SNOWGOER CANADA

GETTING READY TO RIDE!

2009-12-29T11:04:00.002-05:00

Snow Goer getting the sleds ready to hit the trails!

1st ride Yamaha Vector LTX

2009-12-22T08:48:00.013-05:00

With respect to the hard working OFSC club's that have not yet opened their trails , Gord Avann and friends ventured up the Haliburton Forest for a ride on our new Yamaha Vector LTX. Along on the trip was an identical Vector LTX , both with under 300kms. Our SGC Vector had new Yamaha accessory Dooly carbides and the accompanying Vector had Shaper bar's. With the suspension setting the same the Yamaha Dooly were a much better runner in this soft groomed snow with no darting and very easy steering and some push under acceleration. The other Vector had aftermarket Shaper bars and had a more positive firm hold on the trail, but darting was noticeable. Both riders agreed with some suspension tweaks the Dooly's would be the route to go with the easy steering and lack of darting.

After that NEW Sled smell burned off the Vector we toured around the groomed trails of Haliburton Forest noticing the much refined Vector's fuel-injected motor is now sneaky fast and very smooth. A much improved motor over the previous Carbed Vector. On these groomed trails I went with a soft shock preload in the rear and relied on the Ride-Adjust dial to refine my ride. The longer LTX really came to life over the chopped up trails with sharp hills on the inner loops in the main trail sections of the forest. After my first ride I came to the conclusion that this is a great solo touring sled. I would certainly add accessory bags and a taller mid height windshield. What I won't need now is a ultra warm pair of gloves left over from last years Nytro XTX, the new hand warmer element works much better.

I have to add the new Triton trailer is a very well balanced trailer. I didn't get the usual flashing of apposing headlights with the better balanced load of two Yamaha Four strokes in this Aluminum enclosed trailer. I easily pulled this loaded trailer with a Minivan and unlike other enclosed trailers my headlights stayed on the road.

2009-12-22T00:41:00.009-05:00

600 Rush Early Season Report!

The months of talk are over and now it is time to see what the 600 Rush is all about. Is the new chassis all hype or is it a game changer?

I have gone over the sled and the specs with a fine tooth comb and this past weekend it was time to fire up this baby and get some seat time.

All though the trails are still closed in many areas, I am lucky enough to have some property to break the engine in and do some playing with the rear suspension.

The rear suspension is real easy to adjust. The tool kit comes with the easy adjust guage. Out of the box the rear spring preload was set for

a 200 lb rider weight. I fired up the sled and headed out to a nearby field to do some test riding. The tank was filled with 91 octane and a litre of oil as per the owners manual to break the engine in. Its running real rich right now but the 600 CFI 4 still pulls really strong. It lifts the skis from a dead start ( no studs) with ease. The weight transfer is outstanding. The new wide skis that Polaris has installed keep the front end planted when cornering . Where I was riding there was no area to do any high speed sweepers so the jury is still out on its handling capability.

The seating position is very familiar. You know your on a Polaris. The hood design gives good knee protection and the tank is narrow enough that your not sitting bowlegged. The clutching is seamless and back-shifts and up-shifts with ease. The motor does over rev easy( 8200 rpm) which according to the just published Dyno-tech report is over the max rpm of 7800 rpm where the 600 CFI4 engine produces max hp. Heavier weights may be needed to bring the rev's down to get max performance.

I backed off the rear spring pre-load as I weigh 185 lb. This is done real easy by turning the spring by hand untill the spring guage read 185lb.

Back on the trail the softer spring tension improved wgt transfer as the sled would pull a catwalk real easy for 30-40 ft. before the skis touch down. Simply shifting your weight forward brings the nose down faster.

This pic shows the rear suspension front torque arm position when it encounters a bump.

The underside pic shows the new ski profile , one of the engine coolers and the IQ front end geometry. The plastic "wings" act as running board skid plates which are becoming more common on Sno-X sleds. The 1 1/4" Ripsaw track hooked up really well in the loose snow I as riding on.

