Saw the factory race Sleds on Sunday and Sat night.
Born about 40 years too early I guess.
Talk about stuff on it. I relate to that – when we raced ovals as a kid – we got a lot of comments about the adjustment devices we had on the sled. Years later – my son raced 125cc shifter karts----same thing –you guys go fast cause you got wires and stuff all over your kart. The blue factory sled was full of stuff.
I didn’t talk to the team even thou a guy wanted to introduce me to them – well I did ask a question about the track, that’s all – as I noticed it was the same new low durometer one Bender was running in Bracebridge. Not sure if this is stock...but I liked how the last 4" of rail had no slider on it. I would have had the studs - in not the same location however.
The skid rails on one were billet robust and the other was reinforced stock almost. Both looked to have stock configurations. I couldn’t get a good look under the hood – but I could see a lot of carbon fibre in the engine area. The front tube support section looked made – chrome molly I suspect not sure – I couldn’t get in there to bang on it to tell for sure. Usually factory sleds use a couple gauge thinner aluminium than stock – but its hard to tell by looking. It did not look heavy in any way.
The sound was nice – but could not tell what pipe they had. The exhaust tube under the seat looked about stock size. They can make more HP than the factory road race bikes thanks to the CVT but it didn’t have that monster HP sound. I think they held back and just gave them enough to slightly better the 2/’s. The main job is to make the sled work. One of the sleds was not crisp on the race track - it had a slight miss.
Don’t get excited here - there are a ton of good things with this sled – I’m just giving what I see –what I think needs to be done to go faster – that’s just my makeup. Haden and the Polaris dude – not much wrong with them – they had the factory sound – a lot like Benders sled. Mike V was about a needle size too small - but all he had to do was finish to win 1st overall.
The Yamaha turners are young guys, its hard to beat Benders depth who does the up front Polaris sleds. The front end design of most sleds is the same - but the Yamaha setup was opposite to Benders placement of things, I noticed. On the sleds first lap by it was obvious it was a twitchy machine.
They had the typical new clutching sound – which is actually very very common today and all the articles you read are that way. The engine is at full rpm and the clutch gets loaded and moves yet the engine rpms don’t change.
I have driven setups like that and it makes the sled very hard to turn sharp. I prefer them to work together. We got to race a factory SSR one weekend (years ago) with that clutch setup – I think I still have a burn on my hand where I grabbed the belt.
By the sound of the shift – I think they use those heel clicker things. Uggg! They have shaft rpm info – but with the belt slipping in the primary – it looks like its getting to what they are after.
Its really hard on the race drivers – the thing is so bloody fast and with all the jumps – it’s a full time job just to hang on. I liked the way they rode.
It trenched easy – but must have hooked up somehow – as they were first up the loooong hill. The competition was Haden and the Polaris who is a good mid to ¼ front runners on the factory circuit. The only place he (Haden) could get by was the flatter section where his Doo attacked the terrain with ease.
So other than the twitching and clutch - the sled looked great. When the races weren’t on - I just kind of sat way out of the way and starred at the race sled. It has all that stuff on it. I’ve said it before – they just need to figure it out and seeing it – that’s all they need to do – its looks sooooo good and wants to go.
Then….I got to drive the new consumer Nytro – don’t get me wrong – I could ride that thing for a week straight – but I did feel what I saw in the race sled immediately. The guide asked me after – so I told him – he said it’s a high performance sled, that why… oh well ..can’t argue with a pro.
As a final note – I got to drive the Apex – the white one. I’m at a loss for words – that is the sled for anybody looking for a high performance trail sled. Kind of hung back a bit like I did on the Nytro to give it a good rip…. Attacked a burm sideways so it world force the ski up and go off balance – the sled gave me the confidence to keep it pinned as it ripped along on almost a 45 degree angle-. It just did what I told it to, it felt soooo good riding it. It wakes up all your senses including hearing.
And the sound – wow – the next best thing is standing 200 feet away from an F1 outboard race boat going by at WOT, but quieter. That – is the best sled in its class in the world at this time – period!
Born about 40 years too early I guess.
Talk about stuff on it. I relate to that – when we raced ovals as a kid – we got a lot of comments about the adjustment devices we had on the sled. Years later – my son raced 125cc shifter karts----same thing –you guys go fast cause you got wires and stuff all over your kart. The blue factory sled was full of stuff.
I didn’t talk to the team even thou a guy wanted to introduce me to them – well I did ask a question about the track, that’s all – as I noticed it was the same new low durometer one Bender was running in Bracebridge. Not sure if this is stock...but I liked how the last 4" of rail had no slider on it. I would have had the studs - in not the same location however.
The skid rails on one were billet robust and the other was reinforced stock almost. Both looked to have stock configurations. I couldn’t get a good look under the hood – but I could see a lot of carbon fibre in the engine area. The front tube support section looked made – chrome molly I suspect not sure – I couldn’t get in there to bang on it to tell for sure. Usually factory sleds use a couple gauge thinner aluminium than stock – but its hard to tell by looking. It did not look heavy in any way.
