MXZ700RIDER

I have looked at a lot of pictures of Gaspe riding areas that have been posted and the trails look awesome. To me it looks like the trails are wider and in a lot of cases straighter than most trails I tend to ride when I visit Canada. I mostly ride around Lanaudiere ( St Donat, St Zenon, SMDS) Mostly wooded trails to get where you want to get. Lots of twists and turns which tend to limit my speed obviously. I am always amazed when I see people post that they did 200 plus miles a day. To do 200 plus miles on mostly twistys would be a work out, but on more open trails would be like cruising I would think. I have ridden the southern part of Lanaudiere however through fields where the riding was much more open and you could really open it up and cover some ground. I guess what I am asking is are the Gaspe trails more wide open or mountainous and twisty?

Nice pictures. Maybe next year I can join the group or ride with some at start of season. Just never came together for me this year. Hurt my back and Mom has been ill. Hope for better luck next season.

were there any sleds to demo ride? Did they give a reason? Liability?

:drinks:Post more pictures if you can. Would like to enjoy vicariously!

Nice video and pictures. I will likely buy a go pro before next riding season.

What advantage do the four stroke sleds have over the two stroke? Are they better at long mile travel? I have a two stroke 800 etec and hope to do some saddle bag rides next season.

I like the last picture of breaking trail like you are riding a jet ski.

Nice video and pictures. Bazinet and Real Masse are two of our favorite food stops! I lodged at Bazinet last year and loved their cozy cottage along the lake. Convenient location along TQ trail system.

Thanks Trailblazer, I've never seen it before, but will look for it. Back feels better today than in weeks.

Bluyamaha......yea I really messed the back up. Ended up in the ER a few days after returning. Ive been taking ibuprofen since 2/2 and back still hurting....but not as bad. My season may be over...

Yes, I think my wife does need a sled with electric start. We ride together and if something would happen to me and incapacitate me, and she would not be able to start her own sled to get help....it could be bad. I hate to think of such things, but better to be ready for any eventuality. Not good to have wife ride a sled she cant start for herself if she needed to.

I haven't run into this yet, and hopefully wont, but in a case of a dead battery....how can the battery be jump started? Would jumping it from an auto battery damage it ? Do you connect all the positive and negative clamps Or does a negative clamp need to be grounded. I don't think there is any instruction in owners manual on how to do this. I also have a portable jump starter and again would I connect both the positive and negative cables to dead battery if I use it? I have always had pull start sleds and never had to deal with this potential issue. Also instead of jump starting the battery, would using the back up method of starting the sled (pull starting with supplied clip/cord) be recommended instead?

Moisture difference? Do you mean the air being drier and definitely colder?

When super cold, I double layer. Base layer should wick away moisture. Don't use cotton as a base because it wont wick and will become damp with perspiration which could lead to chill. I use a turtle fur neck gaiter over balaclava to ensure a good seal around neck. Have a good insulated jacket and bibs. I have found that all jackets are not the same. They all look the same, but some have thicker layers of insulation. The lower priced coats generally have less insulation and are more designed for sno cross and shorter duration riding. The old saying you get what you pay for applies. I have always bought SKIDOO clothing which isn't cheap, but you can score good deals at snowmobile shows if lucky. KLIM reportedly also makes good gear. I rode in Quebec recently and the temperature was - 10 f at 10 am. Not sure what wind chill was but had to be lower than -10 f. I was warm by layering. I had some air seeping in from above visor I think, but that was it. Good luck. I have also at times wear two pair of socks. One thinner wool blend...and one heavier wool blend

Eddie....I tend to agree. The 2003 700 MXZ is my wifes sled and she has really low miles on it, but it is still 13 years old and things can go even with low miles. I had a 2002 700 MXZ, myself and upgraded to a 2014 last year. Trouble is my wife has been losing interest over the years in sledding which is why she doesn't want to cough up a bunch of money on a new sled. I have tried to convince her that her sled is getting long in the tooth which could lead to more troubles on trail, etc..... I have our sleds thoroughly serviced before each season, especially since hers is older. I tend to have more piece of mind on newer sled myself. I guess if she doesn't want a new sled, I could at least have electric start put on it.

Thanks, will try that if in situation again. May also get an electric start put on the sled.

Thanks all...

I realize it could be any number of things, but any speculation on why our MXZ 700 R wouldn't start. We did not put any dry gas in tank because I have been told that the ethanol gas serves the same purpose. The sled was in a non heated garage and the night before the temperatures went down to -20 f. I assumed it wouldn't start because my wife couldn't pull the starter rope smoothly enough....but could it have been due to cold...freeze up? It started the day before ok for me and ran at idle for about 2-3 minutes before I shut it off.

I was supposed to do some saddle bag riding in Gaspe at the end of February, but that doesn't seem likely right now. Just a crappy turn of events for sure.

Thanks Grumpy. Always next year I guess.

I hope all QRs have a better riding experience than I had recently. I slipped, fell and injured my back one day into our snowmobile trip this past week. I took a mega dose of Ibuprofin right away and felt better the next day. Then decided to ride since I hadn't hit trails yet at all yet. Riding seemed fine back wise. Did about 30 miles around St Donat in -10 f weather and headed back to our lodging. went out to dinner and felt back getting stiff as night went on. The following morning I had extreme pain shooting down my back. If 10 was the most severe pain possible...it felt like an 11. At that point the decision to return home was a pretty easy one....but very disappointing. The thought of having to load 2 sleds, all our gear, hook up the trailer....with my acute back pain was not a pleasant thought. My wife was on the trip with me...and that is it. Getting the trailer hooked up wasn't too bad..except when she locked in the trailer hitch, it must not have locked in because when I went to get on my tilt trailer....the whole trailer popped off the hitch ball and did a wheelie! We locked the trailer in properly and made sure it was locked in. Next I had my wife try to pull start her sled....a 2003 MXZ 700 that has only pull start feature. It was around zero out and sled was not in the mood to be pull started....my wife has never had to pull start her sled....I always did it for her. I tried but one pull and a sharp stabbing pain shot through my back. Even on a steady dose of Ibuprofin the pain was severe when I tied to start her sled. Fortunately I had a portable winch and we were able to get her sled on the trailer but that took forever it seemed...in ridiculously cold weather. Now, last Tuesday, we finally got all our stuff loaded up and began our 570 mile trip back to Pennsylvania. Back hurt every pot hole or speed bump we hit along the way.....but at least we were heading home so I could have my back seen by a doctor. Then when I thought things couldn't get any worse, I notice my snowmobile trailer license plate was missing? Somehow we made it through the border crossing and I got a new plate for the trailer yesterday. I ended up having to go to the local emergency room Friday morning as the pain flared up again to extreme. Back if feeling a bit better today. Well I see a lot of QRs take pride in the miles they are able to log each day...each trip....sadly for me I traveled 570 miles to log about 30 miles on sled the entire trip. Hoping others have much better luck....and a lot more fun then I ended up having on my recent trip. There were a few bright spots though. Had a great turkey club sandwich at Culliere a Pot Had a great Poutine at M Pizza Scouted out some nice short cut trails around St Donat for my next trip. One is riding the lake Quareau trail. So disappointed. I wait a whole year to ride and end up injuring myself the second day of our much awaited trip.

Nice pictures!

Skidooccio....Maine is going to get slammed with snow. Interested in doing any riding there this winter? I have ridden Maine a lot as well. I can do Maine or Quebec. Sounds like Maine may have more snow than many areas of Quebec right now.

Sent you a PM

Yes, Stayed there myself with wife for several years. Very friendly people and heated garage to store sleds and trailer. Nice pool and good food.