Get, Get Out, and Ride!

As my semester comes close to wrapping up this spring I wanted to get my own wrap out there. I would love for people to continue following if they feel the need, if not its no sweat. But, as far as snowmobiling and motor sports are concerned I’m always interested and ready and willing to learn morn concerning this topic. 

I enjoy not just motor sports but everything concerning the outdoors. Since I was able to walk I have been hiking up mountains looking for deer, new terrain, fishing spots, or riding areas. I love traveling, but at the same time I enjoy staying here in Nevada and exploring the desert most love to hate.

Fortunately for me this desert, some call Nev-ahhh-da, offers many opportunities for the outdoors and motor sports enthusiast. In a 30 miles radius you can fish, hunt, ride snowmobiles and motorcycles, and check out the lakes. 

I encourage everyone who visits here to try anything they can while they are here, weather permitting, and even so let people know what you did and where. There are always areas in Northern Nevada that have yet to be explored and that I would be interested in seeing or hearing about. So if your “that guy” reading this blog, get up, get out and ride!

 

Power Tracks

Snowmobile is in essence a mobile vehicle on snow. Some genius decided to test the limits of the so called snowmobile. Why would a snowmobile HAVE to have one track and two skis?

The answer is there is now reason nor rule against anything or any variation that would be different. A smart young man, now the owner of Powertracks, has now been manufacturing and installing tracks for wheels on jeeps and small SUVs so that they may have fun in the snow as well. He created a mechanical, articulated machinery that distributes the weight of the vehicle over a larger surface area; making a jeep more practical in the snow, or any ground. The tracks are said to be awesome in multiple conditions such as snow, mud, sand, and anything in between. 

Plain and simple the tracks are an attractive alternative to snowmobile enthusiasts who are scared of getting cold. The rider will be warm, safe and comfortable. Perfect for an old person, not me, but still a great idea. The tracks are also used on trucks as well, that may carry heavy loads or going through tough conditions such as an untraveled route that could save transportation time by blazing a new trail. 

Cool idea, but very expensive, and at the same time may be worth it to some people.

 

GoPro

Go get one now. 

They honestly enhance your riding experience to a whole new level. I rode with mine all winter and them came home and watched all the clips over. Its like an instant replay from the riders point of view. If you have watch my promotional video, in the beginning, i nearly go over the bars. To watch something as funny as me almost crashing is priceless. The best part about it was that no one saw me do that besides the GoPro. From there I was fortunate enough to have the camera on, and then show people. 

Also, now that winter is winding down, it allows me to watch this winter at a glance and realize how much fun you can actually have. They aren’t just for snowmobilers; its a camera for any sport. You can mount a GoPro anywhere you can get the sticky mount to hold. It can be mounted on hoods, cars, helmets, chests, backwards on your helmet, your bike fender, handlebars, and even on a roll cage in a race car. They are the latest and greatest and most fun toy to have to recap what you have had fun doing. GoPro designed them so lightweight you can’t tell its mounted on your helmet, at all, contrary to popular assumptions. It beeps when you turn it on, when you record, and when you turn it off all for the easy use of the rider wearing the helmet. 

Simple, but advanced — the snowmobiling experience made better via GoPro.

 

HMK

HMK is a gear company along the same lines as Klim, but different. They have the worlds best freestylers, free riders, and snocross riders under their name. Chris Burandt, as I have stated his name before, is their first and primary rider due to his recognition as an incredible rider. They produce and sell anything from boots, jackets, gloves, outerwear, women’s gear, kids gear, helmets, and many more. 

One of my really good friends owns a pair of their boots and has no complaints about them at all. They are specifically known for their boots and market them heavily. They are said to have the most progressive and  technical components to man kind. They incorporate a Sympatex waterproof barrier inside, and a full grain leather upper to support you and keep you dry. The liners on the inside mold to the rider’s feet, along with an integrated air bag for the heal for optimal comfortability.They have the most high focus zonal lacing control over any other boots that allows micro adjustability and optimal fit for the style of riding you are jumping into. These boots are nice, but do not come cheap, at a price of $379.95. They come in either black or white. Very sleek and very nice looking boots I must say. 

They sell this boot describes above, called the Boa Focus, as well as four other boots called Team Boa, Team Lace Up, Voyager Boa, and the Voyager Lace up. Some with the zonal lacing and other regular lacing for whatever you prefer. They also sell special socks that better your experience, as well as new replacing liners if yours get unwearable. 

