the snowmobile thread

[DK35vince]

I used to snowmobile regularly in the winter.
Don't seem to get around to it nearly as often the last couple years.
Very little snow so far in Western, Pa. this winter.
I currently have a Polaris XLT Special.

 

[Dutch445]

I own a couple sleds, but haven't been on them this year yet,,
and only 1 short ride last year..
current inventory is a 96 Ski Doo Formula SS, 670CC liquid
cooled... 10" suspension,,, was a nice sled in it's day..
also have an 95 Indy 500, for her to ride... great sled,
both have been very dependable, although I have
had a few breaks in the formula suspension. (jumps?)

also have a couple vintage sleds... a 1980ish Citation,
skidoo with the 377 engine... used to run.. but haven't
touched it in years.. and then there's the old JD 300,
1974, picked up for nothing, as a project,, have yet
to start on. I'll be that ol JD doesn't have 1000 miles on
it! someday...

here's a picture of me and a bunch of us about 3 or 4 years ago,
when I lived on a lake nearby, and we would have gatherings
and get out a radar gun for the heck of it. (my formula did
hit 94 mph) my sled in the pic is the fourth from the right side,
purple. yuck,,,,

and here's the only pic i have of the JD 300,,

if only it would snow!

 

[Bob_Skurka]

also have a couple vintage sleds... a 1980ish Citation,
skidoo with the 377 engine... used to run.. but haven't
touched it in years.. and then there's the old JD 300,
1974, picked up for nothing, as a project,, have yet
to start on. I'll be that ol JD doesn't have 1000 miles on
it! someday...

I love the old sleds. I'd love to pick up a late 60's or early 70's Bombardier. They were the big old yellow sleds, some had a black stripe, looked sort of like a bumblebee. By today's standards they were heavy, hard to turn and slow, but the had a lot of character!!!

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

Due to the lack of snow anymore just can't justify the expense. Have thought about picking up an older sled for the once or twice a year we get enough snow to run one. Remember growing up my dad had a Arctic Cat Panther, I had a Polaris (don't remember the model anymore) my one brother had a Ski Doo TNT and my other brother had a Rupp...sure miss the fun we used to have!

 

[JimR]

Bob, You would have loved my old 1973 Ski Doo 640. It was a tank and had no reverse. It would literally get stuck and sink in a snow drift. It was too heavy to lift and throw around. Getting stuck meant digging the sled out and making a ramp up and out of the drift to get going again. It was not a good machine for breaking trails in new snow. It was however fine on well packed trails. That was the worst machine I ever owned. I did however love that little 1971 Ski Doo 299 TNT. It was light, great for trail making and a nice machine to ride on. I haven't had a sled in over 20 years now and miss it. I don't know if I will ever buy one again. Our snow season is so messed up there are years you can go without a good amount of snow to ride on. I don't like to have to take off somewhere to ride when I have miles of trails in the woods behind me.

 

[turbo36]

Bob, You would have loved my old 1973 Ski Doo 640. It was a tank and had no reverse. It would literally get stuck and sink in a snow drift. It was too heavy to lift and throw around. Getting stuck meant digging the sled out and making a ramp up and out of the drift to get going again. It was not a good machine for breaking trails in new snow. It was however fine on well packed trails. That was the worst machine I ever owned. I did however love that little 1971 Ski Doo 299 TNT. It was light, great for trail making and a nice machine to ride on. I haven't had a sled in over 20 years now and miss it. I don't know if I will ever buy one again. Our snow season is so messed up there are years you can go without a good amount of snow to ride on. I don't like to have to take off somewhere to ride when I have miles of trails in the woods behind me.

Those old machines sure were a lot of work! A good night of riding was 50 miles, 1 belt and two sets of plugs. A bad night was walking out of the woods with a flashlight!

 

[scott_vt]

Afternoon Bob,
Yep, I love your SnowTrack, awesome lookin machine, oh and a heater too !

 

[schmism]

the retreat camp i worked at as a kid had a small fleet of bombardiers....

like this

at one time they had 3 or 4 ... but over the years they were forced to canablize 2 of them for parts for the other 2....

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Well I love the nostalga machines, despite the fact that they might break down and yield a long walk home (I think that is called exercise ) It would be tough to beat an old Bombardier Ski Doo TNT or similar unit.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

the retreat camp i worked at as a kid had a small fleet of bombardiers....

like this

at one time they had 3 or 4 ... but over the years they were forced to canablize 2 of them for parts for the other 2....

There is a Canadian website that recently started up that you might want to take a look at. They discuss & restore the Bombardier ski busses (B12, C18, ect). Northern Tracks.com - Home is the home page. They have a discussion forum link from that home page and some other interesting pages, parts, projects, etc.

To get to their discussion forum click on the button called Bombardier Snow Mobile.

They have a photo gallery, and there is a restoration in pictoral form in the gallery as well as a couple other things.

Its a small site, but interesting.