Winter 2021

[volunteer2]

8 hours ago, Yamatario said:

We are staying at Auld Reekie this week and just did a loop down to Rockies for lunch and back. Trails were awesome.

Will be there Friday night 

[stoney]

I assume it is the Shell in town that people might be complaining about.....MTH is really not that far down the trail as plan B for fuel.

 

 

 

[Yamatario]

On 2/24/2021 at 7:27 AM, volunteer2 said:

Will be there Friday night 

That is us sitting at the back table. Left this morning for home.

[volunteer2]

1 hour ago, Yamatario said:

That is us sitting at the back table. Left this morning for home.

We are in cottage 4.  Going for breakfast at 8. 

[Strong Farmer]

On 2/23/2021 at 9:14 PM, Turbo Doo said:

Trails are going red in the south. With the forecast for this week, and next, i think someone's beginning to sing....

Still ok north of highway 86. Raining now so today might be lest decent day once rain stops. 

[snowchopper]

Snowing again in Kearney as i type . Got over a foot earlier this week.Lake is very slushy.

[Strong Farmer]

21 minutes ago, snowchopper said:

Snowing again in Kearney as i type . Got over a foot earlier this week.Lake is very slushy.

Wowsie. I heard some people are getting bogged down on lake and stuck. Been to ice caves recently or is that lake bad too? 

[snowchopper]

1 minute ago, Strong Farmer said:

Wowsie. I heard some people are getting bogged down on lake and stuck. Been to ice caves recently or is that lake bad too? 

Buddy of mine got his Thundercat stuck this week on Sand Lake. He had a hard time getting it out.Have not been to ice caves recently but i would think that lake that they are on is very slushy. 

[Turbo Doo]

Looks like summer now...The south is done..

[Blackstar]

15 hours ago, stoney said:

I assume it is the Shell in town that people might be complaining about.....MTH is really not that far down the trail as plan B for fuel.

 

 

 

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.

[Nunz]

54 minutes ago, Strong Farmer said:

Wowsie. I heard some people are getting bogged down on lake and stuck. Been to ice caves recently or is that lake bad too? 

I was at the Ice Caves on Friday, as long as you stay on the well travelled route you will should be ok. We played around in the deep snow off to the sides but dont let off on the throttle.

[Blackstar]

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.

 

 

[stoney]

1 hour ago, Blackstar said:

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.

 

 

Might be a pair of Doo’s in the next while than.....

[stoney]

2 hours ago, Blackstar said:

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.

Given Don’s update, it sounded like some business owners in the area are not on board with opening to the public .... they have to do what they need too. 
should be easy enough to set up an outside or side window payment option to mitigate the risks. 

[PISTON LAKE CRUISER]

2 hours ago, Turbo Doo said:

Looks like summer now...The south is done..

Believe it or not their are a i/2 dozen vehicles parked at the club an hour ago and 3 sleds that I've seen going past the house. Was out for a look at the trail and the carbides are cutting through to my grass. crows were pecking away at the corn stubble up the trail so not much snow left there. I think our trails willl close later today as Sunday weather doesn't look good.

[stoney]

7 minutes ago, PISTON LAKE CRUISER said:

Believe it or not their are a i/2 dozen vehicles parked at the club an hour ago and 3 sleds that I've seen going past the house. Was out for a look at the trail and the carbides are cutting through to my grass. crows were pecking away at the corn stubble up the trail so not much snow left there. I think our trails willl close later today as Sunday weather doesn't look good.

It’s crazy what some enjoy or will ride. 
To each their own I suppose. 

[zoso]

2 hours ago, Blackstar said:

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.

 

 

What did the temp guage read?

 

[PISTON LAKE CRUISER]

35 minutes ago, stoney said:

It’s crazy what some enjoy or will ride. 
To each their own I suppose. 

Yep, looking for one last ride from home I guess. The trails have been open at my place for 7 weeks today. That is the longest season we have had for many years. It will certainly help to rejuvenate the volunteers that put the trails in. thanks to all of them!

[stoney]

26 minutes ago, PISTON LAKE CRUISER said:

Yep, looking for one last ride from home I guess. The trails have been open at my place for 7 weeks today. That is the longest season we have had for many years. It will certainly help to rejuvenate the volunteers that put the trails in. thanks to all of them!

Been good for the sport no doubt. 
Trails protected by the bush or with a packed base should be okay, but won’t last, no doubt. 

[Blackstar]

48 minutes ago, UsedtoSkidoo said:

He wouldn't turn the pump on for prepay without wearing a mask. Which is beyond ridiculous 

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

 

 

[Blackstar]

2 hours ago, stoney said:

Might be a pair of Doo’s in the next while than.....

It’s a thought but I would hook someone with a problem sled.

 

The plan is to ride it 2 more years.

[02Sled]

1 hour ago, UsedtoSkidoo said:

He wouldn't turn the pump on for prepay without wearing a mask. Which is beyond ridiculous 

Not really... you handle the pump nozzle without a mask and leave the virus behind on the pump nozzle. The next person uses it and picks up the bacteria from the nozzle and unwittingly leaves with the virus on his hands. Another person comes along and picks up the nozzle and comes in contact with the virus as well. 

[Blackstar]

2 hours ago, zoso said:

What did the temp guage read?

 

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.

 

 

[zoso]

22 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

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.

 

 

Might be an airlock in the cooling system. it does go into limp mode when hot.

[skidooboy]

42 minutes ago, 02Sled said:

Not really... you handle the pump nozzle without a mask and leave the virus behind on the pump nozzle. The next person uses it and picks up the bacteria from the nozzle and unwittingly leaves with the virus on his hands. Another person comes along and picks up the nozzle and comes in contact with the virus as well. 

that is why you hand sanitize before pumping, and again after. or, protective glove up prior, and dispose of the gloves (properly) after (then sanitize). limits your exposure, and limits your possibility of exposing others.

 

I have been doing this for years! Ski

Edited February 27, 2021 by skidooboy