End of season

[Ollie]

Well, it's that time again.
Not enough snow left to really ride on.
I have put the sleds up.
So it is once again time for my..............

What I learned this season thread


1 – The new 08 RMK is fantastic and 10 times better than the 01 800 I owned prior. Of course that also means it gets me into places I shouldn’t be 10 times faster.

2 – I discovered body armor is a must. After bouncing off a few trees this year it is the only thing that kept me in one piece.

3 – I discovered I am a magnet for bad decisions when it comes to dropping into draws. If I say go for it, run for your f&^*ing life.

4 – I discovered any sled is heavy when it flips over on you. I had the most wonderful bruise for about 3 weeks, and let me tell you, the sudden stop at the bottom hurt as much as the sled flipping over on me.

5 – I re-discovered how much fun it is to watch S.P.O.R.S. ride. It is especially funny when you see them do something that you yourself have done. Usually with the same result.

6 – I learned all kinds of new words and phrases. Like “Douche canoe”. That is a person that is clueless while driving and has no idea what he/she is doing.

7 – I discovered my wife is getting good enough to totally scare the chit outta me.

What all did you learn?

 

[bullfrog123]

I learned that when I turn the kids loose on the sleds that I should NOT watch them. Scared the chat out of me a few times

And Yammyhaha's aren't that bad after all But a kitty is still better.

 

[CO 2.0]

1. Bring more tools, vise grips are a must
2. Sat phone is a nice thing to have in your backpack
3. Cross Country Skiers are a bunch of fags
4. ABS pack gave me better "security" on the mountain
5. Wear face protection when wind chill is under 0deg F
6. Warm food out of the Muff Pot really hits the spot on a cold day
7. If you take a girl up snowmobiling she will give you head
8. Bring extra gloves and extra goggles

 

[AkHockey10]

# 1.) Have the proper Emergency Kit

# 2.) Make sure your sleds gas tank gauge is accurate or get a clear tank.....

 

[sledhead ut]

Just because you think you're alone when jumping off a hill. You're NOT!!!oops.
Actually the best thing I learned this year was using Google Earth to go where no man has gone or should go. Had a blast pioneering new areas this way. It's a total rush to memorize a new area on your computer and actually find it on your sled. I bought SPOT this spring so I can mark my trail on Google to save locations.

I also learned: people that talk smack all summer are pussies when the snow flies and it's go time. Mostly my in-laws.

Other than that, Thanks to all on SW for all the tech info this year. Was a blast hanging out on this site.
Cheers

 

[Blk88GT]

1) Twin pipes make great power, but are loud and tuning is a nightmare
2) Trying to find a place to eat in IP during a snowstorm is impossible, specially after a dozen cocktails
3) Scratchers will let you hit the trails hours before everyone else
4) Get a GPS, no question about it
5) Grown men who are big **** talkers get quiet and turn white once they're actually on the hill
6) Smaller pine trees actually desintigrate if hit at the correct velocity
7) Use loctite on your damn helix bolts!
8) Leaving your secondary on the woodstove long enough actually helps break up all the loctite you put on in step 7.
9) Duramax injectors and pumps cost almost as much as the entire truck.
10) The Rexburg Chevy/GMC dealers are a bunch of retards.
11) Do not attempt clutching your sled with 3 hours of sleep per 48 hour period.
12) Get ready to do it all again next year, it's coming fast!

 

[SnowSnob]

Don't send your wife up a hill without telling her how to turn out first.
Sled ended up rolling over the top of her....I'm still hearing about it.

 

[xrated]

7. If you take a girl up snowmobiling she will give you head -huh that must be a new rule. All I got was complaining

1. Don't wait until fall to grease your zirks.
2. Don't trust your brother to put a new driven on for you...force him to grease the damn jack shaft
3. oil and a pry bar work wonders for getting the driven off of the damn jack shaft.
4. Never put the bolt on the driven back into the shaft when angry and never say one more little turn.
5. When said bolt breaks off find away to get easy access, even if you have to cut holes in the side panel.
6. Left handed drill bits are nice until they break
7. EZ Outs, the hardest thing next to daimonds will break off in a jack shaft that is heated to damn near orange.
8. Needing a new jack shaft and not having time all winter to work on the sled really sucks.
9. Don't keep yoru sled 4 hours away.

10. If your gonna swap tracks/skids and drivers, breaking a bolt off in your jack shaft is a great excuse to use on the wife when she asks why you need to do all these mods "right now".

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

Don't send your wife up a hill without telling her how to turn out first.
Sled ended up rolling over the top of her....I'm still hearing about it.

luckily im not married to the one i sent up the hill, and she doesnt have fear.

but gave her a good scare as the throttle got pinned when the sled was upsidedown.

