Here’s some beautiful footage captured by Jorli Ricker while riding in Whistler BC.
Jorli is the brilliant mind behind the insane cult snowmobile flick Fourcast, which if you haven’t seen should be at the top of your list for your next iTunes downloads.
Visit snowrideadventures.com and click here for more info about Fourcast.
The latest issue of SUPERTRAX is landing in mailboxes and you can download it from Zinio right now!
This issue features a comparo between five big pony crossovers on the market: Ski-Doo’s Renegade 800 E-Tec, Polaris’ 800 Switchback, Arctic Cat’s XF 800 and XF 1100 Turbo and Yamaha’s Apex XTX.
You’ll also take a look back at the 10 most amazing technologies of the last decade that have been instrumental in shaping snowmobiling.
You’ll also find a great article about the 2011 Vintage I-500 Race written from the saddle of a ’79 El Tigre Cross Country!
If you caught the feature earlier this season on SnowTrax Television about our vintage escapades riding Sno Travelers in Maine, you’ll love the article in this issue featuring great photos of the event.
Get all this and more in the latest issue of SUPERTRAX!
We may as well state at the outset, this is the maximum the market offers in a 4-stroke for 2012.
This all-new chassis envelops an incredibly powerful 1056cc turbocharged twin, independently dynoed at 177-horsepower.
Is this more power than the average red-blooded snowmobiler needs? Absolutely! Is it an incredible blast to ride it? You betcha!
The absurd power output of this sled may completely overshadow the fact Arctic Cat has done a fabulous job in designing its new Procross chassis.
The new Cat platform is every bit capable of handling the power this 4-stroke makes and it does it with precise handling, excellent weight distribution and top-of-the-segment suspension compliance.
A big challenge in the sled’s design was literally harnessing the gargantuan power of a 175-plus-horse engine as it spools up its power under acceleration.
Former Cat Turbos have been notorious for belt-wear issues simply because the engine moved so much on its mounts as the rider applied maximum thumb pressure. This problem has been cured with a device called the “Torque Control Link”.
The idea behind it is to create an integrated link between the engine, the secondary clutch and the jackshaft so that under acceleration, everything moves uniformly.
Long ago, chassis designers gave up on trying to stop the engine from moving on its mounts. Lashing the motor down so securely it couldn’t move created incredible vibration problems and even premature wear of bulkhead and chassis components to the point of popping rivets and breaking welds.
With TSL, the motor can move around and not put stress on the chassis or the drivebelt. In the case of this giant-killer Turbo, it completely changes the way the sled feels and makes it downright pleasant to operate.
Furthermore, since no power is lost to excess belt deflection, you can be sure all the power is getting down to the snow, all the time. Hey, you may as well get everything you’re paying for, right?
You can read more about this chassis in Supertrax, but dare we say, its ride quality and especially, its handling are unprecedented in the 4-stroke world thus far.
We would go as far as to say you really can have it all with this snowmobile. Although it does weigh more than a mega-performance 2-stroke, its balance and agility are unlike any other 4-stroke we’ve ridden – extremely close to a 2-stroke.
The 4-stroke mass is slightly more obvious with this sled than its non-turbocharged sibling, particularly on tight trails, but without any reservations we’d accept the claim this engine and chassis combo nails the definition of what a 4-stroke hypersled should be.
Follow Pro racer Ross Erdman and Semi-Pro Ben Lindbom at the Beach Bar 200 race in The Yamaha Racing Show, Episode 3.
Authentic Quebec is an extraordinary place. It’s so easy to get lost in the absolute joy of the riding experience here that, believe it or not, sometimes the nuts and bolts get overlooked…even by seasoned veterans like us.
Our 2012 Ski-Doo Renegades were amazing the whole trip and literally sipped fuel and oil. Keep in mind they do require both in order to run.
After our mishap with the saddlebag we knew we had to cover some serious distance to get back on schedule and everything seemed to be going according to plan. We knew time was going to be tight but we were re-energized after conquering a fairly big obstacle and coming out relatively unscathed.
So when we reached Saint-Zenon – home of the legendary Auberge Le Cabanon www.aubergelecabanon.com, the wise decision would have been to fill up the sleds while we had the opportunity (For the record, this was suggested by one of our crew).
Looking at my watch and realizing the distance we still had to cover that day I foolishly made the decision to press ahead believing (without any proof or justification whatsoever) there would be another gas station in the not too far distance.
