Snow Way Snowmobiling Dealers and Manufacturers				OK The 2006-2007 Season is Here...Let It Snow...Let it Snow...Let it Snow...
Snowmobile Lessons & Safety Instruction Learn to ride safely from professional instructors or find out where free safety courses are being given. Snowmobile Laws & Requirements Check the legal requirements and New York State Laws. Snowmobile Clubs & Associations Join a snowmobile club today. Clubs abd associations keep this sport alive and enjoyable. Past Seasons This is a few places we have traveled with friends and enjoyed this sport. Also some other events we have taken part in. Riding & Vacation Locations Where to ride and where to stay. Couples, groups or families can find the right accommodations. Rent a Snowmobile If you do not own a snowmobile you can rent one at theses locations.  Local Lodging When in the southern Catskills, stay for a little while. The area is absolutely incredible. Weather and Trail Info. Know before you go. The weather can change in a very short time. Learn weather terminology. Gear and Accessories Get the right gear for you and the ride you are planning. Remember comfort in clothing makes the entire day on and off the snowmobile. Manufacturers and Dealers Who makes snowmobiles and where you can buy them. Also advise on how to buy used snowmobiles. Contact Information Have questions? Ask our staff. We will attempt to help you with any information we have. Our goal is to make your ride the safest possible. Snowmobile Publications and Local News Articles Snowmobile Publications and past newspaper articles from local papers regarding snowmobile activities and accidents. FREE CLASSIFIED ADS List your snowmobiling related items for free. Home Page		*SNOWMOBILE MANUFACTURERS AND RECOMMENDED DEALERS* *ADVICE* Nearly everywhere in the world, A snowmobile, is a machine that gets used anywhere from 2-5 months out of the year. The rest of the year it's stored away, waiting for winter. How it is stored makes a big difference on the expected life span of the machine. Indoors in a controlled climate is the ideal scenario as there is minimal temperature change and thus, less chance of condensation. Stored in a closed trailer is better than out under the old oak tree, but not by much since temperatures can swing much higher in a closed trailer with no ventilation. Condensation is the enemy since it will rust steel and corrode and pit aluminum. It's also bad for paint and plastics. Many sledders will take a jumbo can of WD40 and soak the sled down with it in the spring before storing it away...all the aluminum, the engine (inside and outside), the clutch, the suspension, the drivetrain, etc. Sure it makes a mess, but it's easier to clean a little oil off things than a bunch of rust and corrosion. There's a lot of opinions on what's the best way to preserve your fuel system...empty? or full? Empty ... and there's no chance for fuel to deteriorate and turn to varnish, or premixed oil to separate , thereby fouling those precious carbs, or worse, injectors. Full ...and there's no chance of any condensation forming in the fuel system because it's full of fuel, just make sure you put a fuel stabilizer in there or you'll end up with 5 gallons of worthless chemicals next winter. A word of caution to premix sleds, all oils will separate out of gasoline given enough time and cold temperature. Try to keep your fuel agitated before starting your engine. FIRST THINGS FIRST Don't buy the first sled you see. Bring a friend and a flashlight. Do a couple of practice inspections on friends' sleds, discuss the results. OVERALL APPEARANCE Is the sled clean and straight? Sight down centerline, and down the skis. HAS IT BEEN CRASHED? Check for bends, scrapes, cracks, and welds on bars, exhaust, plastic, and chassis. HAS IT BEEN RACED? Check for small (1/16") safety-wire holes in bolts. SLED-SPECIFIC Know the characteristic flaws of the models you're going to see. BRAKES Check for smooth operation, no warpage, pad material remaining, etc. CLUTCH /BELT Check belt for wear and signs of cracking. It's best to remove the belt from the sled for inspection. GAS TANK Look for rust or a milky paint-like coating on the inside if metal. Dark gas (tea colored) is an indication of old gas that needs changing. SEAT Look for cracks/tears/etc. TRACK Check for cleats, spikes, signs of aging, or other damage. ELECTRICAL & BATTERY Test all lights and switches to make sure they work. The sound of the starter cranking is a decent meter of the battery's condition. SUSPENSION Check shocks for seal leaks, scratches/nicks/bends/twists in bodies and shafts. SKIS Check both sides of both skis for bends/cracks. Check skegs for wear. CHAIN/SPROCKETS Check for chain/sprocket wear (stretched chain), adequate lubrication. EXHAUST Rust/damage/leaks ENGINE/FLUIDS/CARBURETORS Check starting and operation of engine and carbs. Check for leaks. SERVICE Service records available? Proof of warranty work? Etc. ACCESSORIES, PRICE, and DEALING Are you willing to pay more for add-ons? HELMETS Used helmets are worthless. Forget about them. TEST RIDE Go on one if you can -- you can learn a lot about a sled this way! INFO FOR NEW RIDERS Start with something easy to control. Resist the temptation to out-do your friends. AFTER THE PURCHASE Some tips after you get your sled. TO CONTACT THE WEBMASTER OF THIS SITE SEND EMAIL TO: Webmaster@Snowway.net Last Updated: 11/09/2006 06:42 PM Copyright 2002. The Snorider		*RECOMMENDED DEALERS* A Great Family and Good Honest Service RT. 32, ROSENDALE, N.Y. 845-658-8844 LET'S RIDE MOTORSPORTS 101 S. Putt Corners Road New Paltz, New York (845) 256-9800

