Blackstar

I got a call from the prez last week asking my thought. I said I was game to go but I see several problems. One, if the weather holds, what would we do with sledders in the parking lot? Two, if the weather doesn't hold then the parking lot will be a mess. Three, how many wings could we sell to make it worth while? I believe its been cancelled but I never heard anything official. I was told we have another year yet so we hope to be back in business next October.

There was a group of 4 going out when I was there Friday. All riding single. The tutorial in the parking lot was all of 5 minutes then have at 'er. ....lol

Our best season in at least 8 years and not one nickel profit made through the clubhouse. Shame.

I have had studs in every sled n my garage for the last 20 years. Never lost a stud once. I got a bad batch of backers for the wife's sled when Studboy made their first run of Pink Plastic backers. I talked to them at the Toronto Sled show and they admitted they had a problem and sent me replacements. I think its the nuts in this case that are too soft. I went through the track and probably 50% of them are loose. In all cases the nuts are shorter than the tight ones. When this sled was in a shop 1.5 years ago, they told me that they tightened a whole bunch of studs. I thought that I hadn't got the studs tight enough on install but I found some tight studs with shorter nuts. I need to install better products. Regardless, the track still looks good so far. I have a bunch that are seized and I'll have to cut those out. Then its off to Royal for some Gold Diggers and new backers. I'm interested in trying an Ice Ripper in the future. If I get an Enduro for the wife then I'll have one around to try. But she is used to regular studs, I'm not sure I want to go backwards in traction for her.

Yep, already texting 2 welder buddies.

Mystery solved.

Coolant tank is empty. Spun the track and 1 stud is missing. Edit, make that 12 missing.

My gut is telling me head gasket but I'm still playing ignorant right now.

I did and it was cool.

Yep, my buddy and I both had the Fish with fresh cut fries. It was delish.

1056.

But I haven't opened the cooling system at any point. And the sled ran for hours before hand. We left around 10am and this happened at 345pm. Thermostat problem maybe?

I could remember how to bring it up on the gauge until I googled it when I got home. might try it tomorrow morning after things freeze up again.

It’s a thought but I would hook someone with a problem sled. The plan is to ride it 2 more years.

I didn’t see that part. I only read so much and skipped on.

My winter ended yesterday. 1200 kms for the season. The Cat is having issues and it won't be fixed anytime soon by the looks of it Went to load it on the trailer yesterday morning. Its been sitting in my heated shop for the last 2 weeks. It took some extra cranks to start. Seemed like the battery might be down. But it started and it started no problem when we unloaded in Arthur. We rode to the railbed in Dundalk, pulled to the side to talk. When I turned the key to restart, it turned over slow but it cranked. I let it sit for a couple minutes then cranked it again. We could smell fuel and the exhaust started popping. Let it sit for a couple minutes and tried again. This time it started and quit, tried again and it slowly caught and idled a bit erractically them smoothed out. As I started to ride the battery light and the service wrench on the gauge came on then 30 seconds later they went away. We got up to the trail to Durham and I decided to head for Snowmobiles Unlimited in Varney. I was scared to shut it off but I did and it restarted 6 times with no issue. Morgan didn't think it was a battery issue. He said Just ride it. When it dies, it dies. Then we'll fix. I bought some carbides and thanked Morgan for having a quick look. Bought fuel at Eckhardt's and rode to The Homestead, no issue. It started after lunch. I never shut it off again. Getting close to Arthur I thought that the motor bogged briefly in a couple corners when I got off the gas but its hard to tell. Just seemed like something was off a bit. Nothing showed on the gauges. I crossed a road 10 minutes from the truck and 200 into the field the Engine light came on and Temp was flashing on the gauge. The motor RPM's went up and down not allowing me to accelerate, up down, up down. I limped to the next road and shut it off. It would restart then immediately shut off. The sled seemed really warm but not hot. I wasn't trashing it hard but I was cruising at a good clip. I rode my buddy's Sidewinder to my truck and came back for it while my buddy waited. It started and I drove it into the trailer. It was well over an hour until I got home. I unloaded and rode it around the field behind my house. We are talking a minute or 2 then drove it in to my shop. The Engine light was on and Temp was flashing in the gauge again. I'm a bit confused. I don't see how the sled got hot yesterday, especially in the afternoon. It was +2 but the snow was loose and plenty of it. And why would it after riding for over an hour with out shutting off? What could change? And how could it get that hot in 2 minutes riding in snow? Doesn't make sense to me. And then the random extra cranking to get it to start. What relationship would these 2 issues have or am I dealing with 2 separate problems? Only thing I can see is that its an electrical issue. A shorted wire or damaged harness, maybe a bad ECM. I have done some reading and guys say if there is any problem with the wiring for the temp sensor that it will assume overheat so that's where I'm going to start. If I can't find an issue in the next couple days, I'll probably just pack it away and deal with it in the fall. That's 2 rides in a row that she never made it to the truck. Sucks.

A business owner in Dorset was complaining that people were going in to the Shell gas station to pay with out wearing a mask. She wanted sledders to remove their helmets or balaclava and put on a "proper" mask. There was a gentle man in his 70's working there and she felt it was disrespectful to him not to do this. Of course, the Facebook trolls pounced.

Spent the day around there. It was the best I've seen it in a long time. Even the roads were good. B111 was wide and flat and firm. Had lunch at The Homesteader with lots of other sledders. Finish lunch at 2pm and headed south. Fields were still good, bush trails are brown south of Teviotdale unless you hit the less traveled ones. Lots of bare spots, washboard and highbanked corners as we neared Arthur where we parked the truck. I'd say the snow cover will be fine tomorrow around Durham.

I just assumed Freight and PDI would be $700-$1000. That's where it was 6 years ago when I bought my last new sled but that was a left over. I've never ordered a sled in my life so wasn't sure how this worked price wise. I'm not after the turbo so whether its a '20, '21 or a '22 really makes no difference to me. But with the price of used it only makes sense to order a new one right now. Unless the right used sled at the right price comes along....lol Trying to figured out how long I can wait when new production is limited. Likely wait to see if Polaris lets all us 4 stroke buyers down again before I drop a deposit.

That would be ideal. Problem I see right now is, all the used sleds are priced the same as new. But in 2 weeks that should change.

And I just got the email from them. They want MSRP plus $750 plus taxes. I'm on the fence right now as to what I want to do. I will get another quote for sure. I have this idea that some low mile used sleds may come up as dealers are not offering much for trade ins. I don't think their Blue Book takes in to account what has happened to the market. This may make more guys sell private if they want to trade. Thanks Nick, I'll give them a call.

I'm surprised they are offering any discount. I was assuming I'd be paying MSRP plus a $1000. I haven't been to a dealer yet. I did call one last week for a price but never got a reply by email or phone.

That colour package has a price premium of $300 over Black.

Bridgeport Club now says all trails are closed effective immediately in an effort to save base but, looking at the forecast, likely done for the season.

The trail into Bridgeport is closing today according to Bridgeport Snowmobile club's Facebook page. The sap lines are going up in the bush due to the warm temps.