The old HCS is back just under a new name see you on the dark side.

[Doug]

15 minutes ago, Ziemann said:

Yo @D-rail

Sad thing is that we were up on the Gunflint a couple of days before you ran up to Grand Portage. Yes, I am a NO SHOW on your rides. I'm starting to get to the point where I think I may have trouble keeping up with you guys any more on a long ride....my body is starting to bark back at me. 

Mac and I have been running from my house in Solon Springs weekly on Mondays or Tuesdays during the season. I NEED to have you guys out. I tend to groom trails later in the week, and ride earlier in the week.....

 

I'm retiring on October officially December 31.  Also enjoy the grooming side of the sport 

[Ziemann]

Hmmm...Challenger tractor?

[D-rail]

Ya, we base out of east of Spooner for most of our rides in Sconnie. Plenty of fun stuff to ride.

 

[Ziemann]

6 minutes ago, D-rail said:

Ya, we base out of east of Spooner for most of our rides in Sconnie. Plenty of fun stuff to ride.

 

I tend to ride 90% of the time right from my house. We mostly ride Douglas, Bayfield, or Burnett Counties.....

[Doug]

10 minutes ago, Ziemann said:

Hmmm...Challenger tractor?

Yes our club has 2 of them.  They work great other than road crossings with deep ditches early in the year.

[Ziemann]

What's the weight? We looked in to it at one time, and figured that our bridges would never be able to hold them......

[Doug]

25 minutes ago, Ziemann said:

What's the weight? We looked in to it at one time, and figured that our bridges would never be able to hold them......

Yes you need to look at your bridges.  We put in a pair of 4ft culverts to replace a bridge, rerouted a trail and one bridge we have a neighboring club groom up to a bridge where we groom to the other side.  The 45 Challenge is 22,000 and MT 755 is 29,000.  Both we rent out to select farmers to do light field work during the off season.  

Edited April 6, 2021 by Doug

[Zambroski]

3 hours ago, D-rail said:

Says Mr. No-Show...

I always RSVP!!!  

3 hours ago, fortune46x said:

whats a duluth 

 

Exactly.

1 hour ago, Ziemann said:

 

I remember that pic! LOLOLOL- My finger looks great there, doesn't it????

It does!  Ass.  

 

[Crnr2Crnr]

19 hours ago, Ziemann said:

Alrighty, you bastards finally pulled me over here....

 

Zambroski? Jesus.....

welcome to the shitshow man!   if not for some other family obligations I would have jumped all over the RS you were selling or sold.   get ProCross225 and some of the other boys over here too and start contributing in a Ramstad-Free-Koolaid zone.  the Procross forum over there should just be re-named 'The Ramstad Zone'. 
 

 

[Ziemann]

2 hours ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

welcome to the shitshow man!   if not for some other family obligations I would have jumped all over the RS you were selling or sold.   get ProCross225 and some of the other boys over here too and start contributing in a Ramstad-Free-Koolaid zone.  the Procross forum over there should just be re-named 'The Ramstad Zone'. 

Yep- I've always been a Cat fanboy until now, but Ramstad is a whole other extreme. You can't have a conversation with him or even discuss Cat's issues. Everything is fine....nothing to see here....

In the mean time, Cat's core ZR/RR customer base is leaving at an alarming rate. All they needed to do to get my money this season was ANY of the following:

1. Special 60th Anniversary Sled

2. Any retro graphics on a sled

3. New chassis

Any of those seemed very likely to me and I would have put my money down on a new Cat 600 ZR or RR. Apparently, that was way too much to ask from Textron....So, I am a new Polaris customer. 

[Ziemann]

3 hours ago, Doug said:

Yes you need to look at your bridges.  We put in a pair of 4ft culverts to replace a bridge, rerouted a trail and one bridge we have a neighboring club groom up to a bridge where we groom to the other side.  The 45 Challenge is 22,000 and MT 755 is 29,000.  Both we rent out to select farmers to do light field work during the off season.

Ooof- that is way too heavy. We are in snow country and there's no way machines of that size would work. Swamps, and bridges are already an issue for us with our T7 New Hollands. We are looking at smaller equipment because we are exceeding the engineered capacity of our bridges as it is. Up here, we do have a fair number of bridges, and I think there's only 2 in our system that could support a machine that big. 

