One of the guys made a funny comment that reminded me of the trials and tribulations of participating in a sport that is taking off .
I Snow Checked my one ski in 2004 , the first time I ever seen one it was a fanner , and said if they ever come out with a liquid I'm gonna get the second season model .
So the 05 showed up with a cover the tube lift stand an upgraded ski with trackers and a one year warranty .
The learning curve was so bad that the first time out was in the evening , black as coal , and an audience . To cut it short it was so bad that one of the guys asked was it really worth ten grand ? I seriously wondered that comment .
I'm still running that machine with minor upgrades . The biggest and easiest was probably updating to an 800 and stretching it to a 150 + . I finally switched the Xtreme skid out with the older Xpert because the original was completely exhausted that bushings and shocks could no longer revive it . They are harsh heavy duty skids compared to todays standards . The Xtreme was never sold to the sledding community where as the other was installed in a factory machine .
I've lost count on how many times I've overhauled the engines and the only gripe I really have is I gradually keep bending the pipe into the fork tubes from laying it over in carves and the belly pan exhaust bump stop pushes on the pipe so the material bends like a piece of tin but doesn't bounce back without the help of two hands two feet sitting down on the garage floor pulling tug of war on it . The plus was that all I had to do was cut out the restrictor in the end of the pipe when I put the 800 in .
The warranty was a plus since it replaced the cracked exhaust can with one that to this day still has the original packing and it had a call back the following year the shop replaced the flaking rings and gave it a fresh top end free of charge other than that it wasn't needed .
The mileage is unknown , it's outlasted two sleds with a combined mileage of 18,000 and it is my main ride . I can't even ride a sled anymore without it trying to drag me make me feel like I just walked out of a sauna room .
I despise trail riding and alders , amazing how one busted off branch can tear the crap out of gear not to mention peel a seat skin off like a razor .
As far as the comment of purchase I have no regrets . One of our cabin friends say that the machines are legend because if you do hear it's distinct pipe and throttle twisting bark it's probably already to late to see it .
I do want to see these kits move forward . There is all kinds of information to evolve these kits into a modern turn key but you have to make sacrifices . The consumer is it's worst enemy and one of the biggest and most foolish hang ups is weight which alone isn't a bad thing but cheap and weight savings together equals disposable .
Just a foolish story![Face Icon Small Happy :face-icon-small-hap :face-icon-small-hap](https://www.snowest.com/forum/images/smilies/old/face-icon-small-happy.gif)
I Snow Checked my one ski in 2004 , the first time I ever seen one it was a fanner , and said if they ever come out with a liquid I'm gonna get the second season model .
So the 05 showed up with a cover the tube lift stand an upgraded ski with trackers and a one year warranty .
The learning curve was so bad that the first time out was in the evening , black as coal , and an audience . To cut it short it was so bad that one of the guys asked was it really worth ten grand ? I seriously wondered that comment .
I'm still running that machine with minor upgrades . The biggest and easiest was probably updating to an 800 and stretching it to a 150 + . I finally switched the Xtreme skid out with the older Xpert because the original was completely exhausted that bushings and shocks could no longer revive it . They are harsh heavy duty skids compared to todays standards . The Xtreme was never sold to the sledding community where as the other was installed in a factory machine .
I've lost count on how many times I've overhauled the engines and the only gripe I really have is I gradually keep bending the pipe into the fork tubes from laying it over in carves and the belly pan exhaust bump stop pushes on the pipe so the material bends like a piece of tin but doesn't bounce back without the help of two hands two feet sitting down on the garage floor pulling tug of war on it . The plus was that all I had to do was cut out the restrictor in the end of the pipe when I put the 800 in .
The warranty was a plus since it replaced the cracked exhaust can with one that to this day still has the original packing and it had a call back the following year the shop replaced the flaking rings and gave it a fresh top end free of charge other than that it wasn't needed .
The mileage is unknown , it's outlasted two sleds with a combined mileage of 18,000 and it is my main ride . I can't even ride a sled anymore without it trying to drag me make me feel like I just walked out of a sauna room .
I despise trail riding and alders , amazing how one busted off branch can tear the crap out of gear not to mention peel a seat skin off like a razor .
As far as the comment of purchase I have no regrets . One of our cabin friends say that the machines are legend because if you do hear it's distinct pipe and throttle twisting bark it's probably already to late to see it .
I do want to see these kits move forward . There is all kinds of information to evolve these kits into a modern turn key but you have to make sacrifices . The consumer is it's worst enemy and one of the biggest and most foolish hang ups is weight which alone isn't a bad thing but cheap and weight savings together equals disposable .
Just a foolish story
![Face Icon Small Happy :face-icon-small-hap :face-icon-small-hap](https://www.snowest.com/forum/images/smilies/old/face-icon-small-happy.gif)