Snowmobile Central Ontario Feb 2013

SNOWMOBILE! Central Ontario Fe bruary 2013

Have you ever been in a situation,where you were standing around outsideconversing with fellow snowmobilers'and a sled comes by with a loud exhaust?If so, you know what it sounds likeand you probably have heard the nega-tive comments that surround this un-necessary noise. There is no doubt thatnoisy sleds upsets landowners andcloses trails, there is no excuse for thisissue. The following is a list of reasonsfor staying with your stock exhaust.Hopefully this may change somethoughts about aftermarket exhausts.Let’s put an end to noisy sleds!

Reason #1SCO talked with Chris

Bondi, the owner of BondiEngines, a specialist in build-ing race engines for snow-mobiles, motorcycles and forthe power sport industry.Bondi has so many champi-onships under his belt thereare to many to list. Here iswhat Bondi said about, af-termarket exhausts, “thebiggest thing about after-market exhaust mufflers, isthe loss of power, these units

do not have the proper back pressure,this causes a loss in torque.” He con-tinues, “These aftermarket mufflersclaim a 2 HP increase at peek power,but they do not tell you the loss offpower at mid range and at the lowerend.” Bondi’s final word, “The onlyway to get more power is to build acomplete engine package on the Dyno,that’s the only way to know for sure,just putting on an aftermarket racemuffler, is a loss of power.”Reason #2During an interview with Sergeant

Larry Butterfield of the Highway Safety

Division S.A.V.E Unit (Snowmobile,ATV, Vessel Enforcement Unit), this iswhat he had to say about noisy sledsduring our interview.SCO:What is your take the noisy sleds?Sergeant Larry: It is the O.P.P.’s

position to target noisy sleds; we aredefinitely enforcing the muffler legis-lation as priority this season.SCO: Can you explain the muffler legisla-tion?Sergeant Larry: The SVA, (Snow

Vehicle Act), has sections or laws against,no muffler, improper muffler or a mod-ified muffler. All of these offenses havea fine of $85.00, plus the victim sur-charge for a total of $110.00. Now itwasn’t that long ago that, Arctic Cathad a ZRT model that was extremelyloud from the factory, but since it wasstock, there is no fine for this. SCO: Here is another example, a littleover 10 years ago, Ski-Doo had a problemwith their mufflers, these parts were rottingout from the inside, these machines werecrazy loud, what about this case?Sergeant Larry: The SVA, (Snow

Vehicle Act), doesn’t have a section orlaw against this either.SCO:Why do Harley Davison motorcyclesget away with their excessive noise?Sergeant Larry: Harley Davidson

and other motorcycles are under a dif-ferent legislation, the HTA (HighwayTraffic Act) and these machines meeta different set of requirements thathas nothing to do with the SVA.SCO: So what is the O.P.P.’s bottom lineon the noisy sleds?Sergeant Larry:The O.P.P. considers

themselves as ambassadors of the sport,we what to promote the sport, so tar-geting noisy sleds is a priority. We willbe enforcing the SVA like we just talkedabout and anyone who does NOT havea stock muffler gets a fine under theSVA legislation.

Reason #3It has been proven the noisy sleds

close trails, let’s work together andprotect our sports future. If you arepassionate about snowmobiling and itsfuture, say something to the next sledderthat is causing problems. Just tell them,Enough with the Noise!

