I live in the mountains of Austria and I am a couple of Mls away from the next groomed road. The trail to our house is steep uphill, narrow curves and serpentines , deep snow (often 3 ft soft new snow at the time) and a lot of winddrifts with 5 or 6 ft of snow. My wife has trouble with the Skidoo because it is hard to steer around the curves, it runs just straight ahead. So she often backs up to make the turn, but then she gets stuck in the deep snow. I am thinking of buying a set of tracks for our Polaris Sportsman 500 HO, but I am a little in doubt if it is the better idea then a snowmobile. I recently had a chance to test a Yamaha Grizzly with a set of tracks (unfortunately not on our trail, it was just in the dealers backyard) and I felt, that the Grizzly was almost imossible to steer when the frontdifferential was locked. It was real good on a vertical surface without the frontdiff. locked, but uphill the 4X4 was necessary plus the locked hubs.
Problem: The Polaris Sportsman has "true 4X4" which means it has permanent locked front hubs, compared to the Grizzly which has wether 4X4 with limited slip or in addition 100% locked Hubs at the front. (Just to press two buttons)

So whats your opinion/ advice:

- Keeping the Skidoo or buying a set of tracks for my Sportsman? (tracks cost as much than a Skidoo in Europe)
-Whats better a skiddo or a ATV with tracks? Over here is no public experience on that .
- Buying another ATV which has a limited slip on the front hubs like a Yamaha Grizzly plus a set of tracks? (approx. 20000 $ over here)


I appreciate your opinion!

 

well i'll give you this little tidbit because i really cant help you much since i own neither a snow mobile or tracks, but i can tell you that Light Foot USA makes the best ATV track systems and thats what everyone over here uses. anyway, good luck with your problem, i hope you find a cost friendly way out of your situation.

 

what kind of ski-doo is it? i would take the sled over the tracks.

 

An independant rear suspension equipped atv such as a sportsman 500 with a set of tracks will go through more deep snow/powder then a snowmobile. However..the atv with tracks will have a max speed of about 25-30 mph wheras the sled 100 easy. If you just want it to get around and in the deep snow I would go with a sportsman with tracks. I highly suggest you get the Kimpex TJD track system. It retails for $2500 american and is AWESOME in snow and can also be used in all other terrains(mud,sands,hardpack) I'm not sure what type of tracks the grizzly had on it, but I know myself I have driven many sportsmans with the TJD tracks in deep snow they and steered fine. Polaris's 4x4 system is selectable 2x4 or 4x4 at the flip of a switch located on the right handlebar. Polaris's 4x4 system is industry leading and was the first true 4x4 system. So anyways..If I were you and just want to travel in the deep powder and don't care about top speed. Get a sportsman with the Kimpex TJD tracks![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I have very little experiance with snowmobiles and none with tracks, but how would a 6x6 or ranger 6x6 with tracks on the back do. I would think the rear tracks would be alot cheaper then the track systems for a 4x4 are (at least over here). You would still have the flotation and traction in the rear with out the increased steering effort. ??? Anyone else think this would work?

Good Luck, Jeff

 

dont know what kind of snowmobile or powder you ride threw but theres no way a sportsman 500 will do better in the snow than say a ski-doo summit with a 151 in track or even a 144

 

Speed is no question. The Grizzly had the e-tatou tracks on. But my major concern is how the Polaris will be to steer with a true 4X4 without limited slip like the Grizzly. The Grizzly has in ordinary 4x4 mode a limited slip on the front and just in locked mode a true 4X4 like Polaris. Result: in locked mode the Grizzly was extremely hard to steer - and that s from what I am afraid of at the Polaris because there is no limited slip at all. The Skidoo we have is a Alpine 3 with a widebelt. It has 65 hp (strong enough). Its just the problem to get around the narrow curves. It goes straight ahead in the curves in case there is a lot of fresh snow.

Again: Dealers over here say that a ATV with tracks on can go where a snowmobile can just dream of. Ik, but what about the steering at the Polaris without limited slip? Any experience on that?

 

Hello Svalbard11. I got to agree with NEWDUCK. There is no way any kind of ATV will ever go where the long track deep lug mountain sleds will go. A mountain sled will float on 6 ft of powder, where an ATV with anything will sink like a rock. These sleds go in the steep and deep powder in the winter where ATVs will not even go in the summer. What kind of sled do you have? Maybe you need a mountain sled or one of the new cross-over models.
I hope this helps you [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
BryceGTX

 

I don't think you guys are hearing Svalbard... He's talking about his WIFE having the problems with the snowmachine. Not him.

I agree the ATV equipped with tracks is NOT your solution. I've ridden one and can tell you that with 3 feet of soft snow, you're not gonig to make it through. And with the drifts you spoke of... Unless they get wind packed, you'll have to plow right through them. If you decide to go with tracks, I'd recommend the Lite Foot ATV Tracks manufactured by Mattracks. They are more expensive, but you definately get your moneys worth. Well built products from the leader in track conversions. On the 700cc Sportsman that I rode, steering was only slightly more difficult than one equipped with tires.

I feel your wife's steering trouble is due to the wide track (belt) on your Skidoo. The wider the track (belt) the tougher it's going to be to "pivot" to make the Skidoo turn. The width is a plus for flotation, but a hinderence in turning. A mountain sled with a 144 inch or longer track is also not a good idea. With the slow speeds encountered on you trail, and the narrow width of your typical mountain specific sled, you won't have the vehicle or track speed to keep the sled on top of the snow. And again, the longer track will not turn well at slower speeds. If you or your wife could keep the speed up, then sure.... But slow..... I really don't think a mountain sled is the answer.

This is a tough one to answer. Your Skidoo seems to be the right choice in machines, but not for your wife.... Question.... Just how old is this Skidoo of yours? Is it a single front ski model?

 

Hi Moosehunter. You got it. Our Skidoo Alpine 3 is just 3 years old and has two skis which we even got in a broader version to protect the sled of tilting when we cross a hill. The width between the skis is at least 10 or 12 inch wider then on ordinary skidoos. Thats just for a section where we must go across a skiing slope, that means to have a wide track plus to sit very much on the right or on the left side (depends on the direction where we go up - or downhill) to keep the sled of tilting. A sled with ordinary wide skis and a narrow belt (for crosscountry use) would tilt and wouldnt have a chance in the deep snow. Yes, we cant go fast, we must go very slow because of the curves and often because of the poor visibility. (Fog and extraordinary strong snowfall) . So the wide width of tracks of an ATV would be very welcome at the cross-hill section where we must cross the skiing slope. In fact a sled which goes just 5 or 10 mph would be fast enough, so again, speed is absolutely no question, just to get through the deep snow and the drifts and especially to get around the narrow curves (serpentines) by easier sand more precis steering.