I think they are awesome, and always wanted to look in to a Challenger, but there's no way that would work. We put on about 400 hours per year doing winter grooming. Early in the season some of our trails and swamps in the forests are sketchy as it is. 

[Doug]

8 hours ago, Ziemann said:

Ooof- that is way too heavy. We are in snow country and there's no way machines of that size would work. Swamps, and bridges are already an issue for us with our T7 New Hollands. We are looking at smaller equipment because we are exceeding the engineered capacity of our bridges as it is. Up here, we do have a fair number of bridges, and I think there's only 2 in our system that could support a machine that big. 

I think they are awesome, and always wanted to look in to a Challenger, but there's no way that would work. We put on about 400 hours per year doing winter grooming. Early in the season some of our trails and swamps in the forests are sketchy as it is. 

We kept our old LMC to do one section until we got a reroute for that trail.  For us in central Wisconsin the Challenges work good.  There's been years when we had a stand alone groomer and never used it with no snow.  With the Challenges we get income when we rent them out during the off season, we're able to use them in the fall to level out plowed fields and brushing and groom in the winter.

I'm also in a club in Northern Wisconsin by our cabin and help with trail brushing but not active in grooming.  They have a Fendt tractor used for trail brushing and some grooming, New Holland's with spicy tracks and piston bully's.  They place each groomer based on the trail terrain that best fits the groomer.

[fortune46x]

9 hours ago, Ziemann said:

Yep- I've always been a Cat fanboy until now, but Ramstad is a whole other extreme. You can't have a conversation with him or even discuss Cat's issues. Everything is fine....nothing to see here....

In the mean time, Cat's core ZR/RR customer base is leaving at an alarming rate. All they needed to do to get my money this season was ANY of the following:

1. Special 60th Anniversary Sled

2. Any retro graphics on a sled

3. New chassis

Any of those seemed very likely to me and I would have put my money down on a new Cat 600 ZR or RR. Apparently, that was way too much to ask from Textron....So, I am a new Polaris customer. 

On the bold - how simple could it have been for them to create something retro especially when they were doing another season of BNG and a clutch change.. They didnt just drop the ball they let it fall through the floor and go down 10 levels. Absolutely NOTHING to entice new potential buyers. 

I am in the market for a new sled, and the dealer that is in my neck of the woods has a 850 Lynx and I am finding it harder and harder to say no and this is after 15 years on AC...  Its sad really. 

[Doug]

2 minutes ago, fortune46x said:

On the bold - how simple could it have been for them to create something retro especially when they were doing another season of BNG and a clutch change.. They didnt just drop the ball they let it fall through the floor and go down 10 levels. Absolutely NOTHING to entice new potential buyers. 

I am in the market for a new sled, and the dealer that is in my neck of the woods has a 850 Lynx and I am finding it harder and harder to say no and this is after 15 years on AC...  Its sad really. 

Group of guys I ride with had a Lynx for 3 days and none of them are buying one.  They all said it's more of a 60-40 off trail sled. With suspension uncoupled and the front limiter strap more like a budgie cord you'd come into the corners nice but when your back on the throttle the skis are in the air.  Fun sled if you want to just hang the skies in the air.  I wasn't with them but by the last day they were all back on they're own sleds and the Lynx was in the trailer.  These are all Ski-Doo riders.

[Deephaven]

Ski Doo riders not liking something that isn't boring.  What a surprise.

 

 

[fortune46x]

32 minutes ago, Doug said:

Group of guys I ride with had a Lynx for 3 days and none of them are buying one.  They all said it's more of a 60-40 off trail sled. With suspension uncoupled and the front limiter strap more like a budgie cord you'd come into the corners nice but when your back on the throttle the skis are in the air.  Fun sled if you want to just hang the skies in the air.  I wasn't with them but by the last day they were all back on they're own sleds and the Lynx was in the trailer.  These are all Ski-Doo riders.

The skid geometry is alot like the bailer only they stuck it inside the tunnel  - I always take into the account of what other people say and what they ride , but I am wondering if its because they didnt have time to really get a feel for it ? Its a pretty drastic change over the doo. 

 

[Doug]

5 minutes ago, fortune46x said:

The skid geometry is alot like the bailer only they stuck it inside the tunnel  - I always take into the account of what other people say and what they ride , but I am wondering if its because they didnt have time to really get a feel for it ? Its a pretty drastic change over the doo. 