Enough with the Noise

Message From The Editor:

The State of the Industry

In this issue you will find a numberof 2014 OEM sled early releases. Newsleds from every manufacturer exceptPolaris, their release date is not untilMarch 5th. All of this information wasreleased to the snowmobile magazineeditors four weeks ago; when I was trav-eling with this group to view the entirenew product at the OEM Sneak Peek.While I was at the Arctic Cat event Ihad a flattering and memorable moment,I had a conversation with Arctic Cat’sProduct engineer Lynn Berberich. Wehad a conversation about fitting the newYamaha engine into the ProCross chassis;Berberich was one of the lead engineersin this project and he went into greatdetail about his assignment. He talkedabout how difficult it was to fit becauseof its rear facing exhaust ports. In thisconversation Berberich brought up thetopic about a story in an earlier issue ofSCO, Volume 3 Issue 1. This story wasabout the new Yamaha SRV 120, thestory had a small portion about the newmini sled, it was more about the Yamahaand Arctic Cat partnership and why thisis a good thing considering the state ofour industry. I also pointed out thatmore of this type of cooperation willbe welcomed in the future. Berberichsaid to me, “You nailed it; I smiled whenI read that story.” He continued, “I readevery publication cover to cover, thatstory impressed me.” I was flattered,but my take on this story was a simplereport along with some reflections intothe future. Many magazine editors wouldlike you to think they have a crystal balland can predict the future; I do NOTbuy into this hype. If you attended theseOEM events and have test rode everymake and model for the last 10 years,then you too can see the future andmake predictions, as it’s not that difficult.Magazines editors are privy to some in-side information from each manufacturerand they get to see what they are all do-ing, while each manufacture has to waitto see what the competition is doinglike the rest of the general public. Thisis somewhat awkward as an editor when

you talk to an OEM representative abouttheir new product and how it’s aheadof its time, while you already knowwhat the other OEMs are doing andmaybe its not so ahead of its time. TheOEMs all listen to the same marketvoice and sometimes you would thinkthey share notes, but this not the case.Personally, I would like to be a fly onthe wall, when Team Yellow and theRed Camp hear about the “Mutual SupplyAgreement” with Yamaha and ArcticCat. Certainly that will be an interestingand lengthy conversation. I believe thatthis partnership with these two OEMsis the biggest news for 2014. It’s thistype of cooperation that can still feedthe future of R and D at a reasonableprice, making it profitable for both OEMsand being able to deliver a better productto the customer. It’s the state of the in-dustry that that is driving this type ofdevelopment and I believe that this is agood thing for the future of snowmo-biling.

The state of the snowmobile industryis not just the manufacturing of snow-mobiles, its everyone that is in the busi-ness. This includes the manufactures,dealers, all the way down to people inthe north who work in the restaurants,lodges and even this magazine that aretrying to make a living on the snowmo-bile business. It seems to be gettingharder and harder every year for every-one. The industry has been in a steadydecline since 1998 and it has been morenoticeable over the past five years. Que-bec’s permit sales are down to 90,000and Ontario is also down more andmore every year. The OFSC is trying toreorganize their permit structure to savecosts for the consumer and try a differentZone System in the future to try andsell more permits, whether goes throughor not, it’s another example of the stateof the industry that is driving thischange. So why do people continue thisthing called snowmobiling, its simple,its people you and me that have a strongpassion for the sport. Much the samereasons so many stay in this business,it’s about their passion, Whether it’sthe OEM or Mom and Pops' restauranton the RAP tour, regardless of the stateon the industry, we are in it for thepromising future. Like so many of us,we all believe in a bright future that isfilled with tons and tons of snow, afuture that has a long snow season, adream that so many of have, this dreamis what keeps all of us in this sport!Until next time, Ride and Enjoy!

SNOWMOBILE! Central Ontario magazine is published three times a year and is mailed free ofcharge to permit holders of OFSC Districts 6, 7 & 11 who have completed the OFSC memberbenefits page of the permit application. We do allow members and clubs to opt out of receiving andpaying for this publication. Subscriptions are available at $10.95 per year, please send your requestto the address below or contact us by email. SNOWMOBILE! Central Ontario has an onlinecomponent available year round. Also, our contributing districts will be online in conjunction withthe magazine, another communication tool for our members and interested snowmobilers. Returnundelivered items to SNOWMOBILE! Central Ontario at the address listed below.

