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I love to
snowmobile, I was a late bloomer in the sport, taking my first
real ride in 1991. I borrowed my Brothers 1976 Rupp 440 Nitro
and did a night ride. Two friends and I rode on a full moon with
mining lights strapped to our heads. From that moment on, I was
hooked. I purchased a 1990 Arctic Cat Panther that next
fall from my brother-in-law, and that is where it got fanatical.
We would ride 2-3 nights a week, and then at least on one day
off. Riding is just a 10 Minute trailer haul from
the house, or work. We could ride off Jim and Bob
Webster's farm in Charleston when the snow got good in late
December.
The need for more power came strong to me late that spring.
I bought a 91 Prowler, had a 136" X 1" track put under
it, and had the Cat shop pipe it, and mill the heads. WOW,
I learned about liquid cooling quick... That year we rode on
into mid June.
We
went to West Yellowstone in December of that year, and rode an
EXT 580 set up right out of the box. It ran great
compared to our 440's, but knew we would have to be happy.
Well that spring, the three guys I ride with decided to buy
580's, one Polaris, 2 Cats. I couldn't be left out of this
one, so I bought a Cat 580. It was great! Over the summer
I had Cutler's Inc. Pipe it, and mill the heads. I loved
my machine, it would take me about anywhere I wanted to go.
I made a decision to buy a 1995 Polaris XCR 600 with a 136 X
1.5,long track. It had SLP pipes, Billet heads, and lots
of other goodies. I never got it running perfect, and
thought that the heads were not quite right. I decided to
sell that and buy a sled with some serious power, without
pushing the limit on the reliability issue.
I next purchased the finest sled I had ridden to date. I
purchased a 1996 ZRT 800 put a 141 X 2" track under it,
gutted the air box, and put a stinger on it. I had finally
found a REAL machine! Action Motor Sports, and Cutler Inc
both in Northern Utah contributed to this beast. Both
companies make a big bore kit, but I never had time to put the
machine to this. It is a great machine. When the riders of
the "other brands" give me crap for riding a Cat, I
just smile and tell them what I ride, and it is the end of the
conversation. It is a heavy machine, and a bit tricky to
corner with having the 141" track, but for boon docking,
climbing, or just getting somewhere in style, no one can beat
it. I saw the opportunity of riding disappearing for the
year of 1998 as we built our new store, and with Cat releasing a
new 800 Triple next year, I decided to sell my sled, and buy new
in the fall.
In
1998 -99 I was busy, and had some wrist trouble, had
surgery, so I did not ride.
In 2000 I decided to order a Arctic Cat Mountain Cat 800
Twin. I love the twin. It is so light, I love the
power band and the whole machine. The wrist is holding up,
and I recommend the surgery to anyone who has thumb ache
when riding. The other part of the surgery was for a cyst
that limited my mobility and strength.
We -
put Starting Line pipes, milled the heads, and V-Force reeds on
it. It SCREAMS!! Fun machine!! . Will
keep this page updated regularly.
2002 - Bored the carbs.
Made a good difference. Broke my bad hand again
slipped on the ice in my parking lot. Rode twice before I
went to the Doc, but too much pain!! Done for the year
again...
2003 - Seized the engine, put 900cc
jugs on, runs like a bandit!!
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