Let the Pow fall and the riding begin

[Marmot MB]

Hi all, Long time skier, long time motorcyclist of all types. Have owned a motorcycle since the age of 16 and not a year passed without riding. Skiing took up some of my winter time and need to ride, but..... for too long I thought of owning a Sled and keeping the riding going all year long.

This is the year said to hell with it you only live once, follow your dreams, some great inspiration ! and after some exhausting research into the brands and models, and countless hours of internet searching I found a great sled. under 1000 KM, amazing condition, lots of goodies.

I decided on the Arctic Cat M8 based on recommendation and research of my own. I likely won't keep this sled long. I tell everyone who buys their first motorcycle, don't get attached, you are going to destroy it, drop it, scratch it, do all the the things everyone else did to their first bike. I suspect the same will be true with a sled.

I set a budget fairly low, and tried to find the best I could within that. Well I lucked out found a true Gem and hope I don't beat the hell out of it because it has been very well taken care of.

Settled on a 08, electric reverse, MBRP can, new y Pipe, 163 track, fox shocks, frog skins all the way around, side vent kit, 8" risers and only 974 km on the clock.

Will do some riding around home, but will get to Revelstoke as much as I can, looking forward to sledding and more so Sled access SKIING ! Going to be a great winter of learning, new experiences, fun times and lots of new riding sensations.

seems like a great place here, lots of good tech info and helpful posts.

 

[Bogger]

Welcome...

Can't go wrong with an M8.... May not be the most "flickable" but dependable as they come, those motors are as close to bullet proof as your gonna find in a sled.

 

[Marmot MB]

Bullet Proof is the primary reason I went with the M8. My research clearly showed when looking to buy used. Most ads on Ski-Doo's, Polaris stated top end / bottom ends done at ??? KM (usually under 3000 had some sort of end work done)

Whereas the Arctic Cat M8 series I saw many many units with high KM and no end work done at all. in fact almost all of the M8's I viewed as used had no mention of top or bottom end work needing to be done.

Diamond Drive however is another matter, it does appear to be a issue with the M*, however it appears if one is diligent about changing the fluid regularly it is not so much a problem and regular inspection of the output shaft bearing is required.

I have heard reports from some that have ridden both the 07 - 10 series of the Skidoo Summit that the M8 with internal bogies are in fact better handling and more "flickable" than the Summit.

Granted the M8 may be down on some power from the Summit but..... I will take reliability over a bit of extra power any day of the week. We spend alot of effort, time and money to get to Interior BC remote riding locations, to be up there and not be able to ride is not on my list of cool things, never mind breaking down 50 KM from the truck.

Every brand has their quirks and problems, but it seemed very clear to me the Arctic Cat M8 is a reliable machine.

 

[ferniesnow]

Welcome to S&M :d

 

[ACP]

Welcome to the show, you made a wise decision IMO, the other nice thing you can do is easily get more RELIABLE power out of that engine and I'm not 100% sure but I believe there might be a relocation bracket for the front arm in the skid that gets it up on the snow better, other wise just ride it.
Oh and I would keep my eye open for a 2.6" track as there will probably be some good used ones coming up for sale and that will be a huge improvement over stock. Good luck and enjoy

 

[Trashy]

Welcome to snow and mud

 

[Marmot MB]

Hi, thanks for the welcome. It was painfull seeing all the snow fall this weekend and knowing it wasn't yet enough to ride. I had lots of work to do on my new trailer I purchased to ready it for the sled, so it was a weekend of working my tail off to get as much done as possible Friday, Sat and Sunday. It is now ready to take the sled properly, still have some trick custom things I want to do but all in time.

So far seems like a really great forum, lots of info... now if only I knew somewhere close to Edmonton to go for some quick rides..............

bit lost on the purpose of joining Alberta Snowmobile Association but haven't done much reading yet of what it really does for me to be a member. Access to trails in and around Edmonton ?