timbo

hi smclelan !!!
 
hahhaha....but can be tough on the '' carburator '' when you spend too much times in the woods !!!
 
great shot !!!
 
 
jean-guy

10-4, Playhard! 
And while you are at it you might want to think about draining the marsh! :-)

10-4, Playhard! 
And while you are at it you might want to think about draining the marsh! :-)

This winter will be 51 years since I first caught this bug! I love it as much as the first time I sat my butt on that old Skidoo back in the winter of 66-67.

The moral to this is "Do one thing at a time, NO MULTITASKING. Aso I  tell people "I am a simple s**the, I  am can only do one thing at a time".

The Challenge
March 2017, near Herbert Ville.
Well, there we were standing at the gas station waiting for Dannie-Doo(Many thanks again to Daniel) to come and rescue us. The RedRocker's original engine (and I mean original) had given up the ghost and just would not start. The autopsy later showed that it only had one working ring on either side, a top one on the mag side and bottom on the PTO. Their partners in compression appear to have rusted into the pistons (Just another RedRocker Miracle, Rusted Aluminum). 
So at this point LongHair lifts the hood and says, I bet you have all the parts to build the 670 again.... And make it faster than Ray's and Jack's 850etec..... hmmmmmm? Maybe? And so it starts.......
A little background on LongHair and the RedRocker:
LongHair
He's a wrecker.... He wrecks things, does not need to try, he just does....
My favorite toys as a kid, broken. Cars, "I don't know what happened, It just wont't start...now". Sleds, 30 minutes after bringing home My brand new 1995 Skidoo Formula 583... "Must have been something under the snow", 50 feet on the MachZ (I had not even pulled away on his sled) Belt and debris everywhere, 09 800r Summit, split the motor in half (at the QR Meet on the Gaspe'), last season a 2 year old etec 600, split in half. I'm sensing a pattern.
RedRocker
The sled started life as a brand new 1997 Formula 500. Yes that means the motor had been run for the majority of the last 20 years without being opened\updated.
After the first year or two of life, LongHair had a few "Watch This" or "Take My Picture" moments. This twisted the tunnel and pretzeled the rear suspension beyond my abilities to "Fix". So with some help we got it on the trailer and he said "it's fine... we're only going up the street to a buddy's garage". He Drove. Unloading was made easier by the lack of a snowmobile on the trailer. We proceed to retrace our drive to a bend in the road, it was gradual and we had gone slow, but he was driving so physics did not apply any longer. Adding to the list of issues now were Bars, Steering Stem, Controls, Torn Seat, Windshield, Hood, Trailing Arm, Radius Rod or Two, Switches and Misc nuts\bolt\screws.
I think the season was over for the RR.
So what does an un-attached Nuclear Technichian (While pondering his job please refrain from calling the NRC in a panic, he was caught later trying to catch a bolt of radiation in an atempt to gain Super Powers and has not been in that field for a while) do when faced with his wrecked sled???? Open the nearest catalog of cool and expensive parts, that's what.
As spring rolled around, boxes arrived to revive the RedRocker (Ver 2.0). This included all the smaller replacement pieces listed previously in the Obituary. First things First we needed a new tunnel, trailing arms and hood. LongHair had found a company in Stevensville Montana named FabCraft that would graft on a Short Mountain Tunnel to the Skidoo bulkhead, fit it with Carbon Fiber Trailing Arms as well as alter it to work with a 121 M-10 Rear Suspension. All we (This always means "Me" somehow) had to do was ship them the bare bulkhead and heat exchangers. Do you know how many rivets hold one of these chassis together.... I do know, too intimately.
After waiting two months for the new chassis it arrived at the freight yard and we picked it up. It was all new and powder-coated just waiting to be assembled with, but not limited too:
-new JackShaft with the updated "splined" end.
-new Team Secondary clutch requiring a splined jackshaft.
-new hood (stock style).
-new Boss Mountain Seat with Custom RedRocker Logo!
-new Summit fuel tank to fit the Boss Seat
-new Brads Long Travel Suspension for the front.
-new m-10 (re-Powdercoated to match the color of the sled)
-new Ice Ripper 121 Track, Ported for lightness.
-new Gauges
All with the mandate of "It Neeeeds to be ready when it snows"
The sled worked great!! I was amazed! I am Mechanical and Technical, but I am not a Mechanic. A Mechanic has wisdom and knowledge, I had some pictures, poorly written technical instructions, and LongHairs "Vision" of an Awesome Sled.
He rode with little incident for a few years.
Have you ever wondered what it sounds like when Carbon Fiber Snaps when you hit a manhole\manway cover? LongHair says it's a real loud CRACK! 
This happened 3-4 weeks before our first trip to Quebec! Well Fudgicles! With a bit of express shipping we were ready to take our first real trip to Quebec, WooHoo!! and meet this Bill guy (A huge mistake on his part) at a real friendly sounding place called the "HI".
As we all know once you goto Quebec, that's it, that's where we ride!
LongHair after the week or so of riding his 500cc Hot Rod determined it was WAY too under powered to cruise the Quebec trails like he wanted too and I just ordered a new 07 MachZ 1000 Renegade!!
RedRocker Ver. 2.5 
Given the chassis style the largest engine that we could fit, with the least amount of fuss was the Skidoo 670. A very stout upgrade by itself. But at this point, do you think he would leave it stock? So a real good used engine was found, disassembled, measured, cleaned, inspected and sent to the CrankShop for some Trail Porting. We (Refer to the previous note) picked it up at the shop and I discussed settings and carbs and clutching and etc.... The learning curve is nearly asymptotic.
Wouldn't you know it, the engine is in the chassis and running when the latest Magazine with Must-Have Cool Parts shows up. I grew to hate the New Parts section of sled magazines..... Boss Seats now offers a Wet NOS System for "Your" sled!! crap..... 
With about 150HP from the engine alone, add a 30HP Shot of Laughing Gas, this is now a respectable ride. If only it had an updated drive line to handle the increased power... and better cooling for the whole system .... and even better front shocks!!!!! (yes the "Vision" kicked in)
Did you know that they make a hood for the S-Chassis Doos that has a tubular aluminum frame and Carbon Balistic Mesh? Neither did I till we had to go pick it up at the bus station. I guess the cheapest way to ship it from the shop in Utah was via Greyhound, they bought it a seat and there it was when the bus arrived.
Arctic Cat was one of the first Race Teams to embrace Air Shocks back in the early 2000s. They will also give you nearly 12+ inches of super plush travel, more adjustments than you can count and remote resivours for that real cool look, on a Skidoo S-Chassis, all you need is custom made radius rods and find a race team to part with them. Done and Done!
The drive line was easy! 2 huge sprockets and chain. Finaly!!! Plug and Play!!
It hit the snow and it moved like a dirt bike on sand in the dunes, balistic, fast, twitchy, it throu more snow than an eighth grader snowball fight! We tested and tuned at Mt Valin over New Years Weekend and had it dialed in to the best of my ability. Unleashing it on the trails took nerves of steel or a total disreguard for life and limb!
Up I lead onto Bras Lousie, the Mach was moving, full bore, no one on the trails, fresh groomed, the whole nine yards! I say "Moving" because that's what LongHair described it as, when he passed me... on the right... in the unbroken snow on the side of the perfect cordiroy trail I was on....
I could see him smiling through the helmet!!
It could pass anything..... but a gas station! This tradition lives on as many of us know from this past season.
RedRocker Ver.2.75
-AirRide M-20 with on the fly controls
-On the fly controls were added and plumbed for the Front Air Shocks.
The engine finally faded away due to too many lake drag races one spring day and it sucked in a bunch of snow, mist and spray. This washed away the oil and caused some extreme Rod End Play. poof!
 
