tricky

Sled, as of this weekend, has not yet been taken to the dealer. The original owner is at his cottage this weekend so the delivery won't happen until later. By all means, PM me. Rick

I have to admit that the 137 skid is a fine tool. Part of my desire to have a 129 stems from the fact that, on rare occasions, I transport my sled in the pick-up bed with a clam shell in tow. As sleds get longer and pick-up beds get shorter, that scenario doesn't work well. Most of the reason for wanting another XS chassis was the larger fuel tank and the better wind protection, IMO. Because my primary riding partners also ride XS 900 Aces, we really push the 300 km range of the sleds. Amazing how much less time you spend at fuel stops over a 4 or 5 day trip.

Good luck learning. My learning curve will be much more severe, as I have only used the sun in the past. Tough when its snowing, or dark. Sometimes when I know the wind direction, I can wet my finger and figure out direction from there.

Posted March 9 "Think I have found a nearly virgin 2017 TNT(129) 900. Not saying any more until I own it." Well it took a little longer than I thought it would, but I stuck with the plan until I got my nearly new, "new-to-me" 129" XS chassis 900 ACE. I squeezed in two more trips north and when I returned home on March 21 the whole world had changed, maybe forever. Because of Covid-19 it took until today to meet my new 'date with destinations'. I ended up with the slightly prettier sister sled to the 2017 that I was originally interested in. The '17 had 2286 miles, but the seller had more recently also decided to trade in his almost identical 2018 with 1278 miles and the Montana 610 with Skidoo mounting extension to the glove box. These sleds were available for what the dealer had offered in trade-in at snow check time. That made them over $1500 cheaper than any similar sleds I have seen, and I followed '17 and '18 models like a hawk all winter, knowing that they were the last of the 40 litre tank trail sleds. This may be the last sled I ever own and i couldn't be happier with my find. If anyone is looking for a similar sled for similar reasons that I was, the 2017 is available for $7500 plus HST. It is studded with Woody's studs just like the one I bought. The older studs look older but are still sharp. The 100 pound, timid girls that rode these sleds barely moved the suspensions. Now that the shop is open, the sled will be turned in to the dealer shortly and the price will jump to retail. Gamblers might think that prices will tank because of Covid, but that sure hasn't happened with used motorcycle sales this spring. Interesting times for sure! Adventurous people will still buy toys. See you on the trail in January.

Good one Ox. A little too old for most of this crowd!

I couldn't say anything more appropriate. I feel the love, and the hate, at the same time.

I am happy that your operation is stable and am thankful to local and North American farmers for what we enjoy. I couldn't agree more with your assessment that we need to re-visit and reconfigure the entire supply chain. My guess is that that ship has already sailed over 40 years ago, and we won't see any significant change when this thing is over. The western world's financial elite sold us a bill of goods in the 70s when they convinced us, or at least our governments, that 'free trade" was good for all of us. It was bull crap then as it is now, and it certainly isn't eco friendly. Free trade = race to the bottom! Max profits! Now we have a 'throw away' society that over consumes cheap junk, throws it to the curb every garbage day only to buy more. It would be great if Covid-19 helped us see the light, that we shouldn't buy almost exclusively from the cheapest manufactures, but don't count on it. Hell, we can't even get out governments to require that our food, at point of purchase, must show country of origin. If we can't even look after food, forget the manufactured goods. Sorry this rant is in the wrong place.

Great pics Eric. I bet your son remembers this March break for a long time.

That was easy! The decision has been taken out of my hands. I was wrong. I am still going to have a hard time climbing under a rock. In my town of Milton, population 140,000 from all over the world, I would be surprised if the virus is NOT present. Now I will practise social distancing in what could be a corona hot spot. My isolation will commence in the garage, but first I have to go buy an oil filter and bearing set for the sled's skid frame.

I think that my suggestion is a good example of "social distancing". I have basically been is isolation since I returned from Timmins Saturday night. Maybe for sledders who have been at work, on the Go train, subway, etc the idea is poor. Generally speaking, I have a very small contact group of family and friends who are not currentlycarrying Covid 19. I suspect there are more sledders who are socially similar to me. I don't think that I (we) would jeopardize Northern Ontario's population if I go back up, and similarly I don't think the north is a hot bed of the virus. I wouldn't head to Miami, Toronto or New York, even if allowed, but I won't climb under a rock until so advised. I allow that I could be wrong with my interpretation of what the health professionals are telling us.

With nothing to do because of mandatory closings, everyone should try to get north at least once more, for your own sanity and to support the northern economy. Snow conditions were still very good on Saturday from Wawa/Chapleau north. Our April dirt bike trip to West Virginia is off, so I think I can justify another trip north.

Even though this turned out to be Timmins, Hearst, Wawa, Chapleau loop ride (not Searchmont) I thought I would add some pictures here. Between Dubreuilville and Foleyet, Friday and Saturday, we removed five or six spruce trees from the trail, 3 of which required our saws.

Congrats to your wife, Eric, for taking on and conquering the challenge of sledding. I like the choice of used sleds. Looks like you got some nice weather.

Previous stays in Wawa have always been either the Bristol or the Motor Inn, but after a stay this past week at the Outdoorsman Motel, our group has a new 'go to' place in Wawa. Recent new owners have renovated and refurnished the place. Good space but not lavishly large. Good beds and friendly, complete customer service. Will return there winter or summer.

Very good choice in older sleds, although I ran 600 SDIs to 18-19000 km, sold them and they kept running.