How To Buy a USED SNOWMOBILE

FIRST THINGS FIRST
Resist the temptation to buy the first sled you see. Look at a few of them to get a better idea of the used sled market/options before you buy one.

Bring a friend to help you stick to your guns, or to help you load your new sleds onto a truck, or help you to inspect the track. Sled-savvy friends may also notice things that you forgot to check. Make sure they also read this guide ahead of time.

Bring a flashlight to aid inspection. Even in daylight.

Request that the owner not have the sled warmed up when you get there, but tell him/her to make sure that the sled will start. If the owner asks why, tell them that you want to test the sled's ability to start when cold. (It's a lot easier for engines to start when pre-warmed.)

You don't need to follow these instructions in any particular order, but I do recommend reading through them before you get to the seller's house. If you're new to snowmobiling, you may find some of the terminology complicated. Try studying some of the INSPECTION PICTURES listed below.

And as noted previously, try to bring a friend, particularly one who knows sleds.

Bring riding gear in case the seller will let you test ride the sled. (If you're new to snowmobiling and don't have any gear yet, perhaps the sledding' friend accompanying you will be kind enough to bring his/her gear, and do a test ride for you.)

You'll have to go through and carefully inspect used sleds being sold by dealerships, too, since many dealerships take used sleds as trade-ins, make minimal (if any) repairs, and mark the sleds up over "blue book" value. It's up to you to find defects (and to know what the used sled's real value is!!) to get these guys back down to earth.

As a general rule of thumb, when work needs to be done to repair a problem with the sled, most dealerships charge around $50/hour for labor.

If you aren't really experienced with sleds, do some practice inspections! Find a couple of friends with sleds and pretend that you're at a seller's house inspecting a used sled. Go over a couple of sleds in minute detail. You'll learn a lot about how sleds are put together, and you might even find some things that your friends missed. Take notes while you're doing the inspections, and go over your findings with your friends after each inspection.

OVERALL APPEARANCE

Does the sled look nasty? Cracks and scratches all over the thing? Appearance can be deceiving, but it should give you some indication of the general condition beyond what you can see.

Do fasteners look stripped or gouged? Is everything kinda loose and ill-fitting? You don't need to be a mechanic to tell when the person has mangled something on the sled. The sled should also be physically and cosmetically symmetrical.

Step back and look down the centerline of the sled. If something looks obviously wrong ( the windscreen is tilted, etc.), the sled has probably been crashed.

Basically, try to answer the question: "How does the overall cosmetic appearance of this sled affect how much I want to pay for it?"
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HAS IT BEEN CRASHED?

Look for: deep scratches on the running boards and on plastic, a different/non-standard paint job (the owner might have repainted it to hide damage); cracks in plastic bodywork obscured by stickers. Sometimes handlebars will be bent in a crash and replaced with a slightly different style, or it'll be hammered back into shape so it doesn't look obviously bent. (In the latter case, look for thin cracks in the plating or powdercoats of the bars... it'll look something like a spider web of hairline cracks.) .

