Sell 17 Sidewinder LTX SE and buy newer or keep it?

[twyztid]

I currently have a very nice 2017 Sidewinder LTX SE that bought in 2021 with 350 miles. It has about 6500 miles now and has been trouble free. I do plenty of maintenance and have pretty much all of the fixes/upgrades done to it. It has the TD Power Trail PM tune with CAI & 3" Super Quiet Exhaust and everything Thunder Products offers for clutching.

Anyway, we bought a 2025 Sidewinder LTX LE last February and my fiancé finally had a chance to ride it this past weekend. She seems to like it as much or better than her 2012 Vector LTX. Because of that, the 25 won't be my replacement for the 17 anymore. I would love to find another 25 LTX LE at a reasonable price but people want $26K-$30K for the ones that I have found (new but owned by private party). I am not paying that much for another one of those.

That brings me to a couple of options and I was wondering your opinions on this:
1. I could buy a low-mile 22-24 LTX SE (and add EPS), GT, or LE and sell the 17 but I would likely still have to lay out $7000-$10,000 over what I could get for my 17 and there are some upgrades that I would have to buy for a newer one that I couldn't take from the 17. That means the total upgrade cost could be $9000-$13,000.
2. I could keep the 17, replace the track/studs, replace driveline bearings, and maybe add EPS (using Mr. Sleds tutorial). I already have a new track. I would just have to buy studs/backers and the EPS parts. Total cost would be around $2000 if I don't include the cost of the track.

I am VERY religious on maintenance. With that being said, if maintenance is kept up and I replace the track, is it possible to see another 6500 trouble-free miles?

Here's a couple pics of the 17.

 

[DMCTurbo]

IMO EPS would be the only reason to upgrade. 6500 miles is nothing if you've done the maintenance.

 

[twyztid]

IMO EPS would be the only reason to upgrade. 6500 miles is nothing if you've done the maintenance.

And that really isn't a big reason either since I can install EPS on my 17 if I wanted to.

 

[DMCTurbo]

And that really isn't a big reason either since I can install EPS on my 17 if I wanted to.

Yes exactly.

 

[connor wilson]

sled looks fantastic with the black side panel's

i would keep it and add eps.

 

[RAMSOMAIR]

Keep it, you know what you have!

 

[DennyTuna]

I would keep the 17 she has plenty more than just 6,500 miles left in her. My 18 has 13,000 miles on it and I wouldn't hesitate to take it on a long trip, still a solid sled. Now I did buy a 25 last year and the 18 is a backup sled now, but like your 17 it has been well maintained with all the goodies even EPS, Ice Arrowhead track and tuned. Heck you could upgrade your shocks, add EPS, a new track with studs and still spend less than trading up.

 

[twyztid]

Turns out that we are likely buying another brand new 25 LTX LE from a private party and may be keeping the 17 LTX SE as well. They want a lot of money for the 25 (more than MSRP), but then we will have 2 of those besides the 17 and will be good for a long time.

The 12 Vector LTX will stick around but the 12 Apex XTX will be getting sold. It is a beautiful sled... and I did a bunch of upgrades to it once we got it a couple years ago... but I just don't like riding it as much as a Sidewinder.

 

[journeyman]

Any SE I would consider upgrading the shocks to QS3, QS3r or something like the Exit's, Hygear or ohlins. There's a big difference in ride quality from an SE to an LE Winder. That's just me because of the areas I ride.

 

[Bigblue1]

Well, I have just over 12,000 miles on my 2017. I have run a max 17 TD tune for 10,000 of the miles. Very good on maintenance as well. One issue did come up and that was a hairline crack in the chain case, that i thought was just a gasket leak. Unfortunately, ended up toasting the gears and all while out on a 100 mile run. Must check the torque on chain case bolts and self tapping screws. Good news is I have a new chain case, track and new bearings all around. all in was about $2,000 and i think another 12,000 miles is in the making. The case comes with bearings installed so the install was time consuming but straight forward. So, no EPS or the newer font end geometry, but still runs awesome. I do have the high adjustable Kashima coated shocks so that makes a big difference imo. If I was going to do anything it would have been a last edition srx but I didn’t pull the trigger so I feel your pain on private seller prices…crazy.