wider on the track makes a HUGE difference when it comes to being able to roll a sled over on it's side and keep it there.
Leave it to Ben to throw a curve ball into the mix.:confused:
The other thing to remember Chilly, this is ALL personal opinion. There is not one person out there that can tell you what the best sled is for you. We can only provide you with our opinions and let you decide from them.
If I was going to buy a new sled, I would go with an 800 Pro 155. : )
gary ol kitty
10-05-11, 08:19 PM
And get passed by a Pro Climb :p
If I was going to buy a new sled, I would go with an 800 Pro 155. : )
Interesting.........:rolleyes::confused:
And get passed by a Pro Climb :p
As long as you don't hit anything with those 12" tall spindles.....:p
bigger the better if you want less stucks out in the fresh pow.
89sandman
10-05-11, 09:04 PM
wow didn't realize they made a mt. sled in a 144;) thought that size was for flatlanders!!! seems silly:)
this is the problem when you first get into this sport, you need to figure out what kind of rider you want to be. i would very seriously suggest renting a couple of sleds and see exactly how much effort your willing to give to get what you want. riding off trail sounds great and fun but when your first starting out it is a big shock to many to find out how much time you will spend digging yourself out and how much effort it really takes. on deeper days at first if you want to ride the untracked fluff you may find you spend more time with a shovel in your hands than the handle bars!!! the learning curve is hard to say the least and it takes a large amount of effort and some time to even start to become good at it.
when i first started riding sleds in the mid 90's bought 2 brand new polaris trail sleds. remember how proud i was to have them, had been riding our atvs in the snow up until then. needless to say they were up for sale the first time my brother inlaw took me off trail on a couple of his rmk's. lost my butt dumping those new sleds less than 2 months after i bought them but couldn't of been happier to see them go. a new sled loses about 1/3 of its value in just one year. was a very expensive lesson for a young family man!!!
the first time i buried one deep it took 20 minutes to dig it out, what an eye opener that was. had never even come close to sticking an atv anywhere that took even half that amount of effort to get it out. my bro inlaw just laughed, we were only maybe a couple hundred yards from the trail, he said get used to it you've only just begun. he was right, spent more of that ride digging than riding by far but had never had sooooooo much fun in my life. what he could do effortlessly i could only dream of doing.
there are so many different kinds of riding you can do and its a very costly experience if you pick the wrong sled. the only way to know is to get out there and see. many peeps enjoy just cruizing the trails and seeing the sights. for others a great day is riding to a certain spot and jumping off trail in a field or two and heading back. some check the grooming report to see where the trails will be smooth and easy to ride. while others want nothing but to be the first up on untracked untouched pow and kringe when they see any sign of other tracks or other peeps;)
i know if you end up riding like you intend the 600 144 will be a disappointment. don't get me wrong it is a great sled, for certain conditions and smaller lighter folks. not a sled for a full sized male who doesn't want to always be following his buddies tracks. but if you were disappointed with the rubi and wished you got the 400ex you can double that. a 144 is not a track length for the deep, fine for setup days but when theres 2 or more feet of fresh it will struggle and if you ride with guys running 800 155's and longer you will feel like your on a 300ex and they're riding banshees.
there is no one perfect sled for all conditions, you have to give to get. finding out what you really want to do will determine what sled you'll be happiest with. if you don't want to wait until theres enough snow to get out and experience it first before you buy a sled, would suggest buying a used 700 M. this will get you on a newer style chassis which rides close to what the new ones are. if you ride part of the time sitting down you will want to get a 2010 style seat. you can pick a decent one up for 3-4k and you will be able to sell it in a year for what you bought it for. assuming you don't get to be buddies with any trees! then when your sure what you want would spend the coin on a new one you'll be happy with. also if you do buy used make sure you take someone along who knows what to look for. it can look great and need thousands of dollars in repairs.
this is just my opinion, not trying to tell you what to think or do, just stating what i've found out for myself. maybe you'll find it helpful, maybe not, just thought i'd put it out there for you...
oh and to answer your original question, even though the 155 is a little long for a 600 engine i wouldn't buy anything else;) whatever you do end up buying just get out there and ride it. nothing like a day in the pow to make you feel 20 years younger... or older depending on how much digging you do!!!
