c/atv-snowmobile-chat

That one trick with the idle screw saved my trip last weekend

Was out on the trails near Big Bear and my sled kept dying every time I let off the throttle. Tried cleaning the carb, checking the fuel line, nothing worked. Then this old guy rolls up on a beat up Polaris and tells me to just turn the idle screw a half turn. Fixed it in 30 seconds and I got another 4 hours of riding in. Anyone else ever had a simple carb adjustment save their whole day?

Talked to a trapper about winter track maintenance

I was out riding last weekend near Grand Rapids and stopped to chat with this old guy running a trap line on a beat-up 2001 Polaris. He told me he never replaces his track until he sees cords showing because he says extra weight slows you down in deep snow. Made me wonder if I've been swapping tracks too early on my sled.

Hot take: I used to think stud finders were useless. Now I won't touch a wall without one.

Back when I started riding trails and building my own ramps, I'd just eyeball it and hope I hit a stud. That worked fine for about 2 years until I hung a heavy cargo rack and it ripped clean out of the drywall. I switched to a decent stud finder after that, a basic $25 one from Home Depot. Now I check every time I mount anything, from a winch bracket to a new shelf in the garage. Has anyone else had a project fail because they skipped the basics?

Saw something wild on the trails near Eagle River last weekend

I was riding up near Eagle River last Saturday and noticed this group of guys on vintage sleds from the 80s. They were running old Arctic Cats and Skidoos that looked like they just came off the showroom floor. One of them told me he's been restoring these things for 15 years and only takes them out twice a season. It got me thinking about how much work goes into keeping old machines alive versus just buying something newer. Has anyone else come across a big group of vintage sleds on the trails like that?

Rant: That guy at the gas station who laughed at my worn out track

He pointed at my ripped lugs near Lake George last fall and said I was gonna get stranded before noon, and sure enough I snapped a drive belt 3 miles into the trail because the track slippage cooked it.

Watch out for that mud pit on Trail 6 near Eagle River

I was out riding last Saturday on Trail 6 just north of Eagle River and almost got stuck in a huge mud hole that wasn't there a month ago. It's right after the big oak tree where the trail bends left, maybe 30 feet wide and deep enough to swallow a tire. Three guys on SxSs were already pulled over trying to winch one out when I rolled up. Nobody posted about it on the local FB group yet, so I figured I'd give a heads up here. Have you guys seen any other new sinkholes pop up on that side of the trail system?

Trail near Lake Placid had a frozen creek crossing that almost got me

Went up to Lake Placid last month to ride some snowmobile trails I found on a map. There was this creek crossing marked on the trail map as a shallow ford, but when I got there it was solid ice. Looked thick enough from the bank, so I throttled across. About halfway over I heard this loud crack and the whole thing started flexing under my track. I gunned it and made it to the other side, but my heart was pounding. Turned around to look and saw water bubbling up through the crack I just crossed. Turns out the warm weather had been eating the ice from underneath for days. Nobody else on the trail that morning, so if I had gone through I would have been in serious trouble. Has anyone else hit a crossing that looked safe but wasn't?

That $350 plow mount I cheaped out on cost me double in the end

I figured I could save some cash by grabbing a universal plow mount off Amazon for $150 instead of the OEM one for my Polaris. Fit like garbage from day one, had to drill extra holes and shim the brackets just to get it on. Took it out on a snow-covered trail last January and the whole thing snapped where the mount meets the blade arm. Left me stranded in the middle of a drift for two hours waiting for a buddy with a tow strap. Ended up buying the proper mount from the dealer anyway, plus I had to replace the blade. Anyone else learn this lesson the hard way with aftermarket parts?

Told a guy at the trailhead my Ski-Doo was sputtering and he just pointed at the gas cap vent.

Turns out the vent was plugged and he didn't even say a word, just pointed, and after I cleared it the sled ran perfect, anyone else had a mechanic moment from a complete stranger in the middle of nowhere?

Always thought synthetic oil was a gimmick for ATVs, then I tore down my engine at 500 hours

I bought a 2008 Polaris Sportsman 500 three years ago and ran conventional 10W40 in it because that's what the manual said. Old guy at the dealership in Bozeman kept telling me I was asking for trouble with the high RPMs I was turning. When I finally pulled the top end at 480 hours last month, the cylinder walls had this weird glazing and the rings were stuck in two spots. My buddy runs the exact same machine with synthetic and his internals at 600 hours looked brand new. So I guess that $12 per quart difference actually does something... has anyone else seen a big difference pulling engines apart?

Guy at the trailhead made me rethink my whole clutch setup

Some older fella on a beat-up Summit pointed at my brand new sled and said 'you're gonna burn that belt up in 2 miles with that gearing.' I brushed him off but 3 miles later I was swapping a smoked belt in the parking lot. Anyone else had a random stranger save them from a dumb mistake?

