New snowmobile

Revv Up said:

Someone I know told me the other day that all the guys who sold their sleds to get snowbikes were now selling their snowbikes and going back to sleds, looks like Ben was on top of his game. Who knew these things were just a fad. ��

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Fortunate are those of us out there that can have both the snowbike and the snowmobile as both have their place, especially up here in New England where there are no legal areas to ride the snowbike.

As I'm sure I had mentioned earlier, there are a lot fewer times where the conditions are right for the snowbike but perfect for the sled as there is always grooming going on as long as there is some snow to work with and it is cold out.

I will be keeping the snowbike as it is for sure the most fun powertoy, but I have realized its limitations for use when there is either low snow, or, there is snow but it has thawed and frozen, or has been rained on then frozen that having a sled is still a whole lot of fun, even a huge Grand Touring Limited but with the 600R motor, the sled does not feel like a 600 lb machine at all.

powdermuncher said:

Hold it there -- who is talking about a fad -- I had a Snow bike as well as sled now since 2012, I guess that is the I have to have both fad.

Each has their place and both are worth having -- unless you are a close minded.

It boggles my mind how some guys love sleds for years and then in one go they are no good no more.

Or Vice versa sled guys having issues with snow bikes and know all the bad about them without ever having had any experience on them what so ever.

All in all we can be a sad bunch at times.

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So true. On the dirtbike forums there are many who are anti-ATV, but they have a use and at least the people on them are out riding.

Having both a sled and a snowbike is just perfect and now I want another month of winter but so far the cold is staying up north so there is at least one if not two more weeks of riding before spring comes and the sun just gets too strong for the cold and the snow.

Misha Subo said:

Ben, from the looks of the snow in that last picture you posted, I can see why snow biking is unappealing right now. A couple of us went out yesterday in 2 inches of new snow with an under-crust. It was great as long as you were the lead bike but trailing the other guy was definitely not as soft. Plus one tends to get caught in the lead rider's groove with a crusty lower base. With deeper powder you can still enjoy carving those turns even when you follow another rider, or your own tracks. Either way, it was a blast. I have never been one to watch the weather but ever since we started snow biking last season, I have been glued to Environment Canada's website. Mostly to check the weather history for recent snow fall. If it's good we pull the switch and drive one hour north to the "snow belt".

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I have a digicam that I can only get the MPixels down to 9MP so I can't post any pictures or I'd litter my posts with admittedly lame pictures of some grandfather/grandmothers sled, the kind of sled where the operator goes well below the speed limit and just won't pull to the side to let anyone safely past, but that ain't ever gonna be me!

Not long ago the thought of getting a 2-up sled was as far from my mind as getting back out of dual sporting and the snowbike but now I know why I fell in love with horsepower sent to the ground through a bug rubber track, it's just so, much, fun.

Yes, all there is is like a hard 6" base. Absolutely perfect for this 137" Ripsaw 1.25" track mated to an rMotion rear end with an air-adjustable shock for when I might need to float the machine over a long set of washboard trail for miles, and miles, and miles (cue The Who's "I can see for miles . . . and miles . . . and miles . . . ). For a snowbike, it is rideable and the trails in NH are legal for the snowbike but, I know that while it would be good exercise for me, though I don't really need it, it is more fun to repeat roll-on tests with a brand new, had .01 miles on the odometer when I got it, the Generation Two of Bombardier Recreational Products' 600cc E-TEC engine, the "New and Improved V2.0."

That I waited 15 years to get a new sled, a two up lame-o sled, but I do need the heft of the sled to keep me on the trails as I'm not a big guy, I can just type a lot and type fast, but I'm a flyweight so the 600lb sled's weight helps me stick to the trail and to stick to riding calmly and in as much control as possible-ha!

It does feel like a slightly heavier version of a Renegade as we share the same 137 rMotion skid and rear end setups, just that this Grand Touring beast has an added 100 lbs overall to the package, but I consider that I don't weigh all that much as I'm all muscle(ha, ha, chuckles to self), compared to those who weigh quite a bit more, the power to weight ratio . . . a phooey, it is great riding the beast on groomed trails or just legal trails.

