What do I need to know about snowmobiles before purchasing?

[Manedwolf]

MW:
Sweeeet. How much?

"If sir must ask the price, sir cannot afford it."

Those are nice, but holycrap expensive, any I've seen. Only ones I've seen here are rescue stuff in the mountains.

Of course, I also saw someone bouncing around a hill on a Kettenkrad, which wasn't expected!

[Ryan in Maine]

Where do you go from there? Hovercraft? *Shrug*

[stevelyn]

Stevelyn:
How do you winterize a four-wheeler?

Thanks for all of the information. I've mostly been concentrating my research on Polaris and Ski-Doo. What do you think would be good for northern Maine out of their recent '08-'09 lineups?

I doubt I would need anything more than a 440. My only real experience on a sled is with a Ski-Doo MXZ440 and a Yamaha, the model and year of which I'm not sure of, but it was closer to the 600 region. At 5'8"-5'9" and 160-170 lbs I really prefer the 440. I'm not looking to outrun anyone and I'm not looking to put it to work on a ranch/farm either.

I've never been stuck on a sled either. Is the cure as blatantly annoying and straight-forward as it sounds?

Not a lot can be done to winterize a 4-wheeler beyond making sure the coolant is mix is strong enough to keep it from freezing up at the lowest temperatures you're likely to encounter and going to lighter oil in the crankcase.

All of them are going to work well in Maine. Some better than others depending on conditions. You have to decide on the conditions you are going to be riding in. You don't need a 600 RMK mountain machine or 650 Summit if you are going to be running mostly conditioned or broken trails.

For what you're going to use it for, a sport machine in the 440-500cc range would fit your needs. A touring or sport touring machine with a 2-up seat if you are going to have a passenger. Me? I'd get the 2-up seat. I've picked up more women while on a snowmachine than I have in bars. But that's just me and that's another story. 

Polaris used to make a 340 and Ski-Doo a 380 that would also work for what you want. I don't know if they are still in the line up though.

It's really going to come down to personal preference after heading out to a dealership and taking a look at them up close. There's really a lot to choose from. You may even decide to go a with something else completely different than what you had in mind.

Yes, if you get stuck in deep, unbroken powder, it's going to be a bitch getting it unstuck and positioned to where you can start moving again. Having a lot of suspension travel (10" or more) helps.

[Bogie]

Well, never did a snowmobile, but I grew up on a farm that operated in the winter. Gitcherself a stout come-along and some extra cable with good stout dealies to cinch stuff together. Or chain. Chain packs tight, and is pretty strong. But it's heavy.
 
If you're going to be riding in a place that gets environmentally conscious folks, put a vertical bar in front of the windshield, and keep your head under it... Every so often, idjits string barb-wire at about neck height "to teach us a lesson."