OSM USA 6.1 Fall 2015

SNOWMOBILING’S BIGGEST MAGAZINE

www.osmmag.com fb.com/onsnowmagazine

+ GET SCHOOLED + FUTURE SLEDS +

LATEST INSIGHTS ON THE 2016 SLEDS TECHNOLOGY FOR TOMORROW

ACES HIGH XLT HONEY TRAIL SIDE SHEPHERD’S PIE LEVI’S WINTERRUPTION

VOL 6 • NO 1 • $ 5.95

PRESEASON DISPLAY UNTIL OCT 31, 2015

BUYER’S GUIDE

2016 COLLECTION CROSSOVER - PERFORMANCE - RACE

adrenaline

excursion

team fx

backshift pro

tactic x

cold cross x

mission x

boost

cold cross race replica

recoil

helix

squadron

turbo

MOD MANIA

come visit the fxr corporate booth at haydays for the reveal of our

fxr factory x race edition short track sled builds

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onsnow CLICKED

White Plunge An overburden meadow of fresh creates an early January playground.

Location: Wasatch Mountains Rider: Someone with Talent Photographer: Todd Williams

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ON SNOW MAGAZINE • VOL 6 • ISSUE 1

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

CLICKED

Numbed The frigid chill of mid January transforms fluid bodies of water into white sheets of speed.

Location: Simcoe Lake, Ontario Rider: Rich Kehoe Photographer: Matt Clark

contents.

SUMMER SCHOOL

62

42 MOD MANIA

FEATURES 42 20 58 30 62

MOD MANIA FIVE SLEDS AND ONE MAN’S PASSION TO BRING THE MOD BACK TO THE TRAIL

SCENE IT?

FUTURE TENSE

THE NORTH BAY SNOWMOBILE SPEED RUNS (NBSSR)

FROM THE MIND OF CHARLES BOMBARDIER

TIME MACHINES

SUMMER SCHOOL

YAMAHA SRX 440

WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT THE 2016 SLEDS AFTER THE SNOW WAS GONE

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PRESEASON BUYER’S GUIDE

30 TIME MACHINES

26

58 20

Scene It?

COLUMNS 12 DRIFTS RICHARD KEHOE

28 WINGING IT WITH LEVI LEVI LAVALLEE

88 FLOAT BOWL PAT BOURGEOIS

90 LAST GASP

FUTURE TENSE

DEPARTMENTS 14 18 24 26 34 36 38 40 78 86

INDUSTRY NEWS WORD SEARCH HONEY OF THE MONTH TAKE 5 MUFF OF THE MONTH ROOTS FEEDBACK AND RANTS LAWN ORNAMENTS TEARDOWN FIVE MINUTES WITH…

VOLUME 6 NUMBER 1

FAST CYLINDER REPAIR SERVICE NiCom® Plated

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FOR ADVERTISING INQUIRIES CONTACT 1-888-661-7469 President & Publisher: Richard Kehoe Editorial Director: Pat Bourgeois Copy Editor: Rick Bloye

Lubricated Piston Skirt Coating $34.00 Plated Big Bore Kitj Core Exchanges Endorsed by Sledhead Racing/

Art Director: Darryl Aspin

Full Service Nikisil Cylinder Services

General Manager: Michael Blakoe

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Advertising Sales: 1-888-661-7469 Sr. Manager Sales & Marketing: Matt Clark Sales & Marketing Coordinator: Cody Speares Administrative Assistant: Sarah Day Photographers: Todd Williams, Brett Moist, Aaron Belford, Gracey Dove, Joe Wiegele, Lissa Marsolek, Steve Hamilton, CJ Ramstad Archives, Jason MacDonald Contributing Writers: Levi LaVallee, Jason MacDonald, Matt Clark, Justin York, Tyler Swarm, Suzy Stenoff, Darren Desautels, Ross Antworth, Dale Cormican Subscriptions 1-888-661-7469 or info@osmmag.com

OSM is published five times a year by OSM Publishing Ltd. Office address and undelivered copies and change of address notice is: PO Box 716, Elk River, MN 55330. Telephone (888) 661-7469.

Head office address is PO Box 551, 27083 Kennedy Road Willow Beach, ON L0E 1S0, Canada. Telephone 1-888-661-7469. Printed in Canada by LoweMartin Group, Dollco Division. • Copyright 2014 OSM Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. Subscription rates for magazine $19.00 per year, $29.00 for 2 years. $37.00 for 3 years.

ON SNOW MAGAZINE • Billet Wheels • Billet Wheels with replaceable rubber • Snowflap Savers

• Billet pull cord handles and choke levers • Gas Caps • Custom Risers

• Offset and re-location axles • Big Wheel Kits • Billet grills and Snowflap plates

905-830-1636 www.tricked-toys.com • info@tricked-toys.com 10

ON SNOW MAGAZINE • VOL 6 • ISSUE 1

PO Box 716 Elk River, MN 55330 Tel: (888) 661-7469

HEAD OFFICE PO Box 551, 27083 Kennedy Road Willow Beach, ON L0E 1S0, Canada toll-free ph: 888-661-7469 toll-free fax: 888-680-7469 email: info@osmmag.com www.osmmag.com

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

ALTITUDE ADAPTATION

® TWENTY16 I SR R VIPER M-TX 141 SE 40” WIDTH I 2.25” LUG UG I FOX FOX FLOAT FLO LOAT AT 3 FRONT FRO RONT SHOCKS A NEW NEW BACKCOUNTRY BACKCOUNTRY CARNIVORE CARNIVORE

/// YAMAHA-SNOWMOBILES.COM © 2015 Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. All rights reserved. Prototype model shown.

Final specifications may vary. Always wear an approved helmet, eye protection and protective clothing.

Always ride within your capabilities, allowing time and distance for maneuvering, and respect others around you. Know the conditions. Observe all state and local laws. Don’t drink and ride.

osmmag.com

onsnow Richard Kehoe

DRIFTS

SMELL THE FRESH FALL AIR!

Y

ou can already smell the fresh fall air, and the garage is now becoming more of a meeting place. We’re beginning to schedule our preseason sled events, which means only one thing; snowmobiling is right around the corner.

My first job in the shop this fall is to find out if my new 120 sled is really as fast as claimed. If so, I might have to slow it down a little for my little guy. I know I’m more excited about the Briggs kit then my kids are, but I share the excitement with the guys in the shop for bar-to-bar 120

racing that we as adults will be competing in under the lights in the office parking lot Tuesday nights this winter.

Before the snow flies and 120 racing starts up, we will be getting our snowmobile addiction in by attending some events this fall such as; the grass drags and swap meets in Princeton, MN, the Excell Raceway in Bouckville, New York, and of course Haydays! There are many events that are worth checking out this fall, like the Ontario Watercross Circuit. And if you need products or accessories, or are looking to plan

destination trips for this winter you should visit the World’s Largest Snowmobile and ATV Show, The 28th Annual Toronto International Snowmobile, ATV & Powersports Show this October 23-25 at the International Centre.

This makes Issue Volume 6, Number 1, and we’re thrilled to keep you on your toes and inform you of what’s new and improved on the shelves in the sled industry.

We live and breath the sport, and I hope to see you out on the trails this season! ✪

THE LEADER

IN RECONDITIONED ENGINES, PARTS AND ACCESSORIES

MOST COMPLETE INVENTORY IN NORTH AMERICA CYLINDER REPLATING

ENGINE AND CRANKSHAFT REBUILDING CVT PULLEYS, PISTONS, GASKETS AND MORE! 9701 S, 58th st., Franklin, Wisconsin, 53132-9107

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Fax : 1 (866) 418-4786

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TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

PUSH HARDER

DAYCO APP Find parts faster using state-of-the-art technology. Look up your sledâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s belt with the Dayco App. The app includes belt specs, part numbers, a Where to Buy feature and training.

Download the free mobile app at daycoapp.com

PROUDLY BUILTT ON THE SAME ME SOIL SOI YOU RIDE RID ON

What Belt are you? Download the app to find out!

daycoproducts.com dayc

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MINNESOTA BANS NS SNOW BIKES FROM TRAILS In a move that is a bit puzzling, as the sport looks to gain new riders and d state and provincial associations lookk to garner more members, we get word d that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, (DNR) along with the Minnesota United Snowmobilers Association, (MnUSA) pushed through legislation last winter that effectively bans track and ski converted ATVs, side-bysides, and the increasingly popular snow bike conversions, from the 22,000 miles of trails in the state. While the move was likely done with safety in mind, by keeping larger vehicles such as side-by-sides off the often-narrow trails, the inclusion of snow bikes is a bit puzzling. With their popularity soaring (not to mention Minnesota based Polaris Industries’ recent purchase of leading snow bike conversion maker Timbersled, snow bikes seem to be a logical avenue to attract new and younger riders to the sport.

S

NEW

BAILEY MOTORSPORTS GARNERS TOP CSRA HONORS It was a great season for the Bailey Motorsports Team in Canadian Snowcross Racing Association (CSRA) competition. At the year-end awards banquet, the crew was named the 2015 CSRA Team of the Year, and to go with it, Bailey’s racers garnered six more awards including top honors in Sport Vet Class by Adam Goodale. Sturant Hunt grabbed a second in Pro Vet and Masters, Stale Eggen earned a third place trophy in Pro Open, and Ryan Hunt was given a third place year-end trophy as well in Sport 500. Congrats to Bailey Motorsports and all the teams on the CSRA tour.

RIDE FREE IN MAINE Can we get a golf clap for Maine State Representative Roland Martin and leaders of the state association for helping to push through legislation that allows registered Canadian sledders to ride in the “Vacationland” state without having to register their sleds there. Maine already allows riders from border states Vermont and New Hampshire to roam their trails for up to three consecutive days without a Maine registration. Now those same rules apply to snowmobilers from New Brunswick and Quebec. Kudos to the Maine Snowmobile Association for thinking big picture.

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TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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NEW

ARCTIC CAT COUNTER SUES BRP

Behind the shiny glass doors at the corporate headquarters of all the big manufacturers, an expensive game of patent infringement volleyball is played daily in an effort to oneup the competition. Some of you will remember BRP (Ski-Doo) filed suit against Arctic Cat nearly four years ago, claiming Cat had infringed on six patents that BRP designed back in 2003. That suit centers around the position of the driver in relationship to the vehicle, and has been a behind-closed-doors mudslinging match since first being filed. Now, Arctic Cat has turned the tables, slapping BRP with their own patent infringement suit, this one dealing with off-throttle assisted steering technology in personal watercraft. Even though Arctic Cat is out of the PWC business, the suit claims BRP began to transition to the Arctic Cat technology after failing to execute their own system. Digging deeper into the details, it turns out Arctic Cat had originally shared the technology with BRP back in 1999, but they (BRP) said they weren’t interested, after getting a full demonstration of its capabilities from Arctic Cat. It was only recently that Arctic Cat learned BRP had in fact adopted it.

OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC PREDICT SNOW AND COLD As any good snowmobiler will tell you, “If you didn’t like last winter, just wait till this one.” Yes, we are the eternal optimists when it comes to winter, and if the Old Farmer’s Almanac has any say on this winter’s white delight, things are looking good. The word is super cold and a slew of snow for much of the country, even in places that usually don’t’ see too much of either.

ENVIRONMENTALIST COMPLAIN SOLAR FARM IS TOO GREEN For years, the Enviro-Greens have been screaming and complaining about our reliance on fossil fuels for energy generation. Yet, when Six Flags Great Adventure Park in Jackson, New Jersey announced plans to install a 90-acre solar farm to generate a significant amount of power for the popular amusement park, the environmental zealots didn’t like it. The creation of the solar farm, which requires significant space to generate the energy required, necessitated the cutting down of several trees to clear space for the solar panels. In total, about 19,000 trees would need to be removed, and according to studies done prior to the announced plan, the solar facility would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 24-times what the undisturbed forest would be capable of removing on its own. What’s more, the park also pledged to replant nearly 26,000 trees upon the projects completion.

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TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

osmmag.com

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NEW

THE SHOW IS COMING! THE 28th ANNUAL TORONTO INTERNATIONAL SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW Is coming and it’s filling up fast! The usual aftermarket vendors are excited for its upcoming arrival, as are the multiple participating OEM’s like Polaris and Arctic Cat, and Tourism Boards like the Ontario Tourism Travel Pavilion. Don’t miss it OCT. 23rd through 25th at the International Centre. www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

WORD SEARCH

NEED SOME TIME ALONE IN YOUR THINKING ROOM? HAVE A SEAT ON THE THRONE AND GIVE IT A GO.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

A C F Y C G L N L U D C A Y T W S W I B S S A L I R F Q C F M B T A V U O N Y R U J X L R O A G I E L T N S A C G S G T L W Z B

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I P C E N A G I S T T P E N M O R B K Y C H A R G T U C E A U I H I C F Z C T O S G F N Z T N U O C S J S R M F Y S F A S P Y L C R M X A W T X A C O U N S N M

T L R X E S E S U S B Z R G H T

U R I U A S T I M O G H R U F N T O T T O S L M E C O S O R L B D D R X A A D E M I D I Q F Y S

O S C Q M S A X V C R J B N U A

N A P O L L O Z D K W M P I K P

C D H T E L E C T R A L Q V Z D

POLARIS (A-I) ATX Apollo Assault AXYS Centurion Charger Classic Touring Cobra Colt Cross Country Custom Cutlass Dragon Electra Frontier FS FST Galaxy Gemini IQ Indy

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

COMP insulated GEAR

A performance blend of race-inspired design and all-weather comfort. Comp Insulated begins with the appearance of the RR collection and adds an extreme condition insulation package and multiple oversized zip-vents. Race ready looks with an endurance mentality, the Comp Insulated is for those who approach trails with a healthy competitive streak. Comes in jacket, bibs and gloves in mens, womens and youth sizes.

