Sledarama, Peterborough.

Wow, what a great day at the sled show which had an outdoor vending area and an indoor sales area as well.
If you needed a vintage fan-cooled engine there were PLENTY to pick from.

Recognize the Anderson drag chassis or that 1972 18" TNT suspension?
Now there's some project sleds!

A couple classic Cats for sale. The hidden headlight really set off the early El Tigres!
There were newer IFS sleds in the swap area to choose from.
The Flying Dutchmen Racing trailer was set up with new race sleds and a vintage race sled. It was all parked in what was once turn #3 of the Kawartha Cup ice oval track.
Ah, the starting line area of the historic bleachers. Many racers looked up to this spot when they grabbed the checkered flag for a parade lap.
The old bleachers are still there. It is a very historic spot, were every major ice oval racer of the 70s and 80s raced.

Inside, it was very busy with dealers showing off the new sleds. It took a while to find a quiet moment where I could get a photo and be able to see the sleds.

Another inside shot, with the 2012 Polaris deals and the negotiating taking place.

New sleds are here and getting assembled.

I saw this 2012 Ski-Doo 800 with rMotion suspension get uncrated today. Wow, I can hardly wait to ride it and.........hey.....wait.......that's not my sled!!.....ARGH!!!!!!!

Snow Goer and Snowmobiler TV Helping Out

With Snowmobiler TV going into it's 15th year of production we have managed to gather quite a few suits, hats and boots over the years. Today we paid a visit to the David Busby Centre in downtown Barrie and donated to the centre some of our collection. The Centre is driven by a philosophy of empowerment. David Busby Street Centre is a community not-for-profit organization working from a non judgmental approach to advocate for and improve conditions for individuals and families within the County of Simcoe who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.We are proud that some of these recipients will benefit from our donations.

Catherine Johnson from The David Busby Centre with a gentleman wearing his new coat, Shelley from our office and Lorraine Wye.

Here we are unloading at the David Busby Centre

Update #4 - Trash to Trails...It Runs!

Tonight we went at the sled with one goal in mind, we wanted to hear it run. After a couple of hours of work fitting the seat, adjusting the carbs, connecting the new throttle cable and plugging in the kill switch and small stuff like that, we were finally ready to fire up the beast.

We couldn't get the primer to pull any fuel to the carbs so we used some top secret spray to encourage the motor to fire up. It did! After further investigation we found the primer wasn't working at all, luckily we had an extra one kicking around and installed it. It worked and brought the fuel to the carbs. After a few squirts it fired up on its own.

To say we were happy to see the blue smoke is an understatement. We've put so many hours and dollars into this sled it was awesome to see it come to life, even if it wouldn't idle. As we listened to it run and kept it alive with the primer, we started to tear up, soon realizing it was the exhaust from all the crap burning off of the motor...

Now it's time for the finishing touches then a classic permit and the first ride.

Update #3 - From Trash to Trails

We've made a lot of progress in the last month despite not having a lot of time to work on the sled, life always seems to interfere with snowmobiling. The 86 MX is pretty much back together and now resembles a snowmobile.

The carbs (can't believe Jason was able to clean them) are isntalled along with all new fuel lines and oil lines (blue lines in background). Jason found a used jackshaft bearing housing at a local salvage yard so we're ready to install the secondary clutch and put the belt on.

All new shocks were intalled in both the front and rear suspensions. Here's an SPX gas shock in the rear suspension. It looks like this is actually rechargable. Definitely an upgrade.

If you think replacing the shocks on a $250 snowmobile is not necessary, think again. Look at the condition of the shocks above. A couple rides on the old shocks and you'd be replacing them anyway. The rust on the shaft would ruin the seal after a couple bumps.

When I started to install the new carbide runners I noticed a bit of rust inside the ski. This is what came out! Another reason we use plastic skis now.

Here you can see the new front shocks and freshly painted exhaust installed. Starting to look good under there.

Here's the new camoplast track which was the most expensive part so far at just over $500. You can also see the new NTN bearings on the idler wheels.

As of November 11th, this is how the sled sits. Track, suspension, hood, new windshield, and gas tank now installed. The belly pan off the Mach 1 turned out pretty well too. The seat needs a small adjustment to fit back on and then it will be isntalled. Next step is to install the grips and controls, then we can fire it up!

Stay tuned for the final assembly and the moment of truth.

Bring on winter!

With the cottage fully closed up for the season, it is time to really start getting ready for winter. (The cottage is not winterized and has no road or trail access.) I dropped by our grooming guy's place (Graham Snyder) and saw the piles of trail stakes ready to go into the ground. Yep, it's time!