95 polaris xlt worth taking?

[Mustang71]

My dad offered me his 95 polaris xlt 600 today and I'm not sure what to do. I have 5 acres of wooded land that I live on its not really good snowmobile riding land. I do a good amount of wood cutting in the winter and my sportsman 500 gets the job done. Is it worth having a snowmobile for hauling wood and occasional riding? Or is it just one more thing to store and maintain. I had an old artic cat when I was a kid and didn't use it much. Any thoughts?

 

[svk]

He offered it to you for free?

Snowmobiles sure are nice when the snow gets deeper. Get a plastic sleigh and you can haul wood really easily once you get a packed trail.

 

[Mustang71]

Yeah for free. He bought it probably 5 years ago for 500 and only uses it once in a while for ice fishing but it gets stuck in the drifts on the ice. So I can have it or its going up for sale

 

[NSMaple1]

Well, if you get by with what you have & don't have much other chance to use one, or haven't felt the need for one before, you will likely find it a hassle. Three carbs on it to maintain, for one thing - guess it depends how much you are or aren't into that kind of thing, old sleds do need maintenance.

And that's an old sled, way outdated & old tech. And very heavy for trying to get around the woods with. But if it's free, you could always take it, see what happens & how things go, and try to sell it if it doesn't work out - they were pretty popular at one time. At least you wouldn't be out anything - unless a piston gets scuffed from a gummed up aforesaid carb, or the track goes to pieces, or something....

 

[wrx-snowdrift]

Well, if you get by with what you have & don't have much other chance to use one, or haven't felt the need for one before, you will likely find it a hassle. Three carbs on it to maintain, for one thing - guess it depends how much you are or aren't into that kind of thing, old sleds do need maintenance.

And that's an old sled, way outdated & old tech. And very heavy for trying to get around the woods with. But if it's free, you could always take it, see what happens & how things go, and try to sell it if it doesn't work out - they were pretty popular at one time. At least you wouldn't be out anything - unless a piston gets scuffed from a gummed up aforesaid carb, or the track goes to pieces, or something....

Completely agree. A free sled is hard to turn down but I've often found with older snowmobiles, boats, dirt bikes, atv's, etc. you might be better off to just dig a hole in the back yard and throw money into it.

 

[Mustang71]

Yeah if it wasn't free I wouldn't even be thinking about it since I'm not a snowmobile guy and not a big fan of the cold. I have plenty of projects and money pits already that I don't have time for. I may pass this one up

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

It's not cold if you dress right. I work in -30* at times.

A 95 is a bit older, but provided it's been decently maintained it'll be just fine. Parts are still available too. Shoot my brother stills runs our first sled, a 1974 Olympic my pepere bought new.

 

[Mustang71]

I had a 74 artic cat panther when I was younger and probably rode it 4 times in 3 years it ran great I kept it in nice shape. We just don't get the snow here to ride them a lot. You are lucky to get 2 months of nice snow to ride in and the trails don't open till the end of December and usually there isn't enough snow if any.

 

[johnnylabguy]

I have a brother that every year or so tries to give me his old ski doo. It's simple and in good shape.And I love small engine riding toys. But like you I can't see storing and maintaining something I "might" use maybe 5 times a year. And you know they are never "free". I have two old 70's enduro dirt bikes I enjoy that teach me that every spring!

 

[Mustang71]

Yeah I have a 98 sportsman with about 700 miles on it I plow with it when I can use it all year around for hauling stuff and yard work and I don't mind maintaining it but I'm sure after the snowmobile sits for 9 months and I go to use it that one time it will give me all sorts of head aches. However my dad won't take no for an answer he told me to keep thinking about it lol

 

[johnnylabguy]

Your dad will enjoy it too. That trumps practicality. Take it and have some fun this winter! Take some pics and revive this thread mid January. When he's gone someday those memories are priceless. Good times!

 

[TreeTangler]

Only downfall to those, is when the water pump fails. It's not easy to find a replacement.

 

[tla100]

I had one a few years ago, an Indy SKS with the long track. That was a fast dang sled and had fun a couple years till it blew up.

 

[Bigfir]

If it doesn't have a 136" track, it will be pretty much useless for towing anything, and those triples make all the power at the top end. Heat will be an issue as well since when going slow you will not pick up enough snow for the coolers under the tunnel.

Things have changed.......

I think this sled has the 174" with 3" paddles.....

 

[alleyyooper]

The 600 still has parts you can get today either from Polaris or from places like Shade Tree or Dennis Kirks.
The heat exchangers are under the running board on that model. Makes a nice foot warmer really. easy to kick some snow onto.
XLT's are not known for problems, The 94 XLT is a 579, and the 579's (aka 580) were rock solid. If you look around, you can find some of them with 12 to 15 thousand miles, and still running original motors.

A little much for skidding wood how ever. Might even want to redo the clutch for that tpe of work.

Al

 

[panolo]

It would be nice if it snows a ton. Those motors liked being kept cool. One trick is if it's warming up to fill your running boards with snow and the exchangers will melt it off and keep the sled cooler. Owning older equip is all about preventative maintenance. Fuel treatments if used little, fogging the motor in the offseason, checking/changing chaincase lubes, greasing, etc.

 

[Mustang71]

I think I'm gonna pass on the deal. I've read enough here to see that's it's not the right snowmobile for me it would probably get very little use and I don't have anywhere to really open it up and ride it.

 

[johnnylabguy]

Thanks for asking. I learned a lot from the replies myself.

 

[ttyR2]

From that time period, a twin cylinder Polaris Indy 500 would be much more useful. I have a '94 XLT and it rips with a set of pipes on it and a 136" track...but it's gotta rev to work...not what you want for a utility snowmobile.