Notice: SCO can not be held responsible for the material that is sent in from its various sources. We trustthat the information is true and accurate. Always wear a helmet and the appropriate snowmobile gear. Weendorse the policies and safe practices as set by the OFSC (Ontario Federation Snowmobile Clubs).Reproduction of any material published in Snowmobile! Central Ontario magazine is strictly prohibitedwithout written permission of the publisher. Address changes should be sent to the address above. On the cover 2014 Yamaha SR Viper XTX SE.

Home of the RAN and RAP Tours Knownfor TNT-Trails and Tourism in Central Ontario.ISSN 1925-1262

Editor and Publisher: Bob [email protected]

Advertising Director: Larry [email protected]

Contributors: OFSC Districts 6, 7 & 11

How To Contact Us:

Mail: Snowmobile! Central Ontario62 Hiawatha DrivePort Sydney ON P0B 1L0

Phone: 705-385-1964Fax: 705-385-4141Web: www.snowmobilecentralontario.com

OFSC District 6 Snow CountryOpeongo Snowbirds Page 6DA Report Page 6My Volunteer Page 7North Renfrew Page 7OFSC District 7 MuskokaDu-Ya Wanna Page 11Happy Wanders Page 11Baxter Snow Riders Page 12Snowcrest Page 12Sno Bombers Page 13Tall Pines Page 13OFSC District 11 NNTAAlmaguin District Page 18Bonfield Page 18Mattawa Page 18North Bay Page 19South Shore Page 19West Nippissing Page 19ExtrasEnough with the noise Page 22014 Yamaha Page 42014 Artic Cat Page 8SCO Race News Page 15Product test Page 162014 Ski Doo Page 20Faces and Places Page 22Industry Profile Page 23

February 2013 SNOWMOBILE! Central Ontario

SNOWMOBILE! Central Ontario February 2013

During a recent snowmobile eventin Minneapolis, SCO had the pleasureto witness the entire new Yamaha lineup for 2014. When we were at theproduct presentation there was a buzzin air that was filled with excitement.Something else was new; there were 2Canadians from Yamaha Motor Canadain attendance, Peter Smallman-Tew,Yamaha Motor Canada Vice Presidentand North American Snowmobile leaderand Chris Reid, Snowmobile ProductPlanning Manager. This Canadian pairwas there to help launch new productand to announce the new North Amer-ican Yamaha Snowmobile Team. PeterSmallman-Tew was talking about thesnowmobile business and said, “We aremore committed today than ever before”during his opening remarks. He alsoexplained that there is now a new struc-ture for the Yamaha’s snowmobile op-erations, he said, “we talk as one voice,not Yamaha U. S, not Yamaha Canada,we are now one North American voice.”In closing Smallman-Tew referred tothe new product line and said, “This isjust the tip of the iceberg of where weare going in the future!”Canadian Product Planning Manager

Chris Reid started the new productpresentation; he was the key personworking with Arctic Cat in this new“Mutual Supply Agreement” over thepast few years. Reid went into greatdetail about the new Viper line andhow they are using the Yamaha 1049cchigh performance 3-Cylinder Genesis

engine. This is same industry domi-nating liquid-cooled engine as you haveloved for years. This engine is fittedinto the Arctic Cat ProCross chassisand is called the Viper. This new Viperline is built in the Arctic Cat assemblyplant in Thief River Falls Minnesota.Just like the mutual agreement thesetwo companies had last year for theSRX 120 mini sled, this new Viper linehas grown into a full sized sled andprogram for both Yamaha and ArcticCat. This Mutual Supply Agreementis a long range deal, “a five year agree-ment”, said Chris Reid.

