According to some of the people who live in places where "snow machines" are a necessity, they all use "sleds" as multiplier in terms of cargo and they say modern, entry-level machines are "more than plenty". My contacts thought the two-stroke, air-cooled engines with 400cc were the sweet-spot in terms of low-maintenance and plenty of low-end grunt. Of course, they were not trying to go 120mph on their sleds, so there is that.
Sadly, the air-cooled motors seem to be extinct although you can still find machines with two-stroke Rotax engines.
The new four strokes are the way to go. I love the old Bombardiers and grew up on them … but times have changed. There aren’t many dedicated work/casual trail machines anymore… everything is about speed. Yamaha used to have a little 250 that would have been perfect for the ice fishing stubfart… or for a slow poke down the trail or cut line. Given the price they’re asking for modern machines…it might make better sense (for rural work) to set up your 4 wheel ATV with snow treads…
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, every Ace Hardware store had Rupp engines on their shelves for your mini-bike, go-cart or snowmobile. Good times!
ReplyDeleteBack in the early 80's I owned a Skidoo 9500 Blizzard. That machine would haul ass. Yukon Jack was the beverage of choice because it wouldn't freeze in your pocket. I had some near death experiences on that machine. Made for some good story telling around the fire.
ReplyDeleteI worked with a guy named Gary Geisler in the early 1980s. He hit a guy-wire on a utility pole while snowmobiling. He did not survive the encounter.
DeleteThe air cooled machines lost out to the water cooled one due to longevity.
ReplyDeleteIr cooled are (generally) lighter, but the water cooled machines last longer.
A modern Ecclesiasties might say about time to go sledding and a time to stay home.
ReplyDeleteIce storm now raining over the ice coated roads.
Power crews were awesome as usual with power restored in a hour and a half. Power outage drill went well and the eco flow powered up the breakfast waffles, coffee and eggs like it never really happened.
Staying home except for emergencies today.
Be safe folks.
Michael the anonymous
Michael the anonymous: Was electricity the power source for all three breakfast items simultaneously? If so, that's impressive.
ReplyDeleteYes, an eco flow solar generator. Please avoid the tired comments they are not solar generators as mine have 1.6 KW solar panels (not that they are giving power with ice).
DeleteAs our grid power system is in pretty poor shape, it seems worthwhile to spend some ever-worthless fiat dollars to have a diesel submarine style system to bridge failures and brownouts.
As a side note I was able to hand carry a smaller unit over to my elderly neighbor to power up his oil heater for several hours until grid came back. The ice is nasty.
Coffee correction, neighbors oil heater powered for the 1-2 hours it took until grid restored to his house. Unit still had over 50% power available.
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