<

SIX COLORWAYS AVAILABLE

www.arctiva.com

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SCENE IT? ON SN

ACCE

OW M

SS

THE NORTH BAY SNOWMOBILE SPEED RUNS (NBSSR) NBSSR)

AGAZ

INE

The crew of OSM made our way to Gravenhurst, Ontario, for the North Bay Snowmobile Speed Runs (NBSSR) in search of fast sleds and good times. Needless to say we found both!

Here are a few snapshots of the action and results. The numbers on the clock are MPH’s boys, and those were done in 1320 feet. For complete details, results, and how to get in on the action, head over to the NBSSR website: www.nbssr.com.

Hoods Up Club. Just admiring the beauty of it all.

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TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

Just talking a little strategy over here.

That’s one fast Indy!

When you walk by us with a copy of OSM in your hand, we’re gunna take you picture!

This was all our camera could catch of the Cat.

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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Dave Marshall of Hurricane Performance (second from the right) laid down a new record of 187.3 only to beat it on the next run time at 187.9. Boom!

Yup that is fast.

Michael Swartz has got one fast Apex!

Oh you KNOW it’s fast.

Nothing to see here, just checking my emails.

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TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

SCOTT LCG SNOW CROSS GOGGLE

ENHANCE YOUR PERSPECTIVE NO SHORTCUTS Stay out in the unexpected and prepare for any sort of ride with the simple and versatile SCOTT LCG Snow Cross goggle featuring interchangeable lenses. Sometimes, turning back isn’t an option but with the right gear you can keep on the throttle.

SCOTT GOGGLES | MADE IN THE USA | SCOTT-SPORTS.COM © SCOTT SPORTS SA 2015 | Photo: arcticfilmcrew.com

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Honey of the month

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TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

Honey of the Month

NAME: COLOR:

1993 Polaris XLT

________________________________________________________

Black and Purple _______________________________________________________

3-cylinders, 38-inch ski stance; 7.75-inches of rear travel DIMENSIONS: 580cc; __________________________________________________ MRSP:

XLT - $5499; XLT SKS - $5,699; XLT Special - $5,799 ________________________________________________________

winter of 1991, Roseau, Minnesota BIRTH DATE: Late __________________________________________________ AMBITIONS:

___________________________________________________ To play the encore role to the Indy 500 and have a crank

survive beyond 5,000 miles. _______________________________________________________________ NICKNAMES:

Xtra Lettuce & Tomato, Baby Triple, Twisted Triple ___________________________________________________

TURN-ONS:

____________________________________________________ A nice set of trailing arms.

IF YOU WEREN’T HONEY OF THE MONTH, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING?:

Looking dead sexy alongside a garage without a cover. _______________________________________________________________ Triple SLP pipes, 40mm Mikunis, and a Hot Seat clutch kit.

ULTIMATE FANTASY: _____________________________________________ in a row makes ‘em go…that was the mantra for Polaris during the late 1980s DARK SECRETS: Three ________________________________________________ and early 1990s. With the racing success of their Starfire triple engines and subsequent “shocking” consumer _______________________________________________________________ sleds such as the Indy 600 triple, which later would become the Indy 650 and then the fuel injected RXL, _______________________________________________________________ Polaris was known for big and bold, triple cylinder power. By 1991, Polaris was enjoying homerun type success _______________________________________________________________ with a collection of sleds that included the Indy Trail, Indy 400, Indy 500 and of course the triple 650. The _______________________________________________________________ Indy 500 had become an instant success, as it provided a trail performance sled with more gusto than the _______________________________________________________________ 400, but with less weight than the 650. Almost as soon as the Indy 500 hit the snow, Polaris and Fuji began _______________________________________________________________ development on the XLT, a lightweight, monoblock triple cylinder that would offer the perfect stepping stone _______________________________________________________________ between the Indy 500 and the big 650, with a smooth running triple that Polaris faithful wanted, without _______________________________________________________________ the weight penalty. The success of the XLT was nothing short of “off the charts”. By 1995, Polaris was _______________________________________________________________ producing nearly 25,000 XLT models alone, and while we don’t have accurate counts to measure by, the XLT _______________________________________________________________ is most certainly one of the best selling snowmobiles of all time. The success of the triple prompted everyone _______________________________________________________________ else to follow suit with bigger and better three cylinder offerings of their own, but none of them experienced _______________________________________________________________ the success of the XLT. Even Polaris tried to recreate the XLT magic with the 100cc bigger Ultra, but it was _______________________________________________________________ plagued with problems. Ironically, Polaris introduced the big bore 700 twin not long after, putting the final nail _______________________________________________________________ in the triple cylinder coffin, and ending the three in a row decade of decadence and success. _______________________________________________________________ TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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“ACE”

Not only is the Ace deemed to have trump power in the classic 52-card deck, but it seems the singular name holds plenty of power in the world of powersports too. As we kick-off another season of OSM, here are five reasons why it’s always good to have an Ace in your deck.

SKI-DOO ACE

Making its debut in model year 2011, the then new four-stroke Rotax engine was dubbed the ACE 600. The three-letter acronym stood for Advanced Combustion Efficiency, and as the heady name implied, the new engine was all about doing more with less. The twin cylinder mill was incredibly quiet and incredibly fuel efficient, with a bold fuel claim of 29mpg and a range of 310 miles (500km). With 60-hp on tap, the engine was also capable of going on long runs with minimal maintenance. Ski-Doo later introduced a follow-up with a three cylinder 900 version in 2014 that produced 90-horsepower. We’re still hoping for a turbo version and we already have a name…the Ace of Spades.

POLARIS ACE 900

When Polaris went searching for a name to tag their singleseater Sportsman meets RZR creation in 2014, they found the perfect fit with the single suit moniker. Starting out “safe” with 325-cube power under the seat, the sit-down and drive buggy received a lukewarm reception from hardcore enthusiasts.

Ahhh… but Polaris answered their call the following year with two 570 versions, including an SP version with premium goods. Yet, there were still those who truly wanted a “trump card” version. So with that, Polaris said, “Boom”, and for 2016 they’ve launched an ACE 900 SP with 60-ponies, power steering and lots of premium features. Looks like they are sweeping in the pot.

ARIEL ACE

The word ace has been used to name countless things, some mundane and boring, and others that stir the hormones deep inside a man’s body. Here’s an example of the later from the British motor company Ariel. The company is in their own words, “Very Britishness”, and while we are not sure what that means exactly, we’ll take a stab and say it has to translate to “badass”. How else can you describe the Ace motorcycle that features a milled and machined frame from a solid chunk of billet. That process alone takes 70-hours. Add in hand welding, hard anodizing and assembly, and you have a motorcycle that is truly a work of motorized art. The Ace performs too, powered by a Honda V4 1237cc engine producing 173-horsepower, and is capable of propelling the billet jewel in excess of 165mph.

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TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

ACE FREHLEY

Few bands are as iconic and as easily recognizable to both music junkies and average “Joes” than Kiss, and while most casual fans will think of Gene and Paul immediately as the anchor members of the group, (and the only two original members remaining) it was the spaceman Ace Frehley who most musicians will point to as having a major influence in their early rock and roll careers. Ace not only had a very distinctive playing style, but he also wrote or co-wrote many of the band’s biggest hits (although Ace never sang on many of them due to his lack of confidence in his own vocal ability, until he sang lead on the band’s hit Shock Me). There’s been plenty said and published on the history of the band, Ace and his troubles with drugs and alcohol, but the spaceman continues to press on (now clean and sober). He continues to produce albums, tour and take occasional jabs at his past bandmates, yet he remains the most important member of Kiss in the eyes of many fans.

ACE OF SPADES

When it comes to a deck of cards, the Ace of Spades is held in high regard and is of course, known as the “dead man’s hand” (Aces and eights) in regards to the poker hand Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he was shot dead in Deadwood in 1876.

The Ace of Spades first became a prominent “ace” when King James of Scotland required added embellishments on the card by the printing house. In modern times it was none other than Lemmy and his band Motorhead that made the card a rock and roll fixture, with the bands most famous and popular song of the same name. A song littered with gambling and risk clichés, Lemmy’s growling lyrics and driving bass lines has made it a an iconic fixture in rock music. Perhaps more famous than the rhythmic chorus line is the equally recognizable and sing along bridge, with the lyrics “But that’s the way I like it baby, I don’t want to live forever.”

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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Headhsot by Todd Williams • www.toddwilliamsusa.com

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WINGING IT WITH LEVI LEVI LAVALLEE

A BALANCING ACT “We haven’t even left my house yet and you’re already going to sleep?

Great, just fourteen more hours to go.”

T

he saying goes, “the older you get, the faster time goes by”. I remember hearing that phrase at my high school graduation and not thinking much of it. As I began to establish myself in snocross, I found myself doing anything and everything to advance through the ranks. It meant hanging out with friends less, having less random fun, and spending more time focusing on my program. The desire to succeed in racing forced me into a more structured lifestyle. I remember that time frame and the transition from being a carefree kid to being more responsible, and slowly but surely, becoming an adult. This resulted in more success, which fueled the fire to take on more training, more riding, more snowmobile disciplines, more, more, more. Eventually, this led me to the start of Team LaVallee. This is when I first began to see the years going by faster and faster.

Team LaVallee was my entrance into business. As many business owners will say, it definitely becomes your new child. You nurture it, care for it, and do whatever it takes for it to succeed. But to do this, it consumes your time... A LOT OF YOUR TIME! But, like raising a child, you make that time available somehow, some way. For the typical business owner, this is the point where the hobbies and activities you used to do, start to take a backseat to the business

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because “you can’t make more time in a day”. This is where things began to get a little tricky for me. My “hobby” was also my job, so I had to figure out how to do both at the same time. I found myself doing emails as I was on the stationary bike at the gym, or I would conduct business calls between motos at the snocross track.

Like a proud parent watching his child succeed, I watched Team LaVallee grow into a successful snowmobile team. This was a blessing and I wouldn’t

Paul Bunyan is a big fella.

My Winterruption

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

osmmag.com

onsnow Winterruption jumping over a tree… literally.

say a curse, but more a blessing and a reduction. Just like my racing career, as the team had more success, it not only fueled the ‘do more’ fire, it dumped a barrel of gas on it! I wanted to do anything and everything to help it succeed, and to do that, I reduced my on-sled time.

From the first time I rode a snowmobile, I instantly fell in love with it. Since then, I have tried to surround myself with anything and everything that has to do with snowmobiling, so starting a snowmobile team was a natural step....

But as I got further and further into the business of the team, I realized that it was pulling me farther and farther away from my true passion of riding my snowmobile.

I knew that I had to find a better balance to the constant work and no play. An interruption to the “boring Levi” needed to happen before I lost my mind...

Enter Winterruption.

Just what is Winterruption?

Winterruption is reconnecting me with

Winterruption trip to Cooke City, Montana…Kyle and I debating on who should go first.

my passion – the same passion that has brought me so much joy and great moments in my life. My Winterruption brings me back to that place we have all been, but have lost in the business that is now everyday life. That place where your worries go away and you start to live again. My Winterruption is now.

We will be traveling to some of the best riding spots across the country to document my journey back to fun! And like everything else I do, I’m going big! ✪

Morning session on glass.

Stay tuned this fall.

-Levi

Found some fun stuff while filming for Winterrruption!

It’s not snowmobiling, but it sure is fun!

Winterruption… looking for lines in Cooke City, Montana.

I love these things; both on the wheels and on its side, when I let fun override common sense.

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

Fun at home; what haven’t I jumped off this ramp?

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Time Mach ines

‘76

YAMAHA SRX 440

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The First Liquid

E

ngine sizes and racing classes were whittled down, headed into the 1975-76 racing season. Like the 800cc class of today’s snocross, the 650cc class was deemed too dangerous and the 440cc class became the biggest class in oval racing. While some events still featured 650cc, racers would need a 440cc sled to compete for the title at important events such as the Eagle River World Championship.

Three things drove race sled design, headed into the 1976 season - sound levels, liquid-cooling and build numbers.

Manufacturers were obligated to build 500 of any machine intended for stock competition, or two-percent of the total build, whichever was more. Also, machines were limited to 78 dbA sound levels, a big drop from the previous 82 dbA. While not mandated, many felt that liquid-cooled engines were the best way to maintain power levels with the new sound restrictions, and most manufacturers jumped on board, including Yamaha.

