All I did was ask a friend if ever went snowmobiling. I thought he had a snowmobile and I was going to see about taking a ride with him. After all, I've never been on a snowmobile in my life.
So what's he do? He promptly gives me his old 88 Yamaha SRV 540 snowmobile! Delivered today.
He was finding this amusing, realizing that really and truly, I have never been on one. Ever. Heck, I'd never even sat on one.
Got it started, rode it around my yard some. Steering in the grass is, um, interesting. Steers like a motorized toboggan. Maybe it's better with snow.
Wee!!!!
"Free" and "Got it started" == Major Score. And it's snowing here.
foxtrapper wrote:
So what's he do? He promptly gives me his old 88 Yamaha SRV 540 snowmobile! Delivered today.
Your friend rocks. What I would do for a free, properly running snowmobile of any sort (in this case, nothing, as it was free).
foxtrapper wrote:
Steering in the grass is, um, interesting. Steers like a motorized toboggan. Maybe it's better with snow.
BTDT
It'll steer perfectly in the snow, just like it belongs there.
Those are cool sleds.
I wish I had a snowmobile with all the snow dropping around here.
if it doesn't turn well, check the carbides on the bottom of the ski's
if they are worn or missing, you won't turn. my 90 Skidoo MX LT (163" track) could turn around in 5' circles with throttle and good carbides.
Your buddy is looking for someone to ride with.
Pictures of this beast!
Drag 17 sleds behind it, jump a highway overpass and then drive it across open water just to see how that works. Best kind of snowmobile = free snowmobile.
Leave plenty of room to turn.
Yea, about those. What are they? I've got some things that look like that in a box. I'm guessing they go on the skis and help with directional control?
It doesn't help for my learning that the friend who gave me the snowmobile is deaf and I'm still learning ASL. Conversations aren't exactly in depth.
Grtechguy wrote:
if it doesn't turn well, check the carbides on the bottom of the ski's
if they are worn or missing, you won't turn. my 90 Skidoo MX LT (163" track) could turn around in 5' circles with throttle and good carbides.
Be extremely cautious it will try to kill you at every oportunity. I too mentioned that a snowmobile could be handy at the hunting camp in the winter. Within 15 minutes I have a free 1976 El Tigre 440. It starts right up and seems perfect. I then find out that it likes to get stuck going up hills and slide into trees backwards when trying to get it unstuck. It also enjoys slowing down when trying to get from shore to the solid ice. This results in wrestling with it knee deep in muddy water and chunks of ice. The brake also gets in on the fun by working perfectly ,until something is in front of you that the machine will fit under but I will not, it is time to jump or get peeled off. The brake then works perfectly. I have never known any piece of metal to have so much soul. I have given it back to the "friend" that gave it to me. Be careful.
it is snowing right now in Cinci...wait a day and youll have powdery winter snowmobile fun in Md
Well that was fun. 2" of snow, which is enough to rationalize not going to work and riding the snowmobile in circles around the back yard enough to make myself dizzy and sick. Most fun I've had in the cold with a motor! Wee!
Now I know where those carbide thingies go, right down the center of the skies. Only took me a few tries to get them on right. Didn't see the secret hole in the front of the ski that it slips into. Did you know that if you try hard, you can mount them in several different wrong ways? Wrong ways that create interesting handling. Wrong way one has the snowmobile turning right constantly. Wrong way two has it acting like a snowplow.
Fun beastie. All the stability of a 3 wheeler. As in nearly none. Didn't quite roll it, but I came close a few times. About the same handling.
Something is off now. Probably just kicked up some crud into the main jet. It idles fine, but breaks up badly as I rev it. Started the problem gently, slowly got worse. What the heck, I was getting nauseous from riding laps in the back field. So I put it away to fix another day.
There has got to be a better way of getting one out of the shed. Or into it. One direction or the other you get to drag it backwards, and that's not fun. May have to make a shed with doors on both ends, just so I can shoot through with the snowmobile.
They really need a 101 web site for snowmobile novices. Or a book like snowmobiles for dummies.
to turn at speed, hang off the side you want to go, THEN turn the bars
Yepp, lean into a turn like you would on a bike, but more so. AND, remember, you don't counter steer a snowmobile.
mistanfo wrote:
AND, remember, you don't counter steer a snowmobile.
That's news to me.
When you're sideways going through a turn under power, you had better.
Trick to turning is LEAN into it, like a Personal Watercraft. Extremely similar,including the braking part. Google Snowmobile Fanatics forum for more info. Or watch someone ride one on YouTube. I see major Hoonage in your future.
2" of snow isn't enough to lean, but you'll get it.
My buddy that I ride motorcycles with is always after me to go with him, he's got some high performance stuff. "Dude, if you like blistering the mountain roads on a bike, you'll love this."
Nah, got enough vices....
Dan
Hoonage is not a vice, it is a virtue. This is the stuff true enlightenment is made of.
This hauler is drive on and drive off, no more sore back.
http://www.bangshift.com/blog/Caption-this-Photo-The-Greatest-Snowmobile-Hauler-Ever.html
A belated deeper snow update.
Yes, they do work much better in deeper snow! We had about 12 inches and I got to go riding in it for a few hours. Man is that fun! Didn't get to do a whole lot, but what I did was an absolute blast.
Learned the fun of getting stuck in a rose bush. Learned the fun of getting unstuck from a rose bush. Great fun trying to untie that pricker thing from around the back of the skies.
Learned I really wish it had reverse. At the end of the day, when you're dead tired, trying to drag it backwards into the shed is just not fun. I have got to fix this situation with a turntable or something.
Learned that going across a steep slope is, well, entertaining.
Learned that hang off and lean means really hang off. As in completely off. No little bit of seat squirming like on a bike, but way off the side.
Learned that at 150 lbs I'm not heavy enough to really impress the machine with my weight anyhow.
Learned that when you flip over and go rolling down the hill, you tend to go further, which is a good thing.
Learned that off camber bumps in turns can make life real interesting.
Learned I love heated handgrips. Gott get a set on the street bike.
I even managed to discover a wonderfully "practical" use of the snowmobile. Packing snow for sled runs for my son. The snow was all powdery, so his runner sled wasn't doing much except getting stuck on the hill. So I ran the snowmobile up and down the hill a few times for him creating a fast trail for him. He loved it. Made a great toboggan track too, keeping that in the channel by and large.
Colour me green, sounds like you're getting your moneys worth 
I wasn't kidding when I said hang-off 
Experience is the best teacher, enjoy!
