| Author | Message | ||
     No_rice |
My 13 adjusts a little bit, but this one alot more. they built the keel of the ski much wider, so really all your doing is moving around spacers on the spindle to ski mount(you can see them in a few of the pics. Im excited to try it out, as well as have my first go at mountain riding. BUT what really sucks is, that mid sentence last night when Jenn and I were talking, i stopped and went "you have got to be $^&*(^$%@# kidding me..." out of nowhere it dawned on me that all my snowmobiling gear is 6 hours north in wisconsin still with the other sleds... since no one lives up there, and neither do the few neighbors we know and trust, it looks like sometime between now and next wednesday i have to make a 12 hour turn and burn trip up there to get my gear... and my only day off is sunday... UGH. | ||
| No_rice |
Well after finally having bought myself a new M8000 a couple weeks ago, I threw together a quick trip with a friend out to Albany Lodge in Wyoming to try it out. Having never been on a sled in the mountains(spent my whole life trail riding in wisconsin or ditchbanging back home in iowa), and having never owned a mountain sled(I've had alot of sleds, a couple ZRT 800's and a couple Thundercats, Currently have the 13 F800 RR, 03 ZR 900, and the 1991 Prowler still), I guess I went all in... lol. We loaded up wednesday night after work and drove all night to get out there. unloaded the sleds bright and early and took off! Snow was a little sparse at the lodge. had to run some mud/slop to get to the snow the the first day.  I even broke it in right on it's first trip... 3 miles in and i decided to see how easy it rolled over... LMAO! I think it was upside down 3 times during the trip...  At night the temps were about freezing or so, so early in the morning the snow was damn hard!    Buuutttt.... "Screw it, I'm going sledding"!!!  Came across a creek, and just started following that cross country through the trees, having fun with the changing terrain and jumping back and forth across it.   I found a new friend at the lodge. He kept following me around...  That first night while having supper and drinks at the lodge, we started talking to the 2 only other people staying there. Ends up they were also from Iowa and had also just gotten there that morning. Whats even more funny is that one of the guys also had a new 2016 m8000 limited 153 in green... that he also bought from country cat... i called them on saturday about one and they said they were just selling their last 0 mile new one as we spoke... so I ran up there on monday and picked up there GM's 200 mile demo... just so happens the guy with the other green m8000 at the lodge, was they guy that bought that sled... lol. What are the odds that 2 guys that 2 guys from iowa, that dont know eachother both try buying literally the same sled from a dealership thats a good days trip away from either of them, then both still buy identical sleds from the same place 2 days apart, then a week and a half later both end up taking those sleds a couple states west to go ride on the same day at the same place... we thought it was funny! So Friday we had a group of 4! We ended up trailering about a half hour from the lodge to where they had found some good snow the day before. They were right, alot softer and more of it on the other side of the mountains!         We cut our trip short and just rode thursday and friday as did the other guys. But we did end the trip with a bang...! We had been riding all day and decided to play around on a fairly steep section for a bit. My buddy on the 174 took a run at a different, higher, narrower line to the top and did it with ease... until he decided to loop around and come back down... ran a little to close and got sucked into a tree swell that pulled him into the middle of this center grouping of trees... Took us about 30-45 minutes to get our butts hiked up there...    pictures never seem to show just how steep this damn stuff was, and how wedged the sled was. it took us close to an hour and a half to get this thing moved off the tree while trying not to lose it the rest of the way down the hill or on top of someone...  and back down we go.  He seems to have gotten pretty lucky. the angle he was at seems to have kept it from getting any suspension or bulkhead damage. tweeked the bumper but got the top of the hood, headlight and gauges etc...  We all got some serious sunburns. I was still peeling almost a week later!  But man was it fun! cant wait till next year, and getting the chance to try it out in some real powder! | ||
| Biffdotorg |
Amazing photos! Our Michigan group may have to head west next year too. Gotta explore some new terrain. | ||
| No_rice |
Thanks, It was a fun trip! I can only imagine what it will be like next year in some fresh deep powder! | ||
| 86129squids |
Hey folks- I've been vicariously enjoying youn's snow adventures here for a good while now... being a Tennessee boy, that kind of funnin' simply isn't available here. However, I gotta post up now and share what I just saw in my Cycle World that hit the mailbox yesterday- they reviewed a Timbersled Snowbike conversion kit! They had it set up on a Husky FE450, and DANG did that rig look kewl!!! http://www.timbersled.com/en-us/snow-bike WANT!!! Or, want to rent for a few days if I can ever come visit! | ||
| No_rice |
