BeachSled
Active VIP Member
Hi all, I am new to sledding and my story started about a year ago. I was blessed with the birth of a baby girl which turned out to be the best thing that could have ever happen to me, but days after we found out that she was born with a brain tumour. She went through major brain surgery to remove the golfball sized tumour and the walnut sized blood clot. And at 6 days old she fought with all her might and pulled through like a little super star. A 2 weeks after that she started a years worth of chemo treatments, 2-4 days every 2 weeks. (Just before she was 8 months old this is when we met some old friends in passing and I got into sledding) At the one year mark we had another MRI only to find out that the cancer had come back and she had needed 2 more surgeries with in a 12hr period to remove the cancer. 6 weeks after that she started daily radiation on her brain for 33 days. Which is where we are at in life now.
When I had met those old friends ("Magnet" & his wife) i had never been sledding before and I was 28yrs old. funny what I had missed out on!! So I went out twice with him and I was hooked!! I looked at buying a older used sled since I was put on a budget. We went shopping and I had found a "98 Summit X 670" or thats what I thought I had bought. Went out to swan hills with the guys the day after I picked it up and only rode for maybe 3 hrs before it broke down, and I mean really broke. We had to tow it back to the truck. In towing it back we broke the bumper and it flipped over on its side and suffered some road rash also. Got it back and found out that the brass water pump/rotary gear piled up. Fixed that with "Magnet's" help.
In between all this I had found out I bought a frankin' sled, it was a late 96 S-chassis with a 97 motor in it. So I got taken on my first sled purchase which was supposed to take my mind off our new family problems and be a stress reliever for me.
I then found this site and a great guy on here "Deano670" which is the owner of Mad Motorsports. I took the sled over to him for what I thought was just a final tune. Turns out the pistons were scored and the "Jaws Pipes" the sled came with were not that at all. With all Deans hard work, and advice Frankin sled would run again. After new pistons were installed and a set of used pipes were found and installed the sled was up and running……. But not for long, Well Dean was final tuning the carbs the crank broke at the PTO bearing and the primary clutch came flying off at 7000rpm. (Dean I am glad you are ok) At this point I was wondering if I could have picked a worse sled to buy????
So I then when out and picked up a used 670ho motor (Thanks Neil) got it installed with Deans help and finally got to bring the sled home to ride. But it only lasted for one ride until I squeaked a piston, from not letting the sled warm up enough. Opps my fault this time. Got a new piston in it and it was alive again. Went out for a night ride on the lake and hit something!!! Rolled the sled and blew out a front shock.
So there must be something about sledding that has me hooked, normally I would not go through this much pain for something. I did however want to say Thank you to all the people from snow and mud that sent there prayers and well wishes when Taylor was going through her second surgery. To all of you who have answered all my newbie questions with out hesitation. And to Dean who has been such a hugh help in getting this sled back together and running after all its been through. If it was not for finding Dean I don't thing I would be riding again, and I would recommend anyone to call him for there sled repairs, he is a top notch guy. I really dreaded trying to find a mechanic to help with this mess of a sled, especially as a newbie. But its guys like him and and all of you that have made my first sledding experience a enjoyable one even after all this. I hope to meet some of you when I am out riding and hope to learn more from some of you about how to be a better rider…..because I suck!
Thanks to all of you,
Landon, Mindy & Taylor
Little Taylor is doing great so far.
Pictures
What Taylor has been through
Little girl needs prayers (Link to another thread on this site)
When I had met those old friends ("Magnet" & his wife) i had never been sledding before and I was 28yrs old. funny what I had missed out on!! So I went out twice with him and I was hooked!! I looked at buying a older used sled since I was put on a budget. We went shopping and I had found a "98 Summit X 670" or thats what I thought I had bought. Went out to swan hills with the guys the day after I picked it up and only rode for maybe 3 hrs before it broke down, and I mean really broke. We had to tow it back to the truck. In towing it back we broke the bumper and it flipped over on its side and suffered some road rash also. Got it back and found out that the brass water pump/rotary gear piled up. Fixed that with "Magnet's" help.
In between all this I had found out I bought a frankin' sled, it was a late 96 S-chassis with a 97 motor in it. So I got taken on my first sled purchase which was supposed to take my mind off our new family problems and be a stress reliever for me.
I then found this site and a great guy on here "Deano670" which is the owner of Mad Motorsports. I took the sled over to him for what I thought was just a final tune. Turns out the pistons were scored and the "Jaws Pipes" the sled came with were not that at all. With all Deans hard work, and advice Frankin sled would run again. After new pistons were installed and a set of used pipes were found and installed the sled was up and running……. But not for long, Well Dean was final tuning the carbs the crank broke at the PTO bearing and the primary clutch came flying off at 7000rpm. (Dean I am glad you are ok) At this point I was wondering if I could have picked a worse sled to buy????
So I then when out and picked up a used 670ho motor (Thanks Neil) got it installed with Deans help and finally got to bring the sled home to ride. But it only lasted for one ride until I squeaked a piston, from not letting the sled warm up enough. Opps my fault this time. Got a new piston in it and it was alive again. Went out for a night ride on the lake and hit something!!! Rolled the sled and blew out a front shock.
So there must be something about sledding that has me hooked, normally I would not go through this much pain for something. I did however want to say Thank you to all the people from snow and mud that sent there prayers and well wishes when Taylor was going through her second surgery. To all of you who have answered all my newbie questions with out hesitation. And to Dean who has been such a hugh help in getting this sled back together and running after all its been through. If it was not for finding Dean I don't thing I would be riding again, and I would recommend anyone to call him for there sled repairs, he is a top notch guy. I really dreaded trying to find a mechanic to help with this mess of a sled, especially as a newbie. But its guys like him and and all of you that have made my first sledding experience a enjoyable one even after all this. I hope to meet some of you when I am out riding and hope to learn more from some of you about how to be a better rider…..because I suck!
Thanks to all of you,
Landon, Mindy & Taylor
Little Taylor is doing great so far.
Pictures
What Taylor has been through
Little girl needs prayers (Link to another thread on this site)
