Just saw a neat sled, a Trail 550 RMK at a dealers today that seems like a decent off trail sled.I know its a fan 550 but seeing where we ride the highest hill is a RR bank! Has anyone here ridden 1 or owns 1? Kinda like the paddle track and being able to stand up on it.Would this be also a decent handling sled on groomed trails? Thanks in advance.

its not much of a paddle track. its only a 1.25" which wont do much in the deep stuff. are you looking for a replacement or a second sled?

Since you are riding an 800 currently you will probably get bored with the sled almost emmediately. I would imagine your 800 121" probably can go off trail nearly as well as the much smaller CC 550 136." The 1.25" track is not really a paddle track, technically. If you really want to be able to stay on top the snow with plans on powder than I would go with at least a 700cc with a 144" track with paddles in the 2" flavor. It takes big power to get on top deep powder and be able to accelerate. I went from a 580 136" sled up to my current 800cc 159" Escape and would never go to anything smaller, I would imagine you would feel the same way after riding an 800 and trying out that 550.

I'd stick with the XPSC 800 and long track it or go with a 700cc Vertical Edge.

Thanks guys as what you are saying is hwat I have been hearing from the mechanic at the dealership after he was out West and rented a 550.Not much power he said! Well it was just a thought and YES I would probably get bored with it the same day! Maybe next year move up into a new model.Thanks agin. :beerchug:

My dad has one and it has great power for a fan to about 60 mph, then it will reach 70 mph. It is very good on the trail and easy on fuel. I would greatly recommend this sled for someone's wife or as a starter sled. It would not have enough power to do serious climbing.

Thanks for the feedback. I am thinking of replacing my 800 with a smaller sled as where we ride up North the gas prices are going to kill me running my 800.I know I will DEFINITELY MISS the power of the 800 and last year I put 3874 miles on it in just 1 season. Just thought that a smaller sled would be alot better on gas and still be somewhat decent on ungroomed local trails.I like the longer track and the area behind the seat to put a bag or a small gas can when we do decide to do a saddlebag trip.I personally don't know anyone with one of these sleds or anyone with a 55o Fan either but Im sure they are a pretty bulletproof engine that gets decent gas mileage.Any more input will be appreciated.

My friend has one he weighs like 95 lbs so its a nice sled for him he likes to play in the powder but he can't keep up on the top end. Awesome trail sled though and a nice beginner sled. Very comfortable rode it for 150 miles and its nice.

Do you really think you can get much more mileage out of a 600 or 700 cc sled over your 800? This is very interesting to me as I have an 800 and my dad as a gas and oil sucking 900 Mountain Cat.

As far as the Cats go my dad's 900 drinks the gas and he plans on riding his Powder Extreme (it's a ZRT 600 with a 136" from the factory with a white hood)more frequently this year.

I'm the Polaris guy in the family and my first Polaris was our 2004 700/144" Vertical Escape. After I bought my '03 800/159" Escape I was figuring a big drop in mileage, since I had seen my dad's 900 Cat tear through the fuel. To my suprise my 800 Escape didn't noticably use any more fuel than our 700 Escape, unlike the bigger Cats.

Anyway, how this applies to you....... I would think your 800 uses the same or less gas as my Escape since I have a ton more track to spin and I'm 478lbs dry. I wouldn't think going down to a 700cc would make much of a difference, and for me if I had to drop all the way down to a 600cc to make a big enough difference than I would just hang the helmet up and get a new hobby.

Do you know your mileage? Far as I know all these Edges have the same size tanks so figuring out consumption between an 8/7/6 should be fairly easy as long as you can get feedback from guys with 6 &700's. I bet you will find that it would be easier just to pay the little extra in fuel over a season than trying to buy a different sled not to mention loosing all the power.

If I was tight on fuel money I would deduct one outing from the season and keep the 800. If you trailer, just skipping one weekend would probably save you more fuel than going to a smaller cc sled. Just think of the amount of gas you use trailering in the tow rig, thats a lot of fuel for snowmobile.

Like I said, having to step all the way back down to a 600cc sled would ruin snowmobiling for me. I'd rather get another hobby than dump the 800. Maybe it's different with trail sleds but up in the mountains out here in the west it takes POWER to move through the powder and climb. I'd just cut one weekend out of the season to save money.

Found this thread over in the Switchback forum.

Edge mileage

These guys seem to be getting nearly identical mileage out of 8&7&600 sleds.

polaris built this sled a little more around trails and work. a fine combination sled. not the fastest cause of low gears but it will handle a gear change and keep it in the 70 range. for marginal snow, trails, pulling and hanging with kids it can't be beat. off trail it will climb better than a 121 2" and will boon dock real well. just remember the track limitations. as for fuel its about like a 600 or 700 liquid if you drive them the same but you probably won't. i tend to watch hillclimbs and have a beer cause i can't go up there and that gives me the gas savings. i tend to pack the beer as the big boys pack the gas in stead so even if they out run me they'll wait up. when we winter camp i pull the folda sled because the liguids don't do it so well. if the sled feels a little slow a few more beers and its fast enough. a 2' track would be good though it will lose some of its trail ability. interesting the 550 summit is more for powder and the trail rmk is more combo. the ride and handleing can't be beat. there're little after market parts available which is a money saver. kinda a hard starter when cold.

Forget cancelling a trip to save gas money. For my experience going from 800 to 600 to save gas with polaris snowmobiles is a waste of time.

If you want to save the gas difference in a 600/700 or 800. Then only pack 1/2 a sandwich. That would equate to the fuel savings.

Here in Nfld we are paying as much as $5.60 a gallon. And I have never seen an 800 take any more that $1-2 more gas than either a 600 or a 700. And thats on a full tanks run.( 100-110)

That 550 will save you maybe $5 on a full tank run.( Maybe)

I know I have ridden with both a 550 ( wife) and modded 800 ( brother) and i own a 600 and a 700 .

Don't downsize for the fuel savings. Its just not there.
Having said that the 06 600 Switchback IQ will give you a couple MPG over the Edges.
Thats maybe 6 or 7 bucks on a tank.( 100 miles)

Looking to improve the stock fuel economy even more with the 2007 600 CFI