Rider VS Snowmobile?

[Jcat]

I always wanted to ask this question. What makes you a good rider, The type of sled you own or is it the experience? I feel that I'm not even an average rider but i seen the guys i ride with take my stock sled and put it places i never even imagine of trying to go. Is it your riding style or the sled you drive?
Ive watched sledders hit chutes and climbs that makes you wish you had the nutz and capabilities of themselves.

 

[Ollie]

The answer in a nut shell is
Yes
It is the sled and it is the rider.
A great rider on a bad sled will do good things.
A great rider on a great sled will amaze you.
Conversly
A bad rider on a great sled will ride like a below average rider.
A bad rider on a bad sled you will shoot withing 2 miles of the parking lot.

The biggest thing is practice. Get good at the basics and a lot of stuff will become second nature (I am still working on that part).

I am no great shakes when it comes to riding, I am an average rider with a great sled. Makes for interesting situations some times.

 

[Luke The Drifter]

I think that a lot of it has to do with the rider. Don't get me wrong, the sled has quite a bit to do with it but if two riders of different skill levels are on equally set up and comparable machines, the more advanced rider will go more places, obviously. Case in point, last season I rode with a group that was brand new to mountain riding. I don't consider myself a "pro" but I'm a fairly decent rider. Anyways there was one guy on a new Nytro and he was already talking about throwing a turbo kit on it. I asked him if I could take it for a spin and he let me. I took it up through some trees and a bit of a techical line and came back. The look on his face was priceless. I told him, work on your skills and get comfortable with the power you got, its cheaper and a lot more fun (don't get me wrong, turbos are fun!). Maybe its just me but I enjoy honing my skills rather than make my wallet scream to make up for it. Hence my sig line... Skill>HP

 

[snow hawk gal]

Then ther's all ways

TALENT!

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/talent

 

[steveo10]

Learning from the best

 

[Ex-Member]

Ride with people who challenge you, and who will help you dig out of stucks.

That'll turn a bad rider on a good sled into a much better rider on a good sled real quick.

Doesn't hurt to ride with a bunch of different people, too. Boondocking, trees, meadows, climbs... cna learn from doing all those.

 

[mb1]

I'd like to think that skills can get me into places I'd like to go, seeing as how I can't afford a new sled now. I guess I'll lose 20# and put more stickers on......lol

 

[nathaniel11]

cats allways get the highmark.

I think you might have typed your statement wrong.

It should say cats always get highmarked

 

[sledhead ut]

Rotflmao. Good one Nathan

 

[AdrenalineAddict]

A good rider in my book is someone who can ride a sled all day long getting the most from the sled, whether it's a 600,700, 800, 900 or 1000. A good rider will know when to turn out and won't need assistance every time he pulls a hill or turns in the trees. I ride with some guys that have rode for years and believe it or not still stop pointed slightly uphill on big powder days pretty much burying themselves on slopes that are close to flat.

 

[dmkhnr]

If you can follow me all day long, your a great rider on a great sled.

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

a good rider is very obvious no matter what sled they are on, they can very easily toss it around and it goes were THEY want it to, no the other way around... highmarking in a bowl has nothing to do with rider ability, it takes no skill to hold it wide open and turn out, i takes a bit of learning to know how to turn out on super steep without rolling. but when the person with the sled making the highmark tries to cut a line that involves mid climb turns, not gonna happen.

we have some sorta curvy chutes that go from being bowled out, the sides are higher, to crowned a lot.... to make a pull up these it takes some skill, i ended up stuck in the trees on the edges more than once, cuz i didnt understand how to make the sled climb where i wanted it, it just followed the ground, now i can go as i high as the sled can go, not as far as i can hold on.

me and my buddies have a spot thats fun to compete on, you mark up into the trees, sidehill over about 50 feet and then shoot straight up to make your highmark in the open spot, being able to control the sled shows when you come out of the trees real quickly.