Sometimes a crash will twist the skis. Sit on the sled with the bars pointed straight, sight along the skis and see if they're at all twisted, bent, toed-in, or toed out. If you get a chance to test ride the sled, get the sled going straight, and take a quick look down at the bars to make sure they're pointed straight -- if they aren't, the front has probably been twisted in a crash.

Scratches and shallow chips tend to indicate a tip-over rather than a crash at speed. (Crashes, of course, tend to do more damage -- tip-overs rarely do more than minor cosmetic damage.)

Crashes can cause bodywork problems for two reasons. Besides scratching and cracking the bodywork, crashes can bend the bodywork's mounting brackets and break mounting tabs.

Check to make sure that bodywork pieces that fit together do so easily and have an even seam where pieces come together. And check to make sure that the bodywork isn't loose because mounting tabs were broken off.

HAS IT BEEN RACED?

Racing puts tremendous stress on machinery. You may or may not want to buy a sled that's been raced (the price ought to be lower than it would be otherwise). Having said that, sometimes, racing sleds are some of the best maintained sleds out there.You should definitely try to find out if it has or hasn't been raced, so you can adjust the price accordingly if need be.

Look for holes drilled through the heads of bolts, which racers use to safety-wire bolts in place. Check: brake caliper mounting bolts, exhaust pipe bolts, engine case bolts, water drain bolts, etc. The holes will be small, about 1/16", and should not be confused with the 1/8"-3/16" holes and castellated nuts that are often used with cotter pins.

Check the frame for cracks, usually along welds or in key stress areas. Check around the engine mounts, and, if possible, welds in the front cowling brackets and rear frame area.
Pay attention to riveted areas of the chassis. Look closely around the rivets for dark marks indicating that the joint is becoming loose and the rivet or parts are moving.

SLED-SPECIFIC

Some models have specific problems that you should be aware of. Ask dealerships, sled-savvy friends, etc. Read magazine reviews.
Learn as much as you can about the models you're interested in. (Try old sled magazines, local dealer service department, etc.)

BRAKES

Support the rear of the sled and, gently apply the brakes*. They should engage smoothly and prevent you from moving the track . (Though you may hear a click as the brake-light switch engages.) Now release the brake lever and verify that the track may be turned... Are the brakes off, or are they dragging? (They should be off.) If not, the brake calipers need adjustment or work.

*=If you squeeze the brake lever and it comes all the way back to the bar without much resistance, something's very wrong. Check to make sure that there's adequate pad thickness, and make sure you get a professional mechanic to inspect the brakes before you try riding the sled.

At the very least, the system needs to be bled. About $5 of brake fluid and half an hour of labor.
Check remaining brake pad material. There should be at least 1/8" of brake pad material on each brake pad.

For sleds with disc brakes, get in front of the sled and look into the calipers, on either side of the rotor(s). A flashlight might help here, even in daylight. The pads are the raised parts that directly contact the brake disc.

Disc brakes continued: rotors should be a certain minimum thickness and shouldn't vary more than a certain amount when spun. This kind of information will be in the service manual. Even if you don't have the tools for those measurements, you can inspect the rotors for cracks, deep wear grooves and other damage.

Brake fluid should be a very light amber. Darker than honey means it's time to replace the brake fluid. Not expensive, but possibly an indication that the owner hasn't followed the maintenance schedule. (Or maybe the sled has just sat for a long time.)

Inspect the brake hoses for nicks, cuts, dry-rot, and leaks.
New brake pads are around $25-30 per pair. Brake rotors are usually around $150-250 each. OEM brake lines can be expensive, but if you have to replace them, a very good alternative is braided stainless-steel lines, which cost a lot less and offer better brake feel and longer life.

TORQUE CONVERTER

Ask the owner how many miles it's been since the torque-converter was serviced. Owners who keep close tabs on sled maintenance will know. That's a good sign. Most owners probably don't know.

Hopefully, it won't be all covered with burnt rubber and rust, indicating neglect. There should be no discoloration or grooves in the pulleys. Inspect the belt for signs of wear. The best way to do this is to remove the belt from the sled and turn it inside-out, this is where the cracks will initially form.

The only practical way to test the clutch is to get the track off the ground and start the sled...the clutch should engage and operate in a nice smooth and quiet manner.

