viper2

Sounds like a great start Iceman, we used commo’s for the first time last trip, we used the Scalarider Packtalk’s and they were impressive

Ice, I have the ‘16 XTX the first year for the air shock. Had an issue from day one finding the happy medium between being way too stiff for me (165 lbs) and too much sag that it had little travel. Last year in the middle of the 2nd season on it it lost all air on the 3rd day of a week long trip to Northern Maine. Yamaha was upgrading the ‘17 sleds for free to the newer air shock which has a much bigger and piggyback reservoir. Lucky for me Gary’s Yamaha in Caribou had the upgraded shock there for a customer who had a 2017 and opted for the free upgrade. He called the customer and the guy said to sell it to me and helped me out. Only rode it 3 days but waaaaay better ride, I really liked it but now I feared this too could fail, maybe in the middle of a saddlebag trip far from a dealer so I put the Elka in the rear skid this fall. Rode the Elka for a week on the Gaspe and I love it, great choice. If you know anyone that wants an air shock I have the upgraded version with less than 500 miles on it and the original but that one would need to be rebuilt

Sure thing Playhard, probably should have posted this thread in the general section so more people would have seen it but thought this was a good place. Last few years we have been trying to keep the miles down each day makes it more fun for everyone so we just plan an extra day or two. I am happy with my Yamaha all around but I wish they would give us a bigger tank. Put the Elka shock in the rear skid this year after I lost all the air out of the original shock last year in Maine and couldn't pump it back up. We tried communicators this year for the first time and were impressed. We went with the Scala rider Pack Talk and they work well.

Interesting trip for sure, sounds like we made the right choice. We had planned to do Western Quebec this year leaving from Mont Laurier but changed to the Gaspè leaving from the Universal in RDL a few days before because of conditions. Just on our way home now, the Gaspè is in great shape for anyone thinking about it

Took 5 west today stopping at Groomers clubhouse for a break. Headed up to 587 to Redemption for gas and lunch then came back a couple miles to 579. Took the 579 all the way to 578 and into Rimouski to the L'Empress for the night. Just a heads up if you want to go see the mummies up by the radar they have the road plowed down pretty hard right now. It is doable but plowed down to the ice.

Sitting at Groomer's clubhouse, here are some pics from yesterday. Not sure why the need for crossing guards at the road bridge in Cascapedia but they are not much help lol

Left Hotel Fraser and headed west, trails were all groomed up again today. We stopped at a few of the snowmobile club relays, always great stops. Traffic starting to ramp up, saw more today than the whole week combined. Stayed at PALC for the night

Didn't do that trail this trip, but sitting at the New Richmond club right now and just passed the 595 and was groomed on this end. Talked to guys that went through there the day of the storm and they said even then wasn't too bad. All the trails on the south side of the Gaspe were groomed since the storm and good to go

I think you are right, the trail that goes up behind the church to the overlook is closed and still no gas in Percè

Left Murdochville yesterday to a groomed 597 heading south. At the intersection with 5 we headed to Percè thanks to the iMotoneige app showing it had just been groomed. Rode into Percè and it's the best that trail has been in years, groomed right into the Table Roland. Had lunch there then drove along the road and out on the pier for some pics. The sun was out to start our day but by the time we got to the rock it was snowing and gray but still got some decent pics. Headed back 5 west toward Chandler and stayed at the Hotel Fraser for the night. About 2.5 miles off trail but this place has a great restaurant and nice rooms.

Left late today, had to do some electrical troubleshooting on some heated gear. Hoping to have some before us to break trail. Left about 9:15, had a couple tracks ahead of us heading East. Hard to tell how much new snow with all the wind but some places up high had about a foot. Visibility was poor at times with the blowing and drifting snow and it got colder as the day went on. Rolled into Murdochville about 3:00 and decided to stay the night and hope tomorrow brings groomed trails and clear skies.

