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  1. Departed out of the Delta..Made the river crossing @ Saint Charles de Bourget up to the truck stop, over to Mont Vilain and back down to the Delta. Aside from the stretch under the electric towers we didn't feel a bump. Superb conditions. Ice & light rain overnight. Anyone who left their machine outside has to deal with an ice covered machine. Warm temps to drop significantly today. IMG_5592.MOV IMG_5601.MOV IMG_5607.MOV
    4 points
  2. Day 7 Tuesday. The last day of riding. We are going back up to Normandin to pick up my new mitts. Hopefully they will be ready. Jak has decided to come along for the ride and check out Bilodeau. The groomer map shows some good and maybe some not so good. Off we go crossing the 2 bridges. 367 looks good. We turn left onto 93 and this is decent too. We take the local trail up towards Relais du Lac and loop around the lake on 328 to 367. This area I really like and it is not disappointing today. We get to 93 and turn right. This is a different story. The map showed this as not being groomed lately and the trail shows the same. The weekend has put a beating on the trail. The power line after St Monique is rough. We turn left staying on 367 thru Peribonka, still rough. Finally after Relais Vauvert the trail improves. Sandi picks up speed and we are rolling again. Relais Vauvert was closed today so we will have to find another lunch spot. Cruising up 93 we get to the cut off of 373 to Normandin. The relais here is also closed. A lot of the relais seem to have shortened their hours. They aren't open as many days. Maybe not as much traffic and not as many customers to stay open 7 days? We like to stop at the relais if we can and help support them. Most off them you get a good meal at a reasonable price. So we turn left on 373 and buzz into Normandin and Bilodeau. We go inside and I dig out the receipt. The girl behind the counter looks at the receipt and smiles. She doesn't speak English but the smile tells me the mitts are ready. She goes out back and returns with a big bag with my mitts. Oh these look nice. First of all they look huge but fit fine. A nice deep brown color to the beaver fur they picked. There is an extra piece of material across the palm and thumb for wear against the handlebars. Very, very nice. My fingers are going to be happy now. A few more pics of the critters in the store. Another English speaking worker tells us that some of these are used as props in movies. They have a large selection elsewhere. What they have in the store is just a few of the collection. She also says there is a restaurant, Cafe Marcel, just down the street. She says to ride the sleds along the edge of the street. Everybody does it. We take her advice and go have lunch. A good recommendation for lunch. After lunch we head back the way we came, 373, 93, 367. Peribonka and St Monique are still rough. I was hopping a groomer might have been out but not today. After St Monique we turn left on 367 again and this is fine. The rest of the ride back to Jonquiere is very good. About 2 miles from the Delta the freezing rain hits our shields. The wind is really picking up now too. We get in the hotel safe and sound. Thanks for the company today Jak. It was fun day. A really nice trip. It was good to see so many Quebec Rider folks. Wednesday we head back to CT. Is there one more ride left for us this year? Maybe if we can schedule things at home. Be safe and enjoy the trails. Jack & Sandi
    3 points
  3. I have owned a lot of sleds since 66.I rode Yamaha for 70% of that time, started with 318 ski-doo Olympic, 338 sno-jets, 800 Zr arctic cat, vector with supercharger, Yamaha 136 Warrior, RV 250 Ski-Doo blizzard, so I have been around the sport, riding, racing, building, etc. I am not brand loyal, we are all enjoying this great sport thru our own personal taste and I do not care what anyone rides. So now I will critique this sled from my own personal background. First I will say that the 146 inch track , unstudded is an amazing track, really cannot feel any difference from a 125 as far as noise and smoothness, and it really hooks up WELL!! The big windshield and side deflectors work good but could be angled a little more upright rather than tilted back so far.The handle bars looked