quebec bob

Time flies, waits for no one!!

Me too, lots of guys loved that motor, and out west a ton of people turboed that motor and it was very reliable, lots will be disappointed.Replacing it with a 900 turbo, it will be a lot more potent than the 1200 for sure, but more $ too.

I have owned a lot of sleds since 66.I rode Yamaha for 70% of that time, started with 318 ski-doo Olympic, 338 sno-jets, 800 Zr arctic cat, vector with supercharger, Yamaha 136 Warrior, RV 250 Ski-Doo blizzard, so I have been around the sport, riding, racing, building, etc. I am not brand loyal, we are all enjoying this great sport thru our own personal taste and I do not care what anyone rides. So now I will critique this sled from my own personal background. First I will say that the 146 inch track , unstudded is an amazing track, really cannot feel any difference from a 125 as far as noise and smoothness, and it really hooks up WELL!! The big windshield and side deflectors work good but could be angled a little more upright rather than tilted back so far.The handle bars looked kind of cheap compared to the covered ones on Yamaha, but I will tell you that they are very comfortable and the seating position and ergos to the bars , they really nailed it, probably could not come up with a better seating position, I am 6 ft and 180lbs. The c-motion suspension, some say it is a Polaris copy, who cares, it really is a great suspension, I like it more than my friends 17 renegade, and it turns just as good, if not better on the trail, hard to believe all that sled is back there, cannot tell it from a 129, but i love all that storage area, that linqs system is great.I am not too impressed by the ds2 skis, they make the sled feel a little tippy, it is tall and an inch or so narrower than the renegade, I will be going to code north for a week starting Saturday with Simmons gen 3 8 inch wide skis with the dual runner, I think they will make a big difference, it took me 500 miles and 3 days to start getting use to the skis, they have to go. I know it is a cross-over but it is a little too narrow.The back country is gear down 4 teeth on the small gear from the renegade, it makes a huge difference in acceleration, it is much quicker out of the hole with the 1.6 track and lower gearing. fuel mileage is 14.5 maybe stretch to 15 if you go 45 to 50mph. Oil consumption is 150 to 165 miles a quart, way more than my 2 stroke Yamahas were.The windshield mounted mirrors, well they functionally suck, poor location and poorly designed mirror, you could get killed trying to use these , all they do is cover the law, not much more.Hand warmers are great, switches on console, I thought it was a joke but I will tell you, I like them and they are easy to use, and if you tip over they will not break off the bar. I saved the part everyone want to know about for last, the 850 engine and clutch. This motor is a lot tamer in the shorter renegade with the smaller track and higher gearing. the back country has lower gearing and more bite with the 1.6 track and it really makes this sled go.....almost too much, the initial pull is quite impressive, remember this is coming from a guy that has built and ridden a lot of 200-230 hp sleds.i was really surprised at how potent this sled was, the clutch is pure racing material, Aaen and microbelmont have used this roller design for years, ski-doo really dialed it in on this application, incredibly responsive, the 3 lbs lighter, Hooper race engines in New Hampshire have built a lot of sleds and engines for world champions for years their big hole shot advantage was a very light primary clutch. 1 lb of rotating mass is equal to about 10 hp. ski-doo now sells this to the public and they really have it dialed in, we will see how durable it is. A lot of guys were saying belts were blowing, mostly on mountain sleds, you should take the insulation out of the cover, even cut the bottom 20% off the cover, let some air in and heat out, ride it normally and it works just fine, beat the death out of a free ride in 3 feet of powder and it will get hot and blow, trial riders are having 0 trouble, I have been watching this close.I am quite surprised how powerful and responsive this sled is, you can pull the skis at 65 mph quite easily, the braking is almost as impressive as the engine, first sled with no studs, and it does not need them. I put front wheels in the skid like the renegade to help the Hy-fax out , should have come this way, the suspension is really great riding and 10 lbs lighter than r-motion, and just as good, maybe better.This sled is probably too much performance from an engine stand point than 50 percent of riders would ever need or even want, it is a real handful if you try to use it, it will go to 100 very quick and effortlessly. If you have some miles on the seat and you like sports cars you will really love this sled, it is that good, there are not a lot of them on the trail yet but this will change, but the 19 is listed for 14,400 which is pretty steep, I bought mine in Troy new Hampshire for 12,900, their first offer to me and I took it without countering.Overall I am happy with the sled, nobody put out anything perfect we all want or add something. They have a glove box extension with a garmin gps, but I passed, 1000$ was a little too much!!Hope I covered it for for anyone thinking about it, happy trails!!

Ski-Doo has released their new models for 19 and it looks like they have once again raised the bar, a 900 ace turbo 4 stroke, and G-4 in a lot of models,now that Yamaha has all but left the game they have really taken the lead. You can really see it out on the trail where they more than outnumber everyone else combined. I bought a 18 back country this year, after decades with Yamaha , it is a good feeling knowing that if needed parts and service are close by. They really surprised me this year, this company is always pushing the envelope.

School vacation week and the warm-up and rain has come at the very worst time. But it does look like the Gaspe from between RDL and Matane going North will fair quite well and Cote North From Tadasac North towards Sep- tile looks fine, next week looks to be in the mid 20's f, a little warm, but that is where the good riding will be, in the North away from the crowd, maybe the last good riding of the year in the next 2 weeks, this season has gone way too fast!!

Always amazed at how reasonable the Fairmont is!!

We will try and post nightly, switching our Verizon US account to Canadian so we can make calls and post.Cannot wait to get there!!

great ride, hoping for the same weather next week, happy trails!!

love that old Yamaha V-Max 800 4 cylinder, those were incredible sleds!!