also, that damn 1991 prowler i've been fighting for awhile because it wouldnt run right... boils down to the fact that even though i tore the carbs apart a a handful of times, it was still a problem in the carb. just a very hidden one... I went to put it back together this last time... (i had already decided i was done with it and just going to head it down the road somehow, but wanted it out of the garage and was trying to load it on a trailer...) and when i was putting the slides and carb tops back on, one of the springs was WAY longer then the other one... which was making it difficult to fit back together. I kept thinking that was weird. decided id squeeze the throttle and it would compress the spring and id put it together... squeezed the throttle, and the slide didnt move... this whole time, the damn cable to one of the 2 carbs was broken up near where it splits from one cable to 2... so thats the reason it would fire up and idle great, but could hardly pull itself... because one carb was full throttle and the other was still at idle until it would get enough suction going into the "dead" cylinder to have the air force the slide open some and allow more fuel into it... then it would take off. throw on a new cable, get it all adjusted and away we go. Even enough oomph on couple year old gas to pick the skis up a bit! so the kids now have their sled to ride back again! It even still cleans up nice!  had to take it for a spin around the yard!(its a video but comes up like this... hmmm?!) | ||
| Biffdotorg |
Nice work! Keep that thing going, as entry-level sleds will never loose any more value if running. Glad you found the issue. | ||
| Biffdotorg |
Squids, check out Chris Burandt or Burandt Backcountry Adventures. Chris was once an Arctic Cat rider for many years. Got sponsored by Polaris and runs his own back country guiding service. He is known worldwide for his abilities in the trees. Since Polaris purchased Timbersled, they have been teasing him with the ability to run tighter tree lines with a converted bike. Check out his videos on YouTube. They will blow you away the technical lines he rides. I have met him a couple times and it's always an honor to shake his hand knowing what kind of skills he has. Enjoy! | ||
| 86129squids |
"Since Polaris purchased Timbersled"... Interesting. I like that they did that and also acquired Brammo.... makes me appreciate their corporate mindset. They're diversifying smartly, and offering very interesting products... unlike a certain Motor Company we all know.  | ||
| No_rice |
Hey folks- I've been vicariously enjoying youn's snow adventures here for a good while now... being a Tennessee boy, that kind of funnin' simply isn't available here. However, I gotta post up now and share what I just saw in my Cycle World that hit the mailbox yesterday- they reviewed a Timbersled Snowbike conversion kit! They had it set up on a Husky FE450, and DANG did that rig look kewl!!! I've been looking at the timbersleds for a long time! If they had a kit to bolt on my Husky sm610 I would probably have gotten one already...(although im positive I could modify a kit to work...) The Lodge I stayed at in Albany on my trip in April says they rent timbersleds... I would probably rent one sometime when we go out just to give it a shot. Arctic cat has gotten on the bandwagon and is producing a factory snowbike http://www.snowbikeworld.com/2016/03/arctic-cat-20 17-svx-450-snowbike Glad you found the issue. Me too, honestly I had convinced myself I was done trying to figure it out... Squids, check out Chris Burandt or Burandt Backcountry Adventures. Chris was once an Arctic Cat rider for many years. Got sponsored by Polaris and runs his own back country guiding service. He is known worldwide for his abilities in the trees. Since Polaris purchased Timbersled, they have been teasing him with the ability to run tighter tree lines with a converted bike. Check out his videos on YouTube. They will blow you away the technical lines he rides. I have met him a couple times and it's always an honor to shake his hand knowing what kind of skills he has. i have been looking into trying to make a trip to one of his rides/riding clinics. Or heading to Whistler, British Columbia to go out for something similar with Jorli Ricker and Brett Turcotte out at SnowRide Adventures http://www.snowrideadventures.com/guiding/ I have REEEAAALLLLYYY been trying to come to the terms with the price to do this with Chris Burandt... Fly and Ride In South America, on the Andes Mountains near Chili!!!! want.... http://www.burandtsbackcountryadventure.com/bba.ns f/html/Chile+Riding+Adventures | ||
| Biffdotorg |
Polaris has acquired a number of companies and let them do their own thing. It's makes me wonder what they have in the works. For example, they acquired Klim, but we have yet to see their influence on that brand other than you don't see anymore Klim Yamaha products (smile) But acquiring Timbersled and not developing a bike for distribution is odd. I'm guess it was because they didn't have a good bike partner yet. Or they are developing a dirt bike under the Victory brand that could be used. And then there is Arctic Cat who partnered with Camso to release their snow bike for 2017 and didn't use their relationship with Yamaha to source the bike. My guess is they went on the cheap. All I know is the OEM of the bike has a chinese sounding name. The dirt guys recognized it the minute it was shown at Haydays last year. Around our part of the country, the snowbikes won't take off. They are poor for riding trails. Their only saving grace may be ditch banging. But then again, many guys buy tens of thousands of dollars in sleds that they never ride in MN and trailer to the mountains 2-3 times/year. | ||
| No_rice |
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| No_rice |
