Now what??

[hanson]

Summer is nearly upon us, now what??

Do any of you snowmobilers FISH(Opener is coming up!)? HUNT? CROCHET?

With the amount of snowfall we've been receiving in the cities the last few years, I almost have a hard time considering myself an avid snowmobiler. The snowmobile has gone from trail rider to ice fishing machine. After this summer, it will be one heck of an ice fishing machine.

It seams like the last few summers, I've always had some kind of snowmobile related project going on.

1- Parted out my 1989 Indy500 Classic on hsolist. I'm not sure what the used parts market on HSOList is lately but I turned my $700 sled into $3,000 in my pocket!! It was ALOT of work but it only cost some sweat equity.

2- Gave an honest attempt at restoring a 1973 SnoJet StarJet 440. What a project that was for my grandpa and myself! It involved a full engine tear down with crank seal replacement. Some day, I'll get around to the 2 others I have- a 1972 SnoJet StarJet 340 (Yamaha) & a 1971 SnoJet Starjet 292 (Hirth).

3- Another idea for you fellow snowmobilers would be to attend a few vintage shows or grass drags.

4- The official kick off to winter will be coming soon though- Haydays!!

Take Care.

[311Hemi]

Well.....besides fishing and a few small projects on cleaning of the XC600 and pulling the rear skid again.....I had to add another Polaris to my lineup. Bought an 03' Victory Vegas....so now I can my Polaris's almost year round!!

[Eric Wettschreck]

With the lack of snow we've had here in SW MN, I almost have a hard time calling myself a snowmobiler.

I'll be working on the ole 68 olympic this summer. She's a sweety!!!!!

[jkthill]

I think they go into hibernation!

[LocalGuide]

Im going to have to modify my snowmobile so I can use it! Not just in the summer but in the so called "winters" too.

I was thinking tires on the front and something different for the track so it can get some good lubrication and not burn through the hy-fax... hehe... I like to dream.

Yep, sitting and waiting for it isnt going to be a option pretty soon. Might have to travel one of these winters to actually find something called... ahh, what is it?... OHH yeah, SNOW!

[federline]

hanson,

I have had a 1975 Artcic Cat Lynx 250 twin for almost 20 years now. I got it running again after 10+ years just last winter, it's in good condition, not excellent, but far from merely fair condition. It pulls my portable in the winter. I was thinking of hitting the Waconia vintage sled rally this winter. Have you ever attended?

[hanson]

Waconia?

Sure have. I went a few years back when Sno-Jet was the featured snowmobile. I'll have to pull out some of my photos from the event and post them. It was really incredible.

They had vintage drags, vintage trail ride, swap meet, silent auction, and of course the show.

I was still putzing around with my 73 Sno Jet at the time and didn't have it running quite right at the show. I was able to drive it over to the line up and back and that was it. Eventually found out it was a crankseal problem and no amount of carb tinkering was going to get it running good.

Hmmm. Maybe I'll just have to go again this winter.

Stay tuned for vintage photos from Waconia.

[Gus]

Hanson-

You just got me thinking really hard. I have a 92 Indy 500 EFI that I'm finding is impossible to sell. There is nothing wrong with it and it runs great! Been in the family for 10 years with no efi problems yet I still can't sell the bugger. So might I ask, did you tear the whole thing apart and sell parts individually? Or did you let people come to you looking for certain things? I hate to break up this sled, but I'd rather fish than trail ride these days and my other sled is my fishing machine.

[hanson]

Gus-

What prompted me to sell my 89 Indy was I blew up the motor twice in one winter. After putting all kinds of money into it the first time, I didn't want to do it again.

I basically had the project take over a stall in the garage for a few months. I stripped the entire sled apart to end up with a pile of pieces. I degreased and cleaned them up best I could and took good photos of each individual piece. I then made a list of all the pieces and wrote a small description. For the next few weeks, I researched on hsolist what similar parts were selling for so I would know what to start my auctions at and what reserve prices to ask. Once I had my gameplan, I listed all the items.

I sold everything, a few of the items I had to relist but everything got sold. The tough part was determining shipping costs and finding boxes that the parts could fit into. I was lucky to have some of the parts sell locally and were picked up (tunnel/bulkhead & hood). After collecting all the money, it was many trips back and forth to the post office or UPS.

It was alot of work, but I was also able to turn a nice profit on something I would have never been able to sell.

I would do some searches on hsolist for various parts related to your sled and you'll get a good idea of how much you might be able to profit.

Just start a list and start searching:

-skis, brake caliper, brake disc, jackshaft, chaincase, chain & sprockets, hood, track, rear suspension, snowflap, handlebars, gauge cluster & gauges, seat, nosecone, trailing arms, steering linkage, exhaust pipe, engine, airbox, etc, etc.

My biggest money makers were the carburetors, engine parts, track (very nice shape), seat, clutches, and a few other things too.

[dewoutdoor70]

whats the price for it email me at [email protected]