The disease continues - more bikes followed me home this weekend

There are 2 sleds, an 850 Renegade (mine) and an 850 Freeride (my Son's).

The Renegade is a "Trail" sled, made for groomed trails for the most part - its cross over capability is limited. Its bloody fast though and handles really nice on the trails.

The Free Ride is a true Cross-Over sled, does Off-trail very well and On-trail reasonably well too. It has adjustable ski stance so you can make it narrower for off trail or wider for on trail, it also has much deeper lugs on the track for deeper snow. Gearing and clutching is also suited to deep snow riding much more than the Renegade. The Freeride has a higher handle-bar riser as well, makes standing up while riding much easier which is the preferred approach on these off trail sleds. The hoop you see on the centre of the Freeride's handlebars is a "rainbow " handle, allows the rider to use one hand on it if need be to make it easier to pull the Sled over on its side while doing deep snow maneuvers.

Ive tried to do the off trail thing, but I just fall off. Im not as agile and I dont heal as fast as I used to, so Ive stopped trying to keep up.

For anyone not familiar with these beasts, they are built by SKI-DOO (BRP - Bombardier Recreational Products), 850cc parallel twin, 2 stroke, 165hp, CV belt drive clutches, fully EPA emissions compliant and loads of fun.

He's a way better rider than me and spends his time Off Trail only, and im ON Trail only. He also runs an MBRP Mountain Can "silencer" on his sled which saves a bit of weight and makes a lot more noise.

here he is:




Here they are on the lake at the end of my road, Im a flat-lander, so no exciting video of me just a pic of me doing my best Darth Vader impression.

 

It is almost that time of year...


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Red, trellis frame...what model of Ducati is that??

 

Thats a VERY RARE sled, a "Redline Revolt"

before I was a bike collector/restorer, I was big into vintage & classic snowmobiles, had over 20 of them and the Redline Revolt is one rare beast, one I never had.

 

Here’s a pic of my “production” Redline alongside my “side-shock” preproduction prototype...


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Wow, incredible. I remember your sleds (and pics) form some of the forums I used to be on years ago. Very cool indeed.

here are a few of my vintage sleds, I sold them all about 5 years ago. the Thunderjet was the last to go

 

Nice collection right there. But, this is a motorcycle forum so we might upset some of the two wheeled members. Here’s a pic of my VF......
And here’s a pic of what I dragged home in late July...


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stray- thanks! I'm more than well versed in the sled world, managed a Polaris dealership in the early-mid-90s, lots of trail pounding and ice racing throughout northern WI & the U.P., then got addicted to mountain riding and back country riding in 2000 & pretty much gave up trail riding completely at that point. Built several mod mountain sleds from trail sled chassis, then Rev Summits, and my last was an '18 RMK. Unreal how the technology has evolved and what you can buy off the showroom floor to take you into places probably shouldn't be that full mod custom builds from 12 years prior had no chance of reaching. The 2018 made me acknowledge that my body has too many miles on it and the sled was far too capable for me to continue to risk life and limb, so I've retired the skis and tracks for good.

Interesting to see that Revolt, rare bird indeed. Saw a Blade at a swap meet several years back, definite time capsules! That MV is pure sex appeal, even today.

Thanks for the detour, now back to our VF/VFR nostalgia time!

 

I traveled for 7 hours round trip to buy a Yamaha MT01 yesterday and came home empty handed. Seller miss-represented the bike. I had posted a Wanted Ad that he replied to, and he claimed the bike to be immaculate, all OEM (one of my requirements) and low mileage.

Guy told me he was selling because his insurance company increased his rates so high (he had only owned the bike since June) -- this "insurance" excuse was bull shit too I would say

Mileage was indeed low, and I'd give the bike a 7.5 out of 10 on cosmetics (he claimed 9 out of ten at least). Photos I saw were very carefully taken it seems to hide some of the issues.

When I got there the throttle was sticking, as it happened it was a shitty aftermarket bar end that was jamming the throttle, because both switch gears and grips had been moved outboard by over an inch (I dint know why immediately but figured it out later). so the rubber and the throttle tube were hanging 1"+ off the ends of the bars.

Rear fender had been chopped off below the Lic plate

Bars were pitted with rust and the bike was very dusty (why is it so hard for people to clean a bike that they want to sell ?)

Battery was fucked, I got the "it will be ok after a good run" line. ummm ok, e very time I hear than line, ALARM BELLS ring

"uh oh", I thought here we go

Sorted the throttle issue (removed the bar end) then I set out for a wee ride around a parking lot, Fucking handlebars would barely move, and when they did they moved suddenly to full lock all at once. I brought the bike back right away, when stationary it took Soooo much effort to move the bars side to side. I said to the guy, "Thats not right, something wrong there". He tried to assure me that " its normal " and his "mechanic and super bike racing friends all looked at the bike and said it was good"....really, here's a tip, find a new mechanic and some new friends that dont want you dead. His excuse then went from "its normal for the MT01, its a 650lb bike" to "its because its been tied down in the trailer for 2 hours" (he suggested we meet part way between our locations)...uuuummm Nooooo !, then it was " it's because the front tire is a bit low on air".

It was about now I figure the grips and switch gear had been moved out to make the leverage on the bars easier. I suspect the head bearings were shagged and he tightened them down too far, trying to mask the issue (?)

Then he says " I didnt tell you it has a power commander, and the the pipes were all gutted, but not to worry it was done by a dealer". he had told me they were all OEM stock....this just keeps getting better and better I think to myself.

All the while the guy's peppering the conversation with " Its the best one out there, you wont find better than this, its as good as they get"

In retrospect its my opinion he suggested we meet part way in travel time so he could create some sort of quid-pro-quo commitment from me so Id feel like I had to buy it since he had traveled for a few hours doing me a favour.

Instead I said "no thanks, Ill give you $100 for your fuel and trouble and im not taking the bike". He was furious, he wife snatched the $100 bill from my hand and my son and I left, happy that I made the right call.

Shysters are everywhere guys . I was born at night, but it wasn't last night. And my name is Billy Sugar, not Silly Bugger.

 

Good call, straycat!! I don't think I'd have been so generous, but good on you.

 

Yeah, right choice. I wouldn't have gave him shit though due to the misrepresentation.

I had a similar situation recently on a VFR (but not as bad). I was so sure it was THE BIKE that I brought the Suburban and trailer. I told him I wish I would have ridden like I planned to, at least something positive would have happened. He just stared at me blankly.

Never dropped = dropped on both sides.

WTF people?

 

Yes good call.... the last bike I bought ( 86 fz750 ) I immediately popped the gas cap and looked inside with my mini flashlight....guy was a little upset. Said , "hey man, gas is gas" WHAAAAAT?
Buyer Beware.......