shiny side up legend of dutch
Amsnow
“This year I might get rid of Dutch.”
Don’t worry, the family dog is not being put down, and we are not stuffing grandpa in a nursing home. Dutch is a sled. For years, a good friend of mine has owned this Ski-Doo Frankensled and it has gotten a lot of love, as well as a lot of parts from different years, makes, aftermarket companies, and styles added to it. A laundry list of repairs and modifications have been done, and of course, personalized stickers made that say ‘Dutch’. This sled is certainly loved, and still runs!
My point? We grow attached to sleds. Every snowmobiler has a soft spot for a certain machine no matter the age or condition. At least old Dutch is still scorching the backwoods and farm fields... many of us are emotionally attached to sleds that don’t even move!
Don’t worry though, this is natural, it is the way snowmobiler’s brains have evolved. Snowmobilers, to some extent, are even more fervent with their passion for cool stuff than many car collectors! In any case, the folks here at American Snowmobiler are no different. My own personal ‘Dutch’ was a 1984 Phazer PZ that I painted matte black in high school… except for the hot pink ski-skins on the front. Classy, I know!
In this issue we’ve got plenty to wet your ‘favorite sled of all time’ appetite. We’ve compiled a list going back 30 years of favorite sleds in the magazine as well as vintage sleds from readers, and more. For many snowmobilers, their favorite machine is a model year 2015 machine, and for those folks we’ve got all the results from our own New York Shootout! A corral of brand new 2015 sleds get tested on the dyno for horsepower and in the ¼-mile for acceleration. Plus we’ve got two huge exclusive comparison articles on the 2015s too. It’s all here!
So pop in that old VHS tape, break out the Polaroid albums showing your friends from high school riding old iron, or sit down in the garage on your own personal ‘Dutch’, and relax with this special Vintage and exclusive New York Shootout issue of American Snowmobiler!