Last winter I was looking to buy a sled, asked around did some research blah blah blah.
Anyway, somehow my dumb co-worker found out and gave me some pointers. (Why is it always the advice from people you hate that always sticks with you the most?)
I told him I wasn't going to buy a truck and a trailer just to ride it 3-6 times a year. And said I would just "take it up the hills". He simply replied "You can't just 'take it up the hills'! :lol:"
I was somewhat bewildered by this notion, why couldn't you just take it up the hills?
"The hills" are fairly low, and for the most part redrock, and don't get much snow.
That said, last year we received a record breaking snow total, and these "hills" were absolutely covered in it! So much that I tied up my snowboard to my old bike and rode over there on the ice and snow covered road.
So I thought, if the street has a good 10", and I live a couple blocks from the hills, and the hills have an easy 2-4', why couldn't I just ride on that?
What do you think? Could I?
Why can't you just ride 'em?
Started by
twistedkeys
, Oct 03 2011 02:55 AM
27 replies to this topic
Posted 03 October 2011 - 10:50 AM
twistedkeys said:
Last winter I was looking to buy a sled, asked around did some research blah blah blah.
Anyway, somehow my dumb co-worker found out and gave me some pointers. (Why is it always the advice from people you hate that always sticks with you the most?)
I told him I wasn't going to buy a truck and a trailer just to ride it 3-6 times a year. And said I would just "take it up the hills". He simply replied "You can't just 'take it up the hills'! :lol:"
I was somewhat bewildered by this notion, why couldn't you just take it up the hills?
"The hills" are fairly low, and for the most part redrock, and don't get much snow.
That said, last year we received a record breaking snow total, and these "hills" were absolutely covered in it! So much that I tied up my snowboard to my old bike and rode over there on the ice and snow covered road.
So I thought, if the street has a good 10", and I live a couple blocks from the hills, and the hills have an easy 2-4', why couldn't I just ride on that?
What do you think? Could I?
Anyway, somehow my dumb co-worker found out and gave me some pointers. (Why is it always the advice from people you hate that always sticks with you the most?)
I told him I wasn't going to buy a truck and a trailer just to ride it 3-6 times a year. And said I would just "take it up the hills". He simply replied "You can't just 'take it up the hills'! :lol:"
I was somewhat bewildered by this notion, why couldn't you just take it up the hills?
"The hills" are fairly low, and for the most part redrock, and don't get much snow.
That said, last year we received a record breaking snow total, and these "hills" were absolutely covered in it! So much that I tied up my snowboard to my old bike and rode over there on the ice and snow covered road.
So I thought, if the street has a good 10", and I live a couple blocks from the hills, and the hills have an easy 2-4', why couldn't I just ride on that?
What do you think? Could I?
Where I live 10" is great. We play in as little as 2. If there's an inch or two on the road and it's hard packed you should be good. If it's soft the skis might spark. But you should be good.
Posted 03 October 2011 - 01:05 PM
Wetbed0 said:
Where I live 10" is great. We play in as little as 2. If there's an inch or two on the road and it's hard packed you should be good. If it's soft the skis might spark. But you should be good.
Really? Wouldn't see why I wouldn't get one then haha.
Posted 03 October 2011 - 01:34 PM
Wetbed0 said:
Well they were free.
Free what? Snowmobiles aren't usually free, unless any of you like to change that
:lol:
Posted 03 October 2011 - 01:38 PM
twistedkeys said:
Free what? Snowmobiles aren't usually free, unless any of you like to change that :lol:
:lol:To date we've gotten 3 for free. 1 rupp from the 70's that has now been stripped for parts. 1 mutt made from and air cooled ski doo and a polaris indy, that was only half finished when we received it. and one ski doo formula 380 that a friend wanted out of their yard. They've only cost fuel and maintenance, so no reason to get rid of them.
Posted 03 October 2011 - 01:41 PM
Wetbed0 said:
They've only cost fuel and maintenance, so no reason to get rid of them.
That's probably why I haven't gotten one yet!
Posted 03 October 2011 - 08:44 PM
If you've got a pickup, you can haul the sled pretty easily. I spent about $300 on a kickass ramp, well worth the money.
As far as "just riding 'em"... depends on what you want to ride. If you're happy with the hills you can ride to, hey... more power to ya. But once you get a taste of mountain pow, you'll probably never ride "the hills" again.
UT's got some fantastic riding opportunities in the winter. Kinda comes down to what you want to ride and how much money you want to sink into getting there.
As far as "just riding 'em"... depends on what you want to ride. If you're happy with the hills you can ride to, hey... more power to ya. But once you get a taste of mountain pow, you'll probably never ride "the hills" again.
UT's got some fantastic riding opportunities in the winter. Kinda comes down to what you want to ride and how much money you want to sink into getting there.
Posted 03 October 2011 - 11:04 PM
SnowMule said:
If you've got a pickup, you can haul the sled pretty easily. I spent about $300 on a kickass ramp, well worth the money.
As far as "just riding 'em"... depends on what you want to ride. If you're happy with the hills you can ride to, hey... more power to ya. But once you get a taste of mountain pow, you'll probably never ride "the hills" again.