We installed the mid height windshield but the sled still needs a set of hand guards to deflect the wind away from your fingers especially when the weather turns colder.

I can't wait to get it out on the trail and put the rear suspension through some big whoops. I owned a IQ 440 Sno-X sled and that machine is just unreal through the bumps. I hope the Rush is equal in big bump performance to the IQ racer.

Keep watching the blog for more updates

Last minute stuff before riding......

2009-12-20T21:19:00.005-05:00

The flatland trails are starting to open thanks to some snow and colder temp's. I dropped by Central Ontario PowerSports in Barrie to pick up our SnowGoer RUSH and IQ Turbo Touring.
It is pretty obvious what sled is sitting on this trailer.......
SGC staff opted to order the higher windshield for the RUSH. It not only holds both our SGC and STV decals, it also provides some much needed wind protection. Last year we had two sleds with low (no) wind shields and we froze. ( Some lessons we must re-learn.)
At SnowShoot, I asked Polaris brass about touring/luggage bags for the RUSH. They said they were coming for this winter and they were right. Hal had them on in minutes with no drilling or riveting.
Hal and his son Aiden are getting to ready to adjust the rear spring setting, but Hal had to first tell his son that he does not actually weigh 145 lbs anymore. (So much for those yoga classes.)
The decals from Kael at Promotional Graphics in Cambridge match the colour scheme of the RUSH..... Thanks Kael!!!
The windshield is on, the decals are attached, the bags are in place, the sled is full of fuel, now we have to be patient like all reponsible sledders for the "Trail Closed" signs to come down. We do have a secret test area that we are heading to very soon, so stay tuned.
****Phil****

CSRA Snow-X at Sault Ste Marie.

2009-12-12T23:22:00.003-05:00

Gord is running tech at the big ski hill where lots of snow has fallen this past week. He sent some pictures from the track, and here they are:

#603 Ben Holmes won his race on the new Cat Sno-Pro 500.
Did you notice all the snow hanging off the Chalet?????
Mike vs Mike...Mike Van Dolder and Mike Island battling it out.
Mike Island on his way to a win.

Do the Cat racers just look sweet or what?
Thanks for the update Gord.

So close......

2009-12-06T22:54:00.006-05:00

Last week I dropped by London Recreational Racing to see how the race fleet was fairing. The guys were hard at it, getting ready for the delayed start to the snow-x season.

Nice decals Ric!
John is installing the new skid plates for the running boards. That should eliminate some of the drag when skipping over the tops of the moguls.

Mike is always smiling when he is working on the sleds.
Just part of the fleet that the crew is working on this year.
Hey! That's a 1980-ish Moto-Ski ####-Sonic! You never know what you'll find at the race shop!
***********************************************************************************
Now for some snow pics......
I closed up the Muskoka cottage today as 6+ inches of snow came down during the day.
The snow is falling, and it's time to get ready to ride.........once the trails are open......

Warnert Racing in BC

2009-12-01T19:06:00.004-05:00

My niece is really pushing my buttons this year. Today she sent me pic's of Warnert/Ski-Doo racing practicing on the ski hills of Panorama BC. (www.skipanorama.com)

Thanks Theresa!

Great Fall for Trail Work

2009-11-26T08:14:00.002-05:00

No early snow may not be creating a great mood for sledding, but the good news is that the weather conditions so far this fall have been ideal for trail work and preparations. It's been relatively mild and dry, which makes it much easier to get into those hard to access places, especially with heavy equipment. That means the trails should be in excellent shape before the snow flies and clubs should not be playing catch up like they did last fall when early snow interfered with their efforts.

Good conditions this fall have also helped with progress on the $4.6 million worth of trail improvement projects, many of which will be ready for this winter.

Those mountain folks and their early snowfalls!