I wonder if the guy who invented duct tape ever had any idea what it was really worth???

We are going Cote Nord too, leaving RDL early Sunday to Matane Ferry, for a week of play in the North, above the bad weather, we will be coming down just as you go North.

I have owned a lot of sleds since the 60's, years ago I sold a guy my 1978 440 Yamaha Exciter, fan cooled, it had 17,000 miles on it. I ran into him 3 years ago, his grand kids are still riding it , with 40,000 miles on it. My friend in Maine , who does foundations and rides in the winter put 16,000 miles on his 583 ski-doo, in 3 months the first year it was new, and rode it 45,000 miles over 4 seasons, had a crank seal go bad, nothing else.So many people get out by 5000 miles, sled is just broke in, and you loose your shirt, very high cost per mile. Canadian trails are very easy on the sled and many come with up to a 4 year warranty, no mileage limit. Most of these sleds will go 30,000 miles quite reliably.Shore is right about the 850 power and the backcountry has a better track and lower gearing, quite a bit more pull than the renegade.I basically think about new sleds when it gets over 10 years old just because if I break down parts could become an issue, even at that age they still look brand new from all the groomed trails.

I hear you, I have a ton of work at the shop, and once April comes , no days off until....next fall, maybe even after x-mass...so I am going...and I know when I get back I will wonder why I ever left, I am in the office right now!! !!

Ice, exactly why I am going north for a week, I am afraid that the long term forecast could end the season if I wait until the second week of March, hope Phil decides to go, you want in, I know that is a crazy question, you would rather be at work, right?

You still heading up, we are thinking about driving to Cabano, riding to the ferry in Matane, then going to Sep tiles, back to the Gaspe, for a couple days in the Cap-chats and driving home on Sunday, so ride Sunday to Saturday,7 days of riding. Going with 1 guy, you want to come along??

We are headed out for 8 days of riding starting the 24th and it is beginning to look like the best weather and long term looks like Gaspie will be the place to be, hope the rain and warm weather early this week does not do too much damage, I rode thru St Zenon last weekend, last place to be on a weekend, and it was brown surrounding that place, this warm up could really hurt some places.

Gutz, those rotary valve rotax twins often run jets that are totally different sizes in each carb/cylinder. If it is only loading up at idle, try lowering the needles in the carbs 1 clip, if that is too much they make a 5/10 kit, basically a bunch of nylon shims to lower the needles a half a clip. if you need any help or info just pm me and if I can help you out I will, happy trails, Bob.

I guess weed is legal in Quebec , cannot really figure out what else would make your judgement that good!!

I sure hope the weather report is wrong, I am heading up for a week around the 26th. a week of 60 will all but end the season, NO!!!!

Met you and iceman on the m20, I am riding the same sled, really love it, it has better gearing and clutching than the renegade 137 as well, acceleration is pretty impressive, I bought the 4 year warranty as well, I have those ts skis for you if you want them let me know, Bob.

He was a great guy, after he sold he worked for Dennis at Le Cabanon for a short time. Also, Lee, the guy he sold it to died of a heart attack a while back and his wife Nicole is in a nursing home. You here these stories and it is a little scary to realize 30 years has past so fast. Driving by last week on 131 it seems so strange to see that place closed, it always did a great business.

J G , good thing a picture is worth a thousand words, Linda has a lot of reporting to do to catch up to you!!

Bill, that is really great a kid from a little town out in the bush going to skate in the Olympics, hope he does well, it will land him a lifetime of opportunity!!

OK, the 850 has a slightly narrower ski stance, less than an inch between it and the renegade, it has different skis, shorter than the renegade, my buddy hated his ski doo skis on the 850 renegade and went with C&A. I put 8" of carbide on my back country, it works quite well. Yes having the switches on the dash rather than the bar, thought it was crazy, but no big deal. Ski doo had guys with the adjustable columns thinking that wires would wear with all the movement so wanted to get as much wiring out of there as possible with all the risers being installed, fair enough, we will live with it.It runs the trail exceptionally well, not planted like my Yamaha, but you are not tired at the end of the day. They really nailed the seating position, and the high windshield is nice. the clutch cover is redesigned to run the clutch cooler, and guys are pulling the insulation out and putting a few vents in it as well. Their are some nice snow dust proof side panel vent kits to further reduce heat and help belt life, which is now a non issue.Only guys off trail really running them to the bar are having trouble, that is normal.It is geared a tad lower with the 1.6 trak, but the 2 and 3 inch tracks are geared pretty low. fuel mileage and oil consumption is quite good, but this is 165 hp, you control the fuel mileage with your thumb.You will love this sled, especially when you are 3 days into the bush and you wake up to 10 inches of fresh, ungroomed trail.I have been riding since 1966, lost count of all the sleds I have ridden, I just left Yamaha 4-strokes for this sled, and I love those Yamahas, they may be heavy, but they are the best built, fit and finish, and the motors are sweet and bullet proof.The Ski-doo is a very nice sled, probably not as reliable as Yamaha, apex or Rx warrior, or Vector, but it does handle better, do not like adding oil, and I bought the 4 year transferable warranty, because it is not a Yamaha, but do not listen to all the folks picking it all apart, many people have already run 2-3 k with no problems. BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER!! Every one has a different dog at home and they all love their dog.

Not really sure about it being on trak maps but locals who have cabins on the reservoir ride in and out quite a bit and if you look at the local road maps you will see where the road runs around the east side of the shore. You do cross that road between relay 22 and windigo a couple of times while riding on 73.