What do you do until winter comes around? Does it drive you crazy that winter wont be here and you cant ride for like 6 months? Ive got this new sled and cant ride it for half a year . Ive finally got a pic up of it, and would like to see anyone elses on here if they have pics.

 

I got a pic as my avatar. I live on a river, so I ride jet skis and do alot of boating. I also attend watercrosses and grass drags

 

Ah sweet i always wanted to try jet skis. Ive been to a couple grass drags and would like to more often, but whenever i get a chance i go to the dragway here.

 

I had ordered mine in april 03, got it october 03, drove it for 1 day ~ 120mi for my first season. I'm used to it sitting on the trailer by now. This last season I reached the 1000 mi mark, but i just spent $300 on it and had it all ready to go but before I knew it the season ended shortly after that. We got tons of snow late in the season and before ya knew it temps were too high and it was gone.

 

During the summer I mostly farm, but this year I'm putting in some volunteer work. Hopefully I'll find some time to hit the lake scene during my off days.

Summer isn't really bad until the point comes where it's fall-like conditions. At that point I get a little ambitious to get out and ride. This past year really sucked. We got some snow in October that got me thinking it'd be an awesome winter. Turned out I only put about 250 miles on around home, and another 200 from road trips up north. I usually average 1000-1500 miles a year. Hopefully this coming year will bring more snow.

As for pictures, click HERE to view my main sled. It's a 1998 Arctic Cat ZR 600. Feel free to view the rest of my page. You'll find pics of my pickup, my other sled, and some action shots as well.

 

I haven't had a sled for about five or six years. I used to ride mostly junk that I'd pick up for $50-100, ride till it died, then get another. I once had a 72 Polaris, I think the model was a star or something, I dropped in a 432 twin from another sled that wrecked, and ran that most of the season. Cool old machine, the ride sucked and one of the bogies had a flat spot that really shook bad at higher speeds, but it was pretty good. One note of caution- if you are on a lake, and get your non- studded, non- carbided machine going, it will not turn, and takes more time to stop than to go. In other words, it will continue past the end of the lake, up the bank, and into that big rock, even if you bail off and slide into the softer snow by the rock.
As for other machines I've had, I found out that it is possible to launch the rear suspension out the front of the machine when jumping a road, front gas tanks went extinct because they tend to catch fire when you hit a tree, especially when you hit the tree because a 30 year old tie rod end fails, and if you put tractor tires on the front spindles during the summer you can ride an old machine during the summer.

 

Well as of right now were trying to sell our last snowmobile.Used to have four,but with each years their was less ands less snow.So once we sell this last one,we'll get a pool or tanning bed,maybe both if I'm lucky!

 

I think I ride sleds more in the summer than I do in the winter. We have a club here with a group of guys that do a lot of grass drags. So most every weekend coming up in the end of july we'll start traveling to races. Always a lot of fun, especially when we do well.
www.teamwolfpackracing.com
Well, looks like we got a new website, that isn't up and running yet.

One of the guys we race with, and other other one we know real well, run the ISDRS here in Iowa for races.
http://www.geocities.com/isdrs1/

country sweetie- if you put a pool in, let me know, I might have to stop by when we are in Wisconsin at the races!

 

heres some pics of mine from yellowsstone. (normally sled in WI and the UP, have 10 sleds for the whole fam)

http://www.fortjake.com/sledtrip/

only the first 2 folders work

I'm also active on a snowmobile newsgroup

 

One of my freinds only rode once durring the season 2 years ago, and Broke his jackshaft. We figured it cost him 6 bucks a mile that year.....

And when the snow is on the ground, You gotta drop everything to get out there and ride

 

Yeah, I used to plan trips and go way more often than I have in the last couple years. I've been riding for about 18-19 years now (right off the crib pretty much). I remember getting a lot more snow years ago then we do now. This last year was pretty good, but with my work and college, it's very difficult for me to plan a trip around everyone else's schedule too. Last year, we made it interesting. It was mid season, terrible year, and we found the opportunity to be able to go. His sled was burried on the 2nd floor of a garage and had been sitting for about 2-3 years. We "borrowed" a forklift from the neighboring garage, and got it down, loaded it in the trailer, he went home to pack, i went home to get his sled running. Put new plugs in it, small amount of fuel down both cylinders, pretty much fired right up, drove it around the front yard a few times, and off we went. Drove up 3 hrs to maine, got about 5-6 hrs of sledding in, and drove home.

This last year we had 1-2 one day trips, but we got a couple multi day trips in which worked out well. I saw some great riding up in rangeley maine, but that was about 50/50 most of the time.

This coming season, I'm going to have all my stuff packed up and ready to go in the closet, have 1 small bag for items you require that weren't packed away, and be ready to go at all times. That way, I can just throw my stuff in the truck, load up the trailer, and go at any point. Usually I just round up my stuff and go, but it'll make it easier come 'go time'.

It's sad to say, but I think my involvement in the sport won't last for as long as I'd like. I was ready to sell my sled if this season turned out poor like the last one. Makes no sense to have a $9000 machine sit in a trailer and depreciate. I did have a decent season, but I usually shoot for 1500 mi and got 900. This is also considering the fact that, until I got this new sled last year, I drove a little slower. Couple times this year I hit 100+ miles in only a couple hours.

 

maybe get an older (2000ish) sled

 

Interesting that you say that. Last year on a trip with my Bro in law and his whole family, I got to ride sleds that were from the mid 90's on up to a 2004. I had as much fun on the $1500 sleds as on the $6000 ones...Then again, I basically refuse to buy brand new anything when I can get it a year old and in good shape. The depreciation is way too high for me, especially when you don't really "need" a sled. My next one will be at least a couple years old, and in the neighborhood of $2000.

 

sled technoladgy has come A LONG way in the past 10 years, anything 5 years old or so is light years ahead of stuff from the early 90's. our oldest sled is a 97, newest is a 03

 

We usually summerize the sleds and put them in the trailer and set it in the field and let them be until November. We generally put on about 2000 miles a year here in Michigan around the Newberry area. We have a couple of F7's and a sabercat, can't wait for the cold weather again!