GAS TANK

Most modern sleds today have plastic fuel tanks, but is you are looking at an older sled with a metal tank, look for dents, rust and/or loose sediment. Rust/sediment is bad -- it clogs carburetors.

Sleds with rusty tanks need to have the rust removed... drop the price $150 or so. You should open the tank up and see gas and either plastic, or bare metal. If you see a milky paint-like coating on the inside of a metal tank, the tank has probably been etched and coated. Make sure it runs -- sometimes this recoating can clog the fuel's path out of the tank.

Knock on the side of the tank to see if it's metal or plastic. It should be fairly easy to tell whether or not you're looking at metal or plastic. Evaluate the tank's condition accordingly.

Ask the owner about Sta-bil or other fuel stabilizers....these are a must to keep a full tank of fuel from deteriorating and ruining the fuel system.

Dark (coffee or tea-colored) gas in a oil injected sled indicates that it's been sitting around for a long time. Not a good sign. Get it changed immediately, and anticipate needing a thorough fuel-system cleaning. (Around $5 of parts plus 2-3 hours of labor.)

Obviously, sleds that use pre-mix fuel can have a wide variety of colors. Again, ask about Sta-bil.

SEAT

Look for: tears in the vinyl cover. New upholstery will cost around $100-150 from an auto/marine upholstery shop. Seats with cracks and tears retain water and get your butt wet . Highly annoying.

TRACK

Check the track for cracking, dry-rot, delamination, excessive rust, etc. Tracks are not cheap and a faulty track can leave you and your sled stranded. Look closely.

Pay attention to the track clips also.The track clips are used to prevent wear on the track from the sliders and suspension components.

The more spikes that a track has, the better it's traction on hard surfaces. They do get torn out occasionally so don't be surprised if you see an empty spot in the patterns. Spikes also weaken the track, expect a shorter lifespan with a fully spiked track.

A new track can cost anywhere from $500-$1000. Adjust the price according to what you find.

ELECTRICAL & BATTERY

Check to make sure the headlights (high/low) work. (On some sleds, the headlight won't come on until the engine does, so you may need to start the engine to test this.) Make sure the starter works if so equipped. Make sure the brake lever lights up the brake light. Make sure the horn works.

Basically, check all the switches as well as the signaling and instrument-cluster lights. (Bulbs are pretty cheap to replace.)

If the sled has one*, you should also test to make sure that the tether kill switch stops the engine when it's running. Make sure the kill switch on the handgrip stops the engine when it's running.

Batteries are very hard to test without the appropriate tools, and even then they're kind of mysterious and unpredictable. For our purposes, if the battery starts the sled, it's good. If it doesn't, $50 to replace. As noted below (in ENGINE/FLUIDS/CARBURETORS), warm sleds start much easier, so take that into account when making a subjective evaluation of the cranking sound.

If the sled doesn't have an electric starter (i.e., it's a pull-start), there's no good way to test the battery without examining the lead plates for white sulfide deposits (bad) and checking the specific gravity of the acid with a battery hydrometer. Most auto parts places should carry those; just make sure you get one with a long, thin tube, since most automotive battery hydrometers are too large to fit into snowmobile batteries.

On the other hand, if your sled is a pull-start, it doesn't depend on the battery too much, and checking it is less important.

SUSPENSION

Ask the owner how long it's been since the front suspension has been serviced, (miles and/or years.) it should probably be greased every year. Rod ends and pivot joints wear very fast without adequate lubrication. Replacing them is not necessarily a complicated fix, but it is if you don't have the right tools, and most people don't.

Straddle the sled, and push down vigorously on the front end. It should go down and come back up with some resistance. Do this a few times. Inspect the shocks. They should clean and free of oil. If, after bouncing the front end, you see little rings of dirt on the shock rods, that's probably fine, but wipe them off with a rag and bounce the front suspension a couple more times. Not good if you see oil left on the shock rod after you do this.

Check the steering bearings and tie-rod ends. There should be minimal play and smooth operation.(If the owner doesn't have a workstand, you might be able to use a jack or a block to raise the sled off the ground, but be careful not to damage a sled that you don't own.)

The suspension should move up and down almost silently if you bounce it up and down. Clunking or squeaking noises are bad. Binding is very bad and indicated bent shocks or worse.

