Snow-x Racing in Kitchener Ontario. (Mar26/27)

The start line is always an exciting spot, especially when there is a full grandstand behind you.

Racing on a ski hill means a lot of jumps and bumps on the way up and a lot more of them on the way down.
The race track seems to never end, especially when fatigue and arm pump starts to set in.
I did mention there are a lot of jumps and bumps right? Oh, and there are a lot of turns where the racers "trade paint".

It's great having someone "in your sight" as you pin the throttle.
Who doesn't love grabbing air in front of a bunch of fans?
Vintage racing is really popular at all race sites and venues including snow-x.

A 1980 TXL INDY is in front with an El Tigre and a Blizzard 9700+ in pursuit.

This is a rotary engine that was part of this Swedish made sled. A 303 rotary engine was also used by Artcic Cat.
Four time Canadian champ Ric Wilson is seen here taking time out to talk with fans.
The London Recreational Racing trailers with 12 sleds scheduled to race.

The weekend also had Jimmy Blaze putting on his big show which included a 360.

1st Impressions of Snowshoot

Anyone who snowmobiles has on their bucket list to attend SnowShoot just once. This year after a 40 year wait , I had my chance to go and I jumped all over it! Yes I am 52 years old now but this picture says it all! I was 10 years old again on Xmas morning.

Snowshoot is unique in motor sports as all the manufacturers assemble in one place for the snowmobile media to attend tech sessions on day1 and then spend 4 days riding each and everyone of the models from Cat, Polaris, Doo and Yamaha.

After registration I walked into the compound at West Yellowstone and was greeted by the Arctic Cat trailer with all the 2012 sleds under wraps. We all were anxious to see the new Cats to replace the F series. I wish we could have posted these pics when we were there but the manf. had strict instructions to all of the media to keep all the sleds under wraps until this week.

The new Cats did not disappoint. I also was seriously expecting to see a direct injection two stroke engine from Polaris. That was the only disappointment of the whole show. No new DI motors from either Cat or Polaris.

This is the new Cat stripped down. The pyramidal chassis is similar to the Rev but the front bulkhead and A-Arm suspension is like nothing else on the snow. The spindle is close to 15" in hgt and is forged instead of a typical extrusion as found on most sleds. The A-Arms are mounted on a 30 degree angle to the chassis to deflect the load away from the chassis centerline. The tall spindles also reduce the steering effort and the turning radius is the tightest of any sled on the snow. The tunnel sheet metal is a work of art and the rear skid frame is still the sliding arm / one way coupled with new rails and rear track idlers that are bolted together to improve rigidity when landing on the tail.

There is plenty else new including a magnesium chaincase that replaces the diamond drive, new Hayes brake, new secondary and new engine mounting that keeps the primary and secondary centre distance fixed @ 11". I could go on and on but there really is tons of new tech on this sled that we will report on in upcoming SnowGoer issues.

My Favorite the 800SnoPro in the Pro Cross chassis. The 800 engine we all love in a chassis that is 50 lbs lighter than the F8 is simply amazing. It goes through the bumps as good as an XRS and Pro -R

The big news at Yamaha is 2012 is the 10th year of 4-stroke engines. The Vector for 2012 comes with EPS and wow what a difference it makes to the personality of this sled. Yamaha is still working out the final iteration of the 2012 ski profile at Snowshoot to get rid of the darting Yamaha sleds are known for. So for 2012 Yamaha continues with their rock solid 4 stroke engines that run like a sewing machine and go forever. EPS on the Vector was a good move to us who can't afford the big buck Apex.

This is the new Doo for 2012. Just Kidding, but the 78 SnoPro Oval Tracker was one sweet sled

The RMotion with the piggyback shocks on the 800Etec XRS is one sweet sled! the remote adjustors on either side of the running boards allow the rider to easily adjust the rear spring tension and rear shock damping without having to reach into the skidframe and chip away the snow and ice to make adjustments. The Rmotion is a rising rate design and it easily is the best sled for the ditch banger. It works as well as the Pro-R Rush and Cat Snopro. The sled is rock solid. The new "pillow top" seat though I found a little strange.