kind of cheap compared to the covered ones on Yamaha, but I will tell you that they are very comfortable and the seating position and ergos to the bars , they really nailed it, probably could not come up with a better seating position, I am 6 ft and 180lbs. The c-motion suspension, some say it is a Polaris copy, who cares, it really is a great suspension, I like it more than my friends 17 renegade, and it turns just as good, if not better on the trail, hard to believe all that sled is back there, cannot tell it from a 129, but i love all that storage area, that linqs system is great.I am not too impressed by the ds2 skis, they make the sled feel a little tippy, it is tall and an inch or so narrower than the renegade, I will be going to code north for a week starting Saturday with Simmons gen 3 8 inch wide skis with the dual runner, I think they will make a big difference, it took me 500 miles and 3 days to start getting use to the skis, they have to go. I know it is a cross-over but it is a little too narrow.The back country is gear down 4 teeth on the small gear from the renegade, it makes a huge difference in acceleration, it is much quicker out of the hole with the 1.6 track and lower gearing. fuel mileage is 14.5 maybe stretch to 15 if you go 45 to 50mph. Oil consumption is 150 to 165 miles a quart, way more than my 2 stroke Yamahas were.The windshield mounted mirrors, well they functionally suck, poor location and poorly designed mirror, you could get killed trying to use these , all they do is cover the law, not much more.Hand warmers are great, switches on console, I thought it was a joke but I will tell you, I like them and they are easy to use, and if you tip over they will not break off the bar. I saved the part everyone want to know about for last, the 850 engine and clutch. This motor is a lot tamer in the shorter renegade with the smaller track and higher gearing. the back country has lower gearing and more bite with the 1.6 track and it really makes this sled go.....almost too much, the initial pull is quite impressive, remember this is coming from a guy that has built and ridden a lot of 200-230 hp sleds.i was really surprised at how potent this sled was, the clutch is pure racing material, Aaen and microbelmont have used this roller design for years, ski-doo really dialed it in on this application, incredibly responsive, the 3 lbs lighter, Hooper race engines in New Hampshire have built a lot of sleds and engines for world champions for years their big hole shot advantage was a very light primary clutch. 1 lb of rotating mass is equal to about 10 hp. ski-doo now sells this to the public and they really have it dialed in, we will see how durable it is. A lot of guys were saying belts were blowing, mostly on mountain sleds, you should take the insulation out of the cover, even cut the bottom 20% off the cover, let some air in and heat out, ride it normally and it works just fine, beat the death out of a free ride in 3 feet of powder and it will get hot and blow, trial riders are having 0 trouble, I have been watching this close.I am quite surprised how powerful and responsive this sled is, you can pull the skis at 65 mph quite easily, the braking is almost as impressive as the engine, first sled with no studs, and it does not need them. I put front wheels in the skid like the renegade to help the Hy-fax out , should have come this way, the suspension is really great riding and 10 lbs lighter than r-motion, and just as good, maybe better.This sled is probably too much performance from an engine stand point than 50 percent of riders would ever need or even want, it is a real handful if you try to use it, it will go to 100 very quick and effortlessly. If you have some miles on the seat and you like sports cars you will really love this sled, it is that good, there are not a lot of them on the trail yet but this will change, but the 19 is listed for 14,400 which is pretty steep, I bought mine in Troy new Hampshire for 12,900, their first offer to me and I took it without countering.Overall I am happy with the sled, nobody put out anything perfect we all want or add something. They have a glove box extension with a garmin gps, but I passed, 1000$ was a little too much!!Hope I covered it for for anyone thinking about it, happy trails!!