 

Arctic Man: Tough Mudder of the Snow

In the snowmobile industry there is such thing as the Tough Mudder, or the Marathon of today, its called the Arctic Man. A single team consists of two players; one player is a snowmobiler and the other a snowboarder. The snowboarder has to snowboard two miles, then the snowmobile pulls the snowboarder another two miles, and finally another two miles solely for the snowboarder. The pairs of teams must work together and if they do, they can be super fast. 

For the second year in a row ski doe’s Tyler Aklestad and skier Marco Sullivan won the competition with a blazing fast 4 minute, 4.8 second run. Their top speed was 80 miles per hour. This is a physically demanding race for anyone, but Aklestad is known all around for being one of the top cross country racers in the world. Backed by two Ski-Doo 600 snowmobiles they took the finish line in first place. 

Unfortunately this race sounds like it would be only for sponsored riders and teams, but sounds like a blast. Congratulations to the Ski-Doo team for taking the win two straight years in a row. 

Springtime Cleaning

Springtime is the time you finish up riding and start preparing your sled, and trailer for summer time. All the parts and oils are going to start drying out so its important to lube everything before summer really hits hard. If you don’t take necessary caution everything will become corroded and not work properly next season. Even though its time to start preparing for summer, its also just as relevant to not miss out on some good riding. But, after riding is over here are a few easy steps SnowGoer lays out for people to maintenance their toys and their trailers correctly:

“1. Spray the vertical tube of the tongue jack with WD-40 or similar, lightweight oil and then crank the jack up and down a few times to coat the metal surfaces with oil. Don’t forget to shoot the little plastic wheel’s axle so it continues to roll easily. If your tongue jack has a grease zerk, pump a shots of grease into it to keep it working smoothly.

2. Coat the tie-down bar cranks with anti-seize lube so they don’t rust over the summer. If your trailer has a ramp that’s secured to the trailer with a crank, do the same to protect those threads.

3. Douse the coupler assembly with oil and operate it a few times to work the oil throughout the mechanism. Hose down the safety chains, too.

4. If you have the means, raise the trailer off the ground and set the axle on wood blocks or bricks, and then lean a piece of plywood against each wheel. This will protect the rubber from the sun’s UV rays that cause dry rot.

5. Most snowmobile trailers have greaseable wheel hubs that make it easy to stay on top of maintenance. Pump a few shots of fresh grease into the hubs to displace water and lube the bearings. Some trailer axles have a small hole on the back of the hub so the old grease can be flushed out. Have a helper watch this area as you pump the grease gun until clean grease comes out, or you might be able to hear it crackle and pop as it oozes out.

At a minimum, the five snowmobile trailer maintenance tips listed above should be performed now. If you’re more ambitious, wash the trailer, too. Use a pressure washer to clean the deck — top and bottom surfaces — and rinse off the salt and grime that accumulated on the frame and wheels. Enclosed trailers should be washed with a soft-bristle brush and soap and water to preserve the finish.”

These are some new and very relative ways to keep your trailer from rotting in the summer. Also, every zerk fitting and every oil in your sled needs to oiled and greased to prevent corrosion. If you have gas in your sled make sure you put gas stabilizer in it to keep it from going bad. There are multiple ways to keep your stuff nice that many people overlook; thanks to SnowGoer we are now better informed. 

Yellowstone Riding Controversy

Yellowstone National Park is one of the best places to ride a snowmobile. It offers the most gnarly hill climbs and great powder. Because of it’s awesome terrain it offers endless opportunities, and sometimes injuries. Due to the injuries the government is, or has been, attempting to close it off, along with other national parks from snowmobilers. 

I thought this would be an important subject to brief over, as most snowmobilers may not be informed on the topic up to date. On April 13, 2012, a Denver appeals court decided to rehear the case concerning these regulations. On February 29, the decision came through on the federal limitations of snowmobiles as “the alleged injuries were not only generalized grievances, but also speculative and hypothetical economic interests not sufficient to demonstrate and injury to concrete interest.” This decision was then appealed by Park County’s Snowmobile Manufactures Association Inc. as they requested a rehearing by petition, stating they they have a right to influence rules because the federal ruling affected local economics. 