1. trees are still always bigger than they look
2.dont tinker with BB engines with no idea what you are doing
3. get a backup sled for when you cant resist #2

 

[MTdream]

1.) SPOT rules!!!
2.) Yammies CAN boondock, carve, and jump (so I bought one)
3.) THRILLED GLobla warming has paused, and we got 2 feet of snow 7 days ago.
4.) friends via Snowest and other such sites are great people!!!
5.) CANNOT wait to meet more people and bust pow with them next year!!!
6.) It is much ncer to wrench on sled now than in middle of winter!!!

 

[smokenjay]

I wrapped up my first season on 6/15, so this list may contain stuff you learned years ago.

1) you've got to stand up, dude!

2) a snowmobile is an excellent source of heat.

3) never stop when going uphill

4) snowboarding (other than sled access) is boring and unfullfilling

5) decents on hard pack are scary

6) there's cold, then there's snowmobile cold. pack a puffy vest, puffy gloves and extra goggles.

7) snowmobilers are generally a very friendly bunch

8) your climbing ability changes drastically with the condition of the snow. 6/15 was a "go anywhere" kind of day

9) never let me navigate

10) pay attention to the gas gauge. Q: whats wrong with your sled? are you out of gas? A: I dont know, my instruments have been packed with powder all day

11) putting your sled away for the off season is incredibly depressing. I'm still in kind of a crappy mood

12) a yamaha will always start and run

13) only loan your sled out during a hill climbing session if you want to see it roll down the side of a mountain

14) some people get pissy about you riding on private land or wilderness areas. Q: why did you ride in my pasture (or the wilderness area)? A: because it's there.

15) this forum is a good way to burn company time

 

[mtn mike on boost]

I Cant Ride!

 

[motomikey]

what i learned

you can change from the baddest thing on the mountain to a little girl just by changing riding groups!

 

[Skadi]

Having a fancy suspension doesn't mean you're invincible.

That is you put a little bit of grease on the end of your clutch puller and give it a few taps it can act like an impact wrench. (now I own an impact wrench so I don't need to worry about that one anymore but I thought that was pretty cool!)

That I need more power (Hence the BB from RK TEK this summer!! whooooo-hoooo!!)

 

[Rush44]

This year I learned one thing more than others.....

#1. Fighting for backcountry access should be everyones absolute priority.

Can't learn all that other stuff if there isn't anywhere left to ride.

Oh yea, grease them zerks after every ride.... that's a good one too!

 

[Anti-Hero]

Google Earth!

A train car is taller then you think, and a ski doo can is much heavier than you think as well

Ditching the group makes for an awsome ride, (sorry Tom)
Don't knock the snow off the sign.

Make the entrance trail $hitty to prevent poaching

Dragging a sled uphill backward with the belt on is worth a laugh

Sometimes large 50 foot trees need to move

The town of Columbine CO are not sledders

Ollie, JMax and I can boondock anywhere

Most of all no matter the situation 3 great riders can always get out of it!

the last thing learned, don't be a nice guy and move your truck forward for a d!ckhead to park, because they will not return the favor.

 

[Ex-Member]

hehehe... I called it a season 31 May 08... met my quota of busted stuff for the year.

1. Sledding's expensive!
2. Go SLOW up the ramp into the truck.... a back window and bodywork costs about $1200
3. Tekvest, helmet, and knee guards... great stuff.
4. Why didn't I get into this earlier?
5. I need a -lot- more practice
6. Riding with people that are better than you (which doesn't take much for me) makes you a better rider real quick
7. Even when you're stuck, it's still fun.... I'll take a bad day sledding over a good day working

I'm sure more will come to me...

 

[Ex-Member]

Oh yeah, GPS's combined with Google Maps is pretty dang cool.

 

[94fordguy]

I'm Seeing some great replies guys, my list of things I learned this year is;

#1 don't go from W/O throttle to full breaks in an instant, the chain tensioner doesn't like that


#2, don't try to blast up through a hardpack cornice... you go perfect vertical

#3 Trees won't jump out of the way at the last second



#4, When being the first one to break down the Groomers snow bank in spring with your truck, make sure said vehicle is in 4WD (and get a looooooong a$$ run at it too!) AND Don't switch to your summer worn out tires before all the banks are down to the dirt!

 

[Snappy Sledder]

lets c.......

1. if ur in the air and cant c the ground bail off.......

2. if u dont know wats on the other side of the hill dont go over it

3. always wear a helmet and chestprotector/tekvet

4. if its a yamaha w/ the sway bar and no turbo it SUCKS for carving(its still fun tho)

5. wen ur climbing never let off the throttle

6. take a first aid kit w/ u. yes it may sound stupid but after my crash its the only way i could ride back.