It was time to step into new sleds.....

[Scottyb]

From This....I have a dozen of these old sleds...


,


To these... just bought them last week. Yamaha Nytros 1049cc 4 strokes.

[Lavoy]

What are you going to do with all the suspension travel (other than be able to walk the next day)?
lavoy

[Scottyb]

It ia a whole new learning experience! I am trying to get used to letting off on the throttle while standing, the engine brakes the sled and I am going to get tossed over the hood! And hang on, they take off faster than I am used to.

[Scottyb]

on the next trip to the cabin we will test that suspension travel. I reckon that when we get some drifts on the lake that the ride will be a bit improved over my 6 1976 Arctic Cats!

[pop pop]

whats all that white stuff laying all over?haha, new sleds , ya right, more like new rockets.
but i suppose they are better in many ways.
my newest one was a 76 and sticking with JD's it was a jdx8 with boggies.
it would do anything i wanted, but back then i was a little more acrobatic too.
then for some reason i fell in love with this warmer climate and moved here and rubber tracks were replaced with steel ones.
now i dont fret the barbwire.

[Scottyb]

So the big problem I have with these new sleds is that it seemed only appropriate that a new outfits were in order for the wife and I as, my current outdoor outerwear looks like I put on a thrown track in the mud and did a yard full of oil changes in them. So off we go today to the sled shop for new duds. Now for her skinny figure well, she looks good and fits in everything. Me however at 5'9 210 it is necessary to go to a XL just for butt and belly comfort. The problem is, everything in my size is 6" too long in the leg. So after trying on everything in the store, we see a 2XL in the women's section. Perfect fit. OK, it has a few pink markings on the inside but I have black dye. Otherwise man, these are the most comfortable fit ever! Gortex, Thinsilate, pockets....The tag reads "designed by women for women."

[Lavoy]

Many, many years ago I had a 76 Panther 4000 that I rode. One night after a run I got up in middle of the night to pick up my oldest out of her crib in the middle of the night. When I found I couldn't do it, the old Panther went down the road for a 95 Pantera EFI, WOW what a change.
As for clothing, up til that time I was wearing my Carhartt bibs and coat. I always told everyone it was not that I didn't have the right clothes on, just that Carhartt needed to make a snow mobile.
Lavoy

[JWB Contracting]

You are going to need some new snow gear as these sleds will go a little faster than the old cats plus they offer little to no wind protection.

I sport a full Klim suit (coat, bibs and boots). Very good quality and waterproof. Essential just a very expensive shell but well worth it. They come in all sizes.

Nothing much wrong with a Yamaha, I just prefer to doo it on an 09 800 XP which is piped, clutched and a set of reeds. I have an 99 1000 triple thundercat as well but it needs some clutching and throttle cables before ridding it.

Will be riding this Sunday so my 420 crawler will put on hold for another weekend.

[Paul Buhler]

A different kind of sled.
http://burlington.craigslist.org/hvo/4287663399.html
At Killington, we had LMC mount a big Braden constant tension winch in the back of one of their grooming tractors and explored winching to bring snow back uphill on steeper terrain with an attached second groomer. Now it's common practice using self contained winch systems. The LMC platform had good access and reliability as a 18 hr/day spartan working machine. As a hobby toy, it looks like this person made a nice package; not cheap, but fun to look at. Plan on needing trails at least 10 feet wide