What are your thought on converting to a rotax Engine in a pilot.
I was thinking of going to a rotax 583 or 670 in my long travel, the old 400 just doesn't have get up and go I'd like.
Are Rotax more reliable than a FL400 Engine? Do they have a longer life?
Anyone have any good or bad experiences they could share?
Has anyone tryed the Farr off road kits?
I'm seriously think about a conversion and any input would be appreciated.
Thanks

I would say a rotax is going to be more reliable. Because you are not going to have to push it as hard to get the performance you want, PLUS you are not running more power through the Engine than it was designed for, like from porting of a stock cylinder, bigger carb ect. This is just my opinion.

I love my rotax pilot and would do it again any day. If you have the skills to install one i would say do it. Keep in mind you will need a different radiator (stock pilot rad will be too small) different fuel tank, a pipe and a few other smaller items.

I am running the farr offroad Engine mount. i actually designed it and traded him some other parts so he could copy my design. so i wopuld say it is a good piece. it is designed to sit the Engine as low as possible with the use of the Seadoo carbs.

In the end i say go for it. You will love the extra power. Ive got the 670HO in mine, but the 583 or 670 are a great choice

Where do you live do you have access to a lot of sleds or you live in a area where their are no snowmobiles?

What are you going to use the Pilot for?

IMO you only need about 70 honest HP in a Pilot unless you have added a bunch of weight in accessories like bumpers, skids, nerfs, extra gas tank etc. then you might require more, like 80 hp the rest is just wheel spin then you find yourself buying really big and HEAVY aggressive rear tires that weigh 30% more than stock tires trying to get traction those type tires usually only work good in a straight line traction now you have created a straight line shooter for a Pilot if your only going to use it for drag racing and impressing your buddies by blasting around camp like a idiot then turning is not a consideration. Better traction and more power also reduces the ability for the Pilot to turn because soon as the weight transfers off the front under power the already hard to steer Pilots steering is even worse, you could always add wight to the front so the tires will plant and it will steer good in the tight trails but whats the point of adding more power if all the solutions to making it function properly require you to add more weight, its like a exercise in confusion at that point.

Give me more details I can better advise.

i have NO sleds in my area and would like to convert my beater to a 583 or 670. I just have to find a donor sled :(

Just call FARR-OFFROAD he has a bolt in 583 kit for your pilot, No cutting, no weilding just bolt it in. $1950 shipped anywhere in the us. It will come with a full rebuilt Engine pipe carbs eletronics and motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) mounts 579 488-9196 emmanuel

I live up in British Columbia Canada, a good mix of wide open areas, logging roads, and trails to ride on.
It's not hard to find a snowmobile up here.

May be worth it to just get a mount plate kit from FARR and then source your own donor sled. Hardest part besides wiring, is grafting the header pipe to fit the chassis of the Pilot. I did my FL350 sled pipe conversion myself and it was fairly straightforward, and I'm by no means an expert fabricator/welder.

several reasons to go with a rotax
nitrosport_5 already mentioned several reasons for it

i have another one you can still get most, if not all the parts for rotax engines.

plus the sound of a twin 2 stroke is effin amazing

who wants to source me a sled?