Push down on the sled's grab rail (or passenger seat), hard. The sled should spring back up, but with a little resistance. If you don't feel any resistance at all (like you're just pushing down on a spring), it's time to replace the rear shocks. (Reasons: either a seal has failed inside the shock, or the oil has broken down so much that it doesn't provide useful resistance.)

Certain premium aftermarket suspension units (Ohlins, Fox) offer substantially increased suspension performance and are fully rebuildable. Expect to pay a little more for this equipment. Aftermarket shocks often have remote reservoirs (typically a cylinder attached to the frame and connected via a hose), though since many late-model high-performance sleds come from the factory with remote-reservoir shocks.

It pays to do a little research to find out whether the sled you're looking at came with one stock, or had some money put into upgrading its suspension.

Rear suspension sliders are a "wear item". If the sliders are worn unevenly, they may need replacing, or this may indicate that something is out of adjustment. Proceed with caution.

SKIS

Look carefully at both sides of both skis for bends. Look at the underside of the skis for wear indicating that the previous owner didn't change worn skegs in time. Check the condition of the skegs and if so equipped, the carbide inserts on the skegs.

The rule of thumb is that if you have carbide in your skis, then you should have spikes or cleats in your track, so ask why if you only see one.

Metal skis can develop cracks after a while. Pay attention to the area where the ski mounts to the suspension. Many late model sleds have plastic skis that wear very well except on pavement and rock.

CHAIN/ SPROCKETS/ GEARS

Fortunately, the drive chain for a sled has a pretty good life...sealed in a housing with either grease or oil, it has the easiest job of the entire machine as long as there's adequate lubrication.

Open the drive chain enclosure. Inspect the lube. Does it look like it's been in there since "day-one"? How about the level?

Grab the chain and pull away from the sprocket. If you can pull it off the sprocket enough to expose half of a sprocket tooth (or more), it's time for a new chain. Sprocket teeth should be absolutely symmetrical.

EXHAUST

Look for holes (from a crash or from advanced rust.)

Rust on the exhaust is usually cosmetic, but advanced rust (older sleds?) might have caused holes in the exhaust pipes requiring pipe replacement.

Exhaust pipes are a common aftermarket accessory... see ACCESSORIES, PRICE, and DEALING, below.

If the sled has more than one exhaust chamber, start the engine and, holding your hand a few inches back from the exhaust tip, feel to see if the pressure coming from each canister is roughly equal. It should be. (If it isn't, one of the cylinders probably isn't firing.)

If the sled has aftermarket expansion chambers, ask the owner if the carbs were rejetted to compensate for the new exhaust.

ENGINE/FLUIDS/CARBURETORS

We want to see how this sled starts in cold weather so if the engine is warm, let it cool and check back later. Electric start makes starting even temperamental sleds easy but if the sled you're looking at is a pull-start, make sure you can start the engine when it's cold.

The engine should start easily (with some choke*, if it's cold) and sound reasonably good. If you hear obviously bad sounds like rapping, clacking, or uneven exhaust note, you might be looking at en engine that needs some work. The engine should rev smoothly off idle.

Don't redline it when cold. After it's fully warmed up, open the throttle and see what happens. Hesitation & stumbling = carburation problems.* A test ride will help you gauge whether or not these will be easy to live with.

*=These comments refer to carburated sleds. Some more modern sleds are fuel-injected: instead of carburetors, the sled is equipped with throttle bodies and fuel injectors. Fuel-injected sleds sometimes have a "fast idle" lever instead of a choke lever, but some detect the need for an enriched (choked) mixture by computer, and automatically adjust the fuel-injection accordingly.

You should not experience any "carburation" problems with a fuel-injected sled, and if you do, they may be harder to correct than on a sled equipped with carburetors.

Some sleds use a fuel pump which may need to build pressure before the sled will start. If you flip the ignition switch to "on" and hear a whirring sound from the gas tank, wait for it to finish before thumbing the start button.

If the throttle opens with a lot of resistance (and then won't snap closed), there are a couple of possibilities, none of which is really good news: The carbs may be fouled with gas and varnish.

If the sled won't start, that definitely points to this possibility (rather than either of the next two.) A good carb cleaning will either cost around $200 of shop labor or $5 + 1-3 hours of your time, depending on whether you have a shop do the work or you do the work yourself. (Warning: not for the inexperienced or mechanically challenged -- there are lots of small and easily-confused parts.)

