As most of you will know by now, there was a terrible avalanche at the Big Iron Shootout on Boulder Mountain in Revelstoke last weekend. (Note: The Big Iron is not an organized event but an annual gathering of riders intent on challenging the hill and each other in some unofficial runs.) I have known some big slides over the years but never one that came down in front of so many sleds. The fact that only two lives were lost can be attributed to many of the riders being avalanche aware (educated) and prepared to deal with such an event. The reason I say this is because of the unlikelihood of anyone in the media recognizing the fact that the risks assumed by many mountain riders are very calculated and acknowledged with formal training and safety equipment. They would much rather paint the picture of a bunch of yahoos running amok in the mountains as they call on governments and law enforcement for restrictions. The efforts of the survivors should be applauded as they were prepared and able to save the lives of many. That said, our hearts go out to the families of the two men who lost their lives.
Last week was interesting, Jon, Richard and I traveled to our testing center in Wisconsin to evaluate some future projects and discuss everything from the new Apex release to the latest accessories plans. The testing was difficult due to the trail conditions. We ran a section outside of Hurley which ranged from mush to muck with lots of rocks popping up, sink holes with sucker snow on the edges ready to pull you off the trail if you tried to hug the sides… The test terminated in a freshly plowed logging block with skidder tracks deep enough to swallow a snowmobile. Given the conditions the sleds ran great, I’m just glad it wasn’t mine!
Next week I am heading for what will likely be my last ride of the season. There is still lots of snow in northern Japan and I’ll be doing planes / trains and automobiles for at least 48 hours of the trip… Will make a point of snapping a couple of pics for Sled Talk and visiting my most favorite sushi bar in the world in honor of Karl Ishima, who will retire the end of this month.
Karl is the father of the Bravo and both VK models. He was also influential on the SnoScoot project, Vmax 4 (from his post in the USA) the OMP that almost was and the RX-1.
It would be great to get some comments from people that have owned any of the above mentioned snowmobiles as I want to put together a little presentation for his retirement party… anyone have any farewell wishes for one of our most seasoned engineers?
Checking out some bolt on stuff this week. Randy Swenson (Team Thunderstruck) is our newly appointed western regional manager for Yamaha and was in town so I grabbed him on Tuesday night for a ride. The snow conditions around south Simcoe are getting real skinny but it was still worth the effort to get with Randy. I had a set of HID lights in my Apex to try out as well as the newest version of the TRIC ice scratchers… and I’m glad I had both.
The HID lights are really intense and in my estimation worth the price of admission. I will definitely be running these on any of my future sleds. We were running a rail trail tunnel through the bush at a significant velocity. It seemed illuminated similar a freight train -very nice! Not sure how much the scratchers were helping across the now snow-bare, plowed corn fields we had to run, but there is likely a clean strip that won’t need to be harrowed in the spring!
Randy was running the same sled that Matt smashed the world 24 hour distance record on. All I did was change the oil, tighten the track and replace the carbides (broken studs). The steering was still nice and tight and everything was running good as new. Got a chuckle out of Randy when he said this was the longest he has sat down on a snowmobile in recent recollection and his throttle thumb was cramping from the steady throttle settings down Lake Simcoe. He also remarked how powerful the sled felt at sea level, which coming from a man who runs upwards to 400hp in his ‘first ascent’ machines, is quite a statement.
We are heading for Wisconsin next week to hook-up with the US based, testing and planning guys. Hopefully we’ll have enough snow to check out some of the future projects they are working on. Won’t surprise me if we end up in the UP.
Wade is holding down the fort at the annual media ‘Snowshoot’ which is taking place in West Yellowstone as I write this. So far I haven’t heard much about what is happening there but I am sure there is lots of schmoozing between the OE’s and journalists, we’ll have to wait and see what actually gets printed. So far it would appear the new Apex is a hands down winner for the most advanced, evolved / changed 2011 model released thus far, but I’m not completely up to speed and have yet to see how strong the marketing spin will be behind the emissions motor oriented line-up from Quebec. What? Now ’4-strokes are lighter than 2-strokes’? Really now, that’s simply amazing. How do you spell ‘sled of the year?’
Yamafest is a go out in Revvy and I understand that Gilles from G-Force will attend along with his world-speed record holding Apex Streamliner and a Yamcharger equipped mountain sled. Randy and the boys are planning a few surprises for the participants, only wish I could make it out this year…
We’re looking at temperatures upwards of +10 degrees C this weekend. Could it be time to put some air in the tires? Hmmmm.