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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TM aim e 1976 YAMAHA SRX 440 chines

The 1976 440 SRX was Yamaha’s first liquid-cooled production snowmobile. It featured a 439cc engine, 40mm round slide carbs and pumped out about 100-horsepower at around 9,300RPM. Every part on the SRX was designed to help the sled go fast. An ultra-thin pipe, 2.5-gallon fuel tank, lightweight chassis and minimal bodywork ensured the sled would be as light as possible when it entered competition. While Yamaha had fielded formal race teams in previous years, in 1976 it announced that, while it would race, it would not be a part of the Sno Pro series.

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Ed Schubitzke, who jumped from brand to brand nearly every year, was announced as one of the team’s riders after Mercury told him it couldn’t hire him as a full-time member of the race team. Backing him up was Jim Adema, another rider who, so far, had spent his career battling the factories, from the little camper he drove to the races. It would be these two riders who would shape both Yamaha’s and the ice oval racing season, but in very different ways.

At Ironwood, Yamaha was proving its worth, sweeping through the stock and mod-stock classes along with Mercury.

Racing started late on Sunday and the World Trophy Cup race didn’t start until late in the afternoon. Light was fading and it was snowing, but the riders voted to race anyway. Adema was trying for his third straight World Trophy Cup title and was following fellow Yamaha rider Dick Trickle, when Trickle’s sled slowed down due to engine trouble. Adema hit Trickle’s sled, came off his own sled and was thrown about 100-feet down the track. Jim scrambled to his feet, but was unable to get out of the way of the rush of oncoming sleds. Two other riders and their sleds hit him. Adema was rushed

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to the hospital in Ashland and tragically, was pronounced dead a few hours later.

Adema was the first professional fatality in snowmobile racing history. It marked a tremendous loss to the sport, both on the track and in the pits, where he was seen as one of the brightest minds.

His sled preparation was meticulous and he had entertained numerous offers to work for different factories, but declined them in favor of racing on his own. His death affirmed the fears some had of snowmobile racing at the time…it was too fast and too dangerous. Shortly after, Sno Pro set hard and fast rules regarding

safety and race conditions.

A month later the Yamaha team found themselves at the Eagle River World Championship. Schubitzke was up against an all-star field of racers including the Arctic Cat rides of Larry Coltom; Bob Elsner; Dave Thompson; the Mercury sleds of Brad Hulings and Doug Hayes; Polaris rider Don Omdahl; privateer Lynn Trapp and fellow Yamaha rider Trickle, who unknowingly had sustained a broken foot earlier in the week during qualifying.

Despite the big names and factory backing, Schubitzke was the favorite and he set a track record on his SRX,

besting the previous one by a whopping seven seconds. Such was the pace that snowmobile racing was progressing.

Schubitzke didn’t disappoint, winning the title handily over Elsner and Thompson.

Schubitzke continued his hot streak after Eagle River, winning the International Cup in Shawano, Wisconsin, three classes in St. Paul and four classes at the States Dominion in Thief River Falls, including the Arctic Challenge Cup. Schubitzke also won 440X in February at the World Series in St. Paul with his teammate Trickle coming in a close second.

The SRX was perhaps the ultimate in Sno Pro production racing snowmobiles.

The lightweight design and high-revving, powerful engine was the perfect blend when combined with skilled riders like Schubitzke, Adema and Trickle that together made the SRX 440 the sled to beat, wherever it raced. Subsequently, the SRX served as the basis for Yamaha’s forthcoming SSR racing model, which featured the company’s first independent front suspension snowmobile.

The sled in these photos has an unknown past, and first crossed the path of On Snow Magazine when Editor Bourgeois and contributor Jason MacDonald found the sled as part of a six sled barn find, back in the summer of 2013. The SRX had a bad cylinder, but as luck would have it, a NOS cylinder and piston was found and the SRX lived again. The sled was later sold to vintage collectors Randy and Teresa Holland, who have continued to research and restore the sled to its former racing glory.

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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MUFF

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of the month

Each issue, head chefs Steve Hannah (Fluffy) and Darren Desaultels (Desi) will share their favorite recipes and Muff Pot techniques, to help you create a trailside feast. Got a Muffpot recipe of your own you’d like to share with our Muff Masters? Email us at editor@osmmag.com

Two-Stroke Shepherd’s Pie

L

ast season Fluffy and I were guilty of cu ng a few corners on our first cook-out rides. We had slipped down the difficulty level with our muff pot fillers and had been dining on rather easy, quick to prepare stuff.

Don’t’ get me wrong, standard fare such as wings, ribs, perogies and pizza always taste good trail side, but it seems the lads in the group had spent last summer building their expecta ons for some truly “next level” Muff Pot cuisine.

Ever since we raised the bar on Muff Pot cooking, we now get nothing but flack if the hood comes up and our riding pals aren’t impressed. All of a sudden those quick throw together snacks are no longer cu ng it, and our stature as ‘Muff Masters’ was in jeopardy.

Truth be told, it’s not really difficult to

come up with an idea for something that’s gonna taste pre y good out on the snow. I have always loved shepherd’s pie; not sure if it’s the tasty filling or the potato topping, but for me, this combo really works. Slather a li le red sauce on the top and I’m all in.

With Shepherd’s pie on the brain and my taste buds, I hit the internet to see if I could find a recipe that would work in the twostroke pot. I was pleased to find that the internet provides more recipes and op ons for this meal than I’ve had hot dinners.

The only real issue is to find one that has ingredients that you like. I went for more of a garlic mashed topping, because I cannot say no to garlic mashed potatoes. Prepara on is pre y easy, it’s all in one pan on the stove, but por ons need to be adjusted to fill your muff pot.

Originally when preparing this recipe, I was a li le concerned about how dry the seasoned meat filling looked. Sure, here in the pan it looks plenty moist, but I was worried that the moisture would disappear as the meal simmered.

After you land on a recipe you like, a little stovetop preparation is in needed to brown the meat and sauté in the vegetables and seasonings.

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My moisture fears were quashed on our first gas stop of the day. As we pulled up to the pump and shut down the engines, the smell coming from our buggies as very, very pleasant. So much so that the gas sta on a endant even noted that our sleds were making him hungry.

It did seem that there was more than the usual amount of aroma coming from under hood, so we checked it out. Yup… sure enough, we had some seepage. Turns out the meat had shed some moisture, and it was now leaking out the sides of the pot as it expanded; we had some seepage. It wasn’t much, and a quick cleanup had things back to normal under the hood. What it did tell me was that there was indeed ample moisture inside the pot, and with things hea ng up nicely, we best start looking for a place to eat soon.

Now some of you may recognize this par cular recipe had already cooked for one full tank of gas, not the more normal half tank that most meals require. This kind of meal fills every corner of the pot, and

The nice thing about Shepherd’s pie is that there are few rules to abide by. I’m a sucker for garlic mashed potatoes, so those had to go atop this particular pie.

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Pie is served…after a heating the concoction with a full tank of gas, plus a refuel, the aroma under the hood was too good to ignore, and we pulled over to fill up our own tanks. requires a thorough heat soak to ensure everything is hot.

A nice stretch of trail just outside of Ma awa, Ontario provided the perfect place to break out the spoons. For this par cular meal, the only “extras” you’ll need to bring are disposable bowls, spoons, paper towels or napkins, and of course the premen oned red sauce (ketchup).

Only Fluffy and I were on this par cular ride and it was unfortunate that our cri cs had missed it…the meal was very, very good.

Even the groomer operator stopped to inves gate the aroma and could not believe we were ea ng steaming hot food from under our hoods on a cold winter day.

Upon returning to our hotel later in the day, the rest of the “loogans” that arrived were more than a li le impressed with our latest Muff Pot crea on. That should shut them up…at least for a few days, and the “re-heaters” name was retracted.

I’m not sure how many mes I’ve cooked this kind of meal and learned this lesson

before…but here it is again for both of us. Those click-lock tops on squeezable containers have NEVER been tested in the rear compartments of snowmobiles. I have an uncanny ability to find the roughest sec ons of any trail, and by the next me I checked, the rear tunnel bag on the Assault looked like a crime scene inside.

The housekeeping staff at the hotel was probably on alert a er inspec ng my room.

I used some nice white hand towels to clean up the mess, and fortunately, the smell of ketchup staved off a call to the North Bay CSI team.

A good p is use a large size zip lock bag… in fact bring a few for all future rides. Seal these types of bo les inside the bag and prop or support the bag with so -goods, like spare gloves or a base layer inside the storage compartment.

Another good p is to keep the level of filler in the muff pot a li le less than the absolute capacity of the pot. This might help out with the overflow situa on we encountered, but it won’t make for such a pleasant gas stop aroma…your call.

Till next time Keep Muffin’

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most of us, our love for this sport can be traced back to childhood memories. From riding in front of mom or dad, enjoying a semi-charred hotdog around a bonfire, or being pulled in a sled behind the family snowmobile. It’s those early “roots” that has infected us with a passion for snowmobiling that is still with many of us today.

For Rick Bell, his passion for snowmobiling started very early with the family’s 1967 Ski-Doo. Rick was recently reminded of those early snowmobiling memories when he spotted this photo hanging on the wall of his sister’s house, along with other early family photos.

“The picture is of my mother, me on the back and my sister in the Ski-Boose,” Rick tells us. “Our ’67 Ski-Doo Olympic didn’t’ go very fast, but we didn’t care. My sister and I were warm under our ‘buffalo’ blanket, and I have nothing but good memories of those early days of snowmobiling with family and friends.”

For

Do you have an early snowmobiling “roots” memory and photo you’d like to share with us? We’d love to see it and share it with the OSM family. Email us at editor@osmmag.com

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FEEDBACK & RANTS When you tend to do things a bit differently, people notice. The crew here at OSM likes to do things our own way. If you want cookie cutter, predictable snowmobile articles and videos, there are plenty of them to go around…just not here. Despite our different approach of simply having fun and being not just good, but good enough, some of you continue to read our rag and are coherent enough to let us know about it. Can it get any better? Doubt it.

Hey OSM, I just picked up your latest issue on the newsstand. When I discovered your publication, I stopped buying others. I enjoyed the vintage articles and the action photos. That being said...in this latest issue I found some things that are bit confusing to me, such as recommending changing tracks to one with LESS traction so you can drift through the corners on trails. I have run into such jackasses doing this on the trails while out with my family and to recommend such unsafe acts is irresponsible. Next, I have never heard of anyone using the term “buggy” in reference to a snowmobile. I have found it in the majority of your articles in this issue. I went out to the garage and looked at the snowmobiles out there and buggy was the last and silliest word that came to mind.

Trying to coin a new term for my sled? Lastly, I found it hard to believe that in the first issue of the season, you couldn’t find a few more things that your readers might find interesting, so you covered five pages with your opinions on what seems to be obscure beers, which most are probably only marketed in your region .I look forward to the next issue of “On Snow Buggies and Beers”. I hope it’s an improvement.

OSM, Thought you guys might like to see that OSM came with me to Beijing. After walking all day, I needed to rest and couldn’t think of a better way to spend the time while resting my legs. The locals didn’t know what a buggy was, but I think sleds in China will now be catching on. I brought it with me to the Great Wall of China, but forgot to get a picture there. That would have been way better. Oh well, maybe next time.

Ryan Dear Ryan Thanks for sending us the six-pack of Asian beer… stuff taste like paint thinner mixed with tofu. Don’t worry about sledding in China, the Chinese snow-mo buggy invasion is coming, our well-informed tandem of Goodwood and Beerstein confirmed it. – Editor

OSM, My dog (Doug the Pug) and I enjoy your magazine. Here’s a picture of Doug wanting to open it up and browse the new snowmobiles.

Hope you enjoy, Ryan Knox

Sincerely, W. Mack, Bored and Picky on a Saturday Morning

Dear Doug and Ryan Holy cow, we didn’t even know we could write in Pug. – Editor w

Dear Bored and Picky You bring up some good points, but after chugging twenty of the cheapest and most disgusting beers we could find for that issue, the hangover likely clouded our judgment. Next time send some beer and we will put your ideas atop our list. – Editor

Dear Editor, I just read your story titled “Tear Down” featuring Goodwood and Beerstein in your latest issue of OSM. I really like this mag and its writing. I would consider it one of the best sledding mags in the biz. But when I read this story about two beer swillin’ Redneck SledHeads and their adventures, I thought to myself, Hmmm... this reads an awful lot like the stories of Hammer and LumberHead posted on arcticinsider.com. Just sayin’.

Regards Average Joe Sledder Dear Average Joe Who the hell names their kids Hammer and LumberHead?

Sounds like a case of teenage acne if you ask me. For the record, Goodwood and Beerstein have been sledding and drinking beer way before Nixon was in office; that’s Pre-SR (slide rail). Now, if we do some simple math…this year marks the 30th anniversary for OSM, and that’s way before Al Gore invented the interweb. Just sayin’ – Above Average Editor

Got a complaint, a rant, whatever?