So back in went the 500cc original engine.
I was going to post pictures and updates as I go along in building the 850-Eater! I would post it on Doo-Talk but I think it will be more Sled Ed than SledHead in the end. Then there are the trolls on DT.
Stay Tuned!
GutZ

hi all !!!
started grooming at 2 am....cold...did nt check ...maybe -15 c !!!sunny and windy !!!
on my way back from ste florence...almost at the corner of tq 5....group coming and stopped !!!
phil...scranton 1 ...doonali ...sorry for the others...i have a memory blank...
a mini 20 mins gathering on tq 5 !!!! great timing ...right in time to meet them !!!
just back from amqui...had supper with them !!!
great day !!!!
 
jean-guy

it's great that it is a long trac..........".joy"  for the whole family.

Well said, Mike!!!!!

Many thanks, Alain.  Your reports are always welcomed and well received.  Thank you for sharing your exploits.

No doubt, it makes a lot of sense to use the Cumberland/Masson ferry if you are headed anywhere east or to the northeast.  I've used it for years.  However, it you are headed to Manawaki, or anywhere to the north-west, driving the 11 miles past "the 5"; waiting to embark, cruise, and dis-embark; then driving back 10 miles to jump on the 5 North is not the best use of your time .
 
just sayen

Well boys we will let you know first hand . Without any plans two days ago and speaking to Iceman and Andyman on their thoughts of where to go we have thrown in two maps ,some hastily put together gear and are on the 401 heading east to Saint - Ferdinand for our starting point. The Manoir du lac William. Only ever ridden this area once a long time ago . The idea is to head towards Bas-Saint -Laurent  and back to the truck Sunday night. Since this area is new to me I will be chime in gin for some mileage and recommendations. We wanted to to NB but isn't going to happen this time.

Richie and I had ridden up on our Harleys.  We did not want to miss such a milestone occasion.
It was a great time. 900 miles each way, lol!!!!
Timbo

Outstanding report, as always, Alain!  You had a memorable first ride.  Appreciate your sharing!

That summer gathering at Andy's in Moncton was great.  First time after quite a few winters meandering thru La Belle Province that I had the occasion to meet You, Bill.  An additional pleasure??  was my first opportunity to meet our friend Mr. McLellan.

Now that's one nasty looking saw!!!  I can see why you don't need the "chainer" anymore.

I was a long time user 276, 278, and 476 user and was very sad when it was discontinued and then no mapping was available from garmin starting a couple years ago. I saw this introduced a couple months ago and I just got mine last week. Literally installed it on my new 1200 renegade today, and it is everything the old 276 was, but better. It's a good GPS. very fast, lots of storage. I am happy.