Well it has been really interesting watching the reactions to the comments and sightings of our newest snowmobile. For those who might not have stumbled upon it, we let a select group of customers and some media folks ride a 2011 sled last week without giving away any specifications or details on what the sled actually was. (All that will be released on February 2nd). The whole point was to have them ride the sled and comment on what they actually felt not what they assumed it should feel like which often happens once you are given all the mechanical specs and features.
One reaction I had not anticipated (but in hind sight should have) is in direct reference to calling the sled a ‘game changer’. This term is kind of trendy of late and has been used by a lot of people to describe various products. I’d like to add my viewpoint on this little ‘figure of speech’ and how I think it should apply to motorsports.
I think the traditional ‘game’ of snowmobile product progression is ‘bigger / faster / better’. Ever since the return from the brink back in 1981, the OE’s have been adding horsepower in steady doses to keep sled heads falling off their wallets and it has worked pretty well. Of course the sleds have also gotten bigger and stronger in the process but that has been the name of the game. What struck me was how many people that have said if Yamaha was to build a game changer it would be by adding more horsepower and subtracting some weight. I don’t see how that will ‘change’ anything, it is the same game we have been playing for years.
From my point of view, a ‘game changer’ is based on a design or technology that first, has not been applied to the subject before (in mass production) and most importantly, adds enough value or impact so as to cause a shift within an entire industry. In other words a true game changer should be based on a new idea and cause everyone to react and follow suit in short order.
Yamaha has introduced a few game changers to snowmobiles over the years. The first that comes to mind is ‘Autolube’ oil injection. We were the first but within a couple of seasons all mainstream sleds adopted the technology. Another ‘game changer’ was our DCI or digitally controlled ignition, yep we were the first back around the Exciter 2 / Vmax4 days. This technology allowed the spark to be 3D mapped to help control the combustion over a wide rage of conditions which allowed larger displacement twins and assisted the move to electronic fuel injection, again everyone quickly adopted the technology. There have been many contributions from all the companies over the years: involute drive tracks, plastic skis, independent front suspension, slide rail skid frames, liquid cooled engines, ride forward ergonomics and 4-stroke performance mills just to name a few. Subtle improvements for the most part but very important to the evolution of the species.
But that’s the problem with ‘changing the game’. The product must first prove its worth and then the competition must either copy it or engineer the benefit somehow into their newest offerings. My friend Wade reminded us that we should not use the term ‘game changer’ in reference to our new sled because Polaris had done the same thing last year when describing the new Rush. But was it a game changer? I don’t know yet. The idea of removing the shock from inside the skid frame in order to control the function is a good one. We had that in the Snoscoot and Snosport years ago but no one followed the lead and the idea died (along with a couple of sleds that were far ahead of their time).
Will all the builders start engineering around the patents so to have external shock layouts? Maybe- and if we do then by gum Polaris will have game changer.
Right now it’s just another sled with a different skid frame layout.
Herein lies the rub. It takes time to determine if something is truly a game changer. Until that happens its nothing more than a marketing hook to capture your imagination. Will our newest 4-stroke trail sled prove to be a ‘game changer’?
Personally I really think it will. From the first time I rode it (over three years ago) to watching and listening as people got off it last week… It works so good that I don’t see how our competitors can afford not to react and follow our lead.
Quite honestly… I hope they don’t. Cheers cr
We were out on Lake Simcoe yesterday to do some photography and run a few tests on our sleds. My old friend Gordo was nice enough to let us use his property on the shores of Cookes Bay where we knew the ice was good and safe. I have been evaluating the little Yamcharger from G-Force which is a low boost supercharger running directly off the crank that requires no engine modifications. I have been getting a lot of requests to post about my experience with it and what level of performance I’m getting.
First off I have to remind you, that Yamaha does not endorse any modifications or accessories which have not been tested and approved by us. That said, we are always looking for new ideas and technologies which would explain why I am running a sled that would not be considered stock.
The conditions on the lake were not ideal as the limited snow pack was allowing significant track spin even at speed. This was the first time I was able to hold enough throttle to check RPM and discovered I need some more weight in the primary, The Yamcharged engine was running up towards 11,000rpm and if I wasn’t on the rev limiter I was darn close. The next step is to do some clutching which I believe will yield a bit more when I pull the numbers back down.
