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viper2

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Posts posted by viper2

  1. Late season riding

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I think I will just wing it! I will keep looking at posts for different regions & go where ever it sounds best at that time. I may now be able to go one week earlier.

    I think that is your best bet.A few years ago we had a trip planned for the 2nd week of march to LSJ. It rained 2 days before we left and was warm (50 deg. F).everyone said not to go but all they were looking at was the what the weather had just been.It was to get cold they day we left and stay at or below freezing.I checked a couple websites made some calls to some club presidents and we decided to go.there was 4 of us and my buddy didn't really want to go he said it can't be good.I have to admit i had my doubts but we went,it was one of our best trips ever.There was lots of snow and no one on the trails.Take this advice when in doubt,call someone that is on the ground there,talk to a club president or even the owner of a prominent hotel.These people can't afford to steer you wrong. Good Luck :drinks:

  2. Late season riding

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Chances are that the HI will have better riding conditions than the cabanon in mid March.

    that is not always true i have been to both places that time of year and sometimes it is actually better around st. Zenon.But as far as gas and grooming go if they have good conditions they will keep on truckin'.you are going to have to wait and see i would not make a res. for that time of year just wing it. :drinks:

  3. Where are the reports?

    in Lanaudiere

    Posted

    Here is one. Stayed at Le Cabanon for 6 nights starting Sunday, Dec 28th. (The day it rained) Was amazed the trails were good to excellent everywhere we went. They did recieve about 4 inches of snow on Monday night. None the rest of the week. Here is where we rode to in order.

    Day 1 Cabanon to Kubec's, Manderville, Saint-Gabriel, Saint-Jean-de-Matha, Saint-Come, Coin Lavigne, St Zenon. 190 miles

    Day 2 Cabanon to Mattawin River and back. 160 miles

    Day 3 Cabanon to Saint-Michel, Cafeteria, (Trail from Cafeteria is back on the park road to L,Ascention) It was 11 out of 10. Mont-Laurier, stayed at Comfort Inn (New Years Eve) 175 miles.

    Day 4 Mont-Laurier to Cafeteria, La Glacier, Cabanon. 180 miles

    Day 5 Cabanon to Repos via 345, then back down via new trail #33. Old #33 is closed. When leaving Repos, go right at the road, then about a mile down on the left is the "new #33".

    It crosses a few small lakes with single lane ungroomed trail for a little bit and then opens up to good trail. We rode the resevoir from Lac Taureau to Saint-Michel. 160 miles

    90% of the trails were very good. I am amazed how good they were considering I almost canceled trip due to the warmth and rain last weekend. Here are some pics.

    Great report! Glad to hear they are using the road again through the park,i was wondering if they would do that now that the lumber business is so bad. Do you know if the middle trail is being groomed this year from Repos down through Zec Gros Brochet.How about the trail from Chateauvert the old way down to Dam Giraldo?Last year they had that open again and it was nice,i don't think many people knew it was open. :drinks:

  6. Ice Hotel

    in Quebec-Charlevoix

    Posted

    We went there one time from Bernards and another time coming back from the HI on our way back to Bernards!!

    Check out the deer skins on the pews,some of them are mine! A friend of mine works on and in the ice hotel.He is a guide on Anticosti Island and has become my friend from hunting together for 8 or 10 years. Two years ago we visited him at the ice hotel and he gave us a grand tour.When we went into the Chapel he told me he brought all the skins from Anticosti and some were mine, pretty neat feeling i must say.I don't take many pics when i ride they are all in my head,but my wife may have took some i'll have to check. Although you pretty much got it covered. :drinks:

  7. So, whats the verdict?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    We just got back from Chicoutimi yesterday. We trailered up Sunday, Dec 28, 2008, and rode Monday thru Thursday then drove home Friday.

    The trip up Sunday was warm and with some rain. :nea:

    Monday cooled down to -10C. The trails in Chicoutimi were icy so we trailered to Valinouet and rode trail 93 to La Chapelle. The trail had been groomed recently and was good. A few riders at La Chapelle having an early lunch. We stayed on 93 and made a loop around Six Mile Lake, up trail C900 and then back to La Chapelle. Returning to the truck at Valinouet, we took Bras Louis. This too had recently been groomed. Even the connecting trail 267 from 93 had been groomed. A few sleds out but not many.

    Tuesday was cooler, -20C. We rode out of Chicoutimi and crossed the river at Shipshaw. The trail was still icy without much powder for cooling or lubrication. Once we crossed the river, the trails had some powder and were being groomed. It look like the clubs were out trying to get everything groomed before the New Year. We rode trail 367, 482 and 485 up to Scoobyraid. Only one other sled in the lot at 11:30 am. We had a nice lunch and headed down trail 367 / 484 to Lac Labrecque and picked up 328 to a local trail that brought us down to 93. We stopped at Relais Montognard. The groomer passed while we were in the relais. We rode 93 back to Shipshaw and then into Chicoutimi.