The amenities in Authentic Quebec are copious, however fuel stops along the section of trail from Cabanon towards Matawin on trail 360 are limited. So make note that if you make it to Cabanon… fill up!
Pressing ahead, it didn’t take long to realize my assumption of unlimited numbers of gas stations along the way was way off the mark. As I watched the gas gauge shrink, I began checking signage to see just how long my riding partners would be making me walk to the nearest town for gas when we undoubtedly ran out.
By now the sun was gone and we were literally in the middle of nowhere. We arrived at a junction that said “Matawin 45km” which is about 27 miles. My gas gauge had one bar and Vern’s gas light was already blinking. It wasn’t looking good. Its interesting to see how panicked three grown men can get when faced with being stranded in unknown territory in the middle of the night in the middle of winter.
Pressing on was the only thing we could do now and getting as close to the next town as possible to limit our walking distance was all we cared about. Counting down the miles was a little stressful. Every hill we went over was one less we’d have to walk back up with a can of gasoline and before we knew it, we had made it to the end of trail 360 in Mattawin.
Vern had literally sputtered into the rest stop on fumes and Mike and I weren’t fairing much better. We turned off our sleds, high fived each other and then realized we still had about another kilometer to go along a road in order to reach the gas station.
Vern started his sled, went about ten feet and that was it. We towed him into the tiny town’s ESSO station and filled up right to the brim and decided to call it a day.
There was one hotel in town which was completely full with snowmobilers, not even one room available. The next closest place was about 35 miles away so we had a late dinner in Mattawin and headed for Auberge Beau-Lieu in Saint-Joseph-de-Mekanic www.aubergebeaulieu.com, which turned out to be one of the best nights of the trip.
Byers Motorsports put on a tremendous show in front of a large crowd at the Georgian Cup Snowcross in Barrie, Ontario. Byers Motorsports had many family, friends and fans make the 30 min drive from Orillia to cheer the team on for the 3-day event. The weekend started off with Friday Night racing under the lights, one of the two events having night races this year.
Kyle Byers returned to the racing scene for his first race this year competing in the Sport 600 class. With only one day of practice before coming to Barrie, Kyle came out flying grabbing the holeshot in both qualifying races, finishing 2nd and 5th respectively. Kyle started backrow for the final and ran a great race finishing 10th.
Once again, Kyle had strong qualifying runs in Sundays Sport 600. He didn’t get great starts but picked fast lines and made a hard charge on the final lap placing 4th and 5th in the Moto’s. Struggling with having backrow starts in the final, Kyle rode hard coming across the checkered in 12th.
“It feels good to be back on the sled again and I’m happy to have made the finals; that’s half the battle in a class this big.” Kyle said after Sundays final.
Jamie Byers started the weekend off Friday night on the Mod sled in the Pro-Lite Open class. Jamie started the weekend off right with a 1st and 2nd in the Qualifying races.
In the final, Jamie got a great start coming out in 2nd where he ran the first couple laps before getting tagged from behind coming out of a corner spinning him sideways.
Jamie was able to stay on the sled, keep it upright and come back into the race in 6th with 4 laps to go. With the adrenaline pumping, he charged his way up to 4th for the finish.
In Saturday’s racing action, Jamie pulled the Holeshot in Pro-Lite Stock Moto 1 on his Polaris IQ. Jamie almost came off the sled in the technical back rhythm section falling back to 3rd but came back to 2nd for the finish.
He finished 2nd in Moto 2 as well, qualifying 3rd for the Stock Final. He got a great start pulling out in 2nd out of the first corner and held on for the Podium finish.
With the sun shining, Jamie brought the Mod sled back out for Sunday’s Pro-Lite Open. In Moto 1, Jamie grabbed the holeshot and picked a fast line through the back rhythm section winning the Moto with a good margin over 2nd.
After making a last lap pass, Jamie finished 2nd in Moto 2 and qualified 2nd in final. Jamie was 6th into the 1st corner but had the inside line and charged down the back stretch getting him near the front and once again finished on the Podium in 3rd.
“It was a good points weekend for us and pumped to have made it onto the Podium twice in front of friends and family.” Jamie said following the weekend. “The Polaris sleds worked great and the CSRA was able to build a nice, technical track despite the warm temperatures.”
The next event for Byers Motorsports is in Louisville, Quebec for CSRA National Round 4.