The big new from Polaris is no DI two stroke. The other big news is the Switchback version of the Rush. I found the ride is much better than the 121" Rush and the extended rear shock is so much easier to get your hands onto adjust the spring preload. The longer skidframe is much more forgiving and not as sensitive as the 121" Rush. The new Comfort seat will a bring smile to Rush owners as this new seat just fits your butt better and is more forgiving. I expect on those 300km plus days that Rush riders will appreciate this subtle change.

Another small but big change is the increase in the tunnel hgt. by 1-3/4" and factory installed tunnel wear strips. Now we can stud these sleds without out having to tear the sled apart to mount the wear strips before studding the track

The new front suspension is right off the SnowCross sled.. The new spindle and A-Arms reduce steering effort and it also corners with reduced inside ski lift. It is a big improvement for this sled which has a higher CG and does give up the ability to rail around corners like the new Cat and Doo XRS. The front end makes the sled much more solid and predictable in the bumps and tight corners.

Snowshoot was amazing and the Yellowstone area provides every possible riding terrain. Fields,bush,lakes, ditch banging and mtns. If you think your a good rider, you have not seen nothing till you see the guys that ride in the mtns. Riding in the steep and deep is like learning to walk again. The mtn sleds are truly amazing sleds and the guys and gals that grew up riding in the mtns are amazing as are the vehicles they use to haul them.

SnowShoot 2012 sled photos.

At Snowshoot, photos of the new sleds from the event can not be published until after the event is complete. Two OEMs had already released their full line-ups prior to that date, but we ride with a variety of sleds in our test group, so it was tricky to isolate those sleds in our photos. Now that SnowShoot is over, we can post pictures of all the sleds we rode, and here they are!
The compound area is a very organized place. The 2012 prototype sleds that each media group requested are fueled (and repaired) and ready to go for the daily sessions.
This is the negotiating part of the day at 8am, when test rider Mike Van Muyen tries to push for the ride to take place in the most challenging riding area, but camera guys Marty and Gord want to find the area with the best photo opportunities. Phil ends up in the middle as a negotiator due to a passion for riding and a passion for timeless sledding images.
Places like this work well for both riding and picture taking.
This location works well too! There is a sled busting through the snow on the left side.
That's Carl Kuster coming over the ridge. He is a champion snow-x racer and he lives in the mountains of British Columbia where he owns a resort.

That's Carl showing us how a mountain guy rides on a 2012 Ski-Doo.

A close up of Carl doing what he does so well.

SGC rider Brad Harris trying out the 2012 Yamahas.
Hal, Brad and Phil riding 2012 Cats at the top of Two Top Mountain.
Hal and Phil on 2012 Polaris's on Two Top.
Hal is smiling under that helmet while trying out the all new front and on the new Cat Chassis.
Hal riding a Cat in the mountains. Yeah he is having a good time!
Just one of our many play areas for the sleds. Look closely, our crew is in the upper center area near the trees.
We cruised the trails of Montana, but we may have ventured into Idaho at this point.
Mike Van Muyen loves the long tracks and challenges that mountain riding offers up.

Riding an 800cc long track sled in the mountains, does sledding get any better then this?

Mountain sleds on a mountain, that seems logical.....and fun.
Just when you get to one peak, you see a higher one in the distance.

Cat fans will be having a mid-1970's flashback when they see these decals.

We have PLENTY of photos to show you, so stay tuned as we continue to post more pictures and comments on our SGC Blog. You will get the full story on the entire fleet of 2012 sleds in our annual buyers guide. Get it next fall!

Last day in Montana, heading home tomorrow.

It has been a fantastic week in Montana, but now it's time to head home. Here are pics from today.