I've owned both and they both have their strengths and weaknesses, a 550 fan I see pretty much just as a gas oil and go kind of ride. Not a lot going on with them. They are plenty fast (75mph) top speed wise, they have tons of jam down low if geared and clutched properly and they are very forgiving to a new rider. They drink gasoline like a frat boy drinks beer though so keep that in mind. And with liquids, there are a couple of other minor maintanents items to watch for, engine coolent and temperature are a factor. But most newer liquids are very tame for a new rider f they ride that way and are easy to maintain. And as far as fuel consumption it varies greatly between models and engines. So that's another thing to think about. It all comes down to what the rider wants in a sled. Fans are by far the easiest to maintain but you loose out on performance and fuel mileage against new tech liquids. But cost of acquiring a fan is very reasonable so savings there might mitigate the money you'd save on fuel with a newer tech liquid. Ask your gf what she wants and go from there.

 

On the reliability part, I've been out hunting with my uncle when we blew a piston on his 550 fan, to get home we took the engine out of the sled, brought it into the tent and proceeded to take the damaged cylinder off cut the head in half, cut the offending connecting rod off of the crank shaft and reinstall the head half onto the crank case as a cover and drove it home as a single cylinder sled. Now do that with a liquid lol. Just saying.

 

What about the 600 Ace, have you given it any thought? Great little engine, it is liquid cooled.

 

fanners are nice in that you can just leave them idling. Which is why they make good utility sleds. Leave the machine running while you load up the trailer...

Reliability wise, I think there is no real one better than the other. People who ride fan cooled machines are overall more gentle with their sleds. Sure, they may break up the cosmetics, but the motors are generally just put-put around.

Of course there are exceptions...

Fan cooled are generally cheaper and easier to rebuild (no water jacket to deal with).

Liquids give you more power for the same cc due to tighter tolerances.

All that said, I've got both, new and old, and don't spend any more time working on one or the other.

 

I have 550f and a 600e. The f is am entry level sled in cost, hp, top speed. They are perfect to grow up on. This will be my son's 3rd year on his. He will be 16 in March. He will be on my 600e next year as he will be ready. I will be on a new G4. End of season my f will be on the market.

 

Fans are noisy, thirsty and more likely to overheat without warning

 

Fans are noisy, thirsty and more likely to overheat without warning

Just like an air cooled 4 wheeler, lawn mower, bike, etc.......

 

My fans went 10 years with no motor work, just a fuel pump. 40 deg day or -17 on hard pack ice it always ran and never chucked a pick into the heat exchanger and ruined my day. The Fan's also do not have any recalls or updates.

 

A fan cooled sled is like the original nintendo, you could plug it into any tv and play, a liquid is like the new xbox x you pause the game anywhere and you need to download an update to press play again! hahaha

 

What's you budget? The perfect sled would be the 900 ace. You can find decent deals on used ones.

 

The only advantage a fan cooled sled has over a liquid is they don't overheat in low/no snow conditions. In every other aspect a liquid cooled sled is far superior to fan cooled sled.

 

The only advantage a fan cooled sled has over a liquid is they don't overheat in low/no snow conditions. In every other aspect a liquid cooled sled is far superior to fan cooled sled.

- Cost of maintenance

- Easier to work on

- Ability to thaw out your goggles/shields on the nice warm air blowing out.

- Lighter

- Easier to pull start

- no heat exchangers to have something go wrong (poke a hole, ruin your trip).

 

- Cost of maintenance
- Easier to work on
- Ability to thaw out your goggles/shields on the nice warm air blowing out.
- Lighter
- Easier to pull start
- no heat exchangers to have something go wrong (poke a hole, ruin your trip).

- Extended riding season
- Nimble in the trees
- Easy on parts (belts, tracks, etc.)
- Can be run on 87 octane without issue

 

A 2009 mxz550x weighs 435 lbs a 2009 mxz 500ss weighs 399 lbs. my 600 etec is a lot easier to pull over than my sons 550f. I have run 87 octane with 10% ethanol in all my sleds (including etecs) without a problem. My 12 year old son has a 2009 mxz550x. It's a a nice sled but my biggest compiant is it only gets 10-12 mpg while everyone else in our group gets around 20 mpg. Which can be a real pain. We have to plan our route around the 550.