Drop us a line at editor@osmmag.com 38

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LAWN ORNAMENTS

onsnow ith summer in the rearview mirror and the first hints of fall nipping at the tips of those Aspen leaves, our favorite colors have started to rear their heads. Yes it’s lawn ornament season, and along with OSM staffers trolling the backroads in search of slumbering, rotting, or simply forgotten metal, several loyal readers have been ornament hunting as well. Because nothing speaks “I’m a snowmobiler” better than a not so fresh buggy lying in the weeds or lurking alongside the garage, here is this season’s first installment of the bold and not so beautiful.

W

true” this “ fully s u peace sends aiser nt resting with a H l l i e e B mplet ornam below lawn consin, co d mulch n s in Wi pot seat a ation. r e erv w o fl k pres c a r t for

The old V peering a -Max was caug h cross t he stree t Dave New t by m a n , w ho tells this pho u t doorway o was taken fro s m the of a bar his ridin g buddie that him and s frequ sleds. R ent on u pulled u mor has it the p last w rider in in for a bump an ter, went d has ye return. t to

skins, Sno-Stuff can…

-s ikii-s SkiS Sk she’s a mod. up s yyup yu rio parked his John Laverdure from Newcastle Onta it upon his nd fi ld cou SS440 where he knew he re pit. fi the atop age… cott return trip to the Newcastle. in rage the all are res s’mo Two-stroke

The neatly wrapped blue tarp tells us that this is a clean, one owner Indy Sport that’s always been babied.

Todd Jacobsen snapped this pic somewhere in the jungles of northern Illinois.

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onsnow Proper summer storage tip number 63: Always elevate the track to avoid the ravages of Mother Nature.

g durin cards io of l a n eir fi is tr ing th er run, th unge and w a r d k o After inter’s po to the l early the d l w e r C i r, t t . s e e a l rs r een sinc r oval race e d i r e r a m Cat t been s r a fo ’ andleb haven a rider is go fast h r Pante upon the based osition. p Snowmobile sex-ed, this is where baby Kitty Kats come from. slope; Always park your sleds on the downhill ta.

Dako th Sou captured in the Black Hills of

Early indications point to Arctic Cat being the first to market with long travel suspension.

Proof positive that good things come in threes. The sign on the trike said it ran when last pedaled.

Seen a few lawn ornaments in your neck of the woods?

Share them with us. Every issue, one lucky submission will receive a swag bag from the OSM closet of forgotten goodies.

Congrats to Dave Newman for being this issue’s winner. Send photos to editor@osmmag.com with Lawn Ornaments in the subject lawn. Happy hunting!

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Five F ive S Sleds leds a and nd O One ne M Man’s an’s P Passion assion tto o Bring Bring the the Mod Back k to to the e Trail Traiil

if

you ttalk lk ffor very llong with ith Milt R Reimer, i owner and d ffounder d off FXR R Racing, i the conversaঞon inevitably turns to racing. Milt’s passion for going fast can be traced back to his childhood where he spent much of his ঞme riding dirt bikes and snowmobiles at his parent’s home near Rosenort, Manitoba.

Conversaঞons about snowmobiling during those early days inevitably leads to stories of Milt riding the frozen waterways of the Morris River or Tobacco Creek.

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MOD MANIA Riding up and down those frozen stretches of twisted ice countless ঞmes, eventually led Milt to try his hand at cross-country racing. Back then snocross took a backseat to cross country, which was experiencing its second go around at popularity. The Internaঞonal Series of Champions (ISOC) was the premiere terrain circuit in the United States, while the CanAm Cross Country series was the hot ঞcket in Canada. Milt raced in both and quickly developed an appeঞte for going even faster.

“There’s nothing like the feeling of just railing a corner at speed,” Milt said with eyes beaming and his fingers nervously twitching as if he were once again navigaঞng a series of course markers. “I grew up riding frozen rivers, they were so much fun…many of those races had the same kind of terrain.”

Milt’s passion for racing and riding led him to purchasing the dealership where he worked and raced motocross for. From there, the idea for FXR Racing was born. The company is now arguably the largest outerwear and casual wear business in the sport. Fueled by Milt’s ‘always on the gas’ drive, and the use of racing as a primary markeঞng tool, FXR has been an absolute juggernaut, with no signs of leমng up any ঞme soon.

Now armed with the wherewithal to pursue other projects, Milt set his focus on rekindling those all out river rides from his racing days. “I love all kinds of snowmobiling, from mountain riding to boondocking to trails, but for me there’s a thrill that comes with mod trail sleds that you don’t get anywhere else.”

While the industry has become incessantly focused on the western market, where mod-sleds are not just coveted, but for a long ঞme required to reach riding areas that stock sleds simply couldn’t go, mod trail builds have nearly disappeared. During the 1990s, when snowmobiling was experiencing a resurgence and huge growth, mod trail sleds and the a[ermarket builders who fueled the trend were immensely popular. Milt is determined to bring back that mod sled passion.

“Today’s sleds are amazing…I mean they are so much be er than the sleds we rode and raced back then,” Milt said. “But so is the technology and capabiliঞes of the a[ermarket. I see all these trick mountain sleds and I want to implement that technology and power into trail sleds. To me there is nothing be er than blasঞng a berm or hammering a whooped out trail.”

With that mindset, Milt along with many of the best a[ermarket companies in the industry, created five trail beasts, each with a disঞnct personality and each built for the ulঞmate thrill ride on whooped out Midwest trails, unplowed logging roads and dri[ed river bo oms.

“These sleds are just in the first stages,” Milt pointed out. “Geমng out and riding these sleds, tuning them, trying new ideas and riding with others who can appreciate not just riding fast, but building these sleds are all part of it.”

Milt and his FXR Racing crew have already created custom wraps, along with matching performance clothing and helmets for each of the fives sleds profiled here. Going forward, new suspension components and accessories are being planned, along with ride days with some of the sport’s fastest thumbs and most talented engineering minds from the past and present.

From former snocross and cross-country champions, to some of today’s most savvy tuners and engine builders, Milt has a huge vision, not just for these sleds but for the future of mod trail sleds in general.

“It’s about having fun…going fast…tuning…trying new ideas…riding with friends,” Milt conঞnued, with hint of child like excitement in his voice.

“Sleds like this just ramp up the enঞre experience.”

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Ontario Bush Bustin’

In late March the OSM crew caught up with Milt and members of the FXR team to spend ঞme with the FXR mod sleds. With snow disappearing fast across much of the Snowbelt, we journeyed far north to Ontario bush country for two days of octane and adrenaline debauchery. We’re not sure if it was the experience of squeezing the thro le of 200-plus horsepower trail sleds; pounding crater sized moguls in the forgiving spring snow; of simply hanging with fast friends and talking about the sleds, the ride, and possible future mod sled builds, but the experience rekindled our love for the power and performance these sleds deliver and confirmed Milt’s vision for a modified future.

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Project X Ski-Doo 800 XRS The first genera on FXR Trail Mod sleds carry a similar theme, no ma er the brand; subtle chassis and ergonomic enhancements, with a larger dose of suspension modifica ons and performance upgrades. The Project X XRS started with a visit to Straightline Performance, who over the years has become known as one of the premiere Ski-Doo performance shops in the industry. To give the already stout 800 Rotax more oomph, the Straightline crew outfi ed the motor with their complete exhaust package that includes Y-pipe, pipe and muffler which bumped up the output 10-11 horsepower, while shaving 14-pounds. Joining the free breathing exhaust was a Straightline clutch kit to be er harness the power, and a chassis brace tying the clutch tower to the front frame for improved rigidity and consistent clutch performance.

Other engine mods include a Boyesen reed cage system and a Doo Doctor temperature resistor, which overrides the built-in temperature ming safety retard, giving you prolonged, full-advance power output before the retarded ming takes over.

Suspension, as it is with all of these sleds, was the main area of focus with the XRS. While it’s safe to say the Ski-Doo XRS is already one of the best handling sleds in the industry, the idea behind any mod sled is to make it be er. To try to get there, FXR called upon Z-Broz Racing. The Zollinger brothers have built a reputa on for performance through their racing success in the Rocky Mountain snowmobile hill climb circuit. The success and lessons learned while amassing six world king tles and nineteen world tles is one of the key formulas behind their suspension and shock components. The Project X XRS features Z-Broz ARS FX A-arms and EXIT shocks with dual rate springs and compression dampening control. Joining the system is a Trac-Link adjustable limiter strap from Between the Lines Designs.

Control is dished out courtesy of C&A XT Skis, with 10-inches of carbide.

All that front-end bite is required once you take a gander at the track where you’ll find 1.325” Woody’s 40mm Grand Master studs, placed in a 4-2-4-2 pa ern in the center belt only.

Rounding out the XRS are Flex-Tec hand guards with aluminum mounts from ROX Speed FX, StompGrip pads and of course, custom graphics from FXR.

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PROJECT PLAYERS STRAIGHTLINE PERFORMANCE C&A SKIS Z-BROZ RACING EXIT SHOCKS WOODY’S DOODOCTOR STOMPGRIP ROX SPEED FX BOYESEN

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onsnow Project X XRS was one of the mildest builds of the bunch, but the added punch of the Straightline Performance pipe was clearly noticeable, even in the spring snow conditions where traction was at times, hard to come by.

You can make out the arc of the lower arms of the Z-Broz front suspension in this image which provides greater ground clearance. The extended arms serve up greater travel and more stability.

EXIT shocks from Z-Broz feature dual stage springs with a custom tuned cross over, along with both compression and rebound dampening controls.

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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Project Axys Polaris 800 Pro-X800 XRS The Pro-X was developed and calibrated by Polaris to be a big mogul crusher out of the box, making the task of improving upon an already stellar big bump design, all the more difficult. But before the FXR Mod Squad tackled the suspension, they once again called their buddy Jason Houle at Straightline Performance to give the already quick revving Liberty 800 HO a bit more snort.

To get there, Jason provided a complete exhaust system from Y-pipe to muffler.

In total, the system pumped up horsepower by 8-9 ponies, while shedding a whopping 19-pounds from an already lightweight sled design. Joining the easy exit plumbing was a complete clutch kit with adjustable flyweights. This was all that was required to give the already blazing fast AXYS Pro-X the added pull Milt was looking for on the exit of each corner.

The suspension proved to a bit more of a challenge for the boys at Z-Broz. This go around the ARS FX A-arms had to be custom built, giving the Pro-X an ultra wide 45-inch stance (stock is 42.5-inches). Since the goal was to not just pound moguls, but rail the corners as well, the addi on of a custom fabricated sway bar was also in order.

The stock shocks and springs were retained for this par cular build, save the front track shock where a 150 lb. straight rate spring from Eibach was put into duty.

Ensuring the front would bite with precision, a set of white TX Race skis from C&A were mounted to the spindles. Joining them were Stud Boy 9-inch carbides affixed to custom shaped keels. The use of Stud Boy trac on was also employed out back where 192 - 1.875-inch studs with plas c Pro Lite backers were installed in a four per lug pa ern. Yes, it hooks up like a top fuel dragster. Capping off the suspension tweaks was the addi on of the quick adjust Trac-Link limiter strap from Between the Lines Designs.

The crew from ROX Speed FX was called upon to supply black FlexTec hand guards, as well as their Pivo ng Bar Riser. Comple ng the look was black ma e Ul mate Bumper from Polaris, StompGrip trac on for the tunnel and fuel tank, an ISR race approved tethered kill switch and in our opinion, the most tasteful FXR graphic wrap of any of the five mod sleds.

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PROJECT PLAYERS STRAIGHTLINE PERFORMANCE Z-BROZ RACING STUD BOY C&A SKIS ROX SPEED FX STOMPGRIP BETWEEN THE LINES DESIGNS EIBACH SPRINGS HEADINGLY SPORTS SHOP

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

osmmag.com

onsnow The crew from StompGrip entered the snowmobile market through the racing ranks, but there is no denying the added benefits of the tank and tunnel traction mats when riding in an aggressive forward stance.

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TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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onsnow While known primarily for its big bump capabilities, the wider front stance, stiffer sway bar, and the addition of C&A skis, transformed the Project AXYS Pro-X into a corner carver as well.

The rear suspension was left virtually untouched, save for the addition of a straight rate front arm spring from Eibach. The change gave the Pro-X a more pronounced attack angle when hammering big rollers.

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All five sleds featured the oversized, soft-sided Flex-Tech hand guards from ROX Speed FX, along one of their aluminum riser blocks. If you ride in roost or cold weather and still like the looks of a â&#x20AC;&#x153;shortyâ&#x20AC;? windshield, these guards are the ticket.

The graphics on the Pro-X featured a split appearance, with a monotone look on one side and bold red on black on the other. This was by far our favorite scheme.

