Finally got to try out the 'new' sled!

I ended up putting about 230 miles on in two days of riding - it is like a new sled! I am happy with it again!!!

Day 1: About 95 miles - mostly off-trail, swamps, portage trails and 2-tracks. The rpms are holding VERY nicely. I pin the throttle and it stays above 8K (sometimes a little too far above, but I will look into that after the new belt breaks in). No more of this struggling to reach 7500 then falling to 6K over time. With the new track and the rpms holding like they are supposed to it rides like a new sled. There has been one 'hill' (I looked it up on google maps - 160' of vertical elevation change in about 700' of length) that I have been looking at for the last 3 years but knew I would never make it up. On Sat I went up without much of a struggle - it was awesome!! In fact this track is almost too much for the midwest. I had to get tangled up in something to get stuck...

Day 2: More about trail running - close to 135 miles with a little bit of off-trail playing. That 2" paddle REALLY hooks up on the trails! As long as there is enough snow, this is an incredible setup.

I also got to swap and try out my friend's new to him 2011 Switchback Assault (800 with a 15x144x2 paddle track). It is really nice in the powder - turns easy, lays over nice and can really feel the balance point when sidehilling. It is a little too squirrelly on the trails for my taste but really nice for the off-trail stuff!

I am going back up again in 2 weeks - anyone want to teach me their snow-dance steps??? It was doable but marginal - another foot or two would be nice!

How is the winter going for everyone else??? Not much traffic on here...

dave

Hey Dave where you thinking of going ? western UP !!!!!

Some day I will make it to the UP, but for this year it will just be the North Shore in MN and one trip up into Canada. We know all of the 'secret stashes' of powder up there!

I have heard that it is getting harder to go off-trail in the UP - giving tickets for riding the power lines. What's up with that? Some day we will have to find someone willing to show us the ropes...

In the mean time Canada has 1000's of miles of logging roads and we can ride for days without seeing anyone else. The snow isn't as good as the UP, but many years it can be good.

Next year I am going to try and go out west again - take my own sled along this time! I don't know how a 600sdi will fare at 10,000ft but I will give it a try! I am very happy with it now, but performance out west may force me to upgrade to an 800. Anyone interested in a 'gently used' gade in another year or two?

dave