The comparison sled we used is a current Apex LTX (136in) and my sled is a 121. We ran from a rolling start and were still accelerating past the camera. The clip here is the best out of three runs, it really depended on which sled was hooking up but the Yamcharger clearly had an advantage given enough lake.
Does it make the extra 20 ponies, I sure think so. Just remember it takes a lot of horsepower to go just a little faster on the top when you factor in all the forces involved. So is it worth the bucks? Only you can decide, there is nothing wrong with the performance of a stock Apex but alas, I can hear Tim Allen grunting in the background.
Thinking about playing ‘hooky’ next Wednesday and going for a ride somewhere north of town, anybody want to hook up to try the Yamcharged Apex and do some trail riding?? Muskoka / Haliburtons. lemme know
Happy New Year! It was nice to have a few days off over the holidays and I hope you all had some of your own. I have been busy today getting caught up with the desk duties and spent a bit of time in the shop to install a couple of accessories on the Apex. I did have a chance to get out for a good run between Christmas and New Years with Mark and Kent Lester (Supertrax Intl Magazine). Mark had made a couple of inquiries (always nice to know the groomer guys) and we found some absolutely brilliant trails to ride.
The temperature had fallen to a very brisk, minus 18C following a couple of milder days with some rain and wet snow. The sun was shining and the light dust of fresh stuff on top of the glitter made for some stellar riding.
I am more impressed with the Yamcharger ever time I ride it. Huggy tagged along and the boys brought along the new Skidoo 4-stroke and a Polaris Rush for us to try. So we had an Apex, a doo and a Polaris but what was the fourth sled you ask? Well lets just say it’s new, it’s special and it’s a Yamaha of course.
We logged on about 230km and I had a good chance to try out all the sleds. I had forgotten how to ride a 2-stroke but once I remembered where the brake lever was and stopped sneezing, I got along quite well with the Rush. Mark had the skid set-up for our weight but really I wasn’t even thinking about the rear, it was more the balance and handling that caught my fancy but Polaris generally have that figured out.
The skidoo 4-stroke was interesting and I’m embarassed to say this is the first chance I have had to ride one. Part and parcel of being a desk jockey these days. It did a lot of things well but I had a hard time adjusting to the throttle response which felt like there was an elastic band attached to the throttle cable and the steering effort was a lot more than what I was used to. It felt quite heavy but handled flat however and the motor pulled hard. It was the warmest sled in the group and showcases their latest technology nicely but back on the Apex I felt much more at home.
For the record, I maintain that all the current snowmobiles are worthy of ownership and I would ride any one them on a regular basis. That said, I have developed a deep relationship with Yamaha products from years of exposure but I am not brand blind. All the new sleds have continued to evolve, they all have their own character, their strengths and their weakness. The trick is in understanding what they are and how they apply to you but more on that later.
I know you guys are beyond this but I feel the need to urge everyone to use some extra caution during your first outings of the season. Pay extra attention to whats going on around you and anticipate the other guys aren’t. I had some bad news about a real good friend of mine over the holidays and if it could happen to him it could happen to any one of us. Get well Damian.
Happy New Year! It was nice to have a few days off over the holidays and I hope you all had some of your own. I have been busy today getting caught up with the desk duties and spent a bit of time in the shop to install a couple of accessories on the Apex. I did have a chance to get out for a good run between Christmas and New Years with Mark and Kent Lester (Supertrax Intl Magazine). Mark had made a couple of inquiries (always nice to know the groomer guys) and we found some absolutely brilliant trails to ride.
The temperature had fallen to a very brisk, minus 18C following a couple of milder days with some rain and wet snow. The sun was shining and the light dust of fresh stuff on top of the glitter made for some stellar riding.
I am more impressed with the Yamcharger ever time I ride it. Huggy tagged along and the boys brought along the new Skidoo 4-stroke and a Polaris Rush for us to try. So we had an Apex, a doo and a Polaris but what was the fourth sled you ask? Well lets just say it’s new, it’s special and it’s a Yamaha of course.
We logged on about 230km and I had a good chance to try out all the sleds. I had forgotten how to ride a 2-stroke but once I remembered where the brake lever was and stopped sneezing, I got along quite well with the Rush. Mark had the skid set-up for our weight but really I wasn’t even thinking about the rear, it was more the balance and handling that caught my fancy but Polaris generally have that figured out.