    3 points
  4. Day 4 Saturday. A little cooler this morning but a clear sky. We are heading to the Delta today. What does the groomer map say? Really, 93 is groomed to the Six Mile Lac turn off. Thank you! Last night before bed this was not groomed but it was done overnight. This part of trail 93 aka C-900, for those of you that haven't ventured on it, is a logging road that runs way up into the north land. 93 uses about 35 miles of the lower end of this road. It is wide, gentle turns and rolling hills. Just what a trail cruiser would order. We check out, get the sleds out of the enclosure and load up. Sandi gets back on her sled and - it won't restart. It was just running. OK. Don't panic. Open up the right side panel and jump the starter solenoid. The motor spins but no spark. Pop the cover off of the relay box, pull the relays and warm them up in our hands for a few minutes. Plug them back in, hit the starter button and voila its running. Sandi is off in a shot and there are a few tracks on the trail northbound from overnight but no southbound tracks. The groomer lives in Sacre Coeur so the southbound lane is clean. Its a few miles before we actually get on the C-900. It looks fine. Sandi is picking up speed now. The sled is warmed up and she is too. Clear sky, groomed trail, autobahn here we go. Sandi makes short work of the 35 miles to where 93 turns left. We get to the turn off to the lookout. We are early, lets go. Its a 5 mile jaunt but its worth it. This trail doesn't really go up much in elevation like the other lookouts but what a view. Jason, Yushen and Sandi. A few white crystals on the branches against that Canadian blue sky! Back on the trail. I usually don't recommend riding Mont Valin on weekends but our schedule didn't give us many options. Here we go down 93 from La Chappelle to Valinuet. It was groomed last night and it is before noon. Traffic heading down the mountain is non-existent but up hill traffic is Quebec City at rush hour. Keep your eyes open Sandi. Sled after sled and group after group all heading up. We have seen more sleds in this 25 mile stretch than I think we saw in the past 2 days, 600-700 miles. We stop to get gas at Passion. The ski slope is looking good. A lot of chalets have been built here over the years and it keeps expanding. We get back on the sleds and go look for food. Down 93 and right on 328. We end up in St David de Farladeau. We get gas in St David but have never stopped to eat here. There is a Snack Bar next to the gas station and it is very good. Clean, easy to get to but not much English. We can get by. After lunch we stay on 328 west for a little bit and then take 134 south. Both of these are fantastic. 134 can be miserable when drifted but it was groomed. We cross the 2 bridges and we are back at the Delta. A lot of folks here tonight. Its going to be a busy weekend up here. Another ride for the books. We lucked out on Mont Valin on a Saturday and everything else was great. Tomorrow we head south back to the Four Points. Jack & Sandi
    2 points
  5. Molly and I left our camp in Averill, VT on Friday morning and crossed through Norton customs. Trails had been groomed perfectly flat and zero traffic. The fields and road crossings however were showing some snirt. Overall, great cruising, but very slippery in the turns. This was to be just a short test run for a Sunday ride when friends arrived. Came back through Beecher Falls and back to camp with 70 miles in just a few hours. On Sunday after friends had arrived we headed back through Beecher Falls with plans on running up to the Sawyerville Hotel for a beer and to watch a few laps of the race. There was 3-4 inches of fresh snow and the trails were perfect and fast. Still had to watch for ice in the corners, but that proved to be quite fun after lots of practice! Arrived in Sawyerville around noon to find the doors locked up tight! Apparently Sunday is a day of rest there. So, jump on the railbed of 55 and covered the 8km to Cookshire in what seemed like 60 seconds, Wow, that railbed is fast! However...Resto du Vieux Tonneau was closed as well, so no refreshments here either. Backtracked and took 55 west in search of an open establishment. While on the railbed headed back Molly and friend Julie had a couple of deer decide to cross in front of and between them as they were heavy on the flippers! Could have been a bad outcome, but everyone was fine. Only after arriving in Compton did we find an open watering hole, but no race here as the Olympics were taking center stage. After a quick break we jumped on the 521 and bee-lined for the Norton crossing. Only 125 mile trip, but the trails were fantastic and we met maybe 8 sleds total. There is a lot of fun to be had in the Eastern Townships for sure, and no competition on the trails.
    1 point
  6. Mike, you are right, only reason I am doing Simmons is they really worked great on my supercharged Yamaha vector, they were only hard to turn at stand still, worked great while moving. My friend put some aggressive C & A skis on his 2017 renegade without trying them and it was so hard to turn that he bought pilot skis at the dealer in la tuque and left the c&a skis there.Maybe I should try pilot skis, hope I did not waste my money, but the sled is a new model and not many people have a real answer yet. All I know for sure is there must be a better trail ski than the deep snow series 2 it comes with. It is a cross over so Johnny stand-up probably loves them.
    1 point
  7. A veteran riding buddy, who's on the every-other-year plan for the past 18yrs requested: "Not out too early, not in too late, not too many miles"... You get the idea. Friday 2/11: "Trail Meeting" at the lake, gear up, pack up, rest up.
    1 point
  8. bonjour playhard !!! tres bien les photos !!! like the ones with the '' improvised buffet '' at the depanneur !!! nice ones with les montagnes !!! jean-guy
    1 point
  9. Thanks for the tour Dave. We just got back from a 950 mile Eastern Township - RDL trip. Trails were good.
    1 point
  10. Nice pics and great riding. Those pics will be familiar to a lot of people. Its good to meet you guys. Hope to meet up again. Jack & Sandi
    1 point
  11. Fantastic trip David, thanks for posting pics and stories. A happy gang for sure 😀 Heading to that area Sunday to loop the lake, Escoumins, etc. party of 4, riding Monday-Friday. Indeed, Richelieu is a bargain, will try to incorporate that stop too. Debating the run back into St Ray whether to just loop back up and over backwards rather through than Q city. Will wait to see conditions in a couple days. Maybe St Ray will not be far enough North to launch (Trail snobs we are for sure ;<)
    1 point
  12. Andyman

    Blue Bird Day!

    Rode through the Chic Chocs on an amazing day!
    1 point
  13. smclelan

    Blue Bird Day!

    I think he was sleeping....he could have woke up and bounced away at any second!
    1 point
  14. Always amazed at how reasonable the Fairmont is!!
    1 point
  15. I am heading up to that area on Sunday. Hope it holds up to this warm spell? Snow depth looked good as long as they don't get much rain. Fingers crossed
    1 point
  16. SkippyDoo

    Iceman and the Boss man

    Nope. I’m out of that business now. I was a road mechanic for a dealer out of Rochester Ny then moved to Albany Ny. I worked on Elgin, Vactor, Labrie, Envirosight, Trackless products mainly. But also everything else related to municipal work,The company I worked for sold out to Federal Signal and then promptly closed the doors in Albany. I’m gainfully employed elsewhere now still in the Albany area. I rebuilt many a rodder pumps in parking lots across NY lol
    1 point
  17. Didn’t want to chance bagging the outdoor spa, so trunks & robes (and Roxanne's name badge) to dinner!
    1 point
  18. Sunday 2/11: Toured www.museebombardier.com/en and had the rare opportunity of a private guided rip through the previously displayed and now off-limits machines.
    1 point
  19. Yea, I here ya . Not something I need to do again although it worked well. I ordered the Snowbunjie tow kit and hope not to need it .
    1 point
  20. operation successful !!
    1 point
  21. Friday after lunch I leave from the yard for paradise, decided to take the outlaw trail, fastest way up. 3 Hours later I find myself buying gas in Chenneville with 180 k from the house. A quick stop at the local grocery store and onwards to le Chalet. Departure time 12:30 arrival time 4:30. Light up the stove prepare supper for jusque moi cuz everyone else is staying in for the weekend with their honeys (boo hoo) cause they are all off to the Gaspe next week. As soon as I was on the mainland in Pointe des Cascade this morning the trails were freshly groomed, flat and as hard as concrete, scratchers came down and it was like that all the way up. Saturday morning, the plan is to ride up to Mekoos and meet with Scranton and friends for lunch, they are departing from Maniwaki for a four day ride, I was asked to join in but sorry guys can't do Monday and Tuesdays. We both aim for 11:30 Mekoos time, I arrive at 11:40 and 10 minutes later Scranton walks in with 2 of his buddies, Doonali and forgive me I'm getting old forgot the other guys name but we do share the same line of work. Nice group of guys, would've been a lot of fun riding with them I'm sure. My ride up was to begin with the 43 out of the gate then 323/319/63 east to the 319 again and stuck with it 'till the 53 then back on the 319 into Mekoos, all trails were flat and as hard as concrete, made for some great milage. I filled my tank at the chalet with a jerry can from the cabane so I could leave on full. Arrived at Mekoos with 160 k and a half a tank showing. Wow! Now let's see how far I can take this.......after lunch we all have a quick ride together back to the 319/53 intersection where we split ways. I decide to continue on the 53 to the west side of the Kiamika Reservoir, very picturestic. Take the local over the dam and some dykes then jump back on the 53 down to the 63, head east to the 319 but not before running out of gas, I was hoping to make it into Nominigue but when I saw the milage sign posting Nominigue for another 16 klms and I already have 250 on the take with the light lite for some time now. Well just as I was finishing that thought she starts burping on me, I pull over and put the spare can in at 252 k. 16 klms later take the gas continue on the 63 'till the 319 and down to an old friends place at Lac aux Castor