'12-13 Snowmobiling season!

[SnowMule]

I love this sled.


Found the meadow we scoped out on google earth. Now that the weather's clear, we tore the shit outta this field.












250cm = 8 feet of snow.


mah buggy




Stop for lunch


Then back to the canyon for some more playin around


and some tree-bashing

[SnowMule]

Out with Watt on friday, took us to his secret spots.


Vern's crank bearing went out thursday, so he rented a 'doo for the day


Jeff on his 146" doo


Top o' the world






Boooo....


Out to a restaurant where one of Jeff's ex-guides works as the cook...
Best damn dinner i've had in a while. Calamari, chipotle chicken appetizers... steak, crab, pasta dinner... apple pie with homemade ice cream, and cheesecake for dessert.

[canuckAME]

Wondering about the machine with the really long track. Is this stock or a modified sled?



Thanks for posting. Was hoping to get to West Yellowstone this winter and renting sleds but didn't work out. Thanks for showing what we missed

[SnowMule]

That is a brand new '13 Pro-RMK 800, 163" track.
Dogmeat bought that monday morning.

My sled's a 155", and there's not many situations where I want a longer track. In fact, there are times I'd kinda want a shorter one over a longer track.... spring riding, for example, would be a lot more fun on a short-track.

For deep pow hillclimbing, nothing beats the traction of a longer track (and a turbo to keep it spinning).

[RustySpokes]

Originally Posted by SnowMule

Vern's crank bearing went out thursday, so he rented a 'doo for the day

I'm seeing a trend here. These snowmobiles you speak of, they don't seem to stay in one piece.

[dorkpunch]

Yup... I live 2 hrs away from these awesome riding spots... But I can't afford the sled- let alone the repairs, the truck and trailer to haul 'em up there, the time off from work, the lodging, etc.

It is probably one of THE MOST fun things I've ever done- but its a rich mans sport.



(did I mention I'm a teacher?!)

Someday though, we will have sleds. My brother's in-laws have a cabin up in Island Park- and the rest of the family is thinking of eventually going in together on some property up there.

[Roostboy101]

Tug Hill, NY last weekend.



Just thought this was a neat pic:



Not as much powder as those above but we take what we can get

[SnowMule]

Originally Posted by RustySpokes

I'm seeing a trend here. These snowmobiles you speak of, they don't seem to stay in one piece.

That tends to happen when you ride them into trees, off cliffs, and roll them a few times on failed hillclimbs.

[Dukeryder]

Originally Posted by SnowMule

I love this sled.

SICK!

Yellowstone looks awesome! After driving over Rabbit Ears in near white out conditions on the way to Steamboat on Thurs night I was almost certain I'd see some pics from the weekend there in this thread.

[RustySpokes]

Originally Posted by SnowMule

That tends to happen when you ride them into trees, off cliffs, and roll them a few times on failed hillclimbs.

Yeah, I get that kind of damage. It's all the blown engines that that make me

Or is it just you and your buddies that blow them up all the time?

[SnowMule]

Originally Posted by RustySpokes

Yeah, I get that kind of damage. It's all the blown engines that that make me

Or is it just you and your buddies that blow them up all the time?

Combine the constant push for lighter weight and higher power engines, something's gotta give.

Like cylinder skirts.

Crossing my fingers that mine either makes it without issue, or breaks at the end of the season for Polaris to warranty.

[discochris]

Originally Posted by Dave in Wi

Snowmule, the difference between snowmobiling where you live & where I live is striking. I got to hit the trails near Minocqua, WI last weekend. Had a blast. It was -14F first thing in the morning. We waited till it warmed up a little ( to -4) to head out.

That was what this weekend looked like for us. Finally got out for the first time in two years by our place in Iron River. Had a lot of fun. My beater 1991 Indy Classic 500 ran great - that thing is beat to shit, but it just won't die. It's heavy as hell for trail riding in the woods (and I am sore as hell now), but I'm spoiled by the electric start and reverse. My wife's sled was recently rebuilt, but she needs something bigger. A 370 is just too slow. We do have a spare sled - a 1990 Prowler 440, and I took that to breakfast this morning. Starts and rides fine, but dies at idle. I suspect there might be something in the airbox, but it's got one of those airboxes that's halfway up under the bars, so I wasn't going to do anything with it this weekend.

I'd really like to get some nicer sleds, but until I can build a decent garage up there (and the boy is old enough to ride with us), they're stored outside on the trailer, so I don't want to invest too much. If someone steals them, I'm not out very much money now, and I'm not interested in hauling them home either.

Saw at least five snowmobile trailers broken down on the way home today. Pack those bearings people...

[Dave in Wi]

I was able to get out to the Lakewood, WI area with my neighbor last weekend. We got in 150 miles on Saturday. The trails were awesome in the morning, but prety beat up by the time we got back in the afternoon. The highlight of the day, we saw a wolf. I wish I could have got my camera out quickly, didn't get a pic of it. My sled seems to run great, but I will need to look at the clutch, it stuck engaged one time. And I need to do something about the darting, which was pretty bad. It did a complete "lane change" on me a couple of times. Under heavy throttle it's extremely stable, let off the gas and it fishtails, sometimes wildly. I plan on checking the alignment and adjusting the suspension for my weight. I hope I will get the chance to do that and try it out yet this season. I may get dually carbides as well. And yes, electric start and reverse are awesome. As well as adjustable heated grips and thumb lever.



Well enjoy the red x. Can't seem to get this pic to work. Bear with me, I will fix it when I get a chance.

[SnowMule]

150 miles in a DAY??
I think we did about 200 all week.

Check the ski alignment and camber on the front end... that's usually the cause of darting around on the trail. I'm assuming you've still got a sway bar in too... getting rid of that on my 900 helped a ton off-trail, but did make it tippy on the trail.

I clean the guts of the clutches every year... pull the helix out of the secondary and wipe everything down with some rubbing alcohol on a rag... scrub the sheaves on the primary with rubbing alcohol and blow out the guts with compressed air. Don't spray it down with cleaners, the phenolic bushings in there won't last long if you do that.
Another thing to look at... pull the weights out (wedge a wrench between the spider and outer sheave to take the pressure off the weights then pull the bolts out and yank the weights out of the clutch) and check over those bushings. If they're worn out and the weights can shift over to one side or the other, the clutch will hang up on those as it backshifts. If those bushings are shot, it might be worth going through all the bushings. You can get a rebuild kit for not too much $.

[Dave in Wi]

Thanks for the advice Snowmule. The service manual I just got calls for zero toe in or out- the old sleds I'm used to called for some toe out. I'll have to lay a tape on it and see what it's got.

I believe without clutch tools, I can only take the primary apart so far. We'll see how that goes.