2009-11-24T17:35:00.006-05:00

My niece lives in BC and works in the ski industry near Panorama. She sent a pic of the snow they had two weeks ago. She'll be out on a sled soon and promises to send me pic's......thanks....a lot...seeing as I am such a great uncle I get free accommodations right??????? Shortly after she sent this pic, she said the skiers were struggling with today's heavy snow falling on top of their 5 meter base.......thanks again......

UPDATE:...One hour after I posted this photo, I got a press release from Panorama stating that the Ski-Doo Warnert factory snow-x team was there practicing on the hill.
I live in Kitchener Ontario where it is mild and raining right now....I need a quick flight to BC!!!!

Fall Cottage LIfe Show

2009-11-17T18:17:00.002-05:00

We took the Go Snowmobiling campaign and the Give It A try Tour to the Fall Cottage Life Show in Toronto recently. Boy, were those cottagers ever pumped about snowmobiling this winter! Many were already long time riders, but there were lots of folks who are going to start riding for the first time this winter.

Next stop for Go Snowmobiling is the Motorcycle Super Show at the Toronto International Centre, January 15 to 17. We've even got some motorcycle riders who are also avid snowmobilers to help us at the booth!

The beginning of Winter. Its Parr Auction Time!

2009-11-11T00:10:00.004-05:00

Saturday, Nov.7th was the big sled auction north of Fergus. For me in Southern Ontario that means only 4-5 weeks till the snow is on the ground and we can go riding. There is always great deals on machine that are less than 10 years old as well as some nice vintage iron for sale. Here are some pics

Grand Lake Colorado

2009-11-05T09:42:00.005-05:00

Here are a few shots to remind our test team how much fun it was in Grand Lake last March. Gord Avann, Phil, and the 2 Mikes had a great time in the mountains with Chris from BRP. Full stories to come!

Where we come from

2009-11-04T10:31:00.009-05:00

Hello and welcome to my first attempt at a blog on SGC.
For those who aren't familiar, my name is Gord Avann and I have been involved in the Snowmobile Media for 23 yrs.

My path to Snowmobiling is likely no different than thousands of others, and some of the many persons that I felt very fortunate to meet in my early years.
Last season I had the opportunity to spend a few days with the Wallace family. The Wallace’s were selected as the OFSC Volunteer Family of the Year for their contribution at the Westwood Hills Snowmobile Club.

My introduction is similar in that our family started snowmobiling Christmas morning 1972. I know my family and the Wallace family's participation in snowmobiling was due to wanting to enjoy and participate in snowmobiling as a family. So it’s great to see that we have logged so many years, but what remains the same is we still enjoy this recreation as a family. Our family with 7 in total were outdoor enthusiasts and only tried snowmobiling with my parents friends. My father saw an opportunity to snowmobile as a family.
Our first snowmobile was a 1971 OMC Snow Cruiser 2011.
I just the other day asked my father why he chose that particular sled, well he said "it was a good buy" and being a boater went with the OMC name. He said he also considered the ski-doo Olympic, I think had he asked his teenage sons they probably would have gone with the ski-doo. Lucky for me my 2 older brothers got bored of the Snow Crusher after a few years and I usually had it to myself. We mostly traveled up to our current home in Keswick on Lake Simcoe from our Toronto home. Back in the 70s we had so many places and parks where these sleds were not quite regulated.
One favorite for hundreds of snowmobiles was Vivian Forest just north of Toronto where you could see all the makes and models. This was also the first year our family enjoyed our first snowmobile race, the “Mark Ten” race series came to the old Markham fair grounds at Markham Road and Hwy.7. I was disappointed that our Snow cruiser didn’t show in the Snow oval, but there were many that did.
The performance bug had bitten my older brothers and they bought there own sleds, a Yamaha 292 for Ken ( now president of the CSRA) and oldest Gary who bought a ski-doo Olympic for $700.00 new and I smiled to think that I had the Cruiser to myself.
I bent so many chrome bumpers and broke so many of those very high windshields. And I finally mastered the reverse without that wailing scream of the not quite meshed transmission.
And yes, I ordered all the I LOVE MY SNOW CRUSIER 3 D decals and stuck them on the family wagon.

