Ox

The "club sled" eh? I wonder if there is some way that I can write off my sled/expenses?

Yeah, but the CK3 chassis went through 2003, and RER came out in 200.5 (?) on the Ser III Twin motors. So there was a 2-3 year overlap, but I don't think the trippples ever got it, but I could be wrong. There WAS sumpthing special aboot the last cpl year 800 blocks, but now I don't recall what that was. Maybe it was RER, but I don't remember any more.... I was thinking that it might be more like 780 / 800+ CC's or ???

Was the FIII mentioned prior? I missed it... When I was lookin' to fetch a new sled back in '01, I threatened to buy a used Mach1 - which I believe had the single pipe - and long track it, but I ended up splurging to the new Zx Summit. No RER on trippples either.... Hmmm, I guess RER is not possible on the 580/670 with rotary valves, but the trippples with reeds - should actually have been possible, but I don't think that they ever bothered? .

What trippple - where?

Snow and wind and mud down here in NW corner of Ohio - for first day of gun season.

Well, it sounds like you've turned a wrench before. Did you take the old bottom apart to see if/what the issue was? "A rod knockin' " isn't normal on a 2stroke. Many times in automotive - those "rods" are actually wrist pins, and will clatter for years. Put front and rear main seals in it! (checking run-out is a good idea as well.) .

I was watching some vids of ladder ramps the other day, and one brand that appears to be "name brand" (I don't recall what it was) appeared to have forked tangs for at the tailgate so that it doesn't come up on you when loading. My ramps don't have that - and we have eaten the back of my truck a few times over the last 20 years, but that has always been in a spot where the bottom of the ramp did not set level, and generally was actually on ice (even melt water the one time - boy my chum was pissed! LOL!) I have seen on some of them that there is a strap from the upper middle that will hook to your ball hitch to help keep it from jumping up on you. This could be added to your ramp as well. Blake - has that snowflap been clipped? Ramsomair - The devil is in the details. (post dates) .

Fish: OK, so what's the wheels on the skis? They don't look like they are going to carry the front end into the trailer - doo they? Or maybe some ice scratcher of sorts?

I'm sure that most any name brand - that has been made in China - is going to be better than brand name "Made in China". However - you need to be carefull with that too - as with many business's that close, the name and intelectual property are sometimes also sold, and if the Chinc's buy that, then fagetabootit.... They could'a been NOS just as easy tho too. .

I have yet to figger how we git mirror images in the digital era? I know that they brought the 540 back a few yrs ago, but I didn't think that Yammi was building the 2 strokes aggin. I was thinkin' that they just tossed a Kitty or ??? motor in it? But since it is still a "540", maybe it is the old motor yet. Still carb'ed? I am sure that I have a magazine in the library that could answer those Q's. Although, not sure anyone has had the big model by model spreadsheets in the issue yet this year? Although I know the 540 has made the spotlight many times the last few years.

Te VK is made in J A Pan? It doesn't have a Yammi motor in it tho - does it?

Good intentions, but Timken closed up (most?) of it's facility in Canton some years ago and makes them in China now too.

Is that just an RX1 in disguise? Power steering eh? Wow..... A chum got that on a new 4wheeler last year. big tires and rocky trail - yeah - I can see it - especially like you say - for those with less upper body strength. But on a skidoo? On the other side tho - I remember when my chum put a set of Powder Pro's on his '97 XLT Limited, and that thing steered very heavy! I'm thinkin' that more mid shock (spring_ pressure and less on the skis would have helped that, but IDK... Is that normal on most 4 strokes?

That sled had a gas shut-off valve on it, and if it was closed and the sled ran enough to run the carbs dry -then mayby the carbs are ok, but a dirty carb - especially on a multi-carb motor like yours, is very vulnerable to a lean burndown. I personally just never trust last years carbs, and we always tear them down to clean them. This is a WAY bigger deal then chaincase oil. Making sure there is enough oil in the case is good, but changing it not nearly that big'a deal. Also - round slides are notorious for gunking up. Way more-so than flat slides. .

It appears that Google Maps has the lakes mislabeled. What they have as Whitefish should be Manitowik, and Whitefish is the next one south with the power dam near the corner on 101.

Strong: I see that the trail east out'ta Hawk is actually "Wawa 14" and dead ends at the beach.

Well, I looked the narrows up on the Garmin TOPO map, and you can distinctly see a narrow rocky path between the two lakes, and it is not growed up. So - there must be some flow there routinely, or at least "flood" that channel annually. I tried to save the screenshot, but it saves as a .png and won't open, so ??? The map calls it "Stony Portage Falls". After some time looking at the map closely, it appears that Dog sits "on the top" and actually drains both ways, via small cricks in both directions. Well heck, this is a good enough pic: https://www.google.com/maps/@48.2247615,-84.2532789,388m/data=!3m1!1e3 Actually - it looks dammed in this pic! https://www.google.com/maps/@48.2290743,-84.2373666,297m/data=!3m1!1e3 I wonder why they would dam it? Apparently just to keep water levels up I guess.... Never the less, it still appears to drain both directions. Without the dam, it may only flow south?

