yamadan700

I'm not happy either about the tank size on the ZR9000. Not sure if I could make 200km on a tank especially if there is any lake running. Never pushed it that far as I don't carry extra fuel. I will say that the ZR, (and I'm sure the 900R) is a smooth, civil sled that can be run at a slow or quick pace. The power is addictive but needs to be respected. Agree with Stoney and Baylaker that 140-160km/h is all you need but it sure feels good when you can hit that 160km/h with a quick squeeze! After riding the ZR for a bit and then hopping on the Pantera 7000, I feel like I'm on a Safari 377 powerwise..lol.. It feels so anemic but I know it's not. Love the Pantera!(and the built in 4 gallon gas tank in the back)👍 It would be hard for me to give the ZR power up. I've become accustomed to it and it seems normal now. As Blackstar says, you like what you're comfortable with, whether it's 90, 135, 160, 200, 270hp. Love the grunt of four strokes. Love the lightness and flickability of the two strokes. Tough call. I'm sure Nunz is thrilled about all this YamaCat/Doo talk in the 2024 Polaris thread...lol..

Did you go straight up and back or did you do a loop?

There's not much road running up this way. Couple of areas around Harcourt and Wilberforce that I was willing to road run in the morning to get to the 601 but nothing long, max 1km and 80%+ was fine. The 601 was worth it! Beautiful trail! Most road running can be avoided if it's not to your liking. Choose your route accordingly. I suggest you grab a sled magazine and sit quietly down there in SW Ont and watch your grass grow.😉 Real men/women(the grownups), who are currently snowmobiling, are speaking here! Shhhh🤫 😁

It was good!!!..lol.. Saw less than 10 sleds all day yesterday! Just wanted to show that it's not all doom and gloom out there and it's less than 2 hours from the GTA. Hang in there OCers!

FWIW, We've done 3 rides from the Paudash Clubhouse over the past week, including yesterday. Have only gone north(E) and east(E110) from there and 90+% of the trails were smooth and groomed. Even the road running was mostly tolerable(80+%) but you had to plan the road runs for the morning as everything was soft by the afternoon. Scratchers were needed but only ran one down on each sled and that was enough to keep them cool. Overall, there was a solid base and good snow depth on 90% of the trails so, imo, the current weather shouldn't do too much damage and the forecast now calls for 5-10cms Thurs night. I believe the sun is doing more damage than the rain. The long range forecast looks cloudy, colder and snowier so that should help keep the trails from deteriorating any further and give the groomers a chance to catch up. Pic is from the 601/E intersection yesterday.

The Albertan Sovereigntists are hoarding the cold air and are refusing to share it with the rest of Canada!! Bastards!!..lol..

Not me personally. However, from what I have heard, a local Yamaha dealer had, I believe, 25ish spring orders and only 8 are coming in. Not good. Don't know which models were cancelled.

According to my older Indigenous friend, "the snow won't stay until the swamps are full". The amount of water/ice on our trails from overflowing swamps, that we are now seeing doing trail work, should mean that the snow will be sticking around! Need the cold temps to come in to freeze up the water/thicken the ice on the trails before we can think about putting a groomer out there. We're still breaking through on our ATVs. So I think I agree with both PLC and CC!..lol

Great to hear barberch!!

My dream balloon has been deflated...lol... Damn emissions!!!!! I'm not well versed in the C-tec technology but if AC could incorporate it into the proven Zr500 and F7 motors, IMO, they would have winners! There is no one playing in this 2 stroke HP market at the moment. If anyone would go against the grain regarding triples, it would be AC/Yamaha. Would love to have one again! They were bullet proof and sounded great! Put over 30,000 hard kms on my Vmax700 and never opened it up. Still ran like a champ when I sold it. Time will tell. Fingers crossed.

Motors I would love to see in the new platform: 1. A late 90's Zr500 motor. 105hp. Impressive top end! 2. Keep the C-tec 600. 125hp 3. Firecat F7 motor. 140hp. Again, impressive top end! Eliminates playing in the 650cc game. 4. Triple 900/1000 2stroke. 180hp. Smooth. Won't destroy the clutches. Be ahead of the competition, except maybe Polaris' turbo 850. 5. Yammy turbo 4 stroke. 200+hp. Smooth. Fast but heavy. Would cover all the bases. I know, keep dreaming! lol

From my understanding, they were ok with the sleds but not the ATVs. I believe the threats from the ATVers changed their thinking as they were concerned for the safety of themselves and their properties, both summer and winter. Hopefully things will change for next year.

