What does light weight have to do with unreliability? There is the odd Yamaha that breaks down... thank god for choppers...just sayin`
Stuck on weight are you
- Thread starter Lund
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Got boost want snow
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You are right Yamaha's do break and then it takes another turbo fat girl to pull it home when it breaks. But when you lighten the chassis as much as the manufacturers are they bend extremely easy. They are built for powder and pretty much powder only. I will say my viper stands up pretty decent drug a poo about 80 km due to mangled a arms and it is lighter than my tapex. But you do lose reliability due to parts bending. Man made it's all junk so ride whichever pile of crap you are happy with.
- Thread starter
- #63
Lund
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Your correct there are. I was just stating a point that i have pulled more dead weight around the mountains then a guy just playing and i assure you a light built sled won't cut it.
If i'm not pulling a rescue toboggan with gear when on a SAR call out, i some times end up carrying a passenger and at times that's the lost or injured rider.
There is a good reason i ride a turbo'ed 4stroke with a stupid length and width for a track. I have been at a few rescues that the only way to reach the individual is by ski or walking. I generally can get very very close with the sled but getting the individual out is challenging at times. Most of our rescues in the last few years are guy's dropping too far into a back side of a mountain or ravine. A chopper generally won't work in those situation. Sometime this means spending the night with the individual. We rely on the sleds to carry our gear, the turbo'ed 4stroke has proven more capable then the other sleds we have in carrying weight and pulling weight over or into the mountains in any snow condition. I have used my sled a couple of times for that very reason, we needed to get rescue gear to the injured rider. If i can and no extra gear is needed then i take a SAR's sled, not mine.
pistoncontracting
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For me, weight really isn't the biggest issue. I have tried for a few years to fall in love with the infamous 4s.
I'm an average height, average weight, average skill guy- with slightly above average energy/drive. The added weight of some sleds really doesn't bother me for most of the riding. When it does seem to effect me is in the worst of stucks. And even average stucks that would take 15 mins with a lighter sled, require added effort.
A big deal?? Maybe not. But again, to an average fella- every bit of energy spent adds up, and takes away from the rest of the day.
I think the guys that make decisions solely based on weight, shouldn't be listened to... at least not seriously. On that same note though, I've seen nearly as many 4s sleds cause grief as their lighter cousins... only difference is the added weight added to the severity of the situation. Only thing worse then dealing with a dead light sled, is a dead heavy sled.
Each to their own. I'm just glad we have so many choices
I'm an average height, average weight, average skill guy- with slightly above average energy/drive. The added weight of some sleds really doesn't bother me for most of the riding. When it does seem to effect me is in the worst of stucks. And even average stucks that would take 15 mins with a lighter sled, require added effort.
A big deal?? Maybe not. But again, to an average fella- every bit of energy spent adds up, and takes away from the rest of the day.
I think the guys that make decisions solely based on weight, shouldn't be listened to... at least not seriously. On that same note though, I've seen nearly as many 4s sleds cause grief as their lighter cousins... only difference is the added weight added to the severity of the situation. Only thing worse then dealing with a dead light sled, is a dead heavy sled.
Each to their own. I'm just glad we have so many choices
- Thread starter
- #65
Lund
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As a regular recreational sledder i would most likely be riding a Cat or a Polaris. Polaris because i have never owned one in all these years riding LOL. Or a Cat because it has been one of my staples in sled brand's.
canuck5
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My old Nytro drug out 3 doos and two polaris dead sleds(motor issues) in 7 seasons. Issues I've personally had with my Yamaha's chain /chain case on nytro took out a chain that should have been changed long before, bearing on track drivers clutch side on apex in both cases was able to fix on hill after a parts run, multiple exhaust header issues sled won't build boost so your over clutched but can still run. Had to pull a yammie down once but wasn't and engine issue was turbo oil return pump on aftermarket product. I will always enjoy knowing that my engine should not be the problem deep in the back country and that turn key reliable power comes with a heavier sled.
pistoncontracting
Active VIP Member
All that is fine and dandy, until your tired. And then you loose control of your monster sled, and smash it into some trees because it's too heavy, and your simply played out. Then instead of dragging out a light sled, your draggin a heavy one.
Honestly, if riders put as much effort into themselves, as they do their machines, we wouldn't even have conversations like this
... but what fun would S&M be without ??? 
- Thread starter
- #68
Lund
Active VIP Member
All that is fine and dandy, until your tired. And then you loose control of your monster sled, and smash it into some trees because it's too heavy, and your simply played out. Then instead of dragging out a light sled, your draggin a heavy one.
Honestly, if riders put as much effort into themselves, as they do their machines, we wouldn't even have conversations like this
I absolutely love this comment, its SO true.
We ALL want and expect the best of our sleds. The sled all have to be the athlete of athlete's but in reality it not an equal partnership anymore. Thus why these BS session's like this happen on S&M. Too many are no more of a couch potato then the other, so ya weight become a huge problem when your pooped out in a couple hours or couple of stuck's.
Thank god for light weights, you can now indulge in another twinkie and beer while surfing your big screen before riding.
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- #70
This thread brought back a funny memory of being towed out of Forester behind a big fatgirl tapex, lol. My cousin forgot to top up his oil in his old summit and well... So I was towing him with my li'l 600 back and smoked a belt with 20km left to get back to the staging area, late afternoon with about 30 min of daylight. Man were we pleased when a couple yammies came along and offered us a tow. So decided to give my cuz a break from riding the dead sled and I hopped on but forgot something very important. Really really important. Didn't put on goggles and had to endure 20+ km of face-peeling roost from the towsled. I was holding on for dear life , ha ha. Tried waving at the guy whenever it was kinda safe to take an arm off and let go of the handlebars but those moments were short and he never looked back to check when I waved. I even considered jumping off at one point, squinting in agony, but quickly calculated how poor of an idea that would be so I toughed it out. Holy Fawk that Yamaha threw a big roost, ha ha. Painful lesson indeed
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