UT's got some fantastic riding opportunities in the winter. Kinda comes down to what you want to ride and how much money you want to sink into getting there.
As far as "just riding 'em"... depends on what you want to ride. If you're happy with the hills you can ride to, hey... more power to ya. But once you get a taste of mountain pow, you'll probably never ride "the hills" again.
UT's got some fantastic riding opportunities in the winter. Kinda comes down to what you want to ride and how much money you want to sink into getting there.
Does a grand caravan count?
Yeah I've been up to the real stuff with some friends, ironically I was somewhat against snowmobiles before that day because I thought they were a waste of money. Turned out to be one of the funnest experiences I've had for 10+ years
It definitely gives you that Christmas spirit! And hey if I can't ride too far in "the hills", I can always get a pair of skis from DI and go all out
btw, how much gas would a 500 use? We rode 700s when we went up to the mountains, and we rode for HOURS without any gas problems, don't know why, it just seems against my logic
Posted 04 October 2011 - 03:06 AM
twistedkeys said:
Does a grand caravan count?
Yeah I've been up to the real stuff with some friends, ironically I was somewhat against snowmobiles before that day because I thought they were a waste of money. Turned out to be one of the funnest experiences I've had for 10+ years It definitely gives you that Christmas spirit!
And hey if I can't ride too far in "the hills", I can always get a pair of skis from DI and go all out
btw, how much gas would a 500 use? We rode 700s when we went up to the mountains, and we rode for HOURS without any gas problems, don't know why, it just seems against my logic
Yeah I've been up to the real stuff with some friends, ironically I was somewhat against snowmobiles before that day because I thought they were a waste of money. Turned out to be one of the funnest experiences I've had for 10+ years
It definitely gives you that Christmas spirit! And hey if I can't ride too far in "the hills", I can always get a pair of skis from DI and go all out
btw, how much gas would a 500 use? We rode 700s when we went up to the mountains, and we rode for HOURS without any gas problems, don't know why, it just seems against my logic
The tanks are huge. Really helps with the gas problem.
Posted 04 October 2011 - 03:11 AM
Wetbed0 said:
The tanks are huge. Really helps with the gas problem.
Oh really? Looked like they were only 5 gallons or so, but hey nearly redlining a 700 for 5 hours straight, it's gotta have somethin'!
Posted 04 October 2011 - 05:48 PM
twistedkeys said:
Oh really? Looked like they were only 5 gallons or so, but hey nearly redlining a 700 for 5 hours straight, it's gotta have somethin'!
About twice that.I've got 10.7 on my sled, plus I carry another 2.5 on the back.
There are days I've burned all of it.
Also...
Posted 04 October 2011 - 08:35 PM
SnowMule said:
About twice that.I've got 10.7 on my sled, plus I carry another 2.5 on the back.
There are days I've burned all of it.
Also...
10!?!? Holy smackadoodle muffins that's a TON
:banana: And in the motorcycle world we think 3.5 is HUGEAnd I'll let you know the day my dad lets me ride a sled on top of his van
Posted 05 October 2011 - 03:21 PM
SnowMule said:
TrailTank makes a 14 or 15 gallon tank for the Poos.
Dang you could ride for 10 hours straight with that. These are oil injected right? I hate to premix 15 gallons!
:lol:
Posted 05 October 2011 - 08:25 PM
Fuel tank extends under the seat quite a ways. Shown here with a 5gal fuel jug for size comparison.
And yeah, mine's fuel and oil injected. Fill the fuel tank, fill the oil bottle, pull the cord and go play in the snow.
And yeah, mine's fuel and oil injected. Fill the fuel tank, fill the oil bottle, pull the cord and go play in the snow.
Posted 05 October 2011 - 08:46 PM
The big question is, whose property is the hills, and the land in between?
Most folks don't take kindly to joyriding across their private property.
Most folks don't take kindly to joyriding across their private property.
Posted 05 October 2011 - 08:49 PM
SnowMule said:
Fuel tank extends under the seat quite a ways. Shown here with a 5gal fuel jug for size comparison.
And yeah, mine's fuel and oil injected. Fill the fuel tank, fill the oil bottle, pull the cord and go play in the snow.
And yeah, mine's fuel and oil injected. Fill the fuel tank, fill the oil bottle, pull the cord and go play in the snow.
:banana:
Posted 05 October 2011 - 08:55 PM
chickenhauler said:
The big question is, whose property is the hills, and the land in between?
Most folks don't take kindly to joyriding across their private property.
Most folks don't take kindly to joyriding across their private property.
Actually it's funny you bring that up.
Here's how it is, two blocks down from my house you pull out of our neigborhood, you then drive down maybe .15 mile to a highway underpass, passed the underpass there's a registered city dirt road that goes left and right, if you go straight you'll be on the "Jorgensen's land" Jorgensens is a Honda and powersport shop here, they bought the land (The hills) for motorcycles, racing, playing, etc. It's free to get in, actually you can literally drive your van on the jumps if you wanted to.
They let anyone on it, it's really fun. But public land surrounds the Jorgensens land. So basically you can ride anywhere you want
The only exception is one house on the hill, but everyone in town knows them, and they know that people accidentally end up on their property anyway.
It's pretty chill, glad to live here