Yup. Heard about it. Frustrating. Assume the 607 will be closed as well as I can't see a reroute being done. Almost makes the BDSC 509 a dead end trail as the HCSA 9 has hardly been open over the last few years. BDSC opened a new section last year at the top of the 509 to accommodate a great landowner. That costs $$$ and time. Again, frustrating. Sad for the businesses in Gooderham. Nobody will be buying gas or food.

Hey Puggs Our trails, Buckhorn, are in good shape according to club members. Couple of ice boils out there tho. Both groomers are out everyday. You could start at the clubhouse or Parking Lot 1 and go north from there. Save you a bit of driving. The 503 is in very good shape according to reports from today. Don't have any info on the Paudash trails. Know they had groomer issues a 1-2 weeks ago. Dan

Believe using industrial groomers owned by the OFSC are counted as grooming hours and therefore paid. Club owned snowmobiles and drags, paid for by fundraising, are not counted as grooming hours and not paid.

Update. I'm a couple days behind. E108 Our volunteers moved logs, chopped out ice blocks and updated signage on the reroute on the troublesome "long pond" on the Paudash side. The trail is now limited. (has been for a couple of days) 509 North of Contau Lake Road The excavator was supposed to go in last Thursday but it had mechanical issues. It was tentatively going in Monday(today) to work on the new trail on the unopened road allowance. Haven't heard if it did or not. Once complete, it will hook up to HCSA Trail 9 on north side of Hwy 503. Stay tuned. 503 Mississauga Lake We are hearing from the locals that the slush levels are declining. Hopefully it will freeze up soon and we can get a hard packed trail across and stake it. Stay tuned. As always, check the ITG for trail status.

Maybe we can all do another Kawartha Lakes run when barberch is good to go! I have a 4stroke now so I don't have to be last in line anymore...lol..

509 The excavator is tentatively going in on Thursday.

503 Cold Lake and Wolf Lake and a big swamp were staked today. The packed trail on these lakes for the most part is ok. Some very bumpy frozen slush sections and some wet slushy sections. As soon as you drift off the packed trail, you are into 8" of snow and then 6" of slush underneath before you get to good ice. Don't stop!..lol... Seems like the swamps are fine. Mississauga Lake was not touched but the reports are the same. Lots of sled tracks on the lake however, and that will help pack the snow/slush or bring the slush to the surface and let it freeze. The rest of the 503 is in decent shape. May get a partial opening east of Mississauga Lake soon. Check ITG. E108 A groomer broke through the ice in the swamp (damn beavers) on the closed section (Paudash side) last night. May still be a while before that opens.

The E108 on our side is shown yellow/limited. The red section is Paudash trails. Our side will not go green until we get more snow. I started a new thread in Club Ontario East and will try to keep it up to date. No promises. Dan

An update on the closed trails. 509. Lost a great longtime landowner south of Gooderham. They are building their home now. (may have seen this in another thread). We approached Highlands East for permission to use an unopened road allowance a few months ago. Slow process. They finally approved late Fri. We are hoping to get an excavator in there early this week to create a temporary trail for this year. 503 The lakes, Mississauga and Cold, and a couple of swamps have a thick layer of snow and then a few inches of slush and then, it seems so far, that there is 9"+ of good ice underneath. We need the slush to freeze up before we can open the trail. 506 North of parking lot 2 Will not be open this year. A new bridge is needed.

Stay tuned for the 509. Received approval. Hope to get excavator in early this week.

Hey Grizzly No that's not an issue. Hasn't even been discussed. In our/your area, the snow is very dry and hard to compact and groom. There's no moisture in it. Hence, it makes it difficult to fill in the holes around the exposed Canadian Shield rock. We lost a great longtime landowner on the 509 south of Gooderham. They are now building a home on their property. Been trying to obtain approval to use a unopened road allowance from Highlands East for the past few months. It's been painfully slow. Still waiting but we are ready to go if we get the approval. Will need large equipment to put a temporary trail in this year and a permanent one next year. ie excavator etc. The E108 still has some swamp issues towards the Paudash trails. Dan

Nunz. Suggestion. Maybe your ambassadors can take pics of the violators' sleds(if they stop..lol) with their registration number. That may help with the deterring future infractions. Can also start a "Tool of The Day" pinned thread on snowmobile social media sites with the pics of the sleds. However that may backfire as they may look at that as a badge of honour or a "trophy" as Nutter says. Wish you well with it. Look forward to the updates!

May have to move to the Soo and join you Dan!!