Friend swore by studding his track on a 137 inch sled, I said he was wasting money

My buddy Mark put 192 studs on his 2019 Ski-Doo 850 last fall and kept telling me it was night and day for lake running. I told him he was crazy, that a 137 inch track doesn't need that many studs and it just adds weight and risk. We went out on Lake Mille Lacs in January after a warm spell left the ice patchy. He was hooking up and taking off across glare ice while I was spinning out trying to keep up even with my deeper lug track. I ate crow pretty hard that day. Now I'm ordering a stud kit for my own sled but I'm debating going with 144 instead of 192. Anyone else get told they were wrong about studs and had to admit it later?

Old timer at the gas station told me to run my sled with the choke half pulled on cold starts

Met this guy named Walt at a gas station up near Brainerd last winter. He swore running my Arctic Cat with the choke half open for the first 5 minutes would keep it from bogging down. Tried it on a 10 degree morning and fouled a plug within 3 miles, had to walk back to the truck. Should have stuck with what the manual says, just let it idle and warm up normal. Anyone else get bad advice from a random stranger at a gas station?

PSA: Side-by-side vs tracked ATV in deep snow? Not even close.

Took my buddy's Polaris RZR out to some trails near Duluth last weekend and got stuck three times in two hours. Swapped over to my old '06 Bombardier with tracks and cruised right through the same drifts. Am I missing something or are wheels just useless once the powder gets past 18 inches?

The trails near my cabin went from perfect to wrecked in one season

Last winter, the snowmobile paths around Lakeview were smooth and wide, good for a full day of riding. This year, after the logging company cleared a big section of pines, the same routes are full of deep ruts and broken branches. I counted over twenty spots where you have to slow to a crawl or risk flipping your machine. It took them maybe two months to cut the trees, but it ruined the riding for everyone. Has anyone else seen a local spot get messed up like this by something that wasn't even winter sports related?

Finally got the right carb kit for my old Polaris, cost me about $85 but it starts on the first pull now.

Appreciation post: my buddy's Arctic Cat tried to eat a snowbank in Wyoming

We were out last week and he hit a drift that looked solid but was just powder over a ditch. The whole machine just nosedived and disappeared for a second, leaving just his boots sticking up. Has anyone else had a sled just vanish like that?

Bought a cheap track repair kit that actually held up on a long ride

Picked up a generic brand track repair kit for about $35 before heading out to the trails near Grand Marais. Had a small tear start on a cold morning, slapped the patch on, and it got me through the whole weekend without any issues. Anyone have a go-to brand for these kits or just trust the generic ones?

I was convinced you needed a full windshield on a snowmobile until I saw the stats on rider injuries in deep powder.

Read a study from a trail safety group in Michigan that tracked accidents over three winters. Turns out, in deep, unpacked snow, a tall windshield can actually catch more air and tip you during a high-side roll. The report said riders with short, 10-inch windshields had way fewer upper body injuries in those conditions. Who would have thought less coverage could be safer? Anyone else run a low windshield for off-trail riding?

Shoutout to the guy in the Wyoming parking lot who told me to run my sled bone-dry before summer storage

I thought he was nuts, but after leaving a quarter tank in my old Polaris for three months and dealing with that gummy mess, I finally tried his way this spring and just pulled the cord on a perfectly clean carb.

Riding near Copper Harbor, I noticed everyone's tracks were going the same way on the main trail.

I think going against the flow on that wide, packed section is safer for spotting oncoming riders, even if it feels wrong to break from the group.

I just wasted $150 on a cheap winch for my ATV that broke pulling me out of a ditch near Lake Placid.

Has anyone found a winch under $300 that actually holds up in deep snow?

Finally got my old sled's carb jetting dialed in after a cold morning in Duluth

Everyone keeps saying to just richen the main jet for winter, but that misses the pilot circuit entirely. My '98 Polaris was bogging hard until I went two sizes up on the pilot and adjusted the air screw a half-turn out. Anyone else find the pilot jet is the real key for crisp cold starts?

Update: Found out my '87 Ski-Doo has a top speed that's basically a brisk walk

I was looking through the original owner's manual for my old sled, the one I got from a guy in Bemidji. Buried in the specs on page 23, it says the top speed is 38 mph. I always figured it was slow, but that's barely faster than a kid on a bicycle. I guess that explains why I got passed by a snowshoer last season. Has anyone else been shocked by the official numbers on their old machine?

Update: Got stuck in a drift up near Eagle River last season, had to get pulled out by a guy on a Polaris. Changed how I pack my gear now.