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0U[LYUH[PVUHS ,UNPULLYPUN 4MN 0UJ Â&#x2039; 5 4LYPKPHU 9K Â&#x2039; /VWL 40 Â&#x2039; ,THPS! ^VVK`Z'^PLT JVT Â&#x2039; ^^^ >VVK`Z;YHJ[PVU JVT Â&#x2039; Â? 0,4 (SS YPNO[Z YLZLY]LK TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW â&#x20AC;˘ OCT 23-25, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE â&#x20AC;˘ www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

ON SNOW MAGAZINE â&#x20AC;˘ VOL 6 â&#x20AC;˘ ISSUE 1

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Project AC Arctic Cat 800 RR When it came me to build the FXR Mod Cat, horsepower became a driving design factor. That’s not to say the stock 800 motor from Cat is down on power, but when the call went out for more power and the kids from Speedwerx picked up the phone, it was a safe bet that there would be some big, naturally aspirated ponies lurking under the black and green cowl.

Dubbed the Stage 2 Exterminator Kit, the 178-horsepower set-up gets the big numbers with no head or por ng modifica ons; doesn’t spool up the motor beyond the stock rpm, (8100 to 8300) and runs on premium pump gas. The kit features a complete single pipe exhaust system; Hypershi clutch kit; high flow cold air intake; Boyesen Rad Valves; Dyno Jet Power Commander controller and a Speedwerx off-set ming key. According to Jeremy Houle at Speedwerx, the kit is not just for drag racing. “The trail and ditch characteris cs of the kit are like no other,” Jeremy said. “It has instant response and spot-on backshi all day.”

According to Speedwerx, the kit delivers a 7-8 sled length gain over stock and a 5-6mph gain in 1,000 feet. The same package has won several a ermarket awards for both performance and value.

Joining all the Speedwerx goods under the hood is a D&D Quick Shi Assist shim for the secondary clutch from 2Kool Performance. The shim is designed to help deliver smoother up-shi and reduce spring binding on back-shi .

For suspension du es, the boys at Z-Broz were once again called into ac on with their custom, 45-inch wide front-end kit. Already outfi ed with top shelf FOX FLOAT EVOL RC shocks, there was li le need to alter anything else. The stock skis were replaced with white TX Race skis from C&A, with 9-inches of Woody’s carbides fastened to a custom shaved and shaped keel.

Making sure all that Speedwerx power gets to the ground, the crew from Woody’s was put in charge of trac on, selec ng 165 of their 1.325-inch Trigger studs to get the job done. The pa ern features 135 studs in the center band, with the remainder in the outer track bands at every third pitch.

Finishing touches included Flex-Tec hand guards and an adjustable aluminum bar riser from ROX Speed FX, a StompGrip tunnel and seat trac on kit, and the adjustable Trac-Link limiter strap from Between the Lines Designs.

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PROJECT PLAYERS SPEEDWERX Z-BROZ RACING C&A SKIS ROX SPEED FX STOMPGRIP WOODY’S BETWEEN THE LINES DESIGNS BOYESEN

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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onsnow While we were unable to find any hardpack groomed trails during our late season ride, the Project AC RR was dubbed the best handler of the group in these particular conditions.

This is not to say the others won’t get there.

Keep in mind all of these sleds are works in progress and like many mod builds, tuning and improving is all part of the process.

All sleds were studded and the Cat featured 165 Woody’s Trigger studs to make sure the newfound Speedwerx power made it to the ground.

The Cat was clearly the beast of the normally aspirated sleds in this group. The Speedwerx Exterminator 2 kit was flawless both days, and while we had to search out premium fuel on one occasion, power was instant with no gurgles or hiccups.

Aside from the Z-Broz ARS FX A-arms, little was changed to the front suspension of the Cat, including the FOX FLOAT EVOL RC shocks and their vast range of tuning capabilities.

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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Project MC-X Yamaha Viper The thinking at FXR when building this collecঞon of sleds last winter was if one turbo Yamaha is good, two must be be er. Following a similar build pa ern as the Project MPI build, Milt and company looked to other performance players in the turbo world to power up this parঞcular Genesis motor. Who they found was MC-Xpress, a Briঞsh Columbia based company that has been tuning and boosঞng turbo applicaঞons in snowmobiles, motorcycles and sideby-sides for nearly fi[een years. Their “supreme of the extreme” mo o was just what the FXR mod crew was looking for, as they purchased a complete kit capable of nearly 280-horsepower at 14 pounds of boost. From there the sled was again turned over to Allen Ulmer for the install and tuning, along with clutch machining and his accompanying kit.

Chassis and suspension duঞes were next on the list, and this ঞme the turbo beast would get the goods from Z-Broz and their extended stance ARS FX A-arms, widening the ski stance to 45-inches. The stock FOX shock system remained while the Trac-Link quick adjust limiter strap enhancement from Between the Lines Designs was mounted to the rear suspension.

A call was put into Yamaha and the glossy accessory catalog was tapped for a color matched Lightweight front bumper, quick adjust rear coupler blocks, and FOX shock guards to complete the look.

Steering bite was improved with custom shaped TX race skis from C&A, along with Stud Boy Shaper bards with a whopping 10-inches of carbide. To balance out the front-end bite, 210 Stud Boy studs in the 1.875-inch length were secured to the track, along with white, Super-Lite Pro series plasঞc backers.

Final ergonomic improvements were le[ for ROX Speed FX and their FlexTech hand guards and adjustable aluminum riser block. StompGrip provided addiঞonal rider tracঞon with a grip kit for the tunnel and seat, and Yamaha was once again brought in for a mid-height windshield. Then, before the photo shoot, Arcঞc FX designed and installed the custom graphics kit to add some visual appeal, along with a shout out to all of the parঞcipaঞng a[ermarket shops.

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PROJECT PLAYERS MC-X TURBO ULMER RACING C&A SKIS Z-BROZ RACING STUD BOY STOMPGRIP BETWEEN THE LINES DESIGNS ROX SPEED FX GENUINE YAMAHA TECHNOLOGY

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

The slightly taller windshield, stock looking front suspension, and blue and white graphic scheme gave the Project MC-X Viper a more “stock” look. One squeeze of the throttle said otherwise.

The Quick Adjust Coupler block system from Yamaha was employed in the rear suspension, allowing us to make quick and effective changes to the moment of coupling, in an attempt to control the ski lift created by the MC-X turbo-fed beast.

Both turbo applications required the good stuff when it came to fuel, but the more limiting factor came from heat build-up while riding in the extremely warm spring snow conditions.

This summer, the FXR crew along with help from MC-X, MPI and Ulmer Racing, are working on incorporating a Polaris front mounted heat exchanger as used in the Pro-Ride chassis, to deliver additional cooling on both turbo-fed monsters. A modified Skinz front bumper will be used to support the exchanger.

While not as radical looking as the Skinz front suspension, the more ‘stock in design’ Z-Broz system delivered predictable handling traits that proved to be easier to tune for conditions.

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Editor’s Mod Follow Up During the summer months, the crew at FXR along with several of the a[ermarket partners revisited all five mod sleds, and put plans in moঞon for addiঞonal modificaঞons and improvements for the coming season. It started with a second XRS sled featuring a custom Skinz front-end kit with a 47-inch stance, Skinz front and rear bumpers and custom seat. The sled will also feature a standout from the crowd, white and orange graphic scheme.

The Project AXYS Polaris underwent front suspension surgery, courtesy of Skinz and will also feature a 47-inch stance, Skinz front bumper and an all-new graphics package with accenঞng red powder-coat suspension components.

The Arcঞc Cat sled will also receive a Skinz 47-inch wide front-end kit along with Skinz bumpers, Pro-Tube running boards and custom seat. The black plasঞc will be replaced with white, along with new custom graphics.

Finally, as alluded to previously, both Yamaha mods will be custom fi ed with a modified Skinz front bumper that will house a Polaris Pro-Ride front heat exchanger, in an a empt to provide addiঞonal cooling for both turbo boosted engines. Both sleds will then be delivered to the FOX Minnesota headquarters for a few days of custom shock calibraঞons.

You can see all five sleds in person this fall at select shows including Haydays.

At the conclusion of two days of riding, tuning and photography, the best dressed OSM and FXR crew snapped one final picture before loading up and calling the 2015 snow season officially over.

Sweaty and happy, from left to right – former cross country champ and OSM rider Dan Skallet, OSM regulars Rich Kehoe and Matt Clark, and FXR Owner and mod sled maven Milt Reimer.

Our FXR hosts for the weekend, Corey Parent, Milt Reimer, Matt Hamm and Cam Zimmerman.

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Upon our arrival at FXR headquarters in Winnipeg, the entire mod lineup was ready for action in the parking lot.

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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FUTURE TENSE

Charles Bombardier

If

the name sounds familiar, you’re right…yes this is the Bombardier of the same name. Born in 1974 in Valcourt Quebec, Charles is the grandson of Joseph-Armand Bombardier, founder of Bombardier and inventor of one of the first snowmobiles. With a degree in mechanical engineering, Charles returned to Bombardier after graduation and managed three key projects for the company during his time there. They included the first Traxter ATV featuring a step-through design; the second generation Elite snowmobile with side-by-side seating; and most recently he was tasked with developing the Can-Am Spyder Roadster. In 2008 Bombardier founded a private Research and Development Center, and developed electric urban transporters and electric ATV prototypes. Soon after, Charles began to focus more and more of his efforts on further pursuing his design career.

With a passion for innovation, Charles is deeply involved within the design community and acts as an expert and a consultant to support inventors, companies, and basically anyone interested in new applications for mechanical engineering. His website www.charlesbombardier.com promotes open innovation, and along with a team of designers they are constantly dreaming, innovating, and creating new concepts and publishing them for all to see.

As Charles puts it, “Our mission is to inspire kids, students, inventors and tinkerers to improve existing modes of transportation, and imagine what the future holds for us. We share our concepts with the world so they can grow faster, evolve and become a reality one day.”

Editors Note: Our goal with Future Tense is to do the same. While some of these ideas may never lead to future technology, at the very least they will inspire all of us to consider the possibilities of “what if”. So, go ahead and let your mind wander, and if you have an idea you’d like to see fleshed out from the minds of Charles and his staff, drop us a line at editor@osmmag.com. We hope to showcase your ideas in future issues…dream on.

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onsnow From the mind of Charles Bombardier and his team of “dreamers”, this season we take a look at the ‘not so out of this world’ future of snowmobiles. From the probable to the seemingly impossible, could these ideas end up on a future trail near you?

Maximum Lean Sliding Kneeling Pads With today’s taller center of gravity vehicles, carving corners requires more lean and rider involvement than it did when sleds hugged the snowpack. To gain more lean and exert more inside ski pressure, these sliding kneepads allows riders to really “get into the corners”. Slide them back in for casual trail runs or straight line blasts; extend them for a spirited romp with your buddies down a twisted, wooded trail.

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FUTURE TENSE Always on the Gas Track Slip Detector Think of it as traction control for the tracked world of snowmobiles. Just like stability control activates automatically in your car to eliminate unwanted wheel slip on icy roads, a similar system could do the same for sleds. Add in a dash mounted switch to turn the system off when desired, and you have the best of both worlds.

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R E M M U S HOOL SC

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01 6 2 E TH T U NE O O B G S DA A E W N W W AR O E HE NE N T L G S E IN E W H OUND AMS, AND R T T R U S E WHA AFTER NG HYPERBOLTEHE MEDIA STERDLY PILED ON S I D OUBT ODED RKE T E D O A “ALL” N L L M L F U U E S S S F H A A R T SH DE TH W E LE ON

BY NO OWMOBIL .

A OUT AT AND W I D E N S E INTER R EM W G N S O I 2016 W H THAN UT HO G TO BE T E O R B O A M IN D USHE RE GO G A D S N D A LE EW S N E H T

YUP

, they tend to do that sort of hype every year, even when they completely miss the mark. Of course you never hear about that.

Now don’t get us wrong, there are plenty of good and even a few great ones in the mix for 2016. In fact, there are even a few we’d consider purchasing with our very own, hard earned cash.

Just like the other media fish-wraps, we get a chance to learn about, photograph and ride the new sleds, well in advance of most. During this week long event we get to ask lots of quesঞons, rack on plenty of miles and perhaps most importantly, we do a lot more listening and reading between the lines. It’s a great event and plenty of useful informaঞon is gleaned during this ঞme. Surprisingly, we conঞnue to learn more during the dog days of summer - a[er we’ve had ঞme to reflect and perhaps more importantly, the manufacturers give us greater insight on the changes and refinements they’ve made prior to producঞon. Here’s what we’ve learned.

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ER M M SU HOOL SC

YAMAHA

Once Yamaha joined up with Arc c Cat, it seemed future development of new technology from across the pond had gone into hiberna on. Oh yeah, we did get the Performance Damper, but unless you have a very savvy level of ride awareness, many may not no ce the high-tech benefits.

However, this year Yamaha did come with some new tech – thro le-by-wire, a new rear suspension, and new air-shock technology from FOX. Good stuff for sure, but of course we all want more. As we see it, Yamaha has two direc ons it can go. One – develop a truly lightweight four-stroke engine for snowmobile applica ons, one where the weight penalty between equal sleds is roughly 25-pounds, (it’s currently 100-pounds) or swallow their four-stroke pride and u lize the CTEC-2 engine technology from Arc c Cat and get back in the game. The Arc c Cat partnership has made the brand viable again; now it’s me to play a bigger card.

