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Looking at a 1996 skidoo formula III 600

7K views 46 replies 19 participants last post by  sledhead2013 
#1 ·
I’m going to look at a skidoo formula III 600 this weekend and was wondering if there’s anything I should look for. Is this a good engine, is it fast, top speed, mods I can do, etc. In the ad it says he put new fuel lines in, brake lines and a new track last season. It doesn’t run he says it ran this winter but this spring he couldn’t get it to he said needs a good carb clean, he sent me a video of when it ran this winter. He wants $400
 
#32 ·
Hey,
I'd go with the 670 so far. A little high on $$ just given the age. 670 is a good engine, powerful, fast, easy to work on. The F3 and 583 are in the F-Chassis Plastic and the 670 is in S-Chassis Plastic. They are essentially the same chassis but having both in the past I can say the S-Chassis is "Sportier" feeling ( think tighter trails, ditches, etc ) the F-Chassis is better ( IMHO ) for long flat trails and racing on lakes, etc....
Hope this helps
GutZ
 
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#35 ·
I had a 97, MXZ 670 it was a nice sled but in the tight trails my bro's 583 MXZ was more fun. It had much better response and spooled up quicker although once on the lake the 670 would walk the 583. Now my 01, MXZ 700 was the best of both of them. The ZX chassis was a huge improvement over the S2000 chassis and the 700 was awesome.That chassis and motor combo was so fun I bypassed the Rev chassis went to the XP.

As for looks one of my faves is the 1995 Formula Z. Loved the red windshield.
 
#40 ·
1500 for both and trailer..... thats a good deal.
Complete parts sled!
The 670 in the last\later Mach1s were the best till the 670HO.
Some had 44MM Carbs and Twin Pipes from the Factory.
GutZ
 
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#39 ·
You're always going to get tons of great advice on this site. I will throw in my two cents.

As already stated, speed is not just about power. The Pirelli tire saying is "Power is nothing without control". Traction, weight transfer, suspension and clutching has as much to do with it as HP.

Finally, keeping up with your buddy on the tight twisties has almost nothing to do with speed, but way more to do with skill. Reading a trail, picking a line, braking, accelerating, leaning, steering, counter-steering, identifying the apex of a turn, maintaining rpm to keep in the engine's power band....

All of these skills take seat time to learn, not balls.

I wish you good luck and safe travels with the sport we all love.
 
#42 ·
95s would be twin pipe 670s. Good ole rotary valve Rotax and they were runners. Good sleds I’d grab them up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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#45 ·
Ok I’m a big triple and F chassis guy I’ve owned many. First thing is the 600’s did NOT have pto bearing issues. That was the 800’s, the 96’s also did NOT have the CDI mounted under the motor, that was a one year deal in 98. Now hears the deal, Being that it’s 25 years old. I would be wondering if the water pump seals have ever been replaced, this was something that was known to happen on higher mileage motors but wasn’t an inherent wasn’t issue with the triples. Seals would fail then you would be burning coolant in the mag side cylinder. Secondly have the oil lines been replaced? The 600’s had three separate round slide carbs cleaning was easy but syncing them could be a PITA. Check the compression a fresh rebuild would teals around 145-150 psi. The 96’s also came with the C-7 rear suspension and it SUCKED most guys replaced them with sc-10’s I’d definitely be looking to see if it has that done. The 600’s made around 125hp w/ a top rpm of 83/8400. The tach is about 200 off so you want it reading 85-8600. Adjust your setting accordingly on the primary to achieve this. If I remember correctly the 96 600’s had a 1/4 mile speed of 97’ish mph witch was actually just slightly better then the mach z 800. Also remember this sled was designed as a lake racer, they went like a bat out of he11 in a straight line, tight and twistys ehhhh not so much. With a good rear skid such as a sc10-3 or sc-4 and a good set of skis you can make a decent trail sled out of them. They are heavy and you will know it by the end of the day. The ONLY inherent problem with the 600’s like only if the triples was they liked to eat stators, and the junk rm stator replacements don’t even waste your money find a good OEM one.
 
#46 ·
I bought the sled from the original post. I have others but I'm going to use it in vintage racing and beatercross events. It runs well and it cleaned up decently well but I have about 100 hours and $600 worth of parts into it. I don't think my 15 year old self would be able to wrench like that and I'm glad you didn't buy it! Everything needed rework, I just made a post about it actually.
 
#47 ·

Still needs a seat and a tether! This thing has had a hard life but will be perfect for a ditchbeater.
 

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