    Wednesday we decided to stay north of the Saguenay River since the trails were so good. We rode out of Chicoutimi again and then stayed on 93 west. We rode as far as Relais Erabliere in St Augustin. It was closed. It didn't look like it had been open yet this year? :sad: We rode back to Ste Monique and had lunch. We then rode back 93 to Chicoutimi. Again, north of the river was very good, even around Alma and St Henri had enough snow. South of the river was icy.

    Thursday we decided to ride to Relais Apica and maybe L'Etape. Not too much powder on 83 and 368. Still a lot of ice on the trail. We didn't take it but trail 383 that goes back up to Jonquiere that crosses the Barrage has been rerouted a few kilometers to the west of the old trail. It may have had something to do with the reconnstruction of route 175. Trail 368 got worse the further we rode it. It had just been groomed but it looked like it was the first pass by the groomer this year. Many sapplings and brush sticking up thru the trail. We were about 10 kilometers from the junction with 23 when one of the sleds took a sappling thru the grill. We decided to u-turn and head back to Chicoutimi.

    After all of the great riding north of the river, we shouldn't have tried heading south.

    Most areas north of the river had plenty of snow especially for this early in the season. Scoobyraid looked liked mid January. Mount Valin was fine. No big storms in the forecast for the near future though.

    We will be back up Martin Luther King weekend. Not sure where we are riding. Depends on how much time we can get off. Hope to see everyone soon.

    Jack & Sandi :drinks:

    Great report,been to the scoobyraid that is a nice place for lunch also stayed one night at Valinouet,had left Baie St. Paul that morning with the ladies and hit a downpour of rain while on the little ferry in Tadoussac. I usually will not ride in the rain but i didn't know how long it would last and i wanted to get out of the "hole".We headed up the trail and stopped at a gas station and called ahead to Valinouet as the # was on the trail map.This was my first time riding Mt. Valin so i didn't know there was a couple nice lodges on the way.I wish i could remember that one auberge we passed on the hill a real nice place,anyway we get to the gas station at Valinouet and get our apartment and the guy tells us to go to the ski lodge if we want dinner.We go up there and they had closed so we come back and get frozen pizza and tv dinners to make ourselves.we look over at the gas station 5 min. later and they are closed,we almost went hungry that night.I'll never forget that night that is what makes snowmobiling esp. a saddlebag trip so fun.You can go through a place like that even 10 years later and remember that whole trip in your mind like it was yesturday.Nothing relaxes my mind like sledding. :drinks:

  8. Exchange rate

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Thanks for the feedback,we usually try to hit a bank one day on the trail.It seems you get the best exchange this way.I have exchanged money already at the duty free but they do nail you pretty good.As far as getting it exchanged before you go some banks charge a flat transaction fee plus it seems a bother to them.We usually try to have enough left over to get started the next year.I don't like to use my credit card either i want to pay as i play not paying for it all summer,maybe that's just me. :drinks:

  10. Shawinigan and St.Raymond

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Trailered to the Safari in Shawinigan Sunday. the parking lot was solid ice with some water on top. Wind came up and temps fell late in the day, but no snow. Went out for a short ride. Theres plenty of snow (a good 2 feet) but we were looking for lube.

    It turned to concrete overnite. Monday am we decided to head to St.Ray. We were the only ones at The Motel Safari, and it was some lonely. Jocelyn needs to get on here and talk it up.

    At St. Ray very little ice, and trails all 3 days were terrific. Flat and super fast. Headed up 23 on monday. It was in very good shape for this early(9-10) and I'd estimate 3 and half feet of snow up high. Snowed 3 inches Mon nite and so it got even better. Rode to Lac edourd tuesday. Trail 73 was mint (10-10), but 355 was only groomed once(6-10) and it never got brushed this summer, so its narrow in spots. Im not sure if it will be groomed beyond Lac Edourd this year or not. Last year it was. Tuesday we looped over west to St. Joseph de macinac then towards Shawinigan, thru Rogers, trail 3 east, then 8 miles up 23 it just kind of ended. Locals say trail closed, and no re-route. So we ended up back on 3 to 365 then 23 at the powerlines south of St.Ray.

    All in all great 1st trip. And No breakdowns! :yahoo:

    Interested to know status of 318, was not groomed and no track marks, where it starts from 353 heading west toward St.Tite.

    Good report did you see many other sleds?

