viper2

Great comments, I feel the same way as you guys. Once it gets in your blood it is hard to stop,people think your nuts when you tell them you go to Quebec in the winter and them when you tell them you ride 200-300 miles a day sometimes with temps. at -30 or -40 they say when does the fun begin? You just can't explain it

Heck, I think my '02 Viper could beat my Apex, but I don't ride Yamaha's because they are the fastest. I guess if I had to be fastest I would jump around every year or 2 like alot of guys do. Like I said I ride Yammy's because they are #1 in reliability, if Yamaha went out of the snowmobile business tommorrow I would probably go to Polaris. I am not looking to ruffle feathers here but I ride with alot of different guys with diff. brands and the Doo's are about the most prone to problems. But hey let's get back to why I started this thread why or what do you like about snowmobiling? Oh and ditto on the grooming there is def. some better eqipment in that dept. and it shows.

Just would like to get comments why you guys ride snowmobiles. I got alot of things going through my head lately and I will try to get some out here in an orderly manner. Snowmobiling has changed so much in the last 30 years...................for better or worse. Some things have been great others...............well lets just say be careful what you ask for it may come true. I started riding my own sled when I was 10. My family always had Arctic Cats my first recollection was a Puma and a Panther. In 1978 my dad got a 440 Exciter and we have been on Yamahas ever since. He bought them because they were dependable and we never looked back. The thing with me and riding is I love anything that moves under it's own power, especially if I can be on it. I have had motorcycles and ATV's I raced go karts and later stock cars. The thing with snowmobiling is alot different, it keeps you active in the winter and for me personally it is much easier to get away from the family business in the winter. One thing I learned in racing is we are our own worst enemy when it comes to making it expensive and that holds true for snowmobiling. In the 80's the sleds were light,fast,tough and easy to work on. Now they have gotten almost like cars where you can hardly work on it yourself. The first thing we wanted was more power (I admit I wanted to go over 90 mph myself) with this came the race to be the biggest and fastest and also lots of weight. Then we wanted it to ride like a luxury car presto................. more weight. More recently we asked for lighter,lighter,lighter and we are getting it......... so long to the tough (everything is plastic now and if you need storage you better put bags on it) To get to this weight everything is crammed in a tight space, my '09 Apex GT is so hard to work on you have to take the hood,side panels,gas tank cover,headlight assembly,and airbox off the snowmobile to change the battery.We are getting so many relays,sensors etc. that it's like a car, how can we figure this stuff out on the trail? :wacko: Now don't get me wrong guys I am not saying I want to go back to 1980, I mean I know I am not going to do a 300mi. day on a 1982 250 enticer, but how far have we come? Even in the late 80's we could ride our Phazer or SRV fan cool's 90-95 mph 90-95 miles to a tank (8 gal. tank) the suspension was not what it is today but they were fairly light and easy to work on. Up until the 4 strokes the gas mileage wasn't much better top speed was slightly higher (how much time do we spend above 90mph) and we have a cheesy sled (plastic) that you can't work on. I ride because I love it and I always will no matter what the future brings. If you ever want to taste a little nostalgia get off your 2010 with the the GPS and heated grips and all the bells and whistles and jump on a sled from 1987 (like I did on my kids Phazer) and you will truely remember why you started this. The old sleds were a blast, they were quick,narrow, light you could throw them around and just have fun. These are the sleds that made you the rider you are today and these are the sleds that challenged you. One more thing, we are driving the price of our sport out of control and it will soon be a rich mans sport. We will be the ones to blame we only got what we asked for. Have fun........keep it upright

I have an'09 Apex GT and ON a hard smooth trail I could get darn close to 18 MPG. Now this would def. be at a liesurely pace (mostly 60-65MPH occasionally faster for a short burst) Also I only weigh 160 lb. so you have to consider that. I don't know about the Attak but I assume they have the same tank and it is not 10 gal. more like 9.5, the Apex RTX that rides with us def. gets less MPG.

Also for a Yamaha 4 stroke maybe a couple key tools as the tool kit leaves alot to be desired. 10mm socket extension and rachet, to take headlight/cowl off to access battery and air box if necessary, metric allen socket or even a ball driver would be better to loosen/tighten bolts on airbox boots ?4mm I think maybe 5mm. Also a couple spare screws for the windsheild (Apex) damned plastic. :wacko: That's my one peeve about this has to be lighter mentality the only think light and cheap is plastic we are asking the manufacturers to make us scrap.

Yea been there 4 years ago left from Caribou ME crossed at Van Buren then went east to Campbellton and the markers just kinda ran out. So one guy in our group who had crossed before said we have to run down the river,well we did, but when we got down to the bridge you could see open water, we made a quick left and jumped up the bank. On the way back we found the marked trail below the bridge. Hey how about the view from the ski area above Point la Croix

Never had the air leaks but mine is not a bombardier. I know the original ones were very heavy but mine is not, also mine never freezes at the outlet. And I have ridden in -35 F and have never had the shield freeze or fog even if I sneeze inside it. I guess I got lucky and got a good one, I never even really did any research, just went to the Yamaha dealer and got one. My wife used to have problems from the cold air swelling her eyes up but she went to the same helmet and she loves it too.