The sound was nice – but could not tell what pipe they had. The exhaust tube under the seat looked about stock size. They can make more HP than the factory road race bikes thanks to the CVT but it didn’t have that monster HP sound. I think they held back and just gave them enough to slightly better the 2/’s. The main job is to make the sled work. One of the sleds was not crisp on the race track - it had a slight miss.
Don’t get excited here - there are a ton of good things with this sled – I’m just giving what I see –what I think needs to be done to go faster – that’s just my makeup. Haden and the Polaris dude – not much wrong with them – they had the factory sound – a lot like Benders sled. Mike V was about a needle size too small - but all he had to do was finish to win 1st overall.
The Yamaha turners are young guys, its hard to beat Benders depth who does the up front Polaris sleds. The front end design of most sleds is the same - but the Yamaha setup was opposite to Benders placement of things, I noticed. On the sleds first lap by it was obvious it was a twitchy machine.
They had the typical new clutching sound – which is actually very very common today and all the articles you read are that way. The engine is at full rpm and the clutch gets loaded and moves yet the engine rpms don’t change.
I have driven setups like that and it makes the sled very hard to turn sharp. I prefer them to work together. We got to race a factory SSR one weekend (years ago) with that clutch setup – I think I still have a burn on my hand where I grabbed the belt.
By the sound of the shift – I think they use those heel clicker things. Uggg! They have shaft rpm info – but with the belt slipping in the primary – it looks like its getting to what they are after.
Its really hard on the race drivers – the thing is so bloody fast and with all the jumps – it’s a full time job just to hang on. I liked the way they rode.
It trenched easy – but must have hooked up somehow – as they were first up the loooong hill. The competition was Haden and the Polaris who is a good mid to ¼ front runners on the factory circuit. The only place he (Haden) could get by was the flatter section where his Doo attacked the terrain with ease.
So other than the twitching and clutch - the sled looked great. When the races weren’t on - I just kind of sat way out of the way and starred at the race sled. It has all that stuff on it. I’ve said it before – they just need to figure it out and seeing it – that’s all they need to do – its looks sooooo good and wants to go.
Then….I got to drive the new consumer Nytro – don’t get me wrong – I could ride that thing for a week straight – but I did feel what I saw in the race sled immediately. The guide asked me after – so I told him – he said it’s a high performance sled, that why… oh well ..can’t argue with a pro.
As a final note – I got to drive the Apex – the white one. I’m at a loss for words – that is the sled for anybody looking for a high performance trail sled. Kind of hung back a bit like I did on the Nytro to give it a good rip…. Attacked a burm sideways so it world force the ski up and go off balance – the sled gave me the confidence to keep it pinned as it ripped along on almost a 45 degree angle-. It just did what I told it to, it felt soooo good riding it. It wakes up all your senses including hearing.
And the sound – wow – the next best thing is standing 200 feet away from an F1 outboard race boat going by at WOT, but quieter. That – is the best sled in its class in the world at this time – period!
SledFreak
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Cool writeup.... What do you currently ride?
Yes – I was fortunate to see the thing live. Looked slick in real life.
What do I ride…..well…..I live in the banana belt and this was the only year the locals didn’t play golf all winter. However…I left my sled up north (no trail pass) as we spent this winter prepping the house to sell. I kept the 99 Phazer and sold off the SXR’s we had ( before we decided to move) …. do to lack of use here. Got to ride a 440 MXZX last winter for awhile as well.
It just happens we are moving to Port Carling area so I’m going to have to upgrade to an Apex for sure. The location will justify the monster, the trail crosses our lake. I see you have one - where do you ride?
Oh…..a 700 Grizzly won the ATV rough challenge on the weekend as well.
What do I ride…..well…..I live in the banana belt and this was the only year the locals didn’t play golf all winter. However…I left my sled up north (no trail pass) as we spent this winter prepping the house to sell. I kept the 99 Phazer and sold off the SXR’s we had ( before we decided to move) …. do to lack of use here. Got to ride a 440 MXZX last winter for awhile as well.
It just happens we are moving to Port Carling area so I’m going to have to upgrade to an Apex for sure. The location will justify the monster, the trail crosses our lake. I see you have one - where do you ride?
Oh…..a 700 Grizzly won the ATV rough challenge on the weekend as well.
SledFreak
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I live in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. and ride in mostly Northern Ontario. Yes, the Grizzly rocks, I love mine.
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RJH, these must be the sleds you are talking about. I took some photos at Horseshoe Valley this weekend. Great racing and weather.
I took these photos before they put them in the trailer after the race.
Walking back to the pits after leaving the sled. Never did find out what happened.
Going for the rescue.
Kids race. This is some more of the track and the hill behind the lift is the one RJH speaks of.
A second place and an unknown DNF in the final. We won the heat race.
I took these photos before they put them in the trailer after the race.
Walking back to the pits after leaving the sled. Never did find out what happened.
Going for the rescue.
Kids race. This is some more of the track and the hill behind the lift is the one RJH speaks of.
A second place and an unknown DNF in the final. We won the heat race.