Per your GPS comments: I am here to tell yuh - I have that Garmin InReach unit, and with that, you git an online map and your waypoints are stored online, and such. It is really purty kewl! But - let me tell yuh! That map is dead nuts on! I loaded a few points from setting on my assets in the office here, and when I got there - they were dead nuts on! I was amazed! If I was planning on dooing this today, I would likely load those points ahead of time. One other thing - I will cross almost any water - short of Lake Superior. I have laid first tracks accrost several inland lakes up there, and sometimes there is nothing but water shooting out the back of my sled. (slush) As long as there is a place to git off and I have a big sled and big track, I'm OK with it. But I hate stopping on ice! If sumpthing goes wrong there - no time to grab a handfull of HP. And thus, when we doo stop on ice, I like to be the last one to shut down, as I like to social distance when parking on ice. I know lots of guys like to all park side by side, but that's not me... The Manitowik side of this run - there is no place to git off for quite a stretch. The water goes right up to shear cliffs. (not unlike the Magpie in places) I am always looking for a safe place to git to in case.... This is NOT a Christmas / NY's trip! Prolly from one of my first river experiences right here at home. Was solid by the roadway overpass, and we headed up stream, only to look back and see water! I grabbed a handfull and tried to find a place to git off! Neither of us got wet, but I'm sure glad I was running point that day! LOL! So, as we continued on north through the portage from the pic above, we navigated the whoops, hollars, and stutters 'till we got out to Dog. We hadn't hardly got going on Dog and I blew my drive belt! So there I was - out in the middle of Dog, changing my belt. That is the worst possible scenario of my fears! I was runnin' clean-up, but one older fella swung back around to stay with me, which was appreciated. Again - I didn't know anyone in the group. I think that I was still running airplane gears in that Grand Touring at that time yet, and .. probably running a Summit track, so that could be why it took out the belt It was a cpl more years later 'till I learned to drop the gear ratio to 2.25, and then EVERYTHING started working better! (for playing off trail) .

Sure, no worries. ... Now that I gots me a fuel infected sled that is. We started that trip @ Hearst aboot a dozen years ago and burnt down two sleds by trying to tow big sleighs full of fuel and camping gear. Those flatslides don't like a constant / steady throttle setting, and we ended up with lean burn. I'm sure that we could have adjusted our needles up a cpl notches and tried aggin the next year, but I decided that I was waiting for fuel infection. We were hoping to go all the way up and pick up the Albany (?) and bring back down, but Marc says that there is nothing to see that way. Apparently more muskegy than the Moose River. The Moose has scrub pine all along it, but apparently the Albany doesn't even have that. Still, it'd be nice to hit that once to say that I did too. But git'n the time off is a whole nother situation. I kan't plan in certainties. Only play by ear.... One of the cons of self employment...

OK, so you are neither Anyweather Lewis nor Clark eh? .

"Can't go w/o a guide"?

If you stay @ Hawk, one ride that I highly recommend is that you take the trail east out of town, past the sub-station. That will run you out to a beach landing on the chain of lakes. I have some pics of 4wheelers and my truck there, but can't find them. (maybe never scanned in?) I hooked up with another group for the day, and the guy running point for them took us up river, and eventually up to Ernies for burgers. You doo need to git off the water and take a portage between Whitefish (Manitowik?) Lake and Dog to the north. (A klick of whoops!) You need to take the portage as apparently there is a "narrows" between the lakes that doesn't freeze well, or at all. I did not see this narrows as I was just following the group, and I kind'a question it's existance as that spot should be the Arctic Watershed, as Whitefish Lake flows south to Anjigami and the Michipocotin River and dumps into Lake Superior near Wawa, and Dog Lake to the north should flow north via the Missinnabi River to James/Hudson's Bay, so ... ??? I wish that I had pics of the ride - other than what I have. It is similar to running the Magpie, only ... "more" is prolly the best that I can describe. Rock walls shooting up on both sides of the waterway. I labeled the lake here as Manitowik in the pic, and that lake doesn't show up on the online map, but since I labeled it as that, I'm guessing that the TOPO map must have shown it better? I doo highly recommend that you don't make first tracks tho! Only go if you can follow old tracks.

Well, maybe not, but the scum does have the legal right to beat the Schidt out of the sleds until caught. I mean ... at least that's sumpthin' eh?

I figgered "Triton" as well. I meant that the hot sleds would only be valuable as parts sleds? I kan't imagine that you would ever be able to register either of them again - w/o swapping on the tunnel from a dead machine eh? And that's a lot of werk for an older machine like these. And maybe I am just showing my ignorance - as I haven't been overly involved in the hot market, so ....