 

When they went it was all seasoned Ski-Doo riders and I didn't have the secret Ski-Doo hand shake to go alone.  They actually asked but I was in Tennessee for work when they went.  

They put on over 300 miles are it and to your point they also said it was not user friendly to adjust on the trail.  They loaded it into trailer at night and made adjustments in the morning before they left or by tipping the sled on its side and knocking the snow out of the suspension.  We're all trail riders and the consensus was they're own sleds all new or year old Ski-Doo's had better trail manners.  The Lynx was fun on the straights pulling the skis up at will coming into the corners nice but got light on ski pressure coming out of the corners and pushed.  They tightened up the limit strap but it's a bungy cord like material and stretches.  They thought if they could have put a conventional strap on it it would helped in the corners but didn't know how that would effect the rest of the suspension.

[fortune46x]

14 minutes ago, Doug said:

When they went it was all seasoned Ski-Doo riders and I didn't have the secret Ski-Doo hand shake to go alone.  They actually asked but I was in Tennessee for work when they went.  

They put on over 300 miles are it and to your point they also said it was not user friendly to adjust on the trail.  They loaded it into trailer at night and made adjustments in the morning before they left or by tipping the sled on its side and knocking the snow out of the suspension.  We're all trail riders and the consensus was they're own sleds all new or year old Ski-Doo's had better trail manners.  The Lynx was fun on the straights pulling the skis up at will coming into the corners nice but got light on ski pressure coming out of the corners and pushed.  They tightened up the limit strap but it's a bungy cord like material and stretches.  They thought if they could have put a conventional strap on it it would helped in the corners but didn't know how that would effect the rest of the suspension.

Very interesting , You need to step it up though Doug , I figured youd know the secret handshake for skidoo riders 

 

[Doug]

Just now, fortune46x said:

Very interesting , You need to step it up though Doug , I figured youd know the secret handshake for skidoo riders 

 

I'll pass on the Ski-Doo to Ski-Doo greeting.

[jdsky]

Everything is a trade off.  The Rave is 100% designed for rough trail and is a ditch banger's dream sled.  It's designed to be airborne with no worries about folding it up.  One downside is the price as most ditch bangers don't have that kind of coin for a purpose built machine.  

My guess is the sled will initially appeal to a large number of riders just looking for something different and new.  Nothing wrong with that because the sport needs new and different to keep it going.  These sleds hitting the used market in a few seasons will be perfect for the demographic that seeks out and rides the rough stuff and can pick one up for half price.  

[Ziemann]

Lynx has a premium price but how much of the Lynx cost is actually just paying for the shipping of those units from Scandinavia?

[Ziemann]

2 hours ago, fortune46x said:

On the bold - how simple could it have been for them to create something retro especially when they were doing another season of BNG and a clutch change.. They didnt just drop the ball they let it fall through the floor and go down 10 levels. Absolutely NOTHING to entice new potential buyers. 

I am in the market for a new sled, and the dealer that is in my neck of the woods has a 850 Lynx and I am finding it harder and harder to say no and this is after 15 years on AC...  Its sad really. 

Textron is obviously not committed to the snow market. With that knowledge, why would anyone purchase a sled from Cat? If Textron was fully committed to the snow market, they would have done something significant for Cat's 60th. 

[SayatodaU.P.eh?]

2 hours ago, fortune46x said:

The skid geometry is alot like the bailer only they stuck it inside the tunnel  - I always take into the account of what other people say and what they ride , but I am wondering if its because they didnt have time to really get a feel for it ? Its a pretty drastic change over the doo. 

 

That fucking thing looks like a shit show. 

[fortune46x]

33 minutes ago, SayatodaU.P.eh? said:

That fucking thing looks like a shit show. 

My question to you and others is if I get a lynx - do I have to be a part of the PPP , or the mad catters? I dont know what to do with my hands. I wont be a part of the doo club

 

[Zambroski]

57 minutes ago, Ziemann said:

Textron is obviously not committed to the snow market. With that knowledge, why would anyone purchase a sled from Cat? If Textron was fully committed to the snow market, they would have done something significant for Cat's 60th. 

They’ve got one more year to show something.  It’ll start with next years race sleds.  If nothing new....I’m afraid it’s over.

Still, the PC has been dominant and I’ll build one again and again.  Well, maybe just one more anyway.  That whe set up just works for me.  Tough as shit and built for it.  Casual rides?  Prolly not though.