The skidoo 4-stroke was interesting and I’m embarassed to say this is the first chance I have had to ride one. Part and parcel of being a desk jockey these days. It did a lot of things well but I had a hard time adjusting to the throttle response which felt like there was an elastic band attached to the throttle cable and the steering effort was a lot more than what I was used to. It felt quite heavy but handled flat however and the motor pulled hard. It was the warmest sled in the group and showcases their latest technology nicely but back on the Apex I felt much more at home.
For the record, I maintain that all the current snowmobiles are worthy of ownership and I would ride any one them on a regular basis. That said, I have developed a deep relationship with Yamaha products from years of exposure but I am not brand blind. All the new sleds have continued to evolve, they all have their own character, their strengths and their weakness. The trick is in understanding what they are and how they apply to you but more on that later.
I know you guys are beyond this but I feel the need to urge everyone to use some extra caution during your first outings of the season. Pay extra attention to whats going on around you and anticipate the other guys aren’t. I had some bad news about a real good friend of mine over the holidays and if it could happen to him it could happen to any one of us. Get well Damian.
The email response I got back from my inquiry was a surprise. ‘Wouldn’t recommend you to ride on the rail trail, it’s closed. Too much snow, everyone is stuck up here. Plans are to head out tomorrow with some mountain sleds to try and break it out…’
What!!! too much snow? And so I loaded up the Apex and set out earlier this week in disbelief. Traveling north from the office, there wasn’t a lot of snow on the ground and I blew past a couple of areas which I had considered might meet my needs to shake out the new Yamcharged Apex and validate version 2 of our new Tric Ice Scratchers. Strangely enough, about an hour into the drive the landscape appeared to be masked off and air-brushed as I drove into a winter wonderland.
After a brief but frustrating search for an appropriate fuel station, I dropped the sled and pulled on my lid, relishing the first-ride-of-the-season brain clutter and excitement. The rail trail exited town along the shores of a lake, as I was pulling away from the truck, two Yamaha’s went by heading in the same direction. They certainly weren’t in a big hurry but it was nice to have some company as I listened for any signs of discontent from the motor, watching the idiot lights while sniffing for anything that might indicate a problem.
Several clicks in we hit an intersection and the guys let me pass. I’m a big believer in lots of varied RPM during break-in, no cruising along at steady speeds or long intervals of high revs. The boosted engine was running great. The trail was well packed, only lightly chopped and if I didn’t know better I would have said it was in typical mid-season condition. I did however encounter a couple of trees down across the trail, seemingly there to remind me to take it easy.
The scratchers were giving the odd tap to the pan to let me know they were still there and the engine response was excellent. G-Force included a set of their own primary weights to match the boosted horsepower and the whole package made for crisp instant response at all rpm’s. When I pulled up back at the truck, I had turned the first hun on the odo with everything working perfectly. I did discover some issues with the prototype scratchers which will be fairly simple to address but the Yamacharger so far gets two thumbs up.
I reckon back to the front mount turbo I had on the Warrior and the first ride when I experienced both an oil leak and exhaust leak right out of the hole. I struggled for a month to get the bugs out of that sled and swore I would never build another mod project for my daily ride again. Needless to say I was relieved when the Yamcharger got me home without a hiccup. I know its only a hundred km but normally if something is really wrong it will show up in the first go round. Now I know what you’re thinking: how was the boosted performance? and I can’t say just yet.
The engine is- seat of the pants- stronger than stock, most noticeable in it’s response. It just feels like it wants to go. There is no excess vibration, there were no weird sounds, there was nothing in the drive sensation to indicate the modification. This thing is the perfect example of a sleeper sled… more to follow.
I don’t know too many people who ride that haven’t heard of Kenny Roberts unless of course you’re still a kid and your dad had no appreciation of premium fuel and bean oil. In the 70’s King Kenny was the reining monarch of road and dirt track. Mr Starr was kind enough to share the following trailer with us this morning and I thought I would pass it along. I know this is Sled Talk but our performance roots are found right here. All hail the king!
I am writing this post at 36,000 feet, jetting home from California. Seems an odd place to go for snowmobile discussions but that was only part of the agenda for our pow-wow with YMUS. This was my first official meeting with the senior staff of YPAD (Yamaha US parts and accessories division) and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.
These guys have been on quite a roll of late, introducing many new lines of accessories to their dealers. In a rather unique fashion, they have established themselves as a distributor for select brands offering multiple products outside of the genuine Yamaha label. The benefits are many as they can now offer dealers a much wider selection of products with superior service than they will get anywhere else which ultimately translates to better service (and value) for Yamaha customers.