SR Viper RTX SE, RoughTrail Version

The all new SR Viper RTX SE isfor the performance minded snowmo-biler, it’s got all the right stuff for therough trail. The performance is builtright into this sled from the groundup and has the suspension and thepower to deliver a great ride for thesledder who demands the best. The

drive train on this model is poweredby the1049cc 3-Cylinder Genesis engine.Its fuel injection, is a closed loop systemwith an exhaust 02 sensor, it’s calibratedfor all temperatures and altitudes. Yama-ha is claiming that this motor has greatthrottle response and delivers greatperformance. This new model also hasthe Yamaha’s EBRS System.This drive train has several safety

and protection features that are built

into this unit. One thing the YamahaViper line has, is the Yamaha clutchsystem, not so on the Arctic Cat mod-els.The new Viper RTX SE handling

is something that Arctic Cat customershave grown to enjoy on their ProCrosschassis. Now this same chassis is usedon the Viper line. It’s has a centralizedmass design, with approximately 60%of the unit mass is centered in the ma-chine. This new SRV chassis has a two-piece, tipped-tunnel that puts the riderinto the ‘attack’ position. The chassisis tapered from 15 inches at top (seatbase) to the wide running boards. Thisdesign facilitates a narrow seat for easeof movement without sacrificing trackwidth, this seat and gas tank configu-ration is far narrower than other Yamahamodels with big engines.The upper frame consists of several

geometrically triangulated spars. Thefront shocks mount directly to the lead-ing spar at angles designed to transfer

2014 Yamaha Snowmobiles

2014 SR Viper LTX SE leads the charge SCO’s voted the best looking sled for 2014, the SR Viper RTX SE

Yamaha 1049cc high performance3-Cylinder Genesis engine, with 4

valves per cylinderYamaha clutch systems are avail-able throughout the Viper line

The SRV chassis has a pyramidalupper frame design that addsstrength without weight

The rear facing stainless steelheader has a few extra bends be-fore it meets the muffler and it’s

cooled by snow


the trail force into the strongest partof the chassis. This force is transferredinto the chassis at 30 degrees from thecenterline; this swept back attachmentpoint affects the sleds approach anglepreventing it from diving directly intoholes or ruts. The new Viper RTX SEis fitted with Fox FLOAT2 Air Shockson the front, these shocks have no

spring, so it keeps stiction down to aminimum and they are lightweight. Inthe rear the new SR Viper has a per-formance tuned Dual Shock SR 129rear suspension. This unique “floating”front-arm pivot doesn’t force the frontarm to collapse immediately when therear arm ‘couples’ when it begins tocompress. The resulting benefit is acontrolled (or eliminated) ski lift duringacceleration with optimized use of thefront arm stroke at all times. The rearskid is wrapped with a 15 x 129 x1.25” Rip Saw II track and has 2.86pitch, for the ultimate traction and con-trol. The SR Viper RTX SE is a sportmodel with a low windshield and comeswith 2 colour options; Racing Blueand White or Vivid Red and Black.

SR Viper LTX SE, RoughTrail Version

The SR Viper LTX SE is an all newlong track model that is also a per-formance sled with a low windshieldand is much like the Viper RTX SE; itsSRV Chassis has a longer tunnel versionof the SRV Chassis to match its longer137” track length. This sled comeswith the Dual Shock SR 137 rear sus-pension 15 x 137 x 1.25” with a RipSaw II track and has a 2.86 pitch. Onthe front it has Fox FLOAT2 Air shocks;much like the SR Viper RTX SE above,this model comes in Racing Blue andWhite or Vivid Red and Black.