And then there is Arctic Cat who partnered with Camso to release their snow bike for 2017 and didn't use their relationship with Yamaha to source the bike. My guess is they went on the cheap. All I know is the OEM of the bike has a chinese sounding name. The dirt guys recognized it the minute it was shown at Haydays last year. Around our part of the country, the snowbikes won't take off. They are poor for riding trails. Their only saving grace may be ditch banging. But then again, many guys buy tens of thousands of dollars in sleds that they never ride in MN and trailer to the mountains 2-3 times/year. yes, im not sure what it is either, but i know some of the guys knew it as something like a Chinese brand also. Yamaha would have made sense.... And I just entered that group of people who spent a bunch on a new sled that for the most part will never get ridden up north or around home and will only be ridden a handful of times a year when hauled to the mountains... it was a hard call for me to not invest in a snowbike yet. i hope to maybe rent one for a day next year or something and try it out. maybe that will be on my list after i get to ride one. And you are correct, one of the drawbacks is that they wont even be mildly good for a trail. now, maybe if spike technology catches up to them it may make that work a little better. | ||
| No_rice |
well, just sent my junk powercommander(imagine that) on the 13rr back to them to get tested and replaced. hopefully they have rectified the problem finally and i wont get a constant engine codes... | ||
| Biffdotorg |
I had a flashback of this conversation this week. As my neighbor across the street just purchased a totaled Buell Blast on a salvage auction. He gets it home, gets a key made and it fires right up. Obviously, this is not the ideal bike for a snowbike kit, but the thought crossed our minds!! Summer has hardly fired up, and I am already scoping out sleds for flipping this fall. There is always a good deal to be had and a few dollars to be made. | ||
| No_rice |
yeah, i dont think the blast would have the oomph needed to spin the track real hard! lol and it's a little harder around here to flip sleds. just isnt a real big market. plus, most of the "cheap" sleds have been destroyed ditch banging by the young pups. | ||
| Loose1 |
I just got a line on a blast basket case and I've been thinking of building a snowmobuell for awhile. Since blast's aren't really worth much and don't sell well where I'm at I might try it. Matt | ||
| Biffdotorg |
I don't believe the engine is it's only downfall. It's more the geometry of the frame, weight and shocks. A dirt bike is the bike of choice for sure. The ideal engine is the 450cc 4-strokes, so this engine would be interesting, but the size of that powerplant is nothing like the 450cc dirt bike motors. Back to flipping, we are just a couple months away from Haydays. If a gem is found in a market that is poor, hauling it to Haydays can pay for your trip real easily. Offering it for sale on C-list with delivery to Haydays grows your market to a multi-state region as everyone wants a reason to tow a trailer to Haydays!! (Message edited by biffdotorg on June 27, 2016) | ||
| No_rice |
Hmmm, you are right. And we have taken a few sled in lately... Just took an 06 rmk 144 today. Needs a big cleaning... | ||
| Biffdotorg |
I am blown away by the dealers that haul in truck loads of used sleds to dump at Haydays because snow conditions have been bad. And then I see dealers from other regions with triple axle flatbeds picking up anything they can get their hands on and hauling them home. It's crazy for sure. I have hauled down a sled, or picked up a sled the past three years. It really does broaden that market and help justify the trip. I have to start my shopping list now, as it is much more fun to walk when I have a list of things I may like to find. Even through I can usually get as good of a deal online. Although, this year I want to shop for tires for my Wildcat. They are so expensive to ship, that deals online are not as common. Especially on Ebay. Shipping kills the deals | ||
| No_rice |
maybe i'll find something worth bringing to try to sell... yes i also need to look for some stuff this year since i took up mountain riding...! need to get a fuel can for the tunnel, shovel, probably some kind of a tech vest might be smart... and on and on. | ||
| Biffdotorg |
Only 46 days till Haydays!! WOO WOO!! | ||
| Loose1 |
All the swap spots are filled for Haydays. One month to the outlaw grass drags double Woo who. | ||
| No_rice |
I'm still trying to figure out my plan for haydays. Jenn apparently signed up for a competition that weekend, so she wont be along. sounds like i may end up making the trip myself. not sure on my lodging yet... and i need to sit down and make a list of stuff i need to find. | ||
| Biffdotorg |
Levi Lavallee doing a big ramp jump for the anniversary at Haydays this year!! 5pm Saturday! | ||
| No_rice |
Levi Lavallee doing a big ramp jump for the anniversary at Haydays this year!! 5pm Saturday! i saw that was going to be happening. im not sure if ill still be there at 5. sounds like everyone is bailing on me, so i may be lone rangering it up there for the day then come back home or something. not really sure now... ugh its not as much fun walking around by yourself all day | ||
| Biffdotorg |
In case you do not follow Levi on Facebook or Instagram, here are some of the photos he put up from the SnoBarons Haydays grounds. He is measuring and setting up for roughly a 200ft sled jump at the grassdrag finish line! WOW!   | ||
| Biffdotorg |
I am hearing word of the first snow falling in the mountains. Heck with 49 degree evenings forcasted this weekend, my mind will be shifting to snow too!! | ||
| No_rice |
at some point i need to gain some ground on my projects so i can get to wrenching on the sleds. need to pull all the shocks off the zr900, and find a place to send them out for a rebuild before winter. | ||
| Loose1 |
Tim, all the guys at work use this guy. He knows what he's doing and at a fair price. http://myshockshop.com/ Matt |