  14. Traded in the Nytro back to DOO

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I would like to add my 2 cents worth about Yamaha. If the guy that posted above expects to get 28,000 miles out of his new 09 Apex he had better bring his lunch! I also hope he didn't buy the worthless extended warranty. That is the biggest rip-off I have ever been involved in, having to fight with them to honor a claim. I waited 3 months to get paid 3/4 of the bill and had to call them 50 times. The deal with 2 different companies in NA is the stupidest thing I know of. The handling and hand warmers were a huge joke. the japs don't like to admit mistakes and to pass the issues on to the customer that has paid over $10,000 to have a piece of shit snowmobile that still didn't work right is un-acceptable in my book. The entire crew that sits in the warranty department could slide into the ocean out there in California and it wouldn't bother me a bit. I have their names if anyone is interested. I would like to see those fuckers pulling a sled out of the woods for fifty miles with no brakes. At issue of course is the drive axles, first one at 12,000 miles and the second one at 16,000 miles. Check the Yamaha part #, it is the same axle that goes in most Yamaha's and they have had an issue since the 03 1 ton. The second one broke in Feb and I still haven't been paid for the repair, 3 nights in a motel waiting for repairs etc. etc. Came to about $700 bucks total. I have called the dealer in Easton who told me how he wanted to handle the warranty IF I had another problem. Did exactly what he said, dragged the broken axle back and gave him all the receipts etc., have called him repeatedly and no response. What the fuck did I pay for an extended warranty for? I am going to file a claim in small claims court next.

    I think there will be a lot of people trading back to what they rode before, I personally know of a half dozen guys that are as sick of the bull-shit Yamaha-ha-ha company as I am.

    The exhaust issue (3 times), the drive axles, the hand-warmers, the thumb warmer, the suspension arms and mostly the attitude of the warranty department is down-right ridiculous. I must have heard 20 times that they couldn't understand how (I) broke the drive axle. This is after thousands of them broke before mine did. Fuck you Yamaha, I wouldn't own or recommend Yamaha to my worst enemy if I had one!!!!!

    But how do you really feel? :lol::lol: Seriously i think you sould file under the lemon law sounds like you got a bad one for sure.I don't think your dealer is helping much either my dealer has helped me out already by getting stuff covered that probably wasn't under warranty.He usually tells them look this should never have happened and they grumble a little but pay it. Good luck with your next sled but i really think they all have their problems.

  15. mirrors

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Yea,i never had too much faith in mirrors, but want to be legal.Too many times i have seen 2 groups get mixed and someone just looking for that light in their mirror only to be passed by someone not in their group and find out the rest of your guys are not coming.I had mirrors on my Viper,but rarely used them i like to look back every once in a while and make sure who and what if anything is behind me. :D

  19. Good Gloves

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Thanks for the replies,tried to check out the choko claw online but there isn't much more than a picture.They look like they might work,i used to use the 3 finger gloves with the sep. thumb and pointer finger and i think the claw may make braking easier than the mitts.

  20. Good Gloves

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Looking for opinions on the best gloves.I need a new pair and i am leaning toward some type of finger glove.I usually went with the mitten type but it is easier to signal how many sleds are following with fingers.Also it seems in the last 10 years or so the layout of the brake levers on the sleds has made it harder/uncomfortable to use mits.--------------thanks for the input. :nea:

  21. Live from Esterel, Mt Tremblent, St Donat

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Update for Monday 12-22-08

    Rode through the parc today from St. Donat on trail 33 north. Leaving St. Donat Lac Archambault was fast and smooth crossing the lake and well marked going into the Parc. All trails in the parc were a 9.5 of 10 and only passed 20 sleds all day. Groomers are going out tonight and smoothing out todays traffic. Temps are currently below Zero F and have froze over any slushy areas on the local lakes. Plan to ride from the Esterel hotel up to St Zenon tommorrow and will post again after our last day out. :good:

    Good report! this has got to be a great time to be in Quebec,with most people preoccupied with the holidays i'm sure there is little traffic.Please let us know if there are any major reroutes or new trails in that region,heading up to St. Zenon last week of Jan. :yahoo:

  22. scierie 54

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I just got information back on the status of Scierie 54 this upcoming winter:

    Fuel will be available at the sawmill.

    For the restauration service it will be on the week day only for the moment but the club negacaite to have it in the week-end to.

    This is great news!! This will ensure that the trail stays open for this winter at least. :yahoo:

    Thanks for for the update smclelan,now we have to get up there and ride in and buy some gas so they know they made the right decision to keep open. It would be a big loss if they would close. :clapping:

  23. western quebec

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Thanks for the reply Jack.i have not stayed at the Hotel Amosphere before,will have to try and hit that one this year.like i said i haven't ridden that area for a few years but i agree there was usually little traffic.i do remember seeing a post last year of Forsythe with just the chimney standing! I have never been to Matagami so i am looking forward to seeing that and also giving piston alley a shot with my new Apex. It will be nice to do that without having to worry about running out of gas.as for amos the only time i was there was a ride in a rollback with a freind who burned a piston in his new polaris 700 triple. Have fun this year and stay safe. :drinks::good:

  24. western quebec

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    planning a saddlebag trip for feb. for western quebec,does anyone know of any new trails or reroutes or even closings?not sure where we are leaving from yet probably manawaki or temiscaming or possibly even st. zenon but def. plan to hit western border up to matagami then chibougamau.any info is app., i haven't been in that area for a few years.i saw last year there was a trail closed in the area of the forest fire ?TQ63 and also there has been some chatter of the clova road being groomed this year.looking for something a little different this year did gaspe last year and prev. 2 years did lac st. jean. :rofl:

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