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Snowmobiles, I wish I didn't throw my snowshovel away


shittygsxr

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I was riding a snowmobile before I could walk. Haven't ridden in probably 14 or 15 years and it seems like the design has swayed more towards MX with a higher center of gravity and more suspension travel than the older sleds so my knowledge may be a little dated... I can say that I always liked Bombardier/ski-doo for build quality. Polaris wasn't bad either. 

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Just now, what said:

I was riding a snowmobile before I could walk. Haven't ridden in probably 14 or 15 years and it seems like the design has swayed more towards MX with a higher center of gravity and more suspension travel than the older sleds so my knowledge may be a little dated... I can say that I always liked Bombardier/ski-doo for build quality. Polaris wasn't bad either. 

It's like every manufacturer has 30 models. Seems like lots of trail riding and frozen lakes. 

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6 minutes ago, shittygsxr said:

It's like every manufacturer has 30 models. Seems like lots of trail riding and frozen lakes. 

What kind of riding are you wanting to do? Snowmobiles work kinda like motorcycles in there are different models for different things. 

 

if you look at Ski Doo's website ( https://www.ski-doo.com/?redirect=false ) in the "snowmobiles" dropdown it says what each model is made for. I had an MXZ and a Mach Z growing up which was more speed/handling based for trail riding. 

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I know Michigan well. Expect 200 inches of snow per winter up there. Boatloads of marked trails....maps of it all up there for snowmobiles. You want a trail machine for up there, with good electrics for heated gear.

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8 minutes ago, Tonik said:

I know Michigan well. Expect 200 inches of snow per winter up there. Boatloads of marked trails....maps of it all up there for snowmobiles. You want a trail machine for up there, with good electrics for heated gear.

240 is average where we will be I think the record is 390. Trails are everywhere.

So  lots of powder, I guess track length would come into play and I need to look at amps for heated gear. 

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4 minutes ago, shittygsxr said:

240 is average where we will be I think the record is 390. Trails are everywhere.

So  lots of powder, I guess track length would come into play and I need to look at amps for heated gear. 

From what I understand, Michigan has a pretty ridiculous maintained/groomed trail system so track length may not be as big a concern as if you were out in the mountains riding off-trail in the deep powpow. If you're looking at doing long days, I would get something with some wind protection and creature comforts. If you're just wanting something to tool around on for 100 miles per day or something though, a sportier trail machine may be more fun. 

 

As an aside, heated grips always made my hands sweat and ended up making my hands cold/gloves freeze. I have hot hands in general though so maybe that's not a normal thing. 

 

I miss snowmobiling.

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Buy a Yamaha and thank me later.

Every brand has well performing sleds, but think of Polaris, Ski Doo, and Arctic Cat like you do European motorcycles... fast, great performance, and shitty reliability.

When Suzuki made Arctic Cats engines they were much better with reliability, not the case now. Polaris was decent until the engine manufacturing went to Mexico. Ski Doo is the better of the three in my experience, but things have changed over the years.

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35 minutes ago, whaler said:

Buy a Yamaha and thank me later.

Every brand has well performing sleds, but think of Polaris, Ski Doo, and Arctic Cat like you do European motorcycles... fast, great performance, and shitty reliability.

When Suzuki made Arctic Cats engines they were much better with reliability, not the case now. Polaris was decent until the engine manufacturing went to Mexico. Ski Doo is the better of the three in my experience, but things have changed over the years.

Yamaha and their ratmobiles. Phazers, phazers everywhere. 

(My second snowmobile was a Yamaha Sno Scoot, I loved the hell out of that thing)

maxresdefault.jpg 

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Congrats! You are moving to a wonderful part of the country. I'll be back in Columbis tomorrow and can answer any questions you have on sleds and the UP. I've been deeply tied to both for the past 44 years. 

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4 hours ago, cmh_sprint said:

Congrats! You are moving to a wonderful part of the country. I'll be back in Columbis tomorrow and can answer any questions you have on sleds and the UP. I've been deeply tied to both for the past 44 years. 

we will be on the Keweenaw penninsula, by Michigan Tech. Its going to be a big task since we donated most of our winter stuff when we left Columbus and got rid of our AWD vehicles. Actually I dont even have a car anymore. 

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10 hours ago, shittygsxr said:

we will be on the Keweenaw penninsula, by Michigan Tech. Its going to be a big task since we donated most of our winter stuff when we left Columbus and got rid of our AWD vehicles. Actually I dont even have a car anymore. 

WTF?  From the beach to the arctic?  WOW.  

A couple good friends of mine swear by Arctic Cats.  One makes the trip to the UP every year, and the other just rides around here.  One thing I noticed, the bigger sled with bigger engine and better ride quality is much better for long rides.  The "hot rod" sleds are fun, for a little while.

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Wow, Keweenaw is waaay up there. I heard that the island next to the Canadian border, Isle Royale, is really nice though. I would love to take a hiking trip there at some point. 

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6 hours ago, OsuMj said:

Wow, Keweenaw is waaay up there. I heard that the island next to the Canadian border, Isle Royale, is really nice though. I would love to take a hiking trip there at some point. 

looks like there are a couple places to catch the ferry to go up there. I have so much packing researching and crap to do that I havent read much about it yet

 

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13 hours ago, jporter12 said:

WTF?  From the beach to the arctic?  WOW.  

A couple good friends of mine swear by Arctic Cats.  One makes the trip to the UP every year, and the other just rides around here.  One thing I noticed, the bigger sled with bigger engine and better ride quality is much better for long rides.  The "hot rod" sleds are fun, for a little while.

I am going to try and do both, but the south is turning into lower Jersey. I guess we will see how I like it up there. Its really weird because everyone is a blond and my daughter sticks out like a sore thumb. Fortunatley I am grey so they dont know I am an outsider

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