snowmobiles

[tonibaloney]

who's ridden one? or is it who's rode one?
either way, looks like tons of fun. are snowmobiles in the snow more fun than dirtbikes in the mud? i hear they're rentable too.

 

[GETMETOCA]

I have never ridden a snomobile, but one time my Dad pulled us on an innertube tied to the back of the truck on an old airport landing strip near Lake Almanor and that was kinda fun :)

Firecracker22 (FC22 ;)) used to ride them a lot and I think she is getting back into it after relocating to Colorado. Maybe she will stop by and post.

 

[progirlz]

I used to ride when I lived in Chicago when I was a kid. Lots of fun. There was a lot of flat land with tons of snow in that part of the world.... When I moved west, if I had time to play in the snow, I would rather ski. IMHO

 

[pyrofreak]

I love skiing and snowmobiling in the winter. I'm 18, and while I never had one as a kid, my uncle always had a few. I didnt ride any at all last winter, crapppy snow, but the winter before that he taught me how to ride. Fun is what they are!! He rides Polaris, nothing new, but they run. He has an '88 500 (his), an early '90s 250(13 yr old), and an early 90's 440 (16 yr old). I rode his old 500, and let me tell you, it took all I was worth to steer the dang thing!! Heather's (my 16 yr old cuz) 440 was down for the time with a broken ski, but I rode the 250 around the yard for wuite some time. BTW he had a little track set up with whoops (bout 2ft deep) and a couple bigger jumps (3-4 ft). That little thing was soo much fun. The only thing small about it was really the motor. But I ran the track with the 5000 and the most you could go was about 40 mph. That little 250 skipped the whoops and landed the jumps fine!! I was impressed all the way. It was very light, but I personally would have needed something bigger. Now on the other hand, my friend Aryn's bf had one. He was a Ski-Doo 700 or something crazy like that. Well, she took it out to ride with a couple of other friends, who have similar sleds, and ended up rolling it on a hill, from grabbing too much throttle, her leg got pinned underneath one of the ski's. She is extremely lucky that she wasnt alone, and that she didnt break her leg. She's about 5' and 100lbs soaking wet. She had a bruise on her shin with some kind of fluid in it for quite a while, at least a month i know. But if you have ever seen a snow-cross race (which is all the rage in upstate ny when motocross is done) you will see that the mid-size snowmobiles are plenty for most anybody, and the new suspension and technology on those things are amazing!! Its a great thing to try and if you love riding dirtbikes and four wheelers then you'll love riding snowmobiles. Give it a try, you'll love it!! I was actaully planning on going to the adriondacks for college, before I moved to PA, and getting one. Money is the biggest thing that holds me back. If you got some $, go have some fun!!

 

[progirlz]

Good report. Makes you want to go get one! Unfortunatly Socal is not the place to have a snowmobile. I guess you could call it a surfboard tradeoff.

 

[Octane250F]

Ive ridden snowmobiles all my life. Right now Ive got an '01 Polaris Indy 600 XC SP EDGE X. Its not as much fun as the bike, but its a good way to stay in shape in the winter months.
I used to be pretty big into snowmobiling, but lately I have gotten into forms of motorsport that are less dependent on cold and snow. Its hard to stay interested in snowmobiles when the riding season is only 3 months out of the year.
Snowmobiling is something my family has always done together.
The real downside to snowmobiles is price. Nowdays you will pay $8,000-$11,000 for a new snowmobile. Its awfull hard for me to justify spending that much money on something I only use a few months out of the year. I could get one heck of a nice road bike for that much money and use it a whole lot more than I would use a snowmobile.

 

[Okiewan]

Snow?

 

[Moose]

I only do it when I'm up north. Me and a couple of relatives pull a gt behind... GT Behind snowmobile = sore butt for days on end.

 

[Octane250F]

Snow?