89sandman
10-05-11, 09:14 PM
And get passed by a Pro Climb :p
why, did the pro rider stop to take a break;)
89sandman
10-05-11, 09:21 PM
Tedd I forgot to mention the advantage of being lighter if a person were to run over himself.
lmfao, had totally forgot about that, that is a trick i can honestly say i haven't seen repeated since!!!
i looked at the 2011 in the showroom.the price on the windshield was way to high imo.unless it had a turbo or ? under the hood.
ChillyKen
10-06-11, 08:59 AM
I appreciate it guys! I know it is all opinion; but theres a whole lot of wisdom built in to your posts. I have a daughter and son in law in there 20s that I am always wondering "What are they thinking? If they would just listen to me; I could save them a lot of heartache and money in learning lifes lessons." I know youngsters need to learn the hard way sometimes; but I'm no youngster. I'll take good ol fashioned wisdom from others experiences any day. And when the day comes to test ride; I'll at least have a good idea of what I'm lookin at. Even to rent is an expensive lesson if I were to choose sometin like a two up trail cruiser (which was my first choice in Yamaha last year) (Not that theres anything wrong with that;...... just not my bag) :) instead of a competent mountain sled; so already I'm ahead of the game. (I learned that from you guys) I've done so much research in the last year that I almost feel like a seasoned rider. In sports they tell you to focus and "invision" yourself performing in your chosen sport; and boy have I done that! Especially with having sled DVDs. I just hope it doesn't turn out like when I took snowboard lessons up at Bachelor. (By the way.....snow boarding is NOT like surfing. It's more like driving a fork lift!) :)
I don't know about a forklift but I do know it is like throwing yourself out of a second story window over and over again. The only difference is you are paying to beat yourself.
ChillyKen
10-06-11, 09:37 AM
LOL! I talked my wife in to taking lessons with me. Afterwards she wouldn't talk to me for a week!
So last year I had suggested we get a 2 up sled...... heh heh...... ! After conversing with you guys on the forum here; she's all for me getting a mountain sled (That turned out nice) :)
I was meaning to infur that snowboards turn from the back. The guys at Bachelor told me "Oh...it's just like surfing" I grew up at the beach in California. Apparently the guys at Bachelor have never surfed. :)
every body came from california.LOL.sometimes i miss the southern cali warm weather but never miss those crowded freeways:)
ChillyKen
10-06-11, 06:44 PM
Where abouts? I've lived everywhere from Pasadena (Temple City) in LA County to Carlsbad and Vista in San Diego County. And yes.........the freeways are horrible! I USED to have patience; now I get mad if theres traffic on 3rd street! Ha ha! :)
san fernando valley.if you dont buy before the snow flies,you can take my xp for a spin.:)
but if you break it you buy it.LOL
Ford428CJ
11-03-11, 08:10 AM
wow didn't realize they made a mt. sled in a 144;) thought that size was for flatlanders!!! seems silly:)
Really!? LOL I still ride a 141" and do quit well on it. LOL
Longer tracks do have there place.... I'll step it up to a 156". 153"~156" seam to be common place anymore. Kind of like 2000 when 141" where the BOMB.
Ford428CJ
11-03-11, 08:17 AM
I'm going to throw out another point of confusion..... The 146 on the Doo, with the extra 1" of width, is what a lot of the BC riders seem to go with. Master, your XP was a 146, right? Do you notice much difference between the Dragon 155 and the XP 146?
Not really Ben. The 155X15 is 1162.5 sq in and the 146X16 is 1168sq in. So the 146 has a bigger foot print then the 155X15. Whats the confusion!? LOL