Opinions on Polaris XLT

[JWentworth]

A friend who's been out of sledding for a while is looking at a 1997 Polaris
XLT 600. The seller is asking $1,000. I seem to remember some engine
problems with the XLT in the early years; was this corrected by 1997?

Any opinions on this sled? Ride? Performance? For the bucks you can't expect
a 2009 sled, but sometimes these old performance sleds end up costing more
than you bargained for. The selling price is just a down payment.

[David Courtney]

In '97 I think they came in the Wedge and the Evolved chassis (XLT, XLT
SP, XLT LTD, and XLT SP LTD)... some had Xtra-12 suspensions, some had
Xtra-10, some had 38mm carbs, some had 34mm carbs.

1997 XLT Wedge 597cc Piston Port 3 into 1 34mm
roundslide 90hp Xtra-10/Xtra-10
1997 XLT-SP Wedge 597cc Piston Port 3 into 1 38mm
roundslide 97hp Xtra-12/Xtra-12
1997 XLT-LTD Evolved 597cc Piston Port 3 into 1 34mm roundslide
90hp Xtra-12/Xtra-12
1997 XLT-LTD-SP Evolved 597cc Piston Port 3 into 1 38mm roundslide
97hp Xtra-12/Xtra-12

I think the Evolved chasss with the Xtra-12 and 38mm carbs would be a
fun sled (not sure any are worth $1,000); it's a little heavier but more
powerful than the
Xtra-10 Wedge.
Polarisman has weights & specs... you have to look for the various XLT's
in the list: http://www.polarisman.com/site/DisplayYear.cfm?Year=1997

Post by JWentworth
A friend who's been out of sledding for a while is looking at a 1997
Polaris XLT 600. The seller is asking $1,000. I seem to remember some
engine problems with the XLT in the early years; was this corrected by
1997?
Any opinions on this sled? Ride? Performance? For the bucks you can't
expect a 2009 sled, but sometimes these old performance sleds end up
costing more than you bargained for. The selling price is just a down
payment.

[Repairman]

Good friend bought one, a Xtra 12, can't remember the year from another
friend who got it new. 96?
He had no issues with the sled in the time he had it until he mistakenly
dropped a fuel line hose clamp into the motor unknowingly and toasted a
piston while doing preseason carb cleaning.
Ride was OK for that vintage as I remember, not as fantastic as I thought it
should be for X 12 but was no better than what I was riding at the time.
Heavy sled, but lighter than my 600's.
If it's clean and low mileage it may be a good back into the sport sled.
--
John
'09 GSX Ltd 1200
'07 GSX Ltd 600
'99 XC 700

Post by JWentworth
A friend who's been out of sledding for a while is looking at a 1997
Polaris XLT 600. The seller is asking $1,000. I seem to remember some
engine problems with the XLT in the early years; was this corrected by
1997?
Any opinions on this sled? Ride? Performance? For the bucks you can't
expect a 2009 sled, but sometimes these old performance sleds end up
costing more than you bargained for. The selling price is just a down
payment.

[Built4mud]

is that one the tripple or the double the trips had melt down problems with
pto side piston but cant remember if that was with pre 95s or older
--
Southern N.H. Border Town
05 Yamaha Grizzly 660
00 Polaris XCSP 700
97 Ski-Doo Formula Z 583
http://home.comcast.net/~jon65/wsb/html/view.cgi-home.html-.html

Post by Repairman
Good friend bought one, a Xtra 12, can't remember the year from another
friend who got it new. 96?
He had no issues with the sled in the time he had it until he mistakenly
dropped a fuel line hose clamp into the motor unknowingly and toasted a
piston while doing preseason carb cleaning.
Ride was OK for that vintage as I remember, not as fantastic as I thought
it should be for X 12 but was no better than what I was riding at the
time.
Heavy sled, but lighter than my 600's.
If it's clean and low mileage it may be a good back into the sport sled.
--
John
'09 GSX Ltd 1200
'07 GSX Ltd 600
'99 XC 700

Post by JWentworth
A friend who's been out of sledding for a while is looking at a 1997
Polaris XLT 600. The seller is asking $1,000. I seem to remember some
engine problems with the XLT in the early years; was this corrected by
1997?
Any opinions on this sled? Ride? Performance? For the bucks you can't
expect a 2009 sled, but sometimes these old performance sleds end up
costing more than you bargained for. The selling price is just a down
payment.

[JWentworth]

Thanks for the help here, but he decided to go for a Yamaha V-Max at cheap
money. Something about a low price does tend to draw your attention.