Apex SEThe Apex SE returns along with

several other traditional Yamaha modelsto give Yamaha customers have a choicebetween a Yamaha snowmobile or thenew mutual agreement sled, a sled thatis a mix of Yamaha and Arctic Cat.Most traditional Yamaha models returnwith the tuner ski that has a dual keeldesign and new colours and graphics

for 2014.SR Viper, Groomed Trail VersionThe SR Viper comes in Black and

Red has a functional mid-height wind-shield, this sled is intended for thosewho like to put on large mileage dayafter day. This groomed trail versionmodel has a Comfort-tuned Dual ShockSR 129 rear suspension that is calibratedfor a smooth ride. This rear skid iswrapped with a 15 x 129 x 1.25” RipSaw II track and has 2.86 pitch. Thedifference in suspension over the SRViper and the SR Viper RTX is theshocks and calibration. The SR Viperhas Comfort-tuned rear and front sus-pension; on the front it has HPG frontshocks w/ coil springs. These rebuild-able High Pressure Gas Shocks offer asmooth ride and consistent performance.The SR Viper also comes with a heatedseat, to provide a warm butt on colddays. This model also comes with alarge behind the seat bag, making thisSR Viper a perfect sled for those wholike to ride short and long haul trips.

SR Viper LTX, GroomedTrail Version

2014 SR Viper LTX also carriesthe SRV Chassis with a longer tunnel,to accommodate the Comfort-tunedDual Shock SR 137 rear suspension.The front suspension is fitted withComfort-tuned HPG front shocks withcoil spring to provide a smooth ridefor those long tours. This model doeshave the longer suspension that willbridge the bumps better than the shortertracks. This model comes with 15 x137 x 1.25” Rip Saw II track for great

traction and control. The SR ViperLTX comes with the convenient largebehind the seat bag. And this modeldoes have a heated seat, functional midheight windshield like the SR Viperand it too comes in Black and Red.

2014 SR Viper XTX SE2014 SR Viper XTX SE like the SR

Viper LTX SE, it too has the SRVChassis with a long tunnel, but thismodel has a longer Performance-tunedDual Shock SR 141 rear suspensionwith a 15 x 141 x 1.6” Cobra track.What makes this rear skid differentfrom other SR Viper models is that,this rear skid is not coupled and thefront arm has a fixed mount. The rearshock has the lighter Fox FLOAT2 airshock. This on and off trail machine

has a low sporty windshield and isfitted with some mountain accessories,like the riser bar and a fixed mountainstrap. On the front of this crossovermachine are Fox FLOAT2 front shocksand it’s fitted with plastic mountainskis. It also comes standard with a beltand tool pouch. The SR Viper XTXSE model comes in a choice of RacingBlue and White or Vivid Red and Black.Important Note: whether you buy a

Yamaha SR Viper or the Arctic Cat7000 version of this mutual agreement,it good to know that both the Yamahateam and the Arctic Cat team of engi-neers and technicians are working to-gether to come up with the best cali-brations possible for these new sleds.

The Dual Shock SR 129 rear sus-pension. Notice the open U shaped“floating” front-arm pivot, it’s opento allow for movement so it doesn’tforce the front arm to collapse

when it’s coupled

2014 SR Viper

2014 SR Viper XTX SE

SR Viper comes with a functionalwindsheild

News from OpeongoSnowbirds S/C:By Cheryl Reid,President Opeongo Snowbirds Snow-mobile ClubOver the Christmas break we where

hit with a huge snow storm. Theheavy snow closed in our trails withtrees bent over and blocking our way.As we are a very small club and sellvery few permits because of the lack

of population in this area, we had nofunds to clear the trails. We put out adesperate call to our friends and neigh-bours in the snowmobile world andwhere blessed by some donations toget the job done. A huge thank youfor the generous financial donationsfrom: Central Hastings SnowmobileClub (Madoc), D2, Southern Sno Riders(Delhi), D5, Spectacle Lake Lodge (Bar-ry's Bay), John Beckett (Opeongo vol-unteer), Osgoode Carlton SnowmobileClub (Osgoode), D1, and Phil deKemp(Opeongo volunteer). A huge thank

you to Randy Dunlop who volunteeredtirelessly throughout the two weeks ittook to accomplish this task. We wereable to open all our trails by December23rd. If you remember what the OFSCInteractive Trail Map looked like onChristmas day… we were a green islandin a sea of red!Since then our two groomers have

been out everyday keeping our 200 kmof trails in perfect order. As one ofthe few areas in the province with snowfor most of January, it has been a verybusy month.We hope that next year when we

are faced with the same problem wecan again count on the generous supportof those in areas with no snow to pitchin and get these trails open for all toenjoy! Happy Sledding.