The gentleman heading up the division is a rather unique individual himself. I assumed (falsely) that he was a normal Yamaha So Cal resident, (well as normal as anyone living on the fault line is). Stoked on motorcycles, ATV’s with wide axles, surf”n sand and no real concept of snowmobilng outside of the fact that they are really cold. Turns out I was right on one count, Mo Murray is stoked on motorcycles alright, the faster the better.
His current post at the head of YPAD affords him access to the ‘big show’ and he has penetrated the MotoGP circuit -on several continents- with his camera gear and pit pass. His personal website says it all, check out some of his photography of the worlds top riders in action, up close and intimate.
To make matters more interesting it turns out that Mo and I know many of the same people within the snowmobile industry, a result of his former role running the Skidoo race team after Tom Rager left Doo for Polaris. He spent a lot of time in Quebec and even moved his family there for a period, prior a reassignment with the Seadoo racing division before moving to Yamaha (if you can’t beat ‘em…) . I was even wrong in assuming his roots were deeply American, he’s as Irish as Bono
I am always impressed with the quality of people who work for Yamaha. It seems most folks leading the charge for team blue have premium petrol in their veins. The passion for motorsports, be it racing or just riding runs deep in our corporate culture and is the fuel behind much of the companies accomplishments. Mo has surrounded himself with a talented, like minded team which is reflected in the advances being made south of the border.
I am bringing home with me a brief case full of ideas and a trunk full of new challenges for us here in the great white north.
I need to give you a quick update on the Blue Blog Sled. It’s in our shop getting ‘greased up’ and ready to roll. Okay so RJ’s idea of a tune-up is a little excessive but the motor is not being touched. We have had some excellent candidates stepping up or being recommended for the miserable task of riding it for us. I’ll be going through all the comments with the goal of breaking out a short list of test pilots and a schedule which I’ll post here and continue to update as we go.
On another note, our latest Redline e-magazine referenced Sled Talk in one article mentioning that I was dropping hints about a new model forthcoming in February… really! that was news to me. Well you know how rumors go. Totallyamaha was all over the topic with 9 pages at this count and I can tell you no one has nailed it entirely in any of the predictions, if in fact we are going to release something new at all. But if we did, I found pretty much everything on my wish list buried somewhere within that post. Having said that, I guess I just dropped a hint, giving the more skeptical guys another reason to denounce the excitement as ‘manufactured marketing hype’ most sure to disappoint…
Huggy Bear is our PR guy, often referred to as a creative guru or resident rodent (you decide). He came up with the following idea a few months ago. I had completely forgotten about his scatter-brained scheme (50 plus years of breathing exhaust fumes). After looking at it again, I’m thinking it could be kinda entertaining and even has a modicum of practicality.
Huggy controls our fleet of demo sleds which he signs out to magazine and TV types as well as other ‘expert’ evaluators. Some of those who grease him up with offers of ‘great product exposure’ get to ride the wheels off our sleds, (free of charge ) often returning them, dirty, abused and out of fuel. Trying to find a thumb-nail image of the sled somewhere in print or a few kind words, often proves futile. Trust me when I say, at times we really question why we do it.
Well one of those is sitting out in our barn with 18,000 hard km on it. It started life as a long term test sled for the well known Quebec online rag Sledmagazine after that it fell into our general loan pool where it’s life became miserable. The once sweet blue Vector LTX pre-pro is now dirty, lonely and in need of some good lovin’. Did I mentions this sled already has 18, count’em, 18 thousand clicks on it. We didn’t want to see it end there, so you’re going to see just how many we can get out of it!… here’s the deal:
Instead of writing it off, we’re going to run it through our service shop for a complete massage and spa treatment. ed. we will not be touching the engine except for an oil change and filter. After it’s revitalization we are going to rack up as many more miles as possible during the coming season.
I’m going to have some of our new accessories bolted on, like the TRIC scratchers, Snow Trackers, maybe an Ice Ripper track (you get the idea) the only problem is Mr Yamaha doesn’t think it would be a good idea to turn me, Jon (and certainly not Huggy) loose to ride all season in the quest of high mileage. Something about our productivity and ROI.
Instead, we are going to insure and permit the unit for operation on OFSC trails and offer it up to anyone to ride, provided they are responsible (explains why Huggy will be holding down his desk), take care of it and ride lots (oh yeah, you’ll have to sign the waiver). In essence it is a free loaner sled for the season.