But of course, all that specula on and wishing is just us thinking out loud over a few cold ones. When it comes to the 2016 fleet, we had a chance to hang with the kids from Yamaha in late June, and we learned some addi onal insights into their 2016 fleet.

TUNER SKIS It was up in the air during the spring if Yamaha would have yet another version of their twin keel Tuner ski on members of the 2016 fleet. Well, the ski is a go and the aptly named Tuner 3 will be found on several models. Aside from being slightly lighter, (.25 pounds per ski) there are no performance gains, only cosme c, thanks to interchangeable, colored ski loops.

YCCT THROTTLE A er ge ng the download from Yamaha brass on this technology, it turns there’s more to this stuff than simple par al power opera on. In fact, there is a lot going on here, as in heady computer programming stuff. Long story short, the Yamaha Chip Controlled Thro le is a true mul -dimensional system, constantly measuring air temperature, atmospheric pressure, crank posi on, engine temp, engine speed and thro le posi on. All three modes, be it Sport, Touring or Entry feature an ever-changing power delivery map for op mum performance. It’s the kind of stuff that could represent just the p of the iceberg for future tech such as trac on control, an -lock braking, and vehicle pitch dynamics. All things by the way, that Yamaha already seamlessly employs on their high-performance road racing motorcycles. Boom…can you see the future?

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ER M M SU HOOL SC

SINGLE SHOT SUSPENSION We got more insight on the new rear suspension found on select “pure” Yamaha models. Aside from the suspension being more tradiঞonal in design and significantly lighter (by as much as 10-pounds) than the older mono shock skid, the new SingleShot also delivers more consistent track tensioning, features tradiঞonal limiter straps, which according to Yamaha is the place to go for weight transfer tweaks, and allows for the design of longer skidframe applicaঞons.

Finally, we menঞoned this in the spring issue but it bears a call out again. The Viper R-TX SE with those new Quick Switch 3 shocks (that’s the name given to them from FOX), was the sled that le[ us smiling most from the Yamaha stable.

It’s ideally balanced, well calibrated and looks bitchin’.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Having your suspension dialed-in can be the difference between winning and losing. When everythingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re more FRPIRUWDEOH FRQĂ&#x20AC; GHQW DQG LQ FRQWURO 0\ VLJQDWXUH VHULHV ZLOO help you ride at your best and keep you ripping all day long.

I worked closely with FOX to develop a trail performance suspension package that will take what you can give it and leave you feeling like a champ.â&#x20AC;? - Tucker Hibbert

TUCKER HIBBERT SIGNATURE SERIES

Own the Trail

No stranger to winning, Tucker Hibbertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competitive nature doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t shut off when heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s away from the track. Tucker worked with the FOX development team to develop a setup geared for pure trail SHUIRUPDQFH 7KH UHVXOW LV DQ DSSOLFDWLRQ VSHFLĂ&#x20AC; F +LEEHUW FDOLEUDWLRQ that rails corners, soaks up jumps, and eats up small chop.

FLOAT 3 EVOL RC2 Front Ski Shock

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ZERO RC2 Rear Track Shock

RIDEFOX.COM /HIB B E R TSS REDEFINE YOUR LIMITS

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ER M M SU HOOL SC

POLARIS Things have been awfully quiet over at Polaris during the summer months, at least in terms of the snowmobile division. The company as a whole is busy building killer offroad vehicles, buffing the paint of their second year Indian motorcycles, and slinging pavement with the futuris c looking SlingShot. To think how far this company has come over the past fi een years is mind numbing. Polaris is no longer a small, northern Minnesota snowmobile company, but arguably the world’s leading powersports manufacturer…

Honda be damned.

Of course, they haven’t been holding back when it comes to snowmobiles. Last year it was the Rush and Switchback models that were treated to next genera on AXYS chassis makeovers, and this winter it’s the RMK. It remains to be seen if the original Pro-Ride chassis and suspension design of the 2010 Rush will be viewed as a historical game changer, but it most certainly has made everyone else (read: the compe on) sit-up and take no ce.

RUSH PRO-X If you are a regular follower of our rants, you’ll know we weren’t too kind to the big bump calibra ons of the Pro-X early on. Our first experiences showed us a sled that was ppy, unstable, and a bit unpredictable in the corners. We wrote it off as a bump only sled, built for the flat brim crowd, looking to pound ditches a er school. So we were taken aback this spring when we sampled the sled again and found it to be way different. Turns out the Pro-X underwent some major calibra on tweaks last summer, prior to 2015 produc on, and then was tweaked again before the 2016 offering. The result is a big bump sled that can now hone corners too…(swallowing sound of our pride) guess we were wrong.

PRO-XC REAR SUSPENSION We’re s ll hoping Polaris will offer a rebound control op on for one of their outside the tunnel Pro-XC suspended models. But un l they do, we have to give the calibra on team props for drama cally transforming the ride quali es of this suspension from earlier itera ons. While the AXYS Rush might s ll take a back seat to the Ski-Doo MXZ in terms of shear precision on a twisted trail, no other sled will put a bigger smile on your face when hammering a mogul li ered trail or bombing a wind whipped ditchline.

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TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

AXYS RMK

While we don’t proclaim to be the world’s best mountain riders, we can say the AXYS RMK is yet again, another ridiculous step forward. Ever since Polaris set their sights on regaining the mountain market, star ng with the 2007 RAW RMK, they have con nued to develop some of the best mountain sleds in the industry, and the AXYS RMK is no different. The new sled is lighter, (at an adver sed 408-pounds) more maneuverable, and now with the new Liberty 800HO engine delivers more, right-now power. Oh, it also looks damn sexy too.

Yup, the new RMK is good, dare we even say almost too good for average Joes? There used to be a me when a mountain sled was li le more than a longer track and narrower ski-stance. Just about anyone could throw a leg over one, and start exploring the backcountry. But the RMK has almost single handily changed how you ride a mountain sled.

While the ini al learning curve might be a bit steeper than those sleds of old, once you do adapt to the new techniques, the AXYS RMK will make you look like a hero, and take you places you’ve never been before. No cape required.

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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ER M M SU HOOL SC

ARCTIC CAT For us performance guys, at first glance there doesn’t appear to be much to get excited about in the Cat camp for 2016. Much of the “new” takes place in the uঞlity/touring segment, where they have introduced a new engine, new suspension, a new ski, a new three speed transmission and a new ProUte chassis. That’s a lot of new for clubbing seals and the emerging, albeit volaঞle Russian market.

The other big focus of “newness” is in the mountain camp, where a new spindle; a new Arcঞc Mountain Suspension; (AMS) new verঞcal steering post; new Float-Acঞon rear suspension; a new ProClimb 7 ski and new PowerClaw 3-inch track have combined to dramaঞcally enhance the M-Series mountain line-up for 2016.

We were able to spend a week with a 2016 ZR 8000 Limited in late spring, (thanks to Country Corners Cat) blasঞng the trails of New Brunswick and Quebec. The new TEAM drive and driven gave the big 800 twin new life, in that it provided smoother overall vehicle performance, more consistent up-shi[ and back-shi[, and dare we say, made the sled faster too. It’s hard to explain, but the improvements in clutching resulted in a sled that simply felt more complete.

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TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

www.snowmobilecylinders.com

BURNED DOWN? Call us First and Save!

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TEAM CLUTCHING Closer to home, the new TEAM Rapid Response drive and driven system, found on virtually all Cat models for 2016, offers up a lot more than you may think. We won’t go into a deep dive here, we’ll save that for a future issue, but aside from lighter weight and drama cally improved durability of both the clutches and drive belt, we found the new CVT transmission also changed the overall demeanor of the sled.

ARCTIC MOUNTAIN SUSPENSION There’s a lot of “newness” within the M-Series for 2016, but the key change that is ge ng all the a en on is the new narrowed and sculpted front suspension. The shorter A-arms and S-shaped spindle looks drama cally different, and is designed to reduce weight, increase vehicle lean angles, and reduce vehicle drag in the snow when “laying” the sled over in the powder.

Our resident deep snow mountain expert Tyler Swarm, who has ridden with and worked with many of the top mountain riders in the sport including guys from 509 and Dan Adams of Next Level Riding Clinics, spent a good chunk of me on the new design M-Series buggies, and was all-pumped-up on the new front end. In fact, Tyler along with the rest of our deep snow kids, found the new M Cats to be some of the most predictable sleds they sampled, saying p-in was consistent and controlled, and holding a line was far easier when compared to the previous design.

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INSIDE

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ER M M SU HOOL SC

SKI-DOO

Don’t look now, but those crazy kids from Valcourt have come up with yet another “why didn’t I think of that” bit of technology with the Pilot TS ski. While we won’t name names, we know of at least one engineer at a compeঞng brand who mu ered under their breath those very words.

No ma er how you look at it, the Ski-Doo crew has a way of either answering the bell when one-upped by someone else, or simply coming to the table with a new bit of technology we never asked for. Take for example the rMoঞon suspension.

If you read between the lines, it was in many ways a direct response to the Polaris Pro-Ride suspension, and claims of a true rising-rate suspension design. While in our opinion, neither was first to market with such a design, the rMoঞon answered the call, delivering equal to, or significantly be er ride and handling.

Over on the side of the mountain, the Summit series was ironically, another answer to Polaris once again. The introducঞon of tMoঞon and Flexedge technology helped the Summit series regain a grip on the western market. While we don’t have exact numbers, it’s safe to say that the ba le for the lead in the west conঞnues to be a dogfight between these two brands.

SUMMITS Speaking of the deep snow market, the impact of the AXYS RMK won’t be known unঞl a[er the upcoming season, but as of last year, we can say one thing for certain; Summits are hot. In talking with dealers and riding buddies in various western locales, the invasion of more yellow on the hills has been very evident. The reasons for this are three fold. One is the technology menঞoned above; second can be linked to durability issues with some compeঞঞve models; and third is the acceptance of the “Titan”.

T3 Dubbed the Titan by insiders, the T3 package has proven to be be er than what many first anঞcipated. To be more specific, it’s the popularity of the huge 163 and 174-inch Summit models that have taken many by surprise. In what appears to be an oversized mountain sled with a wider than industry standard track, (16-inches) the big T3’s are everywhere. Even we can a est that the bigger footprint and high flotaঞon delivered by the T3 makes riding in the deep snow easier, especially for those of us less skilled or lazier than others.

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TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

PILOT TS Lets just get this out of the way; this is not a gimmick ski. Hey, we were skep cal at first, but a er having a chance to sample this ski on a Renegade on some late spring trails, we are sold.

With rock hard trails in the morning, and spring so in the a ernoon, a few turns of the knob was all it took to drama cally alter steering effort and bite. The benefits go beyond the obvious too. We suspect the system will garner longer carbide life; can be dialed back for loading into a trailer or driving across a shop floor; and allows you to adjust steering effort for other drivers, such as your wife or kids who want a lighter feel.

Plus, the replacement cost is much less than we first an cipated and we’re sure the a ermarket will have their own replacement blades ready for market, come late fall.

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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SNOW BIKES

With the recent purchase of Timbersled by Polaris we thought is would be important to touch briefly on the Snow Bike market. In our opinion three key factors are at play.

1. GROWTH Like it or not, the snow bike market is growing. A combinaঞon of increased awareness, improved technology, the addiঞon of new players coming into the market, and the acceptance of these vehicles by early adopter riders has all led to the growth of the segment. Even the a[ermarket is geমng in on the acঞon. The folks at Raptor Performance have just introduced an all new take on the single front ski for these conversions, opঞng instead for a dual-ski design that greatly improves the on-trail characterisঞcs of a snow bike, an area where, unঞl now has been a shortcoming for all snow bike designs.

RO NT IN S KI F ID TO R X2 TW ES IS SA O T P A IN G OW B IK N S TH E R R O HA N D L F IO N KIT N -TRA IL S O N E E V P S O SU IM PR -TRA IL .

TICA LLY IO N O FF D RA MA FLOTAT S E S A E R A N D IN C

2. MONEY Tradiঞonal sled prices are bordering on the ridiculous, especially for the high-end snow rockets that guys like us covet. If you already own a dirt bike, like many of us do, the purchase of a snow bike conversion kit makes a lot of sense. This is especially true for younger riders, who simply don’t have the wherewithal to buy a new sled, or may not want to drive their father’s Oldsmobile.

3. YOUTH The purchase of Timbersled by Polaris and the introducঞon of other pint sized conversions, such as the Sno Ripper by Holeshot, which is built upon the Kawasaki KLX 110, tells us this is a market that is and will appeal to younger and possibly new riders.

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No ma er your opinion on snow bikes and their place in snowmobiling, they are clearly here to stay and gaining momentum.