Day 2 left the Riotel under snowy conditions and the plan was to go south to stay closer to towns and hopefully less snow from this storm. A quick check of the forecast showed up to 3/4" of ice for PALC so we headed into the belly of the beast and took 5 west toward Saint Anne des Monts. With the big snow in the forecast, we are not sure of what our immediate future will bring so we decide to pick a place we may care to spend an extra day if necessary. We stop for a break at the relais at St. Paulin at the intersection of 5 and 595 always a good stop. The trail is groomed smooth and 3-4" of fluff on top traffic is very light. We continue on to Cap Chat and gas up then onto the Grand Nature Chic Chocs for another break, no hurry we are close to our destination and it's early. The storm starts ramping up here, time to get to SAD-M. Get to the Hotel and Cie early with only 102 miles on the clock, hopefully we can leave in the morning. No plan for this trip other than get back to the truck by Sunday night. So far all trails are good, plenty of snow everywhere, no water holes and very light traffic. Get up here it's time

Left the Universal in RDL Monday took 5 past Rimouski then took the local trail across to St. Donat then down to Domaine Valga for lunch. Continued back down to 5 then took the 587 north and the local cutoff to Pardou and back on 5. Took the 5 to Matane and into the Riotel for the night 200 miles.

Stopped today to check it out, great place people were friendly. Asked about the big church and so few residents and was told the village was built in the 1930's when the stock market crash in the US affected the economy in Montreal and Quebec City. They built the villiage so people could live there and support themselves. At its peak there were over 1000 residents and the villiage was officially shut down around 1972. There are only about 10 residents there currently but the church does still get used. We were there today in a blizzard so no view of the Chic-Chics

Sitting in the relay at Saint Paulin right now, snowing pretty good got a few inches this morning already heading toward Sainte Anne des Monts, probably gonna cut the day short, still calling for a total of 18-24" storm total. Left Matane this morning was going to head to New Richmond but some forcasts showed up to 1/2" of ice so we stayed North. Trails are smooth and very light traffic but may get stuck where we end up tonight for another day so probably going to pick a good spot, maybe Hotel and Cie

X2 Mike

The last belt I blew was on my 2009 Apex at the 13,300 mile mark. It was the original belt

I think in the original post they mentioned building an ice bridge, so by now I am sure they have accomplished it

Going to miss you again Mike, we are coming up Sunday evening and dropping at the Universal. We will return the following weekend when are you coming back up?

Mike, you have nothing to apologize for! While I can understand the business aspect of it, the reason people come to this site is to get real honest to goodness info. I want to know the good and the bad advertiser or not. There are places that advertise on here that I wouldn't stay at because I like riding my snowmobile not grinding around in town. That doesn't mean I am going out of my way to talk the place down but if someone asks on this forum how is the _ _ _ _ _ I am not going to candy coat it. Give it to me straight like you always do, and thanks for that

I hear a lot of this lately about talking to businesses about becoming a paid sponsor. It's all well and good but you guys are not giving any guidance as to how to go about this. As a small business owner I literally get hundreds of requests every year for donations. Each one has the potential of exposure for my business to varying degrees but I can't possibly put my name on every kids baseball,soccer or hockey shirt. I can't afford to donate to every Lion's club Fire company golf tournament but these people are from my community and are my customers so we always do our best. If you want sponsors I suggest you put together a package with info regarding who you are reaching and the costs involved otherwise any of us that go in blind won't be able to answer the first question that a business owner could ask

That is pretty far out, but imo you could do it right now if you wanted to. Ii may not be ideal conditions right now but that can be said for many places, and alot can happen from now until then. If you were leaving today I would say go for it and talk to people you meet on your trip you will for sure come across riders that have recently done that stretch. Not sure how familiar you are with 3 in and around Quebec City but it has alot of road crossings and gets a ton of traffic especially on weekends. Stay away on weekends

When are you planning on going up?

check out the fcmq site, looks to all be green

Nice video Alain, once again you have outdone yourself!