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Trail Report March 14,
2009
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Best trail
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After our ride back from Lutsen
Thursday I parked my sled and changed out of my gear at a friends on
Devil Track Lake. About an hour later, I went back out to load my sled
in the back of my truck, it was near zero degrees. I've had some
problems with my throttle cable freezing up in real cold temps, from
all of the powder we've been hittin'. I started my Crossfire up and
hit the throttle...she died. The throttle safety switch sensed that
the cable would not return to the full closed position and
automatically disabled the ignition.
Messing around with
this in near zero and about dark conditions wasn't what I had planned
for my evening. I tried to thaw and lubricate the throttle, it wasn't
working... I left it in my friends shop for the night, so it would be
ready for another epic ride we've been planning for days, in the
Lutsen area Friday. Friday morning came and the cable was still not
returning to the closed position. On further inspection I noticed that
the cable was melted after it came loose from the plastic loop
fastener that was broken. Allowing the throttle cable to lay against
the exhaust. Needless to say the cable frayed and won't operate and I
need to replace it.
The group I was going
to be riding with was already waiting for me to show-up... needless to
say I was not going... I had to stay home and try to find a
replacement cable and try to salvage the weekend riding. I hooked my
sled up to the back of my truck and towed it over to RC Bucks place,
parking in front of the shop door, I untied the snowmobile from my
truck.
::::::::::::::::::::Things do downhill from here:::::::::::::::::::
I removed the exhaust
and the heat shield above the throttle body assembly, where the
throttle cable connects to. Suddenly, I heard the snow on the metal
roof break loose, right above me and the snowmobile. Snow begun to
cascade down onto me, knocking me down and filling the engine
compartment area with a foot of snow. It came down faster and faster
and further away from the building and perfectly onto my sled with the
hood open.
A deep breathe and a
few loud words later... I took off most of my clothes to get the snow
out of my underwear and boots. Changed into some dry clothes and began
taking the throttle cable off of the sled, so I could go down to
Grand Marais and see if anyone had a cable that would work. I figured
I'd be driving to the nearest Arctic Cat dealer, which is now in
Thunder Bay, Ontario - Canada... about an hour away.
The cable was easy to
remove, and once I had it off of the sled it was easy to see that is
was very frayed inside of the casing, caused by the spot that was
burned by the exhaust. How I got home without problems from Lutsen the
day before, not sure... I headed to a friends coffee shop in downtown
Grand Marais to have a hot drink and use the computer and find a
cable, new or used, or a dealer that had one in stock.
::::::::::::::::::::Things do downhill even more from
here:::::::::::::::::::
Not one dealer on the
Arctic Cat Web site has a throttle cable in stock, not even in
Ontario!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I kept thinking; "March, the best riding of
the season... March, the best riding of the season... LOOOOOOOZER you're
not riding until you get a new cable..."
I'm going to a concert
Wednesday night at the Myth in Maplewood, Minnesota, so I ordered a
new cable from Lighthouse Motorsports in Rosemount, Minnesota, I see
the Lighthouse Motorsport's enclosed trailer up in Grand Marais often,
and they are close to where I'll be staying Wednesday night. I was
told it would be there Wednesday or Thursday... I'm bummed, that it
seems I'm going to miss out on nearly a week of sensational riding.
I'm a believer that
things happen for a reason, and that if you go with it, stay positive, you'll make
out just fine. I'm not sure what the reason for this is, but I've
already accepted it... I'll get my YZ450F
studded up to run on the lakes and ice or spend more time at the
Lutsen Mountains Ski Hill snowboarding...HA.
8:00am; friends calling
to see if I'm riding...describing the planned ride...
8:05am; this sucks,
friends going on epic rides without me...
8:10am; 35 degrees,
sunny, great day for riding...
8:15am; text messages
teasing me...that's it...
8:20am; can't give up
yet, in my panic yesterday I forgot about JD's Sports and Repair in
Hermantown. Though... they are no longer an Arctic Cat snowmobile
dealer, which explains why they were not listed as a dealer on Cat's
Web site, maybe they have a cable in stock, maybe I can beg to take
one off a used sled? I bought my sled there and
they have always taken good care of me...
::::::::::::::::::::Things are looking up:::::::::::::::::::
Incredible...
11:00am heading to
Hermantown 2 hours away to pick-up new throttle cable, they had one in
stock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't salvage today but, tomorrow I'll be
ready!
Why didn't I think of
this yesterday?
BRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP
Update March 15th,
2009; back up and running Sunday by noon.
Update March 21st,
2009; by 5 pm March 15th was gimping my sled back to Devil Track Lake again. My
steering suffered damage from ice on the Temperance River. Used the
strap that came in the tool kit to tie my steering together after
tearing a few bolts off. Took sled with me to Cities and dropped off
at Lighthouse Motorsports in Rosemount, Minnesota.
Went to Hollywood Undead concert at the Myth in Maplewood, Minnesota.
Sled was done next day... Back-up and running Thursday afternoon...
just in time for more riding Friday. See
report and images of Friday's ride.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Report by
Chad Jones / Editor snowmobiletrails.com -
Grand Marais, Minnesota. Send your report
to us!
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