 

A 2009 mxz550x weighs 435 lbs a 2009 mxz 500ss weighs 399 lbs. my 600 etec is a lot easier to pull over than my sons 550f. I have run 87 octane with 10% ethanol in all my sleds (including etecs) without a problem. My 12 year old son has a 2009 mxz550x. It's a a nice sled but my biggest compiant is it only gets 10-12 mpg while everyone else in our group gets around 20 mpg. Which can be a real pain. We have to plan our route around the 550.

Those two '09 sleds are not apples to apples. That fanner is a Rev chassis vs the 500ss in the XP chassis.

My dad's '07 GSX 550 Rev is noticeably heavier than my '10 GSX 550 XP.

 

Ok, the 2010 mxz550f weighs 411 lbs and the 2010 mxz 600 sport weighs 420 lbs. is 9 lbs a noticeable difference

 

Give me the 105hp 16-17 mpg any day over the fan.

 

A 2009 mxz550x weighs 435 lbs a 2009 mxz 500ss weighs 399 lbs. my 600 etec is a lot easier to pull over than my sons 550f. I have run 87 octane with 10% ethanol in all my sleds (including etecs) without a problem. My 12 year old son has a 2009 mxz550x. It's a a nice sled but my biggest compiant is it only gets 10-12 mpg while everyone else in our group gets around 20 mpg. Which can be a real pain. We have to plan our route around the 550.

Just carry an extra 12 gallons on the 550....

 

lurker is the only one who mentioned the noise.. My wife had a 550f and at the end of a 150mi. day her ears were ringing. I'd ride that sled and wonder how she could stand it. I guess you could/should wear earplugs

 

I don't find the fanners loud at all. They're quieter than most liquids we ride with. I've even startled cross country skiiers (unintentionally) because they couldn't hear us approaching. :shrug

 

My 550f has an extra whirr sound when the fan really starts to pull air. I find it harder to listen to the pure noise of the pistons firing. Because of this I find myself slightly less audibly connected to my fanner. Granted, before I knew how to fix engines I didn't care about the sound nearly as much.

 

What's better a newer sled! Older fans smell, have carbs and are noisy, i hope to never own a non fuel injected anything ever again!

 

I don't find the fanners loud at all. They're quieter than most liquids we ride with. I've even startled cross country skiiers (unintentionally) because they couldn't hear us approaching. :shrug

What kind of sleds do you ride with that are louder than a fanner?

They are loud, they get horrible mileage, and they stink.

Get an ace and be done with it!

 

- Cost of maintenance

- Easier to work on

- Ability to thaw out your goggles/shields on the nice warm air blowing out.

- Lighter

- Easier to pull start

- no heat exchangers to have something go wrong (poke a hole, ruin your trip).

- no thermostat, no water pump, no hoses, to have problems

- cheaper initial cost

- no replacing coolant - a pain in the neck job

- no overheating problems that liquids have, run on low snow or hardpack without problem

Just tighten the fan belt every few years and forget about it.

 

One thing you guys are missing here is what is Gained by Owning a fan sled. It has been mentioned easy to work on. Well, that is what is being missed. Teach your kids how to wrench on sleds. I for one have my son out there in the garage assisting with all the season maintenance. I have showed him and watched him clean the carbs on his fanner , pull the clutch amd inspect clean that. Pull idler wheels and regrease them. The fanner a great sled for kids to learn on period. When they get older they can go get a liquid. They will also have the knowledge of sled mechanics.
Lastly, I told my son as rides his fanner, if he can keep up with our pace then he is doing great and that teaches him the tricks and talents needed to corner a sled fast. Learn to ride a fanner fast and you will have some good talent for when you step up to a liquid.