Now having said that you are probably thinking OK whats the catch; I already have an Apex / Nytro… whatever. No problem, I figure you probably know someone who doesn’t! Perhaps someone who is still rockin’ the old school on a ticking stinker. Maybe your stubborn, brand blind bud who’s sled has a history of gripping pistons during you’re seasonal, week long epic tour up north, oops wait a minute, that would be my buddy, anyway… We’re open to any wimpy sob story as to who and why someone might wanna have a free sled for part of the season.
I’m still getting my head around how we can manage this deal and get some decent feedback from the test riders but here’s what I’m thinking: We don’t want to incur a lot of shipping costs so we’ll keep it in Ontario for starters. If someone is planning a trip to say, Quebec and wants to drag the blue blog sled along with them, cool, just bring it back in one piece with lots of miles on it. We can also enlist our dealers to help for example; you could drop it off in New Liskeard with the excellent folks at Ag’Nor where someone up there could grab it and keep the crank spinning.
I’m hoping we get a few experienced riders writing in and we’ll put it to a vote as to who should get the blue blog sled next. So what’s in it for us? We’ll require the pilots to submit an honest report of what they thought of the sled, the bolt-on accessories and let us know about the trail conditions with any local knowledge gained. Of course any amusing tales of what happens during the ride will be welcomed and shared amongst the crew, heck I might even post it here on Sled Talk if it doesn’t land me up in the dog house. We have several options open for sharing the adventure including our Twitter account, the Yamaha ‘in-your-facebook’ page and Sled Talk.
There you have it, time for all those who hang out here but never comment to weigh-in. Do you know somebody that wants to ride the blue blog sled? Spin us a good reason why we should give it up to them. Is it you? Remember, we want lots of miles on this sled. How about it? Got any thoughts or suggestions? Got any snow in Hornepayne yet? The blue blog sled beckons…
Starting to get some reports of snowfall around the country, Ace-san sent me a picture taken from our testing center in northern Japan… check this out.
My sled is still over at G-Force, they have installed the Yamcharger and are expecting the new fly-weights in any time now. I’m not in a big hurry to put on the Snowtrackers as I inevitably incur quite a few rocks around here in the early season. I am also curious to try a set of the new MT9 skis which are on track for December production provided they meet all the final testing parameters. Our vendors are also busy coming up with a couple of carbide selections.
This ski was originally intended as a lightweight mountain option for the Nytro MTX but it was discovered that they worked pretty good on the trail and consequently it was decided to modify the tooling so they would fit onto our other key models hence a bit of a delay. I can’t elaborate on the performance as I have not had an opportunity to try them but I’m told they handle really good and will be somewhere around a couple pounds lighter per… time will tell.
On another note, I purchased a really cool device last week that allows you to easily scan to .jpg files, all the old print negatives and color slides that have been collecting dust in the basement. I have only just started using the Wolverine but its really easy and is conjuring up a lot of ghosts. Here is a couple of pics of one of the weirdest snowmobile adventures I ever had. It was spring of 1975. I was working on a survey crew in the high Arctic, I remember going into camp right after Christmas, 24 hour darkness and temps never above minus 40F. I spent all my days bouncing around in a little Bombi tracked vehicle and nights, locked down in a small trailer with three other guys, meals were all ‘boil-a-bag’, no running water (showers etc…) no time out. Our machines were left to idle all night while we rested and our camp followed us along, dragged by a D4 Cat while we mapped the ocean bottom during the day. It was May when our equipment really began to fall apart (mostly we used Bombardier products ) and the party chief requistioned my Bombi for the drill crew. I was asked if I would be willing to use a snowmobile instead as they could get one out of Resolute… ‘well alrighty then.’
I spec’d a couple of units which I thought would work well (Yammi GP338 or MotoSki Nuvik / Skidoo Olympic), but mostly I wanted something reliable as we were working in Polar bear country. Well you can imagine my shock when they took away my Bombi (pump shotgun and SSG’s included) replacing it with this little gem.
Turns out a nurse had been running around Resolute on it for half a dozen seasons and my boss got a good deal on it (the SOB)… I quickly learned my way around the OMC 2-stroke boxxer, but outrun a Polar bear with it?? No way, this baby was my ticket home. After struggling to keep it running for two weeks, I pulled the pin and left it to seek a watery grave come break-up. Don’t know many guys who have snowmobiled north of the magnetic north pole (especially on an Evinrude Snow Crusher) I just had to share! Occurs to me there is something in my Karma linked to BRP in some twisted way and destined to torment me forever cr
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