:laugh: Thats the way I feel lately too. Its pretty sad that nowdays in southern Wisconsin we only get about 2 weeks of snowmobiling in a year. I can remember only 10 years ago when I was in highschool that we used to get at least 4 good snow storms a year, lately we have been lucky to get 1 or 2. Thats partly why the snowmobile market is dying (that and because new sleds are waaaay too expensive for most people so they are just keeping their old sleds).
I have to drive 4 hours north if I want to do any serious riding. Thats exactly why I bought the bike. I did have an '07 Yamaha Phazer FX on order but I ended up cancelling it and getting the bike instead. :cool:

 

[tonibaloney]

i'm in CA so i don't get much snow, but tahoe is only a few hours away. thanks for the stories, it's still definetly something i'd like to try. holy cow, 8-11k! they're expensive! i'm looking into rentals!

 

[Octane250F]

Yeah, sleds aint cheap. Once the snowmobile I have now is worn-out, Im dont with sleds. Its too expensive and Id rathar focus on motocross.

 

[tonibaloney]

yes, verrryyy pricey toy

 

[phirechick]

I live in California and I get plenty of snow. GETMETOCA could come up and ride anytime she wanted, but it's better she didn't. She would have one. Just like any toy you can find used ones very reasonable, say as much as a KTM or cheaper.

Snowmobiling is the clean sport.....

 

[Octane250F]

Snowmobiling is the clean sport.....

Only if you ride a 4-stroke. :rotfl: Ride a 2-stroke sled for any amount of time and all your clothing smells like a chainsaw. :ugg:
All jokes aside, it is a clean sport. No dust, no bugs.

 

[headbanger]

I was into sleds alot also, the last sled I had was a snowcross racer. It had very good suspension and was a blast to ride when the trails got rough! We have rode many 300+ mile days. Most sled get about 10-12 mpg and with the price of gas $$$$.
Also the last few years we have not had very much snow, so it was another 3-4 hrs drive north to find the good snow.
They are very easy to ride compared to a dirtbike and the newer sleds are being designed very much like a dirtbike now so you stand more then sit. But they are heavy
compared to a bike. The new Yamaha Phaser looks like a dirtbike with ski's, the motor is made from two YZF250 motors to create a 500cc twin cylinder F.I. fourstroke!

I think riding in the mountains with alot of snow would be a blast!
Now I have studded tires and heated grips for my bike and it's very fun if the snow is not very deep!
Go and rent one to try it out! take out the insurance when you rent also, there is a lot of stuff under the snow to hit!
Good Luck and have fun!

 

[kmccune]

My wife Amy likes sleds a lot so we have two ( and hers is a lot cooler then mine too). Sleds handle entirely almost from the front so the feel is way different then from bikes and quads. Amy is 5'2" and does fine, but you do have to use your upper body a lot more then when casual trial riding on bikes. The newer ones have a more bike like seat/bar setup which I think is a positive. The old ones make me feel like I'm sitting on some kind of a cruiser and not a sport machine. Its nice because the trails go places that bike and quads are not allowed, due to the protective layer of snow ( yes snow Okie :nener: ) . It is expensive in my mind for the amount of riding time we get. But am a little prejudices because of my love of dirt bikes, I'd rather go skiing in the winter :nod:

 

[Octane250F]

I agree. Only riding 3 months out of the year, the high purchase price of sleds and having to drive 4 hours north to find ridable snow pretty much killed my enthusiasm for sleds.

 

[progirlz]

But when you realize all that you can do on one....Come on, I know you really want one.
http://www.break.com/index/snowmobiler_falls_off_cliff.html
:ohmy: :yikes:

 

[tonibaloney]

oh no! i think i'd stick to the flat land for awhile if i ever rode one.
:yikes:

 

[Octane250F]

Been there, done that. I used to ride a turbocharged Yamaha RX-1 that was putting out over 250 hp.
Clearing a 90' triple, blitzing the whoops and roosting out of a corner on the bike is more fun than anything Ive done on a sled.