We would love to hear from anyone about their own family sledding experiences.

Intrepid on Radio!

2009-10-24T15:19:00.002-04:00

Today I put the finishing touches on the scripts for my Intrepid Snowmobiler on Radio features, brought to you in part by Snow Goer Canada magazine. Intrepid airs this winter on stations in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. I head into the studio next week to record them and they should be ready before the end of November!

Why not ask your local radio station if it will be broadcasting the Intrepid Snowmobiler on Radio this winter!

2009 Sled Show in Toronto (Phil's Version)

2009-10-21T17:39:00.003-04:00

What a great kick-off for the upcoming season!

Our "STV/SGC Clubhouse" was courtesy of Confederation Log Homes.

In the vintage display, Craig Simpson showed off this beauty Blizzard. I wonder if he'll let me race it in vintage IFS???

A Manta twin-tracker owned by club prez Ed Long.

Oh-oh...Hal Armstrong is tearing apart a Tundra!

Now Hal has Polaris engineers and marketing staff trapped at the RUSH display. Hal started disassembling the 2010 sled and reviewed welding, assembling and machining techniques then he got out his micrometer. Hal is now banned from the state of Minnesota.

2009 Toronto Snowshow

2009-10-20T22:37:00.004-04:00

The show was well attended this year which I found really surprising. I guess it shows that sledders are not going to let tough times keep them from enjoying the greatest sport in the world. Here are some pics from the show. Enjoy!

Toronto Snowmobile Show

2009-10-18T16:41:00.002-04:00

Just got back from the Toronto Snowmobile Show and it proved that the economy hasn't hurt snowmobiling one bit. The place was packed throughout most of the three days and people were shopping like mad. Great bargains to be had!

Permit sales at the OFSC booth were brisk and people are eager to get started.

Many Snow Goer Canada readers visited our impressive “log home” set up to talk with the folks who do the magazine and many sledders bought new subscriptions.

All in all, a very encouraging kick off to the new season!

$10 for My Club!

2009-10-14T07:54:00.003-04:00

Last weekend, I visited my local Ski-Doo dealer to drop off my completed certificate for the $1 Million Ski-Doo Club Support Program. Each certificate received contributes $10 to your local club courtesy of BRP. That's found money for your club, so even if you are not a Ski-Doo rider, be sure to get your certificate in before November 15th! YOu can get one in various snowmobile magazines of online at http://www.skidoopromotion.com/en/ca-east/reason/3

Getting Ready For winter

2009-10-05T18:00:00.003-04:00

With the Toronto snowmobile show just two weeks away, I am already anticipating the excitement of another winter of touring for Snow Goer Canada magazine. My tour plans are already underway and I take my tow vehicle in this week for its annual pre-season check up. Looking forward to riding my 2010 Ski-Doo GSX SE 1200 4 TEC, my first ever 4-stroke. I'll be at the show every day, so be sure to say hello!

Fall Swap Meet

2009-10-04T22:15:00.004-04:00

The Fergus Elora Belwood Snowmobile Club recently held a swap meet. This was the first time the club held a swap meet and the event was well attended with vendors coming from as far away as Wasaga Beach to sell their goods.

With tough economic times more riders this year are going to be updating their existing ride or looking to repair a second sled so the whole family can enjoy the winter

Stock Cars and sleds?

2009-09-16T17:42:00.007-04:00

Well it is September and time for the changes of seasons. This past weekend, my family and I went to the stock car races in Flamboro Ontario.
The racing was great under a clear blue sky.
Hey, Mike Schmidt brought a snow-x sled.
He sponsors a stock car (Brad Collison#13) and we all know Mike from his race sled tuning abilities during the winter.

Snow-X in April.....what a great way to end the season!

2009-04-06T09:34:00.010-04:00

HorseShoe Resort is a big ski hill that becomes a great snow-x track with uphill, downhill, mogul and table top challenges.
Lots of snow, new mod sleds and old vintage on the same venue, what a great day!
Go vintage sleds go!