I know Yamaha dealer's carry a nice set but I have got some similar ones vendors at car shows/flea market. I would think Napa could get them.

Now I know why we couldn't find the trail across the inlet! I guess we are lucky we made it across :wacko:

That is good for sure, Val d'Or club always does a better job of grooming

X2 on the plastic ziploc bags. I always do that and then put everything in a kitchen size garbage bag, you never know what kind of conditions you will run into. Also make sure you have supplies to repair gear if ness. Sewing kit,duct tape,plastic cable ties,rubber bungees, and anything in duplicate that you use to strap your bags on with.

Great report Alain! You have my blood pumping now, I am planning a week at LeCabanon starting the 17th of Jan. We will for sure hit Parc Mt. Tremblant (maybe for last time ever) and also our favorite ride up to Kanawata. Probably also go to Matawin by way of the side trail through the burn. Can't wait keep the posts coming.

yes, X2 on the mini jumpers I also use a modular helmet for about 7 years. I don't understand why anyone would mess with the heated shield when it's not needed. :D :D

Some pretty good stuff, but man do guys pull a trailer or what?jpkemtp you had me rolling with that one about the Immodium and smclelan I never thought about the extendable magnet but I do ride a Yamaha so I guess I just don't get to work on my sled on the trail as much Just kidding don't want to start anything with that comment. On a more serious note I would add a siphon hose. Don't need them much anymore but you never know. Also if you need to make a fire in a pinch that grey birch bark stuff that seems to just fall off the trees lights up like it's been soaked in gas.

Don't ride much at home here anymore, but we never really rode south when we did. We used to make it up to Camelback from here years ago but I guess with all the developments that would be impossible now. If I ride in PA now I go to Potter Co. my dad has a place there, but most of my riding is in Quebec just plan it and go.

I know what you mean about the age, I have seen alot of kids that were much younger than 16 driving up there and I guess if you keep a low profile and mind your P's and Q's it would be alright. In my opinion the trails are lfor the most part less dangerous up there than where we ride at home.

Thanks Bill, I didn't remember that part I think when I was a kid you had to be 12 but I know my kids were like 10 and 11 when they did it. I was just hoping to get them to Canada this year but they are only 13 and 15. It's kinda like hunting, if you don't get them addicted young enough they never really seem to start. Hopefully there will be good snow in Potter this year and I can get them there a couple times. By the way were heading up to St. Zenon Jan 17th let me know if you guys are gonna be going up at all this year.

Thanks I thought that was the case but it was not real clear. I'm sure something was lost in the translation.

Cm'on guys somebody has to know this?

My favorite place is really any rustic type lodge, nice fire in the fireplace, some animal heads on the wall, a talkative Quebecois who is looking to practice his english on me. I always try to get some local history/customs of the area. I like Kanawata really nice place middle of nowhere a great host (Mario) and a couple of dogs for company. I have stayed there a few times overnight,passed through on trips and even spent a week there fishing for Walleye a few years back. Alot of interesting things can be learned when in Quebec. I found out last year that the name Relais 22 Milles is exactly that. 22 mile relay, when i asked why miles he told me the place was there before they had the metric system forced on them and the name stuck.---------------------------As far as "cold one" that is pretty much an operative term in Quebec as we always say they go to great lengths in the winter to keep their beer warm!

Roberval to Chibougamau is a pretty easy day you should have no problem. Last year we rode from Relais 22 milles through Roberval and onto Chib. in one day, and it was only 290 miles. If I had to guess I would say about 200 miles from Roberval to Chib. When you make this trip make sure you stop for gas at Ladore (right on trail) and also Scicerie 54 (a huge sawmill)

That trail has been closed for a few years now. Last year I asked Denis from Le Cabanon what he knew about that trail and he said it will not be opened again.It was very hard to maintain and too hard for the club at Mattawin to keep up with that and all their other trails. Some of you may remember a few years back it made a nice loop to LaTuque, and there also was an outfitter called Vignrod. He was only open a couple seasons I guess it did not pay. We used to like it you could access Kanawata via the riviere aux Rats road. I agree I hate to see any trail close but if it makes for better quality I guess it's a trade off.

Minimum age required to drive a snowmobile: 16 years (Act respecting off-highway vehicles – June 13, 2006) Required for drivers under 18 years: a certificate attesting that he or she has the knowledge required to operate a snowmobile. Snowmobilers under 18 years residing outside of Québec: Such operators are not required to hold the aforementioned certificate, if they are allowed to operate an off-highway vehicle under legislation in force in their home jurisdiction. In Québec, the training courses leading to the obtention of a certificate of competency are offered by ConduiPRO, groupement coopératif des écoles de conduite indépendantes du Québec. For more information, visit the website www.conduipro.com I copied the above off the fmcq website but i am not sure what this means to me. I am from Pennsylvania and if kids take the required safty course they can legally ride when they are 12. Does this mean my 13 and 15 year olds are legal in Quebec or not?

Great report Alain, once once again you never fail to come through. I gotta get one of you guys to tell me how to get pics on my posts.