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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’ FOR P IT I N SHO A NW TH E E D E N B E U WE FOR ARO G BE TE R N N O I W CE L AD E SI N R E ES E H F TH ED O ART T TES A NY S I LGA C I ES N A T E P AG IN’ U CY MM U FAN R D R I E R TH KS OVE D RI N E E F CO F

TEARDOWN BENCH RACING, PIT GOSSIP AND PODIUM PARTIES

BY GOODWOOD AND BEERSTEIN

T

he other morning the needle

on the old Sno-Jet thermometer in the tree outside the shop window dipped right down to 48° Fahrenheit. It’s early August here at the shop, so you can imagine how happy me an’ Beerstein were to feel a little coolness in the air. I mean, it was downright fall-like.

We about knocked each other over, trying to get into the shop to fire up a sled and celebrate. Unfortunately, nothing we had was running, so we had to fire up Beerstein’s old weed whip filled with Wynn’s pre-mix, to fill the shop with two-stroke smoke.

Most people look forward to summer, but around here, summer is just a whole lot of waitin’ for winter. That might sound familiar ‘cuz some OEM used it on some ads and whatnot a few years back. Well, let me tell you, we’ve been waitin’ for winter around the shop here since long before any of these

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ad agencies started drummin’ up tailgates over their fancy coffee drinks. I believe they call these people “hipsters”, and they ain’t got nothin’ to do with snowmobiling.

Anyways, a few years back, me and Beerstein decided to make the best of summer. We set up a whole racing calendar with some water skippin’ and grass draggin’. We don’t like to brag, but if there’s one thing I can say about me and Beerstein is we get lucky sometimes tunin’ sleds, and we’ve been known to get pointed at around the races as the “fast guys.” But those are the good times when we get pointed at. Other times is because we done some crashin’ or Beerstein got out of hand with the pounders, but that’s another story.

This one year, we had a fast sled. Now, any old racer will tell you there’s fast sleds and sleds that ain’t fast. No one can explain this. Was that fast sled built on a Wednes-

day or Thursday? Was the slow sled built on a Monday or Friday? No one knows. If you’re an old racer, what you do know is if you get a fast one, well, you best not crash that buggy. If you get a slow one? Might as well put that thing in the want ads in the back of the tradin’ papers, ‘cuz ain’t nothin’ you can do to make it beat that fast one. Beerstein calls them sleds ‘flat beer’.

Now this fast sled, she responded to pretty much anything we did to her. I mean we could do no wrong settin’ up this ride.

Beerstein, he was beside himself with this thing and he just couldn’t wait to hit the grass drags come early fall. First race, we got that thing on the warm-up stand out on the line, and that triple was just a singin’ its song. You never heard a happier sled. That sled shut down everyone. The tech guys were scratchin’ their heads trying to figure out what we’d done to make it so fast.

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

“Goodwood,” they’d say, “We know you guys are cheatin’, we just ain’t figured out how yet.” They never did, either, ‘cuz that was the one year we didn’t have to cheat…ummm…errr…innovate our way to get next to the trophy gal.

Here’s a lesson for all you young kids out there, lookin’ to get into racin’. If you start winnin’ a lot, I can guarantee there will be a whole mess of folks looking for ways to make it stop. Our sled was fast, but ‘ol Beerstein, he’s got reactions like a nervous cat that’s been drinkin’ those energy sodas all the kids are chuggin’ these days, so the whole combo was pretty tough to beat. Besides, there are not a lot of people that like us in the first place, and pretty much everyone was not likin’ us winnin’. “You’re killing the class,” they said. Me and Beerstein, we just figured everyone else was too slow is all.

The following year we show up to the first race and the race director, he comes up to us right away and says, “We got some new rules you guys. You better read ‘em.” Turns out, with these new rules, every time someone won a race they got weight added to their sleds. Now, this wasn’t much of a big deal for me and Beerstein, since we had such a fast sled, but for the other guys, well, they got some weight added and they were done.

After the first race, the race director came back up to us and said, “You guys argue with me about every call I make. Ain’t you guys mad about them new rules?”

Well old Beerstein, he looked at me, then he looked at the race director and said, “Seems to me like you’re trying to make these races like my kids soccer games.” The race director furrowed his brow and looked as confused as my old coonhound that time he finally did catch my neighbor’s cat.

At this point, Beerstein put his arm around the guys shoulder. Now you gotta remember, Beerstein has never been friends with any race director, so this was pretty out of character for him. Then Beerstein says, “Those soccer kids, people are always afraid of having a few of them feel like they’re losers. They say they need confidence building.

So, when they play soccer they give all the kids a trophy; win, lose or whatever. Seems to me like that’s what you’re tryin’ to do with this here race circuit and these new rules of yours.”

We won one last championship with that sled and hung ‘er up. You know what? They changed those rules back right after that. Seems they accomplished their goal of making sure other guys got to stand next to the trophy girl too. We never did go back to grass draggin’. ✪

THAT HIBBERT KID He’s always winning and getting picture snapped with the trophy girls. Reckon the guy wins more than Beerstein ever did with that old grass dragger.

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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1

We know a ton of riders that remove the windshield from their buggy for manymany reasons. If you are one of those riders, then you should have a serious look at the NXT LVL Windshield Pak. Designed to located directly over the existing OEM windshield holes, this pack is made from a durable structural fabric that wont break or bend. The Pak is also available in a vented design that ingeniously has been designed to work directly with the heat vents on the cowling to keep warm and/or dry and what ever you may want to stash away. Who doesn’t love that feeling of putting on a warm pair of dry goggles half way through the day? Pure joy. For complete details and fitment for your sled head over to www. skinzprotectivegear.com

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LCG Goggles

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BUYER’S GUIDE

IT WONT BE LONG NOW... BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THE SNOW WILL FALL. THE SEASON IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER, AND THE CREW AT OSM HAVE BEEN HARDAT-WORK COMPILING, DISCUSSING, RESEARCHING, AND INVESTIGATING WHAT’S NEW IN THE PARTS AND ACCESSORY MARKET. WE’VE BEEN TALKING WITH INDUSTRY FOLK, SHAKING THE BUSHES TO GET THE LOWDOWN ON THE NEW AND COOL STUFF WE THINK YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT. TO FOLLOW ARE SOME PRODUCTS THAT WILL FOR SURE GET YOU EXCITED ABOUT WHAT IS COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE FOR THIS SLEDDING SEASON. – ENJOY.

+

Scott is one of the leaders when it comes to winter goggles. They were the first to introduce the adjustable FIX system, which allows the rider to adjust the frame to fit different face shapes. Leave it to Scott to tackle another problem; having to pack multiple goggles for a day out on the trail or mountain. Any serious rider knows that the only reason you need to switch goggles during the day is due to a lens issue like the lighting has changed, you got a face full of snow or you fogged up the first pair. Introducing the LCG (Lens Change Goggle) from Scott. This engineering masterpiece allows the rider to swap the lens at the push of a button. That’s right, you read that correctly, simply depress the button on the side of the frame, and the lens removes itself ready to accept the other lens that came with the goggle. We know right now you going through all the benefits of only carrying an extra lens as opposed to an entire set of goggles. The LCG comes with two different lenses, a really cool hard carrying case, and of course, features the FIT system we already told you about. Yup, we will wait as you go check out www.scott-sports.com for complete details.

>>>>>>

Blade Carbon Helmet

New from FXR this year is the seriously cool looking Black/Hi-Vis color-style in the Blade Carbon Helmet. For those of you that know of the Blade Carbon you can stop reading and just enjoy the photo. For those that don’t know about the Blade Carbon; FXR released a 100% with features that include; a Hi-Flow visor born from the race track that reduces lift and protects from roost, 10 intake vents and 4 exhaust ports, super-strong billet aluminum visor screws (yes strong but cool factor way high as well) and a front chin bar that easily integrates a Breath Box or Anti-Fog mask system. Want to know more about this bucket protector head over to: www.fxrracing.com

ON SNOW MAGAZINE • VOL 6 • ISSUE 1

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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See your dealer or visit

Maverick Monosuit

The Monosuit is becoming very popular, and the Maverick from FXR is a suit that not only has a really cool look, but also has some serious features. Shown here in the new “bad-ass” Charcoal/Grey/Orange and White color-style, FXR has thrown the kitchen sink at the Maverick when it comes to features. Things like; 2-way front zipper, lining pocket with goggle wipe chamois, inner adjustable (and removable) suspenders, removable hood, Tether D-Ring, Scotchlite™ reflective inserts and a hidden pocket key on the left sleeve. There are a lot of benefits when it comes to wearing a monosuit, so if you are considering making the switch, then take a serious look at the Maverick from FXR. ‘Nuff said.

Check out www.fxrracing.com for the complete lineup.

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More Tracks USA products Q Rail and Tunnel Extensions.

Package prices Q Fly Race Apparel Q Best Ski Boots in colors

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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We caught wind, just as we were going to press, that our friends at C&A Pro have just dropped yet another new ski in to the marketplace. Introducing the all-new XCS (aka the Xtreme Cross Ski), which answers the call for a snowmobile ski that will work on the faster and lighter sleds being offered. C&A put some serious testing into this bad-boy and created a ski that provides ample off-trail flotation, at the same time as, laying down a solid footing while on-trail.

The design of the outboard keel helps alleviate darting and the newly developed traction scoops (found on both sides of center keel) aids in keeping the XCS planted firmly when you hot into the corner. So all in all the designers at C%A Pro have created a ski that is proficient in “ground-and-pound” situations as well as those occasional trips “off-trail” when you want to show your buddies how good you can handle the deep pow-brah. For complete details and where to get your hand on a set head over to: www.caproskis.com

5 +

>>>>>>

BUYER’S GUIDE

6

XSC Ski >>>>>>

Switch Goggle Here is a new goggle from Triple 9 Optics that needs to be put on the “I-want-that” list. With large spherical lenses, these goggles actually help increase the vision range and extends the peripheral view. This makes it easier for you to spot your buddy trying to sneak up and pass you on the inside. The newly designed vent foam also helps the goggle breath, but at the same time, stop as much cold air from seeping in. We all know that is a fine-line balance between cold face and foggy goggles. The goggles also include an oversize nose beak and a silicone lined strap. To get your hands on the newest goggle from Triple 9 check out www.triple9optics.com

+

7

Dual Pressure System >>>>>> Fox FLOAT Shocks

This system from Hygear definitely falls under the “What is Cool” category. Developed specifically for the FOX FLOAT and FOX FLOAT 2 air shocks, the Dual Pressure System literally changes the way your air shocks work. After the simple install of the system, which includes all billet aluminum mounting clamps and air fittings, your shocks will now have reservoirs that have two charging valves so ride height and bottoming can be adjusted independently. The additional air volume allows you to run higher pressure for better handling, stability and reduced body roll and you don’t have to sacrifice the bottoming resistance or ride quality. Yup, you have to admit, this is pretty cool.For complete info and even a short video on how this works head over to: www.hygearsuspension.com

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TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

10 11

NXT LVL Tunnel Bag

Here is a tunnel bag that can morph into a storage device for whatever day you are heading out for. The Paks were developed with a modulartype design allowing you to choose whether to pack for a quick rip to the clubhouse, or an extended full pull to the cabin in the woods.

The Pak universally attaches to the tunnel with supplied buckles and adhesive Velcro making it a breeze to remove. A nice added “attention to detail” is the heavy duty D-Rings that allows additional larger items to be toted along with the use of bungee cords. For complete details head over to www.skinzprotectivegear.com

X Cross Boot The X Cross is FXRs’ number one selling boot and new for this season the designers have introduced a serious, solid fuchsia color. The X Cross is a crossover boot that has been designed with enough support and warmth for the serious trail rider, but at the same time, is flexible enough to be used as an everyday boot. Throw in the fact that it is comes in pink-on-pink and gentleman you now have that perfect “I love you” gift when it comes time to explain the week long trip you are currently planning with your buddies. Check out www.fxrracing.com for the complete lineup.

12

Sentinel Handguards

Hey Ladies, you know we are always looking for things you might like too. Our friends over at Powermadd let us know that they have introduced a limited edition Pink and Black color style in their popular Sentinel Handguards. Made from two types of plastic, one being a stiff spine for durability, and one being a softer colored plastic for flexibility, these handguards are going to offer up some amazing protection at the same time as giving you an updated cool look.

Available in other colors if Pink is not your thing. Head over to www.powermadd.com for complete details.

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Cold Cross Race Replica Jacket and Pant

BiteHarder Stud Sharpener

Seriously, what sledder deep down inside doesn’t dream about being a racer. You know we all do it. Every corner, hit, or pass you do on trail gives you that notion that you too have what it takes to be an outstanding racer.

The FXR Cold Cross Race Replica brings you one step close to your dream. The jacket is made from a wind and waterproof trilaminate material that has a 4-way stretch shell that will keep up with your sweet moves out on the trail. The pants are constructed of a durable polyester shell that feature reinforced instep and hems, accordion stretch gussets with an overall race cut design. So not only are you going to look like a racer, you are going to be able to move like a racer. Check out www.fxrracing.com for the complete lineup.

