NSHM

Weather no... It doesn't scare me..... "I know a shortcut", that scares me!!
GutZ

I don’t think one exists....

That is the trick I have heard with the Yamaha engines when cold.....Crack the throttle.
 
 

I think this one says it all!

That is the trick I have heard with the Yamaha engines when cold.....Crack the throttle.
 
 

That is the trick I have heard with the Yamaha engines when cold.....Crack the throttle.
 
 

Nice! That will be there for awhile.  Is that a belt I smell??

I've been running those also for around 6 years.Took them off my last sled and put them on my current ride.No worries about reverse or railroad tracks.

I use these on my sleds. They are great
you get what you pay for well worth the $$$ very nicely built. Solid.
https://www.kimpex.com/en-ca/products/snowmobile/suspensions-and-parts/ice-scratchers/between-the-lines-ice-scratcher-duraflex
 

I'm all for doing stuff right the first time, but I see this falling somewhere between over-regulation and good old fashioned corruption:
"Over the past few years, clubs have been increasingly challenged in terms of laws and regulations and...All of these new measures have resulted in the cost of replacing or repairing infrastructure, which ranged from $5,000 to $ 20,000, to well over $ 100,000 today."
"Égoutter le marais"

Ghetto sun shield, kinda like the strip across your car windshield.

I have used the Collett units for about 20yrs. I am on my third or fourth unit. Only had one unit fail (it was a circa 2001 unit?) and it was due to moisture getting into the unit from the microphone tube and running back into the unit. My current unit is a Platinum 900+ (Bluetooth enabled). I use Bluetooth it to listen to music and not for a cell phone. Any device that supports Bluetooth will pair and work so cell, GPS, iPod, iPhone, etc.While technology has generally advanced through the years with these - as with everything else - in my opinion they are only good for short conversations like to alert others of a hazard or approaching turn. Since they are voice activated, it takes a bit of time to adjust the unit and 'train' yourself for getting your voice to transmit. You will need to need to raise your voice and keep it at a certain level in order for others to hear you consistently. The 2 mile range is not realistic and I would say that depending on terrain and conditions, under 1 mile is about it IMO.
I have a HJC modular helmet and my riding partner has a BRP modular so I can share a couple of things. Collett makes a unit specifically for the BRP modular as Mr.Gutz said. It uses a small disk type microphone that you fit into the breath mask. This frequently freezes up in cold conditions (below about 15F) due to all the moisture in the mask. I am not sure if it is due to his breathing or the lack of being triggered from not talking but it stops working. Sometimes this means stopping briefly to thaw it but other times, he is able to make it work again on the go. The battery packs with the newer units will last for a 10+ hour day in cold conditions.
A couple more things -
The main channel provided on every unit sold also receives the groomer warning beacon signals. Collett has provided clubs and grooming contractors with transmitters for grooming equipment that send a 'Dee DA, Dee DA'  tone but we have frequently come across groomers (QC, VT, NH) that weren't transmitting. So while it is reassuring to hear a groomer warning, it isn't 100%. Since most folks leave their units on the main channel, you will know about other riders in the vicinity but if it is too 'chatty' it is nice to have the option to switch to another channel. The other channel should be chosen and specified by everyone that you will be riding with when you order your units or you will be limited to the main channel. (see the website for more info) Les Collett and his employees are great to deal with. There was an odd situation where their facility was locked down a few years ago b/c of some kind of an inventory valuation dispute with a bank(Canadian thing??) but it was straightened out over a few months. IMHO, the units are a bit overpriced but if they save someone from a mishap, it is truly a small price to pay  

Need to repost this at the begining of every season on here and other sites.

Are there some trails I don't know about? Where are you going that you need plumbed in auxiliary tanks? For QC trail riding this is hardly necessary. If you are doing an expedition to Labrador or Baie James, then ok i get it. 
I'm not saying not to carry extra fuel. But to plumb it in? Hey whatever works I guess. 
 

vt---"So if you rack up big miles saddle-bagging and reliability is important, it's an easy decision.  ***If you're someone who trades up every year or three, this may not be a consideration. You don't get to the point where things fail."
If I could get 10,000 miles without a rebuild, figure every 2 years did 4,475 this year, I would be burning oil again. The problem came in when one wise guy in the group buys an 850 and expects you to keep up on a diesel!!! For now I am going to continue on my Diesel and watch to see what happens to the 850's as we always say tick, tick, tick...