So true, I go 60 miles north and it goes from bare ground to 6" base, so lucky for sure. Then we are getting a couple of storms, one tonight/tomorrow and a bigger one for Sunday/Monday.

I'm so, so lucky as my wife and I leave to go 120 miles north into New Hampshire to go and ride till dinner and also leave both kids at their aunts house. No kids and free time, ahhhhhh. I'm already in heaven with the night off and the workweek done.

The snowbike will come with if the urge to ride it strikes but, if there is not at least 6-8" of untracked snow, well, you know, it's what the sled is for. Even Electric Start on the snowmobile is just so, so nice, a first for me. All sorts of firsts. Happy New Year!

I signed the Ski Doo SnowCheck form for a 2020 Grand Touring Limited 900 ACE today. For next winter, I will have the 2019 Grand Touring Limited 600R and the wife will ride the 2020 Grand Touring Limited 900 ACE and we will each have a kid with us when we are all out riding.

After my wife and I went up for our first trip together on the new sled, she had enough fun that she knew that the kids would enjoy coming up with us the following weekend and we did and they both enjoyed the weekend. Of course, having an indoor pool at the hotel to come back to, and all the different things to do after the riding, shopping, eating and even ice skating at the free, lit up at night ice rink, was all bonus.

Now that we'll each have a new machine, it will be so nice getting to just trailer up wherever we feel like riding and going, then just getting a room for the night, doing a little more riding and then coming home most weekends.

What has been sort of great is that both the kids had thought that snowmobiling was just riding around on their uncle's hayfield and that going around and around on the same field was all there was to it. When we went to a place called North Conway New Hampshire and they finally got to see and be ridden on all the groomed snowmobile trails, along with all the places we could stop and eat at, stop and look at/overlooks, that they both had a great time being our passengers was enough for us to want to buy a second machine so we could each ride one of the children and so we could both enjoy the riding ourselves.

I had been away from trail riding for so long that I had almost forgotten how much fun it was and now that we'll have two brand new machines, and the Grand Touring Limited's are awesome trail machines, this upcoming winter is going to be awesome. We just need to wait seven and a half months is all.

Even still, summer is a great season.

AZ800 said:

Good times both of you guys!
We got to Snowbird and Brighton this winter and the kids had a blast! We hadn't been skiing/snowboarding in like 3 years. Winter has been soccer and hockey interspersed with a couple sled trips only. And some other less fun family things so every good day is a blessing and every great day is even better......
So yeah the snow in UTah was crap when we were there, except in the canyons so we had great powder days. Drove over from Park city where we were staying.

Now Ben, why are the kids riding in back. 9-10 years old next year they need their own trail burners! Just sold out kids' "kid sleds." they started on their own sleds at 7 and 8. Spent the winter in the mtns in AK when they were 7 and 10. Keep them interested in it! It's the best.

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I know. 2 seasons ago, both kids were having a ball on the Mini Rev that their cousins had. Because of it, we bought them a new Yamaha SnoScoot ($4,000), but this past winter came and went and neither kid wanted to ride as one had turned 7 and the other was 8 1/2. I don't know why they didn't want to ride as neither my wife nor I can make sense of it.

We are glad, though, that they do like riding with us on the Grand Touring Limited(s) that we'll have two of come this November/December.

We have thought about trading the sled in for $2,500 and eating the $1,500 loss or even a $1,000 loss but will keep the sled in case they come around to wanting to ride it this upcoming winter.

I am glad I didn't splurge on a new Timbersled Ripper 93 kit for the TT-R 110 as that would have been a huge waste of $2,000.


I have come to the harsh realization that outside of the area where my BIL lives in VT, I have nowhere else to ride the snowbike-legally.

The snowmobiles will make up for it as I still love riding the trails and this upcoming winter should be awesome as my wife and I will each have a new snowmobile to ride for years to come.