This is a controversy seen happening all over the world. Opponents say snowmobiling affects wildlife and “air structure”. First of all, snowmobiles ride solely on snow and do not affect the ground or wildlife or their habitat. Second of all, the air doesn’t have structure, and all the green freaks’ miniature smart cars probably emit more gases that harm the “air structure” even more than a snowmobile. As of now, Yellowstone has allowed a temporary snowmobile access rule for the 2011-2012 season to eclipse in March. This access rule only allows 318, wherever they got that number, professionally guided, pollution controlled snowmobiles into yellowstone daily. Its a shame that people are so worried about the “air structure” and tracks snowmobiles leave IN THE SNOW, that melts, to the extent of ruining someone else’s fun. 

 

Backflips

If your not doing backflips, and your in a freestyle competition, dirtbikes or snow, you need to give up. Every year the sport of wnomobile, and motorcycle, freestyle is pushed beyond the limits of a sane person. Backflips are the most common trick seen in a freestyle competition. They have multiple variations and combos to go with them, but it all start with the back flip.

A top contendor and stuntman on his snowmobile is Levi LaValle. He attempted the double back flip in the winter X-Games just recently. He completed the full rotation and landded but was unable to ride away, and instead fell off from the hard impact. He still would like to give it a shot, but doesnt know when. Sledracer.com did an interveiw on his attempt and his career:

sR: The double backflip, is that still on your radar?
LaVallee: It’s definitely on the radar; I’d like to do it again someday. I’d like to put it to rest in my mind. For me the book is still open, I want to close the book and put it on the shelf and call it done, but it’s no there yet.

sR: What do you think when you look at that sequence photo of the double backflip from Winter X?
LaVallee: I look at it and go, “Oh man, that was really big!” Probably not the safest thing I’ve done!

They then asked him what his goal are, and why he still does it:

sR: What are your goals for the season?
LaVallee: My goal is the same as it always has, just go out there and do the best I can. Obviously I want to get podiums and do well, but if I go out and do everything I can there’s nothing more you can do. I’ve been working my butt off leading up to this and once I get to it we’ll see where I’m at and what I have to work on and go from there. As long as I know that I’m putting in the effort and doing the work that’s necessary I’ll continue to do this for years to come. For me it’s about when I’m not willing to make the sacrifices I do. When that day comes I’ll bow out. Until then I still feel like I have it in me.

Very posotive and inspirational guy, and an oustanding athlete!

 

 

Klim

Whenever riding, its a must to have the right gear. You don’t want to go up in the trees with wranglers and tennis shoes, and a cut off jean vest. If it starts snowing, hailing, or raining your screwed. This is why i have chosen to write about Klim gear. Klim gear has been around the industry for quite some time now, and have a pretty solid line of gear; they carry anything from socks to boots, to helmets and jackets. 

From the Klim website:

“KLIM Technical Riding Gear is the global leader in designing, developing and manufacturing the most advanced motor sports apparel for the snowmobile and motorcycle rider. Utilizing the world’s highest technologies in waterproof, breathable, durable and comfortable materials, KLIM builds gear for the most demanding riders. Driven by the continual feedback and input from dedicated test pilots and passionate customers, KLIM strives to do one thing above all—improve your riding experience without compromise. We invite you to experience the difference riding in truly Technical Riding Gear from KLIM can make.”

I ride with Klim and have no complaints at all. Its warm when you need it and breathable when you don’t. In their gear they incorporate materials like Gortex, Windstopper, Thinsulate, Scotchlite, and Cordura fabric to make up the wind stopping, waterproofing warm and durable material.

 

 

Yamaha

The difference between Yamaha and the rest of the snowmobile industry is their sleds are solely four strokes. Four stroke sled are not as popular, as the contrary goes for motocross. The four stroke sleds are a top contender for speed and performance, especially when they are turboed. They have a down fall in the weight category. The engine on a four stroke is so much more in depth than a two stroke with a cam, valves, and drivetrain. Because they have all this extra weight it makes it difficult to maneuver an already heavy sled which has now become heavier with this motor in it. Their new sled they have just come out with, the 2012 FX Nytro XTX is equipped with a deeper lug on the track enabling better powder performance. Snow Tech magazine interviewed Rob Powers, production manager about the sled:

“We are excited to bring this special sled to market just in time for the season,” said Yamaha Snowmobile Product Manager Rob Powers.

“I had the opportunity to personally put this model through its paces last winter,” Powers continued. “I thought it was awesome on the trail, with great traction for accelerating but it also had just enough side slip to let the sled corner well. The deeper lugs also give this Nytro XTX better deep snow performance than the original 1.25-inch model. This sled is easily the most versatile model we have in the lineup.” He has high expectations for this years model lineup. The specs for this sled are: