Jump to content
Contributing Membership Drive ×

PLAYHARD

Contributing Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    3,768

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    186

 Content Type 

Posts posted by PLAYHARD

  2. Mother Nature's so confusing

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Updated: Mar 26, 2012 9:45 PM

    Chibougamau, QC, Canada

    Tonight: Mostly clear. Low -3F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph.

    Tomorrow: Mainly sunny. High 29F. Winds light and variable.

    Tomorrow Night: Variable clouds with snow showers or flurries. Low near 20F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 40%.

    Gaspe, QC, Canada

    Tonight: Periods of snow and windy. Low 16F. Winds N at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 80%. Snow accumulating 2 to 4 inches.

    Tomorrow: Intermittent snow showers and windy early. Peeks of sunshine later. High 26F. Winds N at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Snowfall around one inch.

    Tomorrow Night: Clear skies. Low 14F. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph.

  3. Big Decision Time for 2013… 128” or 144”?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I'd been averaging 13mpg on the '07 Apex, so even if the newer breathing isn't better (which it allegedly is) I'll still get about 120 to bone dry (depending on powder/etc as Moose said).

    The bugger with mounting the spare gas is that the new pipes are closer together out the back, so it's probably gotta be flat cans either under the pipes or at the rear of the floorboards.

  4. Big Decision Time for 2013… 128” or 144”?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Thanks all for the input!

    After LOTS of back and forth in my little brain, and in the absence of some 128"-lovers, I'm really/definitely/finally set on the Apex XTX (144") with the Ice Ripper track & the Simmons Gen 3 skis (which worked really well for me this past season) & an extra gallon or two of jerry cans.

    JUST 280'SUMTHIN' DAYS LEFT!!!

    Does anyone have any good recipes for light & refreshing summer diet poutines?!

  7. Big Decision Time for 2013… 128” or 144”?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    The overall length difference (for fitting on the trailer n stuff) is just 6.5".

    The reviews I'm reading about the Ice Ripper is that it's about 80% as grippy on sheer ice as "real" studs, which means I can kick the rear out as needed for cornering in the twisties.

    So unless I hear from a few convincing QR's who LOVE their 128"s it's looking like I'll need to lay off about 20lbs of poutines this summer.

  8. Big Decision Time for 2013… 128” or 144”?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I’m putting my ‘07 Apex out to pasture with 16k+ of strictly Quebec “highway” miles on her. That’s a little better than I did on my ’03 RX-1-ton @ 11k miles, which I survived thanks to swapping in an M10 skid. (I know, nothing to brag about compared to Saguenay Bill/etc)

    Anyway, there’s not a thing wrong with the Apex, except now that I’m nearing the ripe old age of 50 the injuries of my earlier years are catching up with me, and I believe that power steering will allow me to put off corrective surgery (or heaven forbid, put off Quebec sledding).

    So… I’ve put some miles on buddies’ 136” Yamis (Apex & Vector) and didn’t feel any significant loss of cornering over my 121”, though they did feel kinda like riding on cobblestones with the longer track. We all stud minimally up the middle w/96 on the 121” (the next dilemma will be either studding the new Rip Saw or getting the Ice Ripper).

    I’m thinking that if the new sled came with a 136” I’d probably just get it and not bother you all with this post, but now Yamaha is offering the Apex with 128” and 144”, with the back few inches of the 144” tipped up off the trail, so on a hard pack it allegedly has only 136” in contact with the ground.

    But if the extra sneaker’s not in contact with the trail, unless it’s off-trail which I don’t typically do and which this heavy-weight isn’t designed for anyway, then who needs the extra 20lbs and worse mpg’s?!

    Speaking of lbs & mpg’s, they frickin’ cut the fuel capacity from 10 gallons to 9.2, so we either need to plan rips of no more than 100 miles between stops, or carry some 1gal footwell cans)

    I digress…

    I get that the extra track & suspension can bridge stutter bumps and smooth out un-groomed trails, but hey, that’s why we ride in Quebec right, and there’s a sweet “SE” version of the 128” with Fox Floats all around which once dialed in (or pumped up) correctly should be good good good.

    So?!...

  14. 917 Mile Season-Ender thru Maurice-Charlevoix-Saguenay-Lac Saint Jean

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Mon 3/5: Shawinigan east across the north shore of the seaway to Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu "Casino" in La Malbaie via trails 3-302-73-3-378, all WOW except for a few miles of crowded & lumpy shared VTT trails in around center-ville Quebec, after that passed FOUR different groomers making good trails great, outdoor heated pool & indoor heated parking are still impressive, played poker at the casino for a half-hour and broke even!: 248mi

    Tues 3/6: La Malbaie to Passion Quebec in Mont Valin/Valinouët via trail 3 to the Baie Sainte Catherine/Tadousac ferry (always interesting) then 93. The portion below the ferry (kinda twisty but a great ride) had a foot or two wide of 8” deep fresh pow under the right ski, then above the ferry had 8” deep three or four feet wide (nobody else rides over there?), which was great for the new Gen 3 Simmons with the wide-body floaties! There is SO MUCH snow in the Mt Valin region. Mostly all trails were excellent, except for a half hour just outside Passion which was just fine for the moto-crosser nephew who was along for the ride. Then we passed the widest groomer ever with a drag that was easily 3 sleds wide who had made that rest of the region perfect: 205mi

    Wed 3/7: Mont Valin over Lac Saint Jean up to Lac a Jim down to Roberval via trails 93-373. It’s really frickin’ paradise up there. Some fast/drag-race rips, some flowing mountain twisties, some Indy-track sections, all with tons of snow absolutely perfectly groomed: 226mi

    Thurs 3/8: Rain, damn. Oh well… Roberval through Lac Edouard, down the La Tuque pipeline, down the Saint-Maurice river back to Shawinigan trails 83-355-360-23, soaked all the way to the shorts, but not too cold (obviously), so not too bad. No complaints, since all trails had nice heavy bases and were all as flat as carpet. There were a couple/few inches of water/slush on the rivers & lakes. We kept reminding ourselves how much it would have sucked if it was whooped out the whole way: 238mi

  16. The Chibougamau Cannonball Run

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Trailblazer which Yamaha is that you're riding? My '06 Apex 121" is just broken in @ 15k miles, but I'm gettin old and I think I need power steering, and I'm tossed up between the 128" and 144", I'm just thinking that gas can storage sure has it's benefits, especialy if the tipped up rear on the 144" isn't in the way on the hard pack.

    And by the way... 43MPH MOVING AVERAGE FOR 26 HOURS IS NOT BAD!!

  18. 2/20-2/23 "Cushy/Tourist Tour"

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    We're partial to the Governeur. Maybe out of habit. But the staff are excellent/sled-friendly and they know us. And the restaurant/brewery scene is tres bon. The street plow guys "groom" the bridge throughout the season so there's always snow, though sometimes it can get lumpy for the half-minute. If you're going west then Escapade is probably more convenient. And of course Bernard's bride at Safari is always a safe bet.

  25. 2/20-2/23 "Cushy/Tourist Tour"

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    All trails were great, hard packed & groomed, with just a few snirty corners in spots where the sun's been beating on them, and some short stretches of stutter bumps around the heavy rental group areas like Lac Blanc & Lac l'Eau Claire. The week started out cool 10-15F then got up to t-shirt weather (literally) by Thurs @ 32-34F. Some snow's coming, but WE NEED COLD!!

    Mon 2/20: East & south on the local trails out of town, then west on the 3 & 63 & 350, through Lac Blanc, then up the local connector to 23 east & down to Sacacomie for lunch & gas (100mi), then back to Shawini on the 23. We went around the north side of town to the M3 because the new M1 has a hairy little woods section for just a 1/4 mile that a novice could/would flip over on (just behind the Harley dealer on the west side of the highway), 160mi

    Tues 2/21: Aside from one new muddy 2 mile logging go-around a few miles east of Rogers, we made a beeline to the Hotel Du Glace/Four Points Sheraton on 3/23/302/3 into Charlesbourg. THANKS LOTS to whoever posted about the single track trail along the 4 pts fence over to the ice hotel! Super easy. Cool tour of the ice, pretty much the same as when it was over at Duchesney. They were setting up for a big Porsche hospitality event so they had some street toys (911's) on display, 120mi. (In by 12:30pm!)

    Wed 2/22: Scenic route back through St Raymond on the 73, "railbed" is always fun especially when it's groomed flat, "bike path" down 353 also perfect, then bumpy as always on 23 (the old 318) west through Lac-aux-Sables since they can't get the groomer between that pond and the river but all good again after the SkiDoo dlr, then turned north up the 351, relais-burgers at Tawacheche (not bad) then on to the "pipeline" & down 355 always a photo opp, down 360 to St Joseph for gas, back to the 23 & 3 & M5/M3, 201mi.

    Thurs 2/23: Family Fun Day w/Mrs. Iceman & Company! 3 east to 351 south to the local trails into the best Yamaha Dealer IN THE WORLD Moto Thibault in Cap-de-la-Madeleine and took the new Apex with power steering for a test rip (SWEEEEEEEET), then 351 east to up a local orange trail (C3?) which was super flat and novice-friendly, and pizza at "67" in St Narcisse (ya can't do 300 miles in a day AND have pizza!), then out the 3 east a bit more and then local trail to 351 south thru the covered "bridge"/shed @ Relais de la Station, and back, 100'ish mi.

    We were pretty lucky & psyched that there was such good snow and so well groomed for this tour since we stayed so far south. And the next 10 day's reports are for 20's by day and teens by night with snow for 6 out of the 10 days!

×
×
  • Create New...