OFSC District 6 Snow Country40484 Hwy 41 Pembroke ON K8A 6W51 877-376-7669 / 613-735-8882

• Bonn-Trae S/C• Eganville Sno-Drifters• Griffith & Matawatchan Sno-Dusters• Haliburton County S/A

• Keetna S/C• Maple Leaf Snow Skimmers• Missing Link S/C• North Renfrew S/A• Opeongo Snow Birds

• Peterson Pathfinders• Timberline S/C• Whitewater Sno-Goers

OFSC District 6

Must See Trails in SnowCountry!By: Terry VaudryDistict Administrator

Most areas of District 6 have beenbusy with sledders enjoying theirfavourite pastime. As one of the onlyregions in the province this season withavailable (green means go) trail we’vebeen seeing huge traffic levels, despitewhat Mother Nature had thrown at us.The cost of maintaining trail keepsgoing up, and we are struggling finan-cially to provide trail for your use.Please consider buying your 2014 On-tario Trail Pass from a District 6 mem-ber club next season.

Our snowmobile clubs do the bestjob they can with the trail system yearin and year out, and these trails offermany opportunities to plan a trip or aday excursion. In Snow Country! thereare some fantastic club trails off thebeaten path and offer a great way toget away from it all. As well there aremany businesses catering to snowmo-bilers along the TOP trail system soyou’re never too far away from theservices you need. A big part of thefun of snowmobiling is travelling to anew area for a few rides with friends.Being mobile with a snowmobile trailercan extend your season as well; oftenthere are good conditions just an houror two away. Clubs within Snow Coun-try! offer many riding opportunitiesfor snowmobilers, including quiet scenictrails, major TOP routes and trail ac-cessible establishments that want andappreciate your business.

Probably one of the most popularregions in Snow Country! lies betweenPembroke, Barry’s Bay & Bancroft.There are quite a few ways to tourthrough this area, and you can loopback and never put a carbide on thesame trail.

Another trip you might consider iseast of Pembroke towards Renfrew.You can easily extend this into a loopand ride back through Eganville andDouglas or Cobden & Beachburg onyour return. Make sure to stop by theIrving Big Stop in Pembroke which of-fers night riders 24 hour fuel availabilityand a great restaurant. The Timberlineclubhouse outside Pembroke is openweekends and for a warm-up & bite toeat when you return.

Keetna S/C, North Renfrew S/A andthe Missing Link S/C west of Pembrokehave some of the most scenic clubtrails in this area and these are alllocated off the main TOP corridors.This riding area is within a short snow-mobile ride from Ottawa or North Bayor by trailer if snow conditions in yourarea aren’t so great. Every season thisarea usually sees tons of snow, whichcan extend your riding time.

Grab a 2013 Snow Country! DistrictSix trail guide, pick a trail and getgoing folks. You’re always welcome inSnow Country!



By: Bonnie Bloedow"Winter Widow" of Sam BloedowPresident, Keetna SCI am writing this as the "winter

widow" of Keetna volunteer, SamBloedow.Snowmobiling has been Sam's pas-

sion since he was just a lad. He spentcountless hours on countless weekendsfor years, riding the trails all over On-tario, loving each and every snow ad-venture.He then developed a desire to make

trails or rather snow highways, in ad-dition to riding the trails. He enjoyedthe trails so much he decided that hewanted to help make the experience asgood for other riders. This becamehis new passion.Sam moved to Pembroke and began

