Maine weather thread (Portland, Bangor, Caribou: mosquito, sink, sheriff)

[7th generation]

Originally Posted by nm9stheham

How long of a track? And are you looking for 4 or 2 stroke? Sounds like a 600 ACE 4 stroke might be a good candidate.

...add 75-120 lbs for a 4 stroke. I quit riding with a crazy buddy cause he kept sticking his 4 stroke..LOL

[nm9stheham]

Originally Posted by 7th generation

...add 75-120 lbs for a 4 stroke. I quit riding with a crazy buddy cause he kept sticking his 4 stroke..LOL

Be careful now..... 2018 MXZ 600 ACE 4 stroke weighs 18 lbs less than a 2018 MXZ Blizzard 600 ETEC 2 stroke. Now the latter has a 129" track vs 120" for the ACE, so with a 129" track kit on the MZX 600 ACE, the weights are essentially the same. So it is all in the details of the particular engine.



Sounds like your buddy had too short or narrow of a track or he needs to go on a diet LOL. Were you guys riding off-trail or just hitting drifts on the trails?



We took our 600 ACE's (1 MXZ and 1 GT) out west, and powder riding on them was an exercise in futility. The heavier GT actually did better than the little MXZ, 'cuz of the 137" versus 120" long track (plus being 1" or 2" wider). Serious powder riders out there start with 160"+ tracks.

[7th generation]

He has an '06 Cat 660 ST which I believe dry is 550. He drags a lot of the local trails and turns around in my upper field. You stick that in a couple feet of fresh and it sinks like a boat anchor.

[nm9stheham]

I just looked that 660 up... looks like a 121" track that is only 15" wide! Nice for turning but that track is the biggest problem.... not so much the weight. Doubt you could get a 150+" track kit for that.....LOL

My 600 ACE GT is 498 lbs dry and has a 137" track either 16 or 17" wide. Did better in powder than my son's MZX 600 ACE with the tiny 120" x 15" wide track. But not good enough. And I sunk the GT in a drift up on the airport at Philips 2 years ago.

We stop and turn around for big drifts anymore.... powder is for the young guys who have the endurance to dig out when needed, not an older guy like me!

[Kiwiluver]

Heck with all that, my Ranger has a heated cab!

[CARas2020]

Originally Posted by Cambium

You guys ready??


https://twitter.com/MikeSliferWX/sta...87863178960899

Enjoy your snow and pack some up and send some to me here in Portland, OR. We had a dusting last week and it makes me miss the snow so much!!

Be SAFE everyone

[Northern Maine Land Man]

I don't do much trail riding. I go to remote camps and on unraveled logging roads. I follow the shores of lakes to get to some of these camps and homes. I carry a LOT of rope and have an 8000 pound comealong. I buried my VK-540 and had to walk out and go home for my HiLift jack. I have never been stuck where I could not get out by myself. I go places where there is no cel phone service. Aout 35 years ago, I was testifying at the legislature about rural land. One legislator leaned over to another one and asked, ”Who IS this guy?” The other lsegislator said, ”He is the Northern Maine Land man.” I liked that and adopted it as a nickname.

I have a few blinds set up. They are not like canvas ice shantys or hunting blinds that rattle in the wind. They are completely natural. You can get road kill deer with a warden's permission. Put that out and coyotes will come. Tie a rope to it and hoist it into a tree where a coyote can't reach it and the scent will last a lot longer. The time to set up a blind is summer or fall. Wait until now and a coyote will avoid the area.

So, that's why I want a long track tundra with reverse. I layed out a 50 mile trail for a sled dog race some years ago. My old 250cc single cylinder Tundra was plowing powder snow that flowed up to the windshield and fell off each side. I was followed by an Elan and some other light machine. We had a mandatory rest stop where each team had to rest for at least 10 minutes. We had warm flavored water for the dogs and a HEATED outhouse for the ladies. They didn't believe that when I put it in the race announcement.

I was the first ever registered Maine guide to guide with a sled dog team. When I went to Augusta for my test, they said, ”You want to do what?” Deer, moose, coyotes, fox and cats all use snowmobile trails to save on energy. Coyotes can't count. They get off a trail when a bunch of snowmobiles are coming. When the last one they hear is gone, they go back out on the trail. They don't realize that one of the snowmobiles stopped and is hidden 200 yards back.

[nm9stheham]

OK, good deal. Sounds like the old VK-450 served really well, but no reverse on the old ones. I looked up the older ones and see the really wide 20" track and that is still the case now. The new ones DO have a reverse.

So do you want the 2 stroke or 4 stroke Tundra. FWIW.... I think the Doo's Rotax 600 ACE engine is good for your use. Quiet, good mileage (I get 22-23 mpg trail riding moderately hard on my GT) but no emergency pull start for a backup to the battery on our MZX and GT sleds; I cannot tell for sure if the Tundra LT has that option on the 600 ACE; it seems to say that it does.

I see that the Tundra LT track is as long as the VK-450 but the track is only 17" wide vs the 20" wide so you could loose some flotation. Dry weight is 515 lbs for the ACE and under 500lbs for the 2 stroke, vs the ....wowzer..... 642 lbs for the newer VK-450 !?! So Yamaha's really ARE heavy pigs LOL. So they might well be equal for flotation with that much dry weight difference....and well over 100 lbs less to wrestle with. Dang....

[nm9stheham]

And now I am confused.. I see a 550F Tundra LT ad that sez a 154 x 20" track.... a mistake? The another that sez 16" wide.. which is what the 2021 LT model specs say.

[NortheasternBound]

Currently here in Downeast, Maine...12F Degrees. Dew Point 5F Degrees...
Winds NNW 2mph, Gusts..the same
Cloudy and Freaking Cold!
It was riveting!
The day unfolded before us...
and in between all we witnessed
Was sublime!
We could become accustomed to this beauty...
Days of Blue Skies and snow laden meadows!