 

[snowmobiler]

manlaw # 1.never admit you cant ride

 

[JoHNI_T]

Ride with people who challenge you, and who will help you dig out of stucks.

Doesn't hurt to ride with a bunch of different people, too. Boondocking, trees, meadows, climbs... cna learn from doing all those.

you really should ride with people that wont dig ya out because that will teach ya real fast because who wants to dig all day,
I had a buddy got stuck every 5 f ing minutes finally we said no more and he got stuck again so we let him dig while we ride and he did not get stuck the rest of that day....

practice is a must or add some boost and everyone will have some sort of fun

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

If you can follow me all day long, your a great rider on a great sled.

there we go, sounds like exactly what i was thinking!!!!

and i dont think people who get stuck are necasarily bad riders, its when you get stuck pulling out of the spot you stop.

i get stuck tons trying climbs that may only be 25 vertical feet, just a snowed over cliff. but getting stuck in flat spots taking off is REALLY dumb. park down hill.

 

[JoHNI_T]

there we go, sounds like exactly what i was thinking!!!!

and i dont think people who get stuck are necasarily bad riders, its when you get stuck pulling out of the spot you stop.

i get stuck tons trying climbs that may only be 25 vertical feet, just a snowed over cliff. but getting stuck in flat spots taking off is REALLY dumb. park down hill.

I to get stuck, I was being kinda sarcastic, if your not crash n or getting stuck your not learning... but ya know the keener that is just silly and gett n stuck in every drift thats what I was refering too,

ride on to everyone...

 

[BC-XP]

Ride with people who challenge you, and who will help you dig out of stucks.

That'll turn a bad rider on a good sled into a much better rider on a good sled real quick.

Doesn't hurt to ride with a bunch of different people, too. Boondocking, trees, meadows, climbs... cna learn from doing all those.

Exactly. You don't get better by riding the same way day in and out.

Ride with people who challenge you and take you to challengiing areas that you may not normally ride and watch how they handle their machines.

 

[Powderhound]

It is all Rider. I am always amazed at how far an awesome rider on an average sled can take it compared to the guy with the endless check bookwho cant ride. For the record I am neither

 

[Vern]

i'd have say if you want to become a better rider start out on a not so good or just a smaller sled and ride with some better or bigger sleds, then you have to learn to get the sled where you want it by skill rather than just by the capabilities of the sled you ride to. this worked for me one of my first sleds i started out on was an old 650, pretty stout sled and i thought i was a decent rider because the sled would get me where i needed to go. then it died and all i could afford to replace it at the time was an old indy 500, well thats when things changed being that i rode mostly with 700cc sleds i had to do some learning in a quick hurry to get to some of the places they would go. probably one of the biggest things that helped me become a better rider, well that and learning that you just gotta commit to whatever your attempting.

 

[BigBoreManiac]

I definitely would say the rider is 75% of the equation. I started riding with my current crew back in 2002. I had an AC X440 fan and they all had 700's and 800's. Only way to keep up with them on the trail was to duct tape my throttle and hang on!! Started some offtrail and I was totally convinced that my little 440 could never climb where they were going. My best riding buddy today gave me his machine and drove that 440 up a hillside I never would have imagined it could handle. At the top, we come upon a large bull moose up to his nose in snow. This convinced me that the sled was capable, and I wasn't. I worked on that.

Since then I've been through a bunch of POO's, 800 ProX, 900 Fusion, 900SB, 700 Dragon, XP146, & 700 D155. I've learned a lot about my abilities and when to turn out! Still occasionaly underestimate the size of what's in front of me (whether snow or wood) but overall I can get through a day, thanks to friends willing to help me out of some of the worst holes. Our policy is to start getting yourself out but don't kill yourself doing so. What good is it to get yourself out without help and be busted for the rest of the day? After all, you may be called upon in the next round to be there to assist.

Bottom line, ride with people you trust. They won't put you in unreasonable danger, they will stick with you when you test your limits (and possibly exceeded it!!) and you know nobody gets left behind.