volunteering for the Keetna club in2001as a groomer operator. Then, be-cause he is a licensed mechanic, he be-came the club's groomer maintenanceand repair mechanic as well as an op-erator. In addition to this, over theyears, he became involved with the or-ganization of grooming scheduling,then became Vice President and is nowthe President of Keetna Club. Eachyear as the winter approaches, I preparemyself for the weekends he will in-evitably be spending with his big blue"girlfriends" the TS110 & the TS115.From time to time he and TS110 inviteme along to spend time with them.We pack a picnic lunch , a thermos of

tea and hit the trails for a shift ofgrooming. What a rewarding experi-ence. (not to mention quality time withspouse :)A shift in the groomer can range

from six hours to fifteen hours, ormore on occasion , depending on theroute and obstacles. This year saw alot of brushing after the snow andrain we had. Sam's chainsaw, alongwith the chainsaws of many other vol-unteers as well as the service of anexcavator, saw many many hours ofbrushing just to make the trails passableand open for the groomer to getthrough. After a long shift all nightin the groomer and no matter howtired he might be, one big "thumbsup" from a happy rider is all it takes torecharge his batteries and remind himof why he continues to volunteer hun-dreds of hours each year to makingtrails and keeping the groomers runningwell.I am very proud of my volunteer

Sam, for his dedication, commitmentand passion for making beautiful trailsfor riders with a passion to enjoy! I wouldn't have it any other way.To all of the other "winter widows"

of snowmobile club volunteers, myhat is off to you and to your volunteersfor all of their continued dedicationand hard work. Without these volun-teers the beautiful trails in District 6would not exist.

My Volunteer:

By: Karen Crain,Club SecretaryOur club would like to extent a

BIG THANK YOU to our neighbours,the Missing Link Club, who broughtdown their brusher to help us clean upour trails in late December. Theirequipment took 3 days to accomplishwhat would have taken our volunteersmany man-hours & weeks to complete.Snowmobilers are now able to takeadvantage of our wider club trails &that there are less face slappers.On behalf of NRSA, I would like

to thank our members for purchasingyour OFSC season & classic trail per-mits from our club. Your commitmentas a permit/club member will enableus to continuing providing snowmo-bilers with groomed trails & trail im-provements.Our area has been very fortunate

to remain open through all the weatherthat mother nature has thrown ourway. While other areas have seen theirsnow come & go we have been able totake advantage of the rain & mildtemperatures by creating a good base& trails are in great shape.Our groomer coordinator & his

team have been very active in ensuringthat our trails are in great shape. Weare so lucky to have such a great groupof volunteers that spend many hoursmaintaining the groomer/drag &grooming table top trails for all snow-mobilers.NRSA has 2 staging areas for snow-

mobilers to park their vehicles & trailers.These locations have sign & map boards,1. On Highway 17 east of Chalk

River at the Chalk River Business Park.2. On Highway 17 at Rolphton –

beside the burned down ESSO.

North Renfrew SnowmobileAssociation:

Our 2nd annual volunteer chili din-ner & games night was a great suc-cesswith 31 volunteers coming out to

have a great social evening. I heardthat there was one major come backas the ladies had the men 9 to 1 in eu-chre, but the men stormed back towin. Ladies will be out for revenge inMarch at the burger night, more detailsto follow shortly about this social event.Our 2nd annual snowmobile poker

run was held on Saturday, Feb. 2, thewinners were:Marvin Dupuis - First Prize(donated winnings to Club &Lion's Hall)Lise Hunter - Second Prize(donated winnings)Chris Carroll - Third Prize(donated winnings)The winners very generously do-

nated their money back to the Club. Ahuge THANK YOU! to them.As always, without the help of vol-

unteers, the poker run would not havebeen possible. A very special thankyou to those who contributed to thegrooming of the trails, putting thesigns out to mark the trails (and thentaking them in), registering of thesledders and the operators of the HotDog Stand.Thanks to all who purchased poker

hands (most of them were volunteersor members of the NRSA!).A Spring Yard Sale is being planned

again for this year and it would begreatly appreciated if everyone wouldthink of the Club if you have anyitems to donate. You can call Rosaleeat 613-586-2355 or Karen at 613-586-1951 if you have items to donate andwe would be happy to pick them up.Don't forget to visit us at

www.nrsa.ca or on facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/NorthR

enfrewSnowmobileAssociation We appreciate your continuing sup-

port & happy trails!