While you are sitting around the shop looking for stuff to do before the snow falls, may we suggest you take that wasted time and put your idle hands to good use. One of the newest products to be released from our friends at BiteHarder is a tool designed to sharpen your studs, without the need of removing them from your track. The tool uses the same proven diamond coating found on their famous carbide sharpening tool, and was developed to give more life to your existing studs. The BiteHarder Stud Sharpener operates best with tools that turn at a min of 10,000 RPM. (So guys your cordless drill will not cut it – you are going to need to a pneumatic style grinder) This bad boy is going to put a tip on your studs that is seriously sharp resulting in giving you the hole-shot advantage when your buddy rolls up beside and gives you that look…oh you know the look. For complete info check out: www.biteharder.com

THE REASON WE ARE NAMED DYNOPORT IS:

Dyno = Dynamometer and Port = Porting Mad Scientist Rich Daly

Pipes were an offshoot of our porting, and the pipe business became Giant

Mad Scientist Rich knows pipes and porting - so why would you let anyone else grind your cylinder?

- Pipes - Y’s - Big Core Barker - Trail Silencers - Clutch Kits

Photo: Kayla Donley - Dead Center Photography

WWW.DYNOPORT.COM

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315-252-2113

CAT POLARIS SKI-DOO

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Pipes Silencers

Arctic Cat Polaris Ski-Doo Yamaha

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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onsnow n

Greg Williamson Chief Marketing Officer Arctic Cat

As we kick off a new season, we thought it would be only fitting to feature some new blood in our first ‘Five Minutes With’ interview.

This past spring, Arctic Cat announced the hiring of Greg Williamson for the newly formed position of Chief Marketing Officer. Greg came to Cat with an arsenal of experience, including his role as chief marketing officer at Spectrum Brands Home Improvement and an MBA from the University of Texas. We let Greg get acclimated to his new digs in Plymouth before we tapped him for five minutes to get his insight on his vision for Arctic Cat. Your position is a new one with the Arctic Cat. In fact, there has been a lot of changes and restructuring going on within the company. What can customers expect to see from the company in terms of changes in the near and long term future?

There’s a lot of hard work to do to fully optimize the performance of our business and to improve Arctic Cat’s position in the marketplace.

The team will focus on three main tenants of the business; product innovation, dealer development, and marketing. Specifically, we will continue to leverage our fifty plus years of leading edge product development to continue to improve our quality, performance and overall rider satisfaction. Relative to our dealer base, we need to continue to work towards building strong relationships that are rooted in transparency and trust and a greater sense of partnership. Lastly, we have an iconic brand with an extremely passionate user base. We need to build on these assets to form more comprehensive marketing plans that really focus on driving awareness, product usage, and ultimately, increased sales.

Obviously snowmobiles represent the roots of the company, but now off-road vehicles have a much larger growth potential, along with potential future business opportunities. What role do you see snowmobiles in, as part of the makeup of the company going forward?

Snowmobiles are, and always will be at the heart of our company.

Our successful legacy and share position in the category gives us a wealth of knowledge that we hopefully can translate and transfer over to the dirt business. Our success in developing high performing products that meet or exceed our users’ expectations in the snow business, serves as a great blueprint on how we need to approach our dirt business.

This is a great question and a big challenge. First and foremost, we can’t take our eye off of the product equation. The most important part of the formula for retaining current, and attracting new customers is developing world class, innovative products that deliver a great riding experience. Success in this part of our strategy really comes down to the skill, passion and capabilities of our team. What’s been most impressive for me in the first few months with our company is the level of knowledge of our team, and the outright passion they have for the products and for the company. Nearly everyone I’ve worked with here is an avid user of our products. There is no substitute for that type of experience. I also feel it’s what will keep us grounded and connected to our image as the company that is a little irreverent and a bit rogue. That image is tied more to our people and our products rather than the size of our sales.

Arctic Cat has long played “in the shadows” of Polaris, despite at one time being extremely similar companies in location, culture, and products. Polaris has now become what many would view as a global leader in powersports. Does Arctic Cat want similar success and if so, what will it take to get there?

Polaris has done a tremendous job over the last several years in elevating their performance, and obviously growing the breadth of offering, and overall size and scale. Whenever you have such a strong competitor, it is worthwhile to study their actions to see what can be learned. With that said, our main focus is on growing Arctic Cat into the best company that it can be. We want to be known as the leader in new product innovation, for having the strongest and most productive dealer relationships, and for having a brand that knowledgeable and performance driven users prefer. If we do those things well, I’m confident that we will reach new levels of success.

You come to Arctic Cat with a strong arsenal of experience and education in strategic marketing. Snowmobiling is a passion driven sport, have you been infected by the “snowmobiling bug” yet?

More than anything, I have been infected by the Arctic Cat bug. As I’ve mentioned, the level of passion and commitment of our team to our brand, our products, and our company is infectious and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. The fact that we are in the business of manufacturing and marketing products that are meant to be fun and provide a great user experience is an added bonus.

Arctic Cat customers are some of the most fiercely brand loyal customers there are in powersports. That strong allegiance can be both a blessing in retaining your current customers, and a challenge when it comes to attracting new ones. How do your foresee balancing the brand identity between those who want to see the company remain somewhat small and slightly irreverent, and still attract new customers to the Arctic Cat fold?

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TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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onsnow Pat Bourgeois

FLOAT BOWL

Mountains vs. Trails riders. By all accounts it was another fantastic trip, but near the end he said he came to a shocking realization; he “misses trail riding.”

Now, before you start pointing fingers and thinking he simply doesn’t have the talent to ride in the mountains or worse yet, is “too old”, let me paint a clear picture. He’s a former cross-country and snocross racer, one helluva a talented rider, and he loves building powerful mod sleds. No, he wasn’t in over his head.

What he was “missing” is the thrill of running hard with buddies; charging fast down a nasty, mogul littered trail; railing the corners of a twisted and tightly wooded, ungroomed single track; picking the best lines and showing a buddy a ski tip in the corner; or hammering down a wind whipped ditchline and navigating unknown terrain at speed. While the deep snow No matter the terrain, riding with friends is the ultimate snowmobiling experience. “in crowd” may say trails are boring, I’m in agreement with my friend; I love trail riding too.

Ironically, most lifelong mountain Maybe it is. For sure the feeling and he images of stretched chassis sleds carving uncharted paths thrill of riding in seemingly endless riders hate trails. They view them u p t h e s i d e s o f m o u n t a i n s powder, or looking out over a never- as a necessary evil to get from the and through vast stretches of endless ending series of powder bowls from parking lot to the “good stuff”. Most are powder are virtually everywhere these a mountaintop is amazing. Mountain ungroomed and rough as hell, and while days. Heck we print several of them right riding is an entirely different animal if mountain riders loathe them, I love them here on the pages of OSM. They are you grew up riding the trails of the and often find them to be my favorite Midwest and Eastern areas of the part of the ride. incredible and the riding is even better.

Snowmobiling by its very nature is What’s more, everyone has eagerly Snowbelt. There’s a feeling of freedom jumped aboard the mountain sled and exploration that you don’t quite get a sport of adventure, of freedom, and of thrill seeking. It’s also about friends bandwagon in an effort to make bank when riding trails.

It’s also not the only holy grail of and family, and sharing the experience or simply look cool. The deep snow, with them. Truth is, I love all kinds of off-trail market has been one of the snowmobiling.

Late last winter a good friend had snowmobiling, from an afternoon ride hottest segments in the sport over the past ten years. The reasons are many: just returned from a weeklong trip to with my family, to boon docking in the inconsistent snow in other parts of the Colorado. It was one of several trips he mountains, to a 3-mile ride on vintage snowbelt; dramatically improved sleds makes to western destinations in search iron. Yet if I’m given the choice, I love to that have the ability to go places we of deep snow, steep slopes, and huge ride trails.

So which is better, mountains or trails? once only dreamed of; and a mindset by bowls of powder. The snow was great many snowmobilers that riding off-trail is and he spent much of the time riding Frankly, there’s room for both, and a whole with his son and a group of “hot shoe” lot more…let’s just call it snowmobiling. ✪ “where it’s at”.

T

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TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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LAST GASP

Wendy Gavinski Divas • www.DivasSnowGear.com The woman behind the sport’s only women’s exclusive snowmobile gear company, Wendy Gavinski is driven to succeed, no matter the odds. A native of Wisconsin, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin Whitewater and is a lifetime snowmobiler. Frustrated by the lack of gear for women with only what she calls “frumpy” and “unattractive” options, she started Divas Snow Gear in 2010 to offer women riders a clear choice in riding gear. With sizes from XS to 5XL, Divas now features technical riding gear; gloves; casuals; helmets; goggles; bags; base layers; wrap kits and more. We caught up with Wendy at Diva’s headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin for her Last Gasp take on snowmobiling, cupcakes and the Empire State Building.

Last snowmobile you crashed?

Oh boy…I’ve crashed nearly every sled I’ve ever owned. It’s not that I’m a horrible driver; (at least I hope not) it’s just that we’re in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and tree stumps are everywhere. I’m of the opinion that if you don’t do some damage to your sled, you’re not riding hard enough.

Last food you questioned putting in your mouth?

A cupcake. I’m not a huge fan of sweets and I always question whether it’s worth wasting the calories. If I’m going to eat junk, I’d prefer something salty!

Last band you saw live?

My husband (Travis) and I visited Elkhart Lake (Wisconsin) earlier this summer for my birthday and we stopped by a bar to watch a cover band called “Strawberry Jam.” Everyone could sing, and they even had a table of groupies whooping it up in the front row. Turns out the groupies were their parents, because most of the band members were under 21.

Last time you went over 100mph?

To be honest, I don’t really have a need for speed, other than for testing it out on the trails. I’m more interested in getting myself lost in the backcountry, getting stuck, and then figuring out how to get myself back out.

I get a big feeling of accomplishment doing things myself and not asking for help.

Last person you hugged?

I hugged my six-year-old son when he came in and woke me up this morning. I still cannot figure out how to get that kid to sleepin past 6:00 A.M. Last time you got pulled over by the man?

Well, I did get pulled over by an officer while running recently. Where I park to go run, the local police often park and set up a speed trap. I was going on a run when they were there recently. I got out of my truck, stretched, turned on my headphones and put

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my key fob in my pocket. I’m about forty-five minutes into my run, with about a mile or two to go, when I notice a cop slowly creeping up alongside me. He asks me if that is my Yukon in the parking lot and I proudly claim it! Turns out I left it running! In an effort to spare me additional embarrassment, he also kindly reminded me my license plate is up for renewal at the end of the month.

Last near death experience?

It was 2013, when a group of us went on a privately guided snowmobile trip to Whistler, British Columbia. The first night I noticed a lot of people walking around with crutches and casts on from various ski or snowboard accidents. Needless to say, I felt a little intimidated to be there with so many professional riders who were far more qualified. On one particular ride, we decided to take a trip to the top of the Pemberton Ice Cap. I was hesitant to go, but I did anyway, and it was one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever done. I won’t go into details, but let’s just say I ended up falling off my sled, the sled screamed down the mountain on its own, and I narrowly missed falling into a huge crevice that was thirty feet wide and you couldn’t see the bottom. I decided from that point on, I would leave the extreme riding to the experts. This trip was certainly the motivation I needed to start the women’s backcountry riding clinics! Not only for myself to learn, but also for other women like me who want to build the skills needed to safely and confidently ride in the backcountry. We are lucky to have a team of professional riders, headed by Stephanie Schwartz, as our DSG backcountry clinicians!

Last great idea you had that made you think…hell yeah?

We have so many great ideas, but having the time to do them is always the challenge. Our team is very small and there’s only so much we can take on. We aren’t necessarily looking to do a lot, but rather want to do it right.

Lasting snowmobile memory.

Riding with my father and my sister in the fields of my family’s dairy farm in southwest Wisconsin. I feel so good knowing that by doing what we do at DSG, we inspire more women to get out and ride with their friends and families.

Last time you were inspired?

It’s really a daily occurrence; I’m constantly inspired by the little things…the people in my life…and nature. I love the outdoors and I try to use the natural beauty of the outdoors in our designs.

Last time you traveled abroad?

My husband earned an incentive work trip to Italy a few years ago. We went to Venice, Rome, Florence, and Sardinia. Venice was my absolute favorite...no cars, no bikes, and no balls allowed! The food was amazing, and I will never forget the taste of that authentic Italian pizza…. yum!

Last celebrity you met?

We had the pleasure to meet Damond John from Shark Tank last year. My husband and I met with him at his office in NYC, regarding some future opportunities. As we walked up to the address they gave us, we unknowingly looked up to see that his office was located in the Empire State Building! I can’t tell you how cool it was to walk into that building for a meeting.

Last project you worked on that you were truly excited about?

Can’t talk about it now, but I’m working on a very exciting project to be launched next fall…stay tuned!

Last thing your mother always told you?

“Be careful” My mother is very safety conscious, not too mention a worrywart.

Last words of advice?

Never give up on your dreams, no matter how big, small or silly they seem. I think my business is proof that if you have your mind set on something, you can achieve anything you want!

TORONTO SNOWMOBILE, ATV & POWERSPORTS SHOW • OCT 23-25, 2015 • TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • www.torontosnowmobileatvshow.com

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