Vintage racing takes place in the background while the Lee Memorial Trophy awaits it's first victor's name.That's a lot of vintage muscle on the start line!

Jim Scott sure knows how to put his SRX through it's paces and he earned that checkered flag lap.
Tim, Barbara and Jesse Lee present the "Lee Memorial Cup" to Jim Scott who won the vintage liquid open class. It is in memory of Bud and Danny Lee of Barrie who raced for several decades.
Tim Lee answers questions about his brother Danny and his dad Bud who generated many exciting moments on the snow and ice race tracks.

Dave Coultis put together this fine 50th anniversary vintage Ski-Doo display with help from the Antique and Classic Snowmobile Club of Canada.
Four time Canadian Champion 4C Ric Wilson can still show the young pro's how to fly.
Ric's son Devin Wilson can also fly!

Ric and Devin "relaxing" on a sled.

Lots of fans showed up for the races.
The 4-stroke Yamaha racers really fly on this big track.

Iain Hayden ends the season with a win in the Pro-Open event. Yep, he's happy!
The next snow-x race? Dec 2009 in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario. See you then.

More SnowShoot moments

2009-04-06T09:04:00.005-04:00

These test riders are Mike Shean from Gamma Sales, Mike Van Muyen (former cross-country racer) and Gord Avann (former ice oval and snow-cross racer).
If you zoom in on Gord's notepad you'll see what he is writing; "Phil Molto is the best sled rider I have ever had the pleasure of riding with. I am sure glad I never had to race against him!"

Being Canadians, we will always stop to help a stranger push a car out of a snowbank or dig their sled out of a tree.
Marty asking mountain guru Chris, "You're going to go where?!?!"

Just taking a break......
In the van, look who has to ride in the back seat........and no movies to watch!

SnowShoot "2010"

2009-03-10T09:17:00.007-04:00

SnowShoot "2010", in the powder of the Rocky Mountains......
Ah the mountains, what an amazing place to try out the 2010 line of sleds.
The OEMs and the snowmobile media get together each year to review the new sleds for the upcoming year. There were tech classes for one day, and then we had four days of intense riding and evaluation on the 2010 sleds.
The road from Denver into the distant mountains......and snow...
Tech day, where we spend class time with each OEM, and here we are learning about the RUSH.
The OEM's put out a impressive line of rides, what a stable to choose from!We pick similar sleds when we ride each session, so we are comparing "apples to apples" when we switch sleds between riders. After picking up our first group of sleds, it's off to the mountians......
Fresh powder.......We ride them all, event the utility sleds. Yes, they are a lot of fun in the wilderness. Over four days of riding we ride them all in different terrain and weather conditions. The next shots are an overview of sleds and locations where the SGC and STV crew is working in the wind at 12,000 feet.
Snow moves in fast in the mountains.That's Martin Convery from STV and Bob Island from SGC. What a week of hard work. I will be adding more pic's to the blog later this week, stay tuned!

Eganville's Bonnechere Cup.

2009-03-02T18:54:00.003-05:00

The small town of Eganville has a population of about 1200, but that grows to 5,000 on race weekend. If you want a room you need to go to a nearby town, and park amongst the many touring sledders that overnight enroute to other areas.

Friday it was +10 and raining but by Saturday morning it was -24 and everything was frozen solid. It was "go time"!

The view from the tower is great, and this is where race director Marcel keeps a watchful eye on the action.
After thirty years of watching from the stands, it was my turn to put on my old Ski-Doo leathers and hit the ice oval in vintage single cylinder racing. What a blast!

The view from the top of the hill is great, and the local trail runs right through the grounds.

Yes, those are ATVs with studded tires racing on the track. It was very popular with the crowd.

Here is a familiar name and number. The number 74 and the name Wahl are a succesful combination here at Eganville, and the Wahls have raced here for several decades.