BRP’s Ski-Doo X-Team Freestyle competitor Heath Frisby pulled off the incredible Sunday night by front flipping his snowmobile to take the gold medal in the Best Trick competition at ESPN’s Winter X-Games.
Click Below To Watch:
BRP’s Ski-Doo X-Team Freestyle competitor Heath Frisby pulled off the incredible Sunday night by front flipping his snowmobile to take the gold medal in the Best Trick competition at ESPN’s Winter X-Games.
It was the first time anyone had ever attempted the feat in competition, and the only time anyone has landed it to snow.
When word spread about the trick through a New York Times interview, the buzz lit up through social media sites and on ESPN’s airwaves like wildfire. The anticipation was incredible.
Frisby’s confidence did not waiver as he prepared to jump right after fellow freestyler Justin Hoyer crashed hard and was taken off on the medical sleigh.
The crowd, after seeing several competitors complete back flips (where riders use the throttle to help spin the track and machine), wasn’t prepared for the silence of Frisby locking up his track with the brake right after take off.
You could hear the gasps as everyone watched in awe, held their breath, and then exploded in cheers when he landed the trick.
X-Games gold, the first ever front flip, and the respect and admiration of his fans, fellow competitors and the world. Proud of the shy kid from Idaho? Yes ,for sure.
– congratulations Heath!
The feat has garnered international attention, with the video clip going over 1 million views on YouTube, featured as the #5 featured video on YouTube, featured on ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 (#7), CNN Today and named the 2012 X-Games Most Historic Moment. An article in Sports Illustrated is also in the works.
Joe Parsons, Heath’s best friend and training partner, used a Ski-Doo snowmobile to take a silver medal in Freestyle on Thursday night, followed by a bronze on Sunday in the Best Trick competition.
These were Parsons’ ninth and tenth X-Games medals. Congratulations to Joe, who, riding without factory support, has been this sport’s Iron Man.
Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP), a privately-held company, is a world leader in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of motorised recreational vehicles. Its portfolio of brands and products includes: Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea Doo watercraft and sport boats, Evinrude and Johnson outboard engines, Can-Am all terrain and side-by-side vehicles and roadsters, as well as Rotax engines. BRP products are distributed in more than 100 countries.
Luke evaluates the 2012 Yamaha Phazer featuring the 80-horsepower, 499cc 4-stroke engine.
Much has been written this year about Arctic Cat’s new ProCross platform and frankly, we’re still in awe of it ourselves.
However, if you step back in time and look at the evolution of the former Twin Spar Cat chassis, you have to give kudos to this year’s F5 LXR.
This is a truly unique model, not just because it’s based on an older platform but because it fulfills the needs of a unique market.
There are substantial numbers of riders who like the power range of a smaller 2-stroke in the 80-horse range and its inherent lightness and agility when plied at trail speeds.
There just isn’t anything else around that fills the bill in this range and it’s what makes the F5 so unique.
Arctic Cat hasn’t tried to “budget-out” the LXR in any way. It offers many amenities not available on the new ProCross models and the list is substantial.
Fully adjustable seating and handlebars come to mind immediately but a standard touring bag, electric start, run-backwards reverse and a really nice digital gauge package are all items we appreciate but don’t necessarily initialize a sled in the 500 category.
The F5 LXR takes full advantage of Cat’s unique coupled Slide-Action rear suspension using gas cell shocks to deliver ride results comparable to much larger displacement (and more expensive) Cats.
With the countless tweaks performed over the years to this chassis, the fully evolved Twin Spar is a very good handling snowmobile, especially considering it uses a 128-inch track with one-inch deep lugs.
Its 500 twin is by its very nature and size a bit high-strung but Cat has proven it to be incredibly durable in multiple usages and, as long as it’s not plied like a hypersled, it will deliver decent gas mileage and oil consumption.
Some big-mileage riders would scorn a sled with a “mere” 500cc EFI engine. We think they’d be missing the point. The lightness and maneuverability of this sled, equipped with this motor, completely justifies its displacement.
In trail applications, its spool-up from engagement up into the mid range is very lively and although it will not pull the numbers on lakes we’re used to with big-inch sleds, it’s an absolute blast to ride on trails.
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SNOWTRAX has established itself as the most watched snowmobile TV series in North America.
Each season, the SNOWTRAX crew guides viewers through informative and entertaining content; revealing the inside scoop on the latest snowmobiles, accessories and riding destinations that make snowmobiling winter's greatest adventure sport.
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