Most here know I'm a Yammi guy but my comments apply strictly to the 4 stroke vs. 2 stroke and not the brand decision. When saddlebagging why would anyone want to have to carry oil? It's a given that the BRP  Linq system is slick and definitely makes carrying fuel containers simple but to feed a 2 stroke you'll sacrifice some fuel capacity b/c you also have to carry oil. If the total gals/liters you carry isn't important this may not be a consideration.
Point two is reliability. Yes there are many members here who some miles on their 2 strokes but they will never last as long as a comparably maintained 4 stroke due to design. (For those that will dispute this we aren't seeing 30k miles/45k km on 2 strokes without rebuilds but it is fairly easy to find 4 strokes with that mileage - or more) I say this mainly because the variable that is fuel quality will always have a more detrimental affect on a 2 stroke motor over time. Manufacturers have tried to minimize this by requiring premium fuel for all the 2 strokes. The damage is silent and cumulative so you usually won't know about it until you have an odd noise - or a total failure.
So if you rack up big miles saddle-bagging and reliability is important, it's an easy decision.  ***If you're someone who trades up every year or three, this may not be a consideration. You don't get to the point where things fail. 

Our group did not pass them on the right, that's crazy.
If a slow group intentionally won't let you pass, IMHO it just creates anger and frustration.

To mcstar:
As always there are 2 sides to s story.  This was out first day, after we saw the 2 riders (who we just met) doing the hole shots, we explained that this was not proper  trail etiquette.
To your other statement.  We followed you for 10 MILES.  You had FOUR chances at stop signs to let us pass you.  Everyone is entitled to ride to their abilities.  The "wannabe racers" are aged 46 to 61 each with 20+ years of experience.  This is like the guy driving 55 in the left lane of 70 MPH highway, eventually people pass on the right because it seems that person thinks they "own the road".
We ride faster than you, you all had mirrors, had FOUR chances to wave us on before we passed on a straight away.  Then when the last 2 didn't get past you and we were in the parking lot of the Relais, you STILL wouldn't let them by (your FIFTH chance).  At this point you had to know that we wanted to get by you.  So finally after the SIXTH attempt to pass you let us get by.
In our 6 days in the Gaspe your group of 4 was the ONLY group who intentionally didn't let us pass them.   At least 10 other groups just waved us on. Why didn't you stop at a stop sign and wave us on?  Your entitled to ride at whatever speed you want and so are we.  Did it hurt your ego to let us go by?
Finally, we got passed by young guys on fast sleds at least 10 times.  The minute we saw them "on our asses" we waved them on.  No big deal.  Your stubbornness created the entire situation. You had SIX chances over 15 minutes to let us go by, I just can't understand why you did what you did. TQ5 is not your personal trail where you can dictate the speed to everyone else.
As far as it being a family sport, of course it is.  Every 2 up going 30 MPH lets the faster people go by.  The 3 trailing sleds in your group clearly wanted us gone, it was your leader who saw us and decided that we should have to ride at YOUR speed, not what we wanted to ride.  We were well within our capabilities, you were going way slower then the average and I bet you had multiple similar encounters with others unless you interaction with us made you change your behavior.
Anyway, all can learn from this, if someone wants to pass, I say wave them on at the next stop sign and save everyone some aggravation.
And to Shore1066, this was my 12th trip to Quebec since 1999, we HATE Tug Hill and would never ride their because of the bad behavior/alcohol consumption that goes on there. mcstar's group was the ones who need to be educated.
 
Fred

Ditto on the ice ripper! No more regular studs for me! They don't hook up like normal studs but for 99.9% of our riding they are perfect!
 

Once going to the ice ripper there is no going back. 
 

I Rode with conventional studs for years and years. 4 seasons now with an Ice Ripper. It's all you need up here. 

I remember those trails.The only time they were good was when they were fresh groomed.They were found to be much more unsafe and the best thing they did was get rid of them.The corners would get blown out and then you were on the wrong side and it wasn't always easy to get back into your own lane.They caused a lot of head on crashes.If you caught up to a slow group you were stuck behind them for a long time and would have to make many jumps back and forth over the berm to get by everyone unless there was a very long straightaway and you could clearly see ahead and safely pass the entire group and then the rest of  your passing group also faced the same dilemma.And as VTblue stated they didn't hold up after being groomed anywhere near as long as the trails we enjoy now.Every single sled rode in the exact same track as the sled before it.Imagine if everyone only rode the extreme right now.The trails hold up as well as they do now because everyone can pick a different line and spread the abuse out.Ride right in the corners but where you can see ahead enjoy the smooth parts of the trail.If you want to always ride extreme right ,than thanks for leaving me the middle on the straights.