Thank you for the nice trails

2014 Arctic Cat Snowmobiles

The Year of the Arctic CatEngines

Arctic Cat’s 2014 reveal had an in-teresting twist; they had the NorthAmerican Snowmobile magazine editorsmeet at their engine assembly plant inSt. Cloud, Minnesota. This was an ideallocation to launch their 2014 snowmo-bile product, especially when they re-vealed their new 600cc 2-stroke that isbuilt on the premises. Brad Darling,one of Arctic Cat’s top brass, made theopening remarks and reflected on thestate of the industry. He said that theU.S. sled market is down by doubledigits this year, while the Canadianmarket is up by a single digit and Russ-ian market is a growing steady forArctic Cat. He also said that ArcticCat is still number one in sales for the4-stroke snowmobile market. ArcticCat has a lot going on for 2014, so let’sget started! New for 2014, Arctic Cat is the only

snowmobile manufacture to use threedifferent engine manufacturers; theystill have the same engine supplier dealwith Suzuki and will carry on with allsame engines as in the past. They havethe new mutual agreement supply dealwith Yamaha to supply engines fortheir new 7000 Series and they arenow making their own 600cc 2-strokeengines in their St. Cloud engine as-sembly plant. We had a tour of this fa-cility and its first rate. The tour wasimpressive right from the start and all

the way through to the finish. Arctic Cat’s new C-TEC2 600, this

is the first snowmobile engine designedengineered and produced by Arctic Cat.Featuring clean engine technology withDual-Stage Injection, it uses open win-dow pistons and has electronic oil me-tering. The C-TEC2 600 reflects thedecades of engine design knowledgefrom the same Arctic Cat engineerswho created the laydown engine, Ex-haust Pipe Temperature Sensor andbatteryless EFI. “Every component ofthe C-TEC2 600 was designed andsourced by Arctic Cat,” said Donn Eide,Snowmobile Engine Design Managerat Arctic Cat. The C-TEC2 600 delivers123 horsepower. This motor has APVelectronic exhaust valves; Exhaust PipeTemperature System (EPTS); a knock

sensor and engine reverse technology.Its lightweight crankshaft makes it ex-ceedingly robust and it has a quick re-sponse. This engine meets Tier IIIEPA regulations for emissions, but it’srecommended to run on 91 octane pre-mium fuel. Arctic Cat is claiming thatthis new engine will meet or exceedthe competition’s E-TEC 600 in per-formance and in both; fuel and oil con-sumption. This is very intriguing andwill no doubt give snowmobile maga-zines lots to talk about next year. BTW,this engine is only available in the newEL TIGRE models. The Return of the EL TIGREFor 2014, Arctic Cat has brought

back their old name EL TIGRE, thisretro name is to go along with the newengine numbering system. Arctic Catis now using the following designation

for their new engines see the graphbelow.For 2014, there are more name

changes; the F-sleds have been replacedwith the old ZR designation. For ex-ample; the ZR 5000 LXR 5000 returnswith the Series C-TEC4 1100 Suzuki4-Stroke engine.New Models, the ZR 6000 EL TI-

GRE and ZR 6000 EL TIGRE ES,these sleds are powered with the new6000-Series Arctic Cat C-TEC2 6002-stroke engine with Dual-Stage In-jection, a light weight machine thatwill perform and handle better thanany previous Arctic Cat 600.The 2014 Arctic Cat Updates

2014 models have the following updates;lightweight ski spindles that delivernearly 1-lb. weight reduction. There isalso a new race-version master cylinder


