My buddy had one of these and it was slicker than grease, fast as hell but he turned it into his 144 low geared logging sled, then he added a 151 later. Darn thing was super reliable👍
Just picked up a 1997 today. Have to go through it and check everything out. Traded a spare 670 engine I had for it. Mine does have a couple differences ( less material on the primary, and no venting on the front of the belt guard, and no hole for the adjuster you mentioned ) looking forward to getting her back ripping
@@thatalaskaguy As did my primer. Can't order the "good" ones from skidoo anymore. So had to go with Wolftech. There primer is ok. But the shaft needs a few drops of oil at least a few times a week. If no oil then a guy could near pull the entire console off it's mounts just pulling the primer out. Also the angled barb is always the fuel into the primer. FYI.
When I had my ‘98 I just used regular Ski-doo mineral oil. I’d buy a case of the small bottles as that oil was a blue color and it was great for pre-mix. I hated my F-chassis MX 470. That’s one sled I bought brand new as a left over that I regret buying. My brother then bought a ’95 Formula Z and it was quite a bit better than my ‘94 MX. The S-chassis sleds were better in every way.
I’m up in North Pole, we have a 98mxzx we are putting on the oval track this weekend. We also have an 02 mxzx set up for ovals. You should set it up and bring it up next year. If you decide you want to get rid of it let me know I’m trying to get a few of them to make a strong 500 class. I now of 3 more mxzx up here going to try and get them on the track as well. If your interested check out our channel I have uploaded some of the races
I really liked my ‘98 440. It was a pull and go sled, great power, fun to ride and jump, I wish I’d never sold it. It was a much easier to live with sled than my ‘02 MXZx 440. I sold my ‘98 to buy an ‘01 MXZ 800. I never liked the 800. It vibrated and shook, it was harder to pull over to start and just wasn’t as much fun to ride compared to my 440. I got rid of that 800 two seasons after first getting it and never once regretted it being gone.
I’ve not done anything with it yet. We’ve received so much snow this winter I’ve been spending way too much time shoveling and snowblowing. The 454 in an XCR would be a very nice combination.
@@davidbrennan5 Both my brother and I snowchecked ‘98 MXZx440’s from AMDS back in the spring of ‘97. I wish I’d never sold it three years later. It was in such good shape compared to this one.
@@thatalaskaguy in 97/98 they were trying to beat the XCR 440 (Red Rocket) both of those 98 440 engines that year from Ski-Doo and Polaris were very finicky, a slight change in temperature would require a jet change to run perfect, not great trail machines. I know a guy that had the Polaris and it was the same had to re-jet 2-3 times a day to get max performance because of the aggressive port timing, advanced ignition timing and high compression. The 97 MXZX 440 must have been tamer or you had the perfect jetting/timing for your temps when you rode it.
@@thatalaskaguy list of things Skidoo did to the 1997 440X no rear bumper cover thinner bumper tubing lighter seat, low wick foam more grippy material with thigh guards for dragging clear fuel tank, saved weight of a gauge. straight bars 1 switch for heaters, saved weight of switch and wiring Low tapered windshield, very hard to come by. adjustable ski saddles. oil injection delete cooling system was shrunk down, hoses tapered down to save weight. Cut-away primary clutch external trigger coil to adjust timing with 5mm allan key. chain-case cover and gears were made of magnesium. hood was 1mm thinner than consumer models tach was marked at 8500rpm where the engine made most power. I believe they made 1000 for 97 and 1000 for 98. The 98 had minor changes.
@@davidbrennan5 Maybe we just got lucky that the factory jetting worked for Valdez? Both our 98’s were pull and go sleds. They were awesome! We’d ride them up in elevation in the mountains and with the rotary valve motors, they never got boggy like the Polaris sleds that our buddies rode. I really loved that 440, it was great! I later ordered an ‘02 MXZx440. I really didn’t care for that engine as it was nothing like my ‘98 and the opposite of pull and go. I remember reading an article about the Polaris Red Rocket and how they fought all kinds of gremlins trying to get it to run right. It sounded like a temperamental pain in the ass. The older Fuji 440’s seemed to be a lot less finicky.
@@thatalaskaguyThe Polaris had a finicky engine, high strung, jetting had to be very close or it would be down on power. It would stay with a 600 or 700 twin up to about 95mph, then the 600/700 would pull away. It could win in a shorter race if it got traction out of the hole. My friend used to carry a few sizes of jets with him when he rode it and had to swap them out when the temps changed. I know a guy that had the ZR440 and it was similar story, great when it was running right but finicky. Timing from factory was hot, setup for 93 octane. If you ran the ZR440 on 91 octane for trail riding without retarding the timing, they blew up. I don't have any direct experience with the Doo but I remember them at the grass drags and they did pretty well in the right hands.
That did have alot of differences from standard model. Cool.
My buddy had one of these and it was slicker than grease, fast as hell but he turned it into his 144 low geared logging sled, then he added a 151 later. Darn thing was super reliable👍
Just picked up a 1997 today. Have to go through it and check everything out. Traded a spare 670 engine I had for it. Mine does have a couple differences ( less material on the primary, and no venting on the front of the belt guard, and no hole for the adjuster you mentioned ) looking forward to getting her back ripping
Nice! I discovered that mine needed more work than I first realized so I’ve not ridden it yet this winter. They are a fun sled to ride.
My 1997 MXZ as do most I have seen all have the primer just below the switch on the right of the consul.
This one has a primer as well. It leaks so I need to fix that too!