for a few rounds and supper. later in the evening I get the 600 Ace Tundra escort at 40 kph with diplomatic flags waving. Half way back escort takes a U turn and am in for a night cap at 9:30. Again all the trails were not disappointing at all, all flat and as hard as concrete once more. Sunday, todays plan, sleep in.........................ride back. Upon my return last night I had an E code lite up on my gauges and a message coming across the screen "Faulte Suspension". So in the morning I see the tail end of the sled sagging, OH OH!! Start her up and I can hear the compressor going, gauges are reading the pressure up to the shock setting that I had it last set too, which was 5. Taking some time to go from 1 to 5 then when it gets there it drops back to 4 then up to 5 and does this a couple times and boom! The E code is set in place. Well it's clear to me I have an air pressure issue. Thank god the trails are flat and hard cuz it looks like I'll be riding on the spring all the way back. Load her up and off I go at a 12:15 departure. I was planning on taking a different route for my return ride which would add more klms and more time for the return but that's out the door, it's the outlaw passage back. Heading into Rigaud on the rail bed on coming sledders are twirling their fingers in the air signaling PO PO up a head so I take her down a notch....or 2. What the hell is it with the PO PO and me. Sure enough they're ahead and stop me. They ask me if I'm the owner of the sled notice I have a valid license plate a trail pass, ask me where I'm going and where I have come from and wave me off, toddles boyz. Then another check point stop in the mountain, this time FCMQ officials, guy waves me over and they must have at least a dozen sleds pulled over and there were 2 more officials doing paperwork on their sled seats. Guy asks me for my pink trail pass slip and insurance. This is where it gets interesting, I hand over the pink slip and a photocopy of my drivers license, insurance and registration all on one sheet. (something I learned a long time ago). He takes a quick scan sees everything in tact and waves me off, in and out in a minute or 2 while all the others are still there waiting, telling me they must all have some kind of issue with the FCMQ. Love it when you can ride in and out of these check points in a snap. On the other side of the mountain in St.Marthe I come up on a little parade of B10s or B12s, zip on right by them to get a head a little so I can take a few shots as they are passing by. Really something special to see history on the trail. Arrival time at 4pm. After thawing out overnight I take a peak underneath looking and hoping for an air leak while keeping my fingers crossed that I didn't blow the shock. Start her up listen for the compressor and VOILA!!! I see the culprit, huge ass bubble on the air lin going from the shock to the body pissing out air, phew!!!! just a hose great news. Now for more inspection and off to the dealer for parts to continue the adventure.
    1 point
  22. Florida Snowman

    Blue Bird Day!

    Great pics Andy! What day where you there? We rode thru last Tuesday. Conditions were excellent!
    1 point
  23. After lunch we are back on 3 east. A few miles down the trail and there is a gas station just off the trail. Top off the tanks and continue on. We pass the Clermont cutoff and trail 83 that heads back up to Lac St Jean. A few more miles and here is the groomer coming towards us. This is great. The groomer map showed this section wasn't groomed and now I know why. He must have left this morning after the map had been updated. Smooth sailing again. 3 is really nice until you get closer to Baie Sainte Catherine. The trail gets a little cranky compared to what we were on. It is still snowmobiling. Finally we can see the Riviere Saguenay and drop down to the landing for the ferry. Perfect timing. The ferry is just coming over. A few more sleds come down off the trail as one of the tractor trailers pull off of the ferry. This is a no charge ferry because it is part of the road system. The ferry is a fun ride. Something most snowmobilers don't get a chance to do. Cars, buses, trucks and sleds all together for the trip across the river. Jason and Yushen. Sandi standing guard. We get off the ferry and get back on 3. Still groomed. Getting cooler now and the sun is going down. The east sky has clouds and towards the west it is clear. As the sunsets, the colors in the clouds keeps changing. Mother Nature giving us a little light show. Trail 3 to 93 and we arrive at the Coronet for the night. Lock up the sleds, relax over a couple of beverages with supper. A great ride we had. Tomorrow to the Delta. Jack & Sandi
    1 point
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