Maggot snowmobile thread

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Originally Posted by Loon

Bout to pull the trigger on a "new" 2009 summit everest 800/154. Going to be my first sled, will be used for sledskiing in AK. Any words?

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If your new to all this, find a good crew to show you uprouts, teach you how to get unstuck solo and get an idea of the best riding techniques and learning how to keep the sled on "edge"

From your TRs last season it looks like you've got a solid hookup in that area that shall not be named, but he never leaves that valley so find some more folks to schralp with and try not to reinvent the wheel. I have a few buddies that are on REV's and new this season that I'll be showing around a bit. maybe PM me and I'll let you know when were headed out. also I would highly suggest getting a night and weekend job because being a weekend worrior around here can get a little insane with giant trucks/trailers, stupid parking and clueless rednecks. on the other hand weekdays alot of times are just you and your buddies with miles of terrain and freshies.

Sold my 04 RMK and picked up an 08 Dragon 700 155 with only 580 miles. All it needs is a little clutch work and I am set.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72...r/IMG_8260.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72...r/IMG_8259.jpg

IQ Chassis = Goodness
Nice sled.

more stoke for ya!


The stable (minus the freestyle sled)

mine, Abby's, spare
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_1554.jpg

Abby

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_1901.jpg

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_2080.jpg

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...oveland617.jpg

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...negulch168.jpg

killin it on an M1000
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...uenceemail.jpg

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...quezclose2.jpg

this guy

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...oveland726.jpg

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/IMG_8854.jpg

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...ipsequence.jpg

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...108msc-2-2.jpg

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/DSCF4987.jpg


BTW, nice shots JV, I need to get back down to your area again this year.

Blurred, PM free agent on SW for the power claw if you don't already have one..

Nice pics, C.

Found this on the interwebs with afternoon...

http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/mar...nt?oid=1283089

If these guys have their way, we wont be using our sleds for ski access on forest service land either. :cussing:

I was also disappointed to see a long list of corporate sponsors that represent products that I currently purchase, have purchased and own. :mad:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AlpenChronicHabitual

Found this on the interwebs with afternoon...

http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/mar...nt?oid=1283089

If these guys have their way, we wont be using our sleds for ski access on forest service land either. :cussing:

I was also disappointed to see a long list of corporate sponsors that represent products that I currently purchase, have purchased and own. :mad:

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That link redirects to their home page. What's the article about?

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/DSCF4987.jpg
This pic makes me sweaty....did y'all send it or what?

Blurred...
Fixed it.

Mark Menlove
Advocating for the peace and quiet of winter
by Nathaniel Hoffman


Mark Menlove is the executive director of Winter Wildlands, a national group that advocates for "human-powered winter sports" on behalf of 34 grass roots winter recreation groups in 11 states. Menlove worked in the ski resort industry before moving into public lands activism. His 9-year-old organization has been involved in a high-profile dispute over snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park for years, but is also working with many National Forests, including the Payette and Clearwater, on managing winter travel to provide "places of quiet and places to really rejuvenate and recreate, in the truest sense of that word, which is to re-create," as Menlove put it.

You worked at ski resorts before this gig?

My background is in the ski resort industry. I worked for the U.S. Ski Team for a while in the late '80s doing communications and media relations stuff. And then I worked for Park City Resort for a number of years, still tied in closely with the U.S. Ski Team and what they were doing with World Cup racing and things. And then I ran Ski Utah and the Utah Ski Association, which is the trade organization and marketing arm of the ski resort industry in Utah. You know, a lot of it was really great, but it also seemed like the farther up I got within the resort industry side of things, the less it seemed to have to do with skiing and the more with, you know, the bottom line, and I got kind of disillusioned with the whole growth for growth's sake mentality that was really rampant at that point in the mid-'90s. So I just dropped out and went back to graduate school, actually in creative writing, or as one of the Ski Utah board members put it at my last meeting, "Mark is leaving us to pursue a degree in poverty," which turned out to be prophetic.

Are you a really good skier?

I like to ski. I ski a lot. It's been a passion of mine since as long as I can remember. I grew up right at the base of the Wasatch in the Salt Lake Valley and skied a lot growing up. I still enjoy ski resorts, but my passion these days is backcountry skiing and that has added a whole different realm in terms of my enjoyment.

What is the status of your Yellowstone snowmobile case?

It is our highest profile issue, and it's also interminable. We're actually making real progress. The National Park Service announced [recently] a two-year rule that limits the number of snowmobiles to 318 a day. They all have to be the best available technology, which is a four-stroke machine, and they all have to be commercially guided. And that's less than half of what the daily limit was up to this point. We still think it should go farther. The situation on the ground in Yellowstone is night and day from what it was eight or 10 years ago.

Do you think they should be eliminated from the park?

I'm not sure I'd go that far. We're a lot closer to striking a balance now. The bottom line for us is the park needs to be protected. It's a magical place in winter. It's our first National Park and one of our icons as far as a sanctuary, and we need to treat it as such. And to their credit, I think, the snowmobile industry has come closer to being able to do that and certainly, this guiding requirement and the best available technology requirement are helping.