The throttle cables may partially seized, or simply routed improperly. This may mean that the carbs are fine. It's very hard to check while you're visiting a prospective acquisition, but try straightening cables or untwisting them and see if the behavior changes substantially.

Liquid cooled sleds either have radiators up in the engine bay, or a heat exchanger above the track in the tunnel. Inspect these very close as they can be expensive to repair or replace.

Check coolant level. Find the radiator overflow bottle, and see if the coolant is between the "high" and "low" lines on the bottle. If you can't find the coolant overflow bottle, trace the thin coolant tube back from the radiator cap assembly -- it almost always goes to the coolant overflow bottle.

The coolant itself should be a neon green, not brown or even a murky green-brown. You'll need to remove the radiator cap to check the coolant color, something you never want to do when the engine is still hot. If the radiator cap is hot (be careful!), do not open it -- come back to this step later, when the engine's had time to cool down. If you can safely open it:

Bright green coolant is good. Brown-colored coolant probably has rust in it (bad!) . This indicates that the insides of the engine have started rusting. I'd have a professional mechanic look at the sled so you know how bad the problem is. And/or consider giving up and looking at other sleds.

Finally, no coolant in the radiator is extremely bad.

And of coarse, fluids leaking from the engine are a bad thing. Probably just new gaskets, but possibly worse. If you don't feel qualified to decide, I'd recommend having a mechanic give you his/her opinion, or simply giving up on the leaker.

Engine compression: engines are basically air pumps, and must seal tightly to work well. Engines that don't seal well will be hard to start, will burn lean , and will have reduced power.

Old engines will tend to exhibit this more than low-mileage ones, but newer engines that have been abused may also have low compression numbers. Unless you know what you're doing, have a shop do a compression test on the sled.

SERVICE

Ask the owner if the sled has been serviced according the manufacturer's specifications, and, if so, ask for service receipts as verification.

If you feel uncertain about the sled's condition, it's not unreasonable to request that the seller take the sled to a mechanic of your choosing for inspection -- at your expense.

It's also not unreasonable to expect that the seller might to try to sell to someone who won't make him go through the added hassle of doing this.

As noted in the FIRST THINGS FIRST section, labor rates are typically around $50/hour.

ACCESSORIES, PRICE, and DEALING

If the owner has lost the owner's manual and/or tool kit, drop a little money off the price of the sled. They're usually around $15-20 each to replace, and they're definitely nice things to have, particularly if you're new to riding.

Similarly, even if you don't plan to do work on the sled yourself, it's nice to have a service (or "shop") manual, and I'd recommend picking one up even if the owner isn't selling one with the sled. You can learn a lot about your sled this way.

Factory service manuals are usually the best.

Often times the owner will have added accessories to the sled and will use them to justify an inflated price at sale time. (This includes helmets, but see below for those.) Exhaust pipes are another common example. The important issue is, would you pay extra for the accessories?

If you don't really care about the accessories, and they have no value to you, and you shouldn't pay more for them. If you want them (if you value them), only then are they worth paying more for. Note that "more" doesn't mean "more than the seller is asking", but "more than a stock sled without these accessories."

If the seller isn't willing to deal, find a sled that doesn't have said accessories, and you won't have to pay more for stuff you don't want. Some accessories are very nice to have, but you need to make that decision for yourself. Here are some examples:

Exhaust: Aftermarket exhausts are generally lighter and louder and make more power than stock. Depending on condition (and whether the jetting is right -- see the section on carburation, above) full systems are probably worth $100-300.

Suspension components are a frequent upgrade. Units from Ohlins, Fox (and others) typically perform better than stock equipment, giving the sled better handling and comfort. Expect the seller to want a little more for such units. Typically $200-400 more.

Modifications: generally, you'll want to stay away from heavily-modified sleds. Even when done by a competent professional, high-compression pistons, overbores, porting, etc. all lead to reduced engine reliability in the name of increased performance, and that's something you don't need when you're 15 miles out in the wilderness. Make sure you ask the seller what modifications were made to the sled.