I missed Sat (except pro open final) racing and practice.
Did you notice the 3rd sled that they worked on inside all weekend - and when it came out it was uncover 100%.
Is that your family member in the kids class - and results?
The vintage class was cool - Ken had expected me to come out on an old SRX, he said! I have an 1980 hmmmmmm.
Did you notice the 3rd sled that they worked on inside all weekend - and when it came out it was uncover 100%.
Is that your family member in the kids class - and results?
The vintage class was cool - Ken had expected me to come out on an old SRX, he said! I have an 1980 hmmmmmm.
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RJH, Yes I was looking at that third sled. I thought it was just a back up sled, but maybe it wasn't.
No family members racing in the kids class. I do have a friend who was there with his team. His son races and so does he. He is in the Sport Veteran class 30-39. #514, John ended the season in 5th place overall with 136 points. His son is Zachary #810 ended the season 4th with 333 points. He races in the Novice class 8-10 300cc. They both race in other classes but are a litte lower in the standings in them.They both race DOOs.
Team is called Peel Racing. They do it for the fun.
http://www.snowcross.com/pdfs/2008CSRA- ... ndings.pdf
The vintage class was really neat to watch. I loved the sound of that old Merc Snowtwister.
No family members racing in the kids class. I do have a friend who was there with his team. His son races and so does he. He is in the Sport Veteran class 30-39. #514, John ended the season in 5th place overall with 136 points. His son is Zachary #810 ended the season 4th with 333 points. He races in the Novice class 8-10 300cc. They both race in other classes but are a litte lower in the standings in them.They both race DOOs.
Team is called Peel Racing. They do it for the fun.
http://www.snowcross.com/pdfs/2008CSRA- ... ndings.pdf
The vintage class was really neat to watch. I loved the sound of that old Merc Snowtwister.
sg35
Extreme
RJH, i happened to catch the rock maple race in new york a couple weekends ago and taylor was leading pretty much every heat and the something happened to the sled in every one of them. he had a full up hill straight away lead on those guys and came off a big down hill jump and the sled just quit, happened a couple times throughout the weekend. i will say the sled sounds really cool and was impressive...when it was running for him.
Timeline said:
ya -actually that was pretty bad - the merc sound.....you should hear one thats tuned and clutched right. You would not be able to stand beside it without ear plugs. The thing should have put out a 20' rooster tail and lapped the field! So sad.
My old buddy - the late ...Bud Lee ran them with factory (Toronto) Kohler engines. You didn't have to turn your head to see who it was.
I understand the Yamaha's broke on Sat as well in On.
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RJH said:
It just sounded alot different then all the other old girls. I have only seen those a few times. Probably never to the tune you have. As far as tuned and clutching, no not that sled. He's just keeping it running and trying to stay on the seat.
You are right Timeline…..Phil M a new guy on this site once said to me - you guys had fun back in the day – but they really weren’t that fast. He’s a great guy – I could only smile when he said that.
We had 650’s but they banned them as too many were being killed or maimed. The 440’s killed several racers as well. The 440’s had about 100 HP but only a very tiny power band compared today’s 440’s race sleds. Cluthing was very critical.
A lot of us see the old vintage sleds run and figure that’s how fast they must have been then. I can assure you that Merc should have lapped that field once if not twice.
Anyway –that’s off topic –sorry.
We had 650’s but they banned them as too many were being killed or maimed. The 440’s killed several racers as well. The 440’s had about 100 HP but only a very tiny power band compared today’s 440’s race sleds. Cluthing was very critical.
A lot of us see the old vintage sleds run and figure that’s how fast they must have been then. I can assure you that Merc should have lapped that field once if not twice.
Anyway –that’s off topic –sorry.
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RJH when I put my cursor on that top picture your name comes up. Is that you winning that race?
That oval is where that sled feels right at home. That snowcross track on the weekend must be hard on the back.
That oval is where that sled feels right at home. That snowcross track on the weekend must be hard on the back.
Vmax4
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I have a bunch of pics posted under a yellowstone thread on here of the factory race sleds. They sat outside day after day for everyone to paw over and drool over. Lots of pics. Also talked to Taylor. Great team!!!!
On the vintage side, I have a 1973 Yamaha SR433C and 1973 Alouette Super 340. Both are a lot of fun, and on the track would and do sure make you think how fast they really are. They are listed on my website if anyone is interested in checking them out.
On the vintage side, I have a 1973 Yamaha SR433C and 1973 Alouette Super 340. Both are a lot of fun, and on the track would and do sure make you think how fast they really are. They are listed on my website if anyone is interested in checking them out.
Timeline said:
Yes Timeline – that was me 1976 – in 340 pro – at Peterborough –we won by a good margin both days. Yvonn crashed me in the 440 final Sat in about 2nd or 3rd. – But…..they presented us with the first ever Jim Adema memorial award.
VAMX4
what can I say – wow – what a collection - huge. I can imagine the work involved.
We ran a 440 and 650 speed boat like you have in 73. We were only successful on banked ovals with it. The 650 went like a bullet after we added 3 head gaskets.