Would you say the majority of the issues you deal with are snowmobile-skier related?

Yes. We're making headway. One of our biggest issues right now is the Forest Service travel management plans, which prescribe where motorized vehicle use is or is not appropriate. There was a new rule that came out in 2005 that sort of directs all of this, and it limits off-road vehicle use to designated routes and trails or areas. It's been great in controlling wheeled ORV use, ATVs and dirt bikes and whatnot, and eliminating cross-country travel, but the rule excludes snowmobiles, or their term is "over-snow vehicles." And so it allows each forest, if they choose to manage winter use and snowmobiles they can, but they don't have to, and so that's one of our biggest issues right now is trying to convince the Forest Service at the national level to do away with that loophole for snowmobiles. And also to work at the forest level to convince each forest to choose to manage winter use. The Clearwater National Forest right now is putting together their travel plan. They have chosen to manage winter use and their draft plan is a really good, well-balanced plan, leaving a lot of area open for snowmobiles, but also protecting other large areas for non-motorized use.

What are the impacts of snowmobiles?

Treetop damage. There's soil compaction, especially when they ride them on low snow levels. And the issue for us that really comes to bear is quiet. We believe that the natural sights and sounds of winter, and especially quiet, that's a resource that the Forest Service should be managing. There needs to be places where we can go into the backcountry and find quiet, get away from all of the city noise. So that's an impact that clearly snowmobiles have. And then there's the air quality issue, which in a place like Yellowstone, where you have snowmobiles confined in one area, it can be a huge impact.

Do you have plans for the winter?

We do an annual hut trip with my family. The kids ski in and haul their own stuff in. We'll do that for sure in February or March. I'm hoping to get back over to Yellowstone again with our family. I'll do at least another hut trip in Idaho with probably grown ups. My kids are both in the ski program at Bogus, which by the way I think is just a fantastic resort. With my background in the ski industry and that disillusionment that I talked about, when I look at Bogus, it's everything a ski resort should be and none of the things that it shouldn't be.

Just an FYI:

Rock Maple Racing (http://www.rockmaple.com/pages/schedule.shtml) is starting off their season December 12 & 13 at Hickory Ski Center http://www.skihickory.net in Warrensburg, NY.

Considering an 04 Summit 800 144" X series or whatever. BRAND new motor. 4k Backup sled of a buddy so its seen very little use. (The motor was actually taken out to put into a different sled mid season-thus the reason for this sled getting a new motor right now...)

Thoughts? This will be my first sled.

Miles? Most Summit 800s have new motors 'cause the old ones blew up.

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Originally Posted by JeffreyJim

Considering an 04 Summit 800 144" X series or whatever. BRAND new motor. 4k Backup sled of a buddy so its seen very little use. (The motor was actually taken out to put into a different sled mid season-thus the reason for this sled getting a new motor right now...)

Thoughts? This will be my first sled.

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H.O. motor?


If so, you hit that shit. I bought a 2004.5 (05 model available at the end of 2004) last year. That was my second sled last year after first getting an 06 RMK. Best move I ever made. They had some problems with flaking piston rings which is a very easy fix. I replaced mine before I ever took it out on snow. But if you're getting a new motor in it...........

As far as that chassis goes, it's very easy to ride IMO compared to some other sleds out there. I don't know about CO but it seems like everyone around here that uses sleds for skiing ends up on one of these things. And that shorter (by today's standards) track actually makes it really easy to maneuver in trees.

Plus skis fit really easily in the running boards :D

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Originally Posted by squirrelmurphy

Miles? Most sleds that have new motors 'cause the old ones blew up.

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Fixed it for you...

Some summit engines blew up due to cranks failing.
This is/was a small percentage of sleds sold.

A more common issue has to do with rings.
The Rev series was very popular as it raised the bar, Ski-doo sold a lot of these sleds. As a result, you heard about it happening more often to these models compared to other manufacture/models.
Not all Rev's had issues with rings.

We have two 04 800/151's that both have over 2000 miles on them with no issue.

The jury has been in for a while....Cats rule.

Oh yeah. JefferyJim and anyone else looking to get a sled. Get used to douchebags who think one brand is always better than the other three. :D

Its personal preference. They ride differently I wouldn't say necessarily that one is vastly superior to the other. The new 'doos are more maneuverable, nimble, light. They require more skill to handle sometimes. Cats are super easy to lay over, boondock and sidehill, but not as nimble or light. Snopro's also come with waaaaaay better stock suspension than summit's do.

I've ridden quite a few sleds, but I like the way the RevXP's handle. As for "new" engines... I just sold my 2007 Summit 800 144" with a new engine, (I had 2 engine warranties on it) and I just warrantied the engine on my 09 summit after 800km... they blow up, welcome to sledding.

Why do you keep buying Ski-Doo when you've grenaded 3 engines in 2 years?

Get a cat, the difference isn't much except you'll ride a lot more considering your engine won't be blown after every third ride. ;)

It never ceases to amaze me how tolerant of exploded motors snowmobilers are, as a group. EVERY time I go into the local SkiDoo shop, there are three or four motors on the bench, with big, ugly holes in them. Yet, somehow, people keep buying them.