On price... know what the sled is worth! Visit the NADA Blue Book web site's Snowmobile blue book values section. Used sleds being sold by dealers will probably be very close to the retail price.

Most privately sold used sleds are sold "OBO" ... or best offer. Offer a little less than how you value the sled (see above), and see if you can come to an agreement somewhere close to where you value the sled. Be flexible, But don't be afraid to walk away and look at other sleds.

The longer a sled has been for sale, the more flexible the owner is likely to be concerning price.
Sled prices follow the laws of supply and demand like any other goods... in the summer, when no one can ride and everyone needs to pay for vacations, sleds are cheaper. In the fall, when the smell of winter is in the air, sleds are more expensive.

You may have your own preferred method for arriving at a number to offer for the sled, but here's a reasonable approach: take the "blue book" value of the sled , and deduct the cost of repairs for each problem with the sled. The used sled buying guides assume a clean, completely functional vehicle, with appropriate wear and tear for its age. So it makes sense to deduct the cost of repairs to bring a used sled up to that standard.

If the owner is asking less, great, if the owner is asking more, see if you can work them down a bit. If need be, explain how you arrived at your number -- sometimes the owner won't know about problems you've found!

As noted previously, beware used sled prices at dealerships, and prepare for sticker shock. They know that there are plenty of uninformed buyers out there who just want a sled and don't know what an appropriate price is. (Shop around and figure out what the going price is!)

The potential plusses that you get from buying from a dealership are that: 1) at least in theory, the sled has been tuned up prior to sale; 2) dealerships are typically more willing to fix any problems that you discover with the thing (inspect sleds thoroughly!); 3) if you're a new rider, you'll probably need to buy gear, and you can usually get a break on the price of gear if you also buy a sled from a dealership; and 4) Buying a sled from a dealership is a good way to start a long-term relationship with a them -- just make sure that if you decide to go this route, that you buy the sled from a good and reputable dealership with whom you'll want to have a long-term relationship.

And now, the potential downsides: 1) some dealerships may not do work on the sled between buying it and reselling it (yet another reason for a close and thorough inspection); and 2) many times used sleds come only with an "as is" (or extremely limited) warranty -- no better than what you'd get from a private sale.

The bottom line is that there may be benefits to buying a used sled from a good dealership, but some dealerships won't be any better than a private buyer.

HELMETS

Used helmets are worthless. Regardless of whether it fits you or not, do not count the price of a used helmet as part of the value of the sled. The owner may want to sell the helmet, either because it matches the sled or because (s)he is quitting snowmobiling, but since you'll be throwing the helmet out, don't count its value towards the sale price of the sled.

Used helmets are worthless because you cannot tell if they are damaged or not, and (in many cases) you don't know when they were made. Even if they look good, used helmets might well be junk.

All helmets work by allowing a layer of expanded polystyrene (EPS) to crush, absorbing much of the force of an impact. Unless the hard outer shell is damaged, you cannot tell if the EPS inside is compressed or not. And even then, sometimes you can't -- covering damage with stickers is just as common with helmets as it is with plastic fairings.

The bottom line is, despite what the owner says, you do not know what condition the EPS liner is in, and the EPS liner is the vast majority of the helmet's crash protection.
It's not worth the risk.

Yes, in some cases, you can send the helmet back to the manufacturer to have it X-rayed. But that will only tell you if the EPS liner has been compressed, not if it has been chemically damaged. Since you'll never know for sure, buy yourself a good quality new helmet from a good quality manufacturer, and stay away from used helmets.

TEST RIDE

You can learn a lot about a sled from a quick test ride, things you'd never notice by even the most thorough inspection. Sometimes sellers that won't give you a test ride will let you ride the sled once you've purchased it, with a money-back guarantee if you don't like it.

It's a good idea to do the test ride last, after you've had a chance to go over the whole sled, since you won't want to ride a sled with safety problems. Don't ride the sled until you're satisfied that it's safe to ride, pay very close attention to the brakes, for a stuck throttle with no brakes spells trouble.

You're going to be riding an unfamiliar sled, so take it easy. This guide cannot possibly warn you about all the dangers that you might face riding someone else's snowmobile. Just be careful, and don't test ride a sled if you aren't comfortable with its mechanical condition or behavior. Test rides are done at your own risk.

What you're looking for on a test ride:

Engine/Clutch/Brake Operation: see how it revs, how the torque converter feels , how well the brakes work, etc.

Strangeness... strange noises or thumping, having to hold the bars a little bit to one side to get the sled to go straight (a sign of crash damage!), etc.

Do you want it? It can take a while to get comfortable with a sled. Nevertheless, to the extent possible in the short time that you're getting to ride this machine, try to answer some very important questions:

"Is this the sled that I want to buy?" "Do I feel comfortable with this sled?"

Another thing you can test is transmission operation if so equipped... Some late model sleds have a reversing gearbox that enables you to back up the sled short distances with the flip of a lever....Go ahead, give it a try.

INFO FOR NEW RIDERS

Go to a dealership and sit on a lot of sleds to feel what sort of riding position you like. Think about the kinds of sleds that are available...trail, performance, touring, mountain, etc., what you're interested in, and what you're willing to pay.

Generally speaking, it's good to start out with a smaller, lighter-weight used sled rather than buying the latest, coolest, fastest, sexiest sled new. Snowmobiling is a passion you can pursue for many, many years -- don't scare yourself silly with a sled that's not meant for beginners. New riders should probably start with a two-cylinder sled of less than 500cc's.

Find a good dealership and form a relationship with them. Talk to other sledders or folks on the 'net and get recommendations. Unless you've been doing this this for a long time and have a lot of money to spend on very specialized tools, you will almost certainly want to have a local shop that you can turn to when the sled isn't running right.

It's true that you will pay a little more for stuff at a dealership, but in return, you're sure to get the right stuff, and you foster good relations with the shop -- you'll have somewhere to go when you need help.

Sled shops are run by people and generally act like people -- the nicer you are to them, the nicer they'll be to you. Just find one that you like, one that's honest and fair, and treat them the same in return. Don't support dealerships that are dishonest.

Get (and wear) good gear! Don't spend all your money on a sled and only have enough money left to buy the minimum gear.

Take safety seriously. There are many ways to get into trouble out on the trails. Just because your buddies do it doesn't mean you should. Take special care around frozen water, steep icy hills, blind corners, etc.

AFTER THE PURCHASE

Have a professional mechanic do a full tune-up on the machine.

Ask friends, other sledders, and/or Internet forums for recommendations on dealerships with good/honest service departments.

Get the sled registered.

Take it easy as you get used to a new machine. Respect your sled's power and abilities and get used to it slowly.

Congratulations! Enjoy your new sled!

INSPECTION PICTURES

Is everything clean, straight, and square....first impressions.... Same here, clean, straight and square. Don't be afraid to raise the front end and check for excessive play in these areas.

This is the steering pivot under the hood, wiggle the bars while watching here. Also check for adequate lubrication.

Another front suspension shot. Inspect all the pivot points and the shocks.

There's a lot to look at here so take your time. Inspect pivots, bearings, shocks, sliders, track, clips, spikes, etc.

This is just one style of heat exchanger found on liquid cooled sleds. this style is mounted in the tunnel. They're all vulnerable to damage when mounted down low.

Does the sled have hydraulic brakes? Check for proper operation and fluid condition. There's the sealed chain case in front; check lube.
Here's a mechanical /cable operated brake system. Go ahead and inspect the cable as well as the operation of the system.

Along with big power comes a big engine with many more things to look at. Inspect closely for leaking fluids, missing things like exhaust springs, hose clamps,bolts, nuts, etc.
By contrast, the fan cooled twin's engine bay is empty!..don't get careless though. Take your time and ask plenty of questions.

The battery should be generally, clean and healthy looking, with a minimal amount of corrosion. You can usually see the fluid level through the side of the battery....if not, remove the caps for inspection.

<caution: acid>

One of the hardest items to inspect, they're always nestled way back there out of sight. The carb/s shouldn't be all filthy...if they are, they're probably leaking. All fuel lines should have hose clamps or zip-ties on them.

Obviously, the clutch is best evaluated during a test drive, but you can have a look for missing nuts/bolts, belt condition, etc.

Here's a shot of a set of power valves on this triple. Power valves help to broaden the power band on two stroke engines. They're often controlled by cables from a computer with electric servo motors. The best way to check operation is to watch the servo motors when the engine is running.