@@thatalaskaguy As did my primer. Can't order the "good" ones from skidoo anymore. So had to go with Wolftech. There primer is ok. But the shaft needs a few drops of oil at least a few times a week. If no oil then a guy could near pull the entire console off it's mounts just pulling the primer out.
Also the angled barb is always the fuel into the primer. FYI.
Friend had one of those, put a 670 engine in it. The 440 was long gone. Had to gear it up.
A 670 would be a very nice upgrade in that sled!
Obviously never drove a 97 f chassis Mach
What oil do you use for the reservoir
When I had my ‘98 I just used regular Ski-doo mineral oil. I’d buy a case of the small bottles as that oil was a blue color and it was great for pre-mix.
I hated my F-chassis MX 470. That’s one sled I bought brand new as a left over that I regret buying. My brother then bought a ’95 Formula Z and it was quite a bit better than my ‘94 MX. The S-chassis sleds were better in every way.
Your clutch is wrong it should have lite or did they change it on 98?
I don’t know the history of this particular sled? I recall my ‘98 had a lightened clutch but I don’t remember exactly how it looked?
@@thatalaskaguy look for tra lite clutch and you see how it should look
@@thatalaskaguy do you have anywhere else where i can take contact?
@@fuji2447 I can do a Google search for an image then. I recall my ‘98 clutch appearing to look shaved back compared to a consumer model TRA.
@@thatalaskaguy i could send you a picture how it looks on 97
I’m up in North Pole, we have a 98mxzx we are putting on the oval track this weekend. We also have an 02 mxzx set up for ovals. You should set it up and bring it up next year. If you decide you want to get rid of it let me know I’m trying to get a few of them to make a strong 500 class. I now of 3 more mxzx up here going to try and get them on the track as well.
If your interested check out our channel I have uploaded some of the races
I just checked out the vintage ice race video, I like your collection of sleds!
Looks like my dad's but probably Younger or something like that
I just picked one of these sleds up for 200$ running and riding
That’s awesome, nice score! 👍
@@thatalaskaguy fr all i need is a seat
@@theLyzhendricks that’s not bad at all, much better than needing electrical or mechanical repairs.
Corner to corner in the trails,these 440's stuck with everything.
I really liked my ‘98 440. It was a pull and go sled, great power, fun to ride and jump, I wish I’d never sold it. It was a much easier to live with sled than my ‘02 MXZx 440. I sold my ‘98 to buy an ‘01 MXZ 800. I never liked the 800. It vibrated and shook, it was harder to pull over to start and just wasn’t as much fun to ride compared to my 440. I got rid of that 800 two seasons after first getting it and never once regretted it being gone.
Did you restore this ugly duckling? I've built a polaris xcr with 454 in it the best 440 there ever was
I’ve not done anything with it yet. We’ve received so much snow this winter I’ve been spending way too much time shoveling and snowblowing.
The 454 in an XCR would be a very nice combination.
They didn't make a lot of those, you had to be a racer and special order them.
@@davidbrennan5 Both my brother and I snowchecked ‘98 MXZx440’s from AMDS back in the spring of ‘97. I wish I’d never sold it three years later. It was in such good shape compared to this one.
@@thatalaskaguy in 97/98 they were trying to beat the XCR 440 (Red Rocket) both of those 98 440 engines that year from Ski-Doo and Polaris were very finicky, a slight change in temperature would require a jet change to run perfect, not great trail machines. I know a guy that had the Polaris and it was the same had to re-jet 2-3 times a day to get max performance because of the aggressive port timing, advanced ignition timing and high compression. The 97 MXZX 440 must have been tamer or you had the perfect jetting/timing for your temps when you rode it.
@@thatalaskaguy list of things Skidoo did to the 1997 440X
no rear bumper cover
thinner bumper tubing
lighter seat, low wick foam more grippy material with thigh guards for dragging
clear fuel tank, saved weight of a gauge.
straight bars
1 switch for heaters, saved weight of switch and wiring
Low tapered windshield, very hard to come by.
adjustable ski saddles.
oil injection delete
cooling system was shrunk down, hoses tapered down to save weight.
Cut-away primary clutch
external trigger coil to adjust timing with 5mm allan key.
chain-case cover and gears were made of magnesium.
hood was 1mm thinner than consumer models
tach was marked at 8500rpm where the engine made most power. I believe they made 1000 for 97 and 1000 for 98. The 98 had minor changes.
@@davidbrennan5 Maybe we just got lucky that the factory jetting worked for Valdez? Both our 98’s were pull and go sleds. They were awesome! We’d ride them up in elevation in the mountains and with the rotary valve motors, they never got boggy like the Polaris sleds that our buddies rode. I really loved that 440, it was great! I later ordered an ‘02 MXZx440. I really didn’t care for that engine as it was nothing like my ‘98 and the opposite of pull and go.
I remember reading an article about the Polaris Red Rocket and how they fought all kinds of gremlins trying to get it to run right. It sounded like a temperamental pain in the ass. The older Fuji 440’s seemed to be a lot less finicky.
@@thatalaskaguyThe Polaris had a finicky engine, high strung, jetting had to be very close or it would be down on power. It would stay with a 600 or 700 twin up to about 95mph, then the 600/700 would pull away. It could win in a shorter race if it got traction out of the hole. My friend used to carry a few sizes of jets with him when he rode it and had to swap them out when the temps changed. I know a guy that had the ZR440 and it was similar story, great when it was running right but finicky. Timing from factory was hot, setup for 93 octane. If you ran the ZR440 on 91 octane for trail riding without retarding the timing, they blew up. I don't have any direct experience with the Doo but I remember them at the grass drags and they did pretty well in the right hands.