Dunno, maybe I'll be OK with motors exploding at some point, but I don't think so. I'm starting to develop a liking for Cats, too - a fair number of people I know ride them with good results.

So far, mine have been reliable (lowly sub-800 SkiDoos - recommended to me because they "don't" blow up). Sure, every motor CAN fail, but it seems that the ones I've got tend not to fail.

Who knows. I ALMOST pulled the trigger on an 08ish RevXP this fall, ehhhh, glad I did not - my sleds certainly have more miles, but they do the trick. If one explodes, though....hrmph.



Iain

I've ridden M8's, turbo'd yammy's, dragons etc, I prefer the way the 'doos handle. Every engine I've blown has been under warranty, without cost to me just missing out on riding time. My buddies riding cats blow engines too, my room-mate blew the engine on his arctic cat within a month of getting it. Tim blew 3 engines on his cat in 1 year. If you ask more of your machine you will break it more often.

I also ride 3-4000km a year. So sure, your engine may blow at 2000km, 3 years after you bought it but I passed the 2000km mark 2-3 months after getting my first sled. I picked up my 09 late last spring and put 800km on it within a month.

I'm also hucking my sled off things, and riding 'mountains', breaking trail etc. Trail riding is much less demanding, as is simple sled skiing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GoNads

I've ridden M8's, turbo'd yammy's, dragons etc, I prefer the way the 'doos handle. Every engine I've blown has been under warranty, without cost to me just missing out on riding time. My buddies riding cats blow engines too, my room-mate blew the engine on his arctic cat within a month of getting it. Tim blew 3 engines on his cat in 1 year. If you ask more of your machine you will break it more often.

I also ride 3-4000km a year. So sure, your engine may blow at 2000km, 3 years after you bought it but I passed the 2000km mark 2-3 months after getting my first sled. I picked up my 09 late last spring and put 800km on it within a month.

I'm also hucking my sled off things, and riding 'mountains', breaking trail etc. Trail riding is much less demanding, as is simple sled skiing.

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I've got one word for you.....MODS.
You can make just about any sled handle the way you like with mods..... Sleds are like skis, it's more about rider skill than the tool.
Blowing an engine on a sled within a month of getting it new just tells me someone didn't properly break it in and was abusive.
It's really no mystery to the general public that the summit engine sucks dick and 'nades all the time.
[ame="http://www.snowest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50659"]Who all have had their 800 blow? - SnoWest Forum[/ame]

Repeatedly buying a sled that consistently 'nades on you doesn't seem smart.

And sure, your mileage/kilometers might be up there, but so are mine.
Jumping off shit or what not has absolutely nothing to do with the motor....you'd think if you put so many km on your sled, you really get out there.....in spots where blowing a motor is bad....real bad.
It's situations like that when you really consider what's important....maybe you haven't had that overnighter out in BFE cuz your new sled shit the bed....but for me, that's when it becomes really apparent what's important.


And Nads, we probably wouldn't be having this convo if we got to ride on VP that one day.......unfortunately, my ski-doo shit the bed that week and it wasn't possible.

Maybe some day, now that I have a Cat. :)

edit:Burandt jumped!!!! ack! :)

I've heard Nads has a heavy thumb too.

All snowmachines break, it's a toy.

Woh! Lots of good info. Thanks.

Here is the deal, I come from a *pretty* competitive DH race background (mountain) where breaking shit was just part of the deal. Hell, even now that I'm a washed up guy who "just rides trails" I seem to break a couple hundred dollars of shit a month. (and I know this is nothing in the sled world)

Point is, shit breaks no matter what you are doing...I've accepted this.

The reason going Ski Doo is soooo appealing to me is one of my good buddies is a Ski Doo mechanic and can take care of my sled virtually labor free (so long as I take care of his mountain bike...hehe...good trade eh?)

Anyway, between this and the performance aspect of going Ski Doo it seems like the right call...but I do want reliability so I dunno.

The reason the sled is getting a new motor is like I said, half way through the season they needed to take the motor out of the backup sled (the one I'm buying) to put in one of their crazy high performance hill climb sleds. They are giving me a new motor to complete the sled....mileage on this sled is sub 1000 (I believe...I haven't seen it in person...)

Anyway, all and all it seems like a good buy...and I'm more concerned about "buying right" than anything because come 1 year from now there is a good chance I'll be getting rid of the sled....

/blog

The old rotax HO motors (which is what should be going into this sled) are great motors. They're not the same ones that gonads keeps blowing up. For about TWO model years, they had the piston ring problem mentioned. Some did, others didn't. But like I said......if you're getting a brand new one, it's not an issue.

And yes sleds are like bikes in that if you do your research and keep things in good working order, life is wonderful. That's also a benefit of buying an older one. All the problems are well discovered so you can fix them.

Thought this might be pertinant in the Sled thread. The Snowest sight is taking a dump (gotta pay to use), so everyone is switching to:
www.backcountryrebels.com

It's meh, but why the hell would anyone pay to use the snowest forums.

The wife and I had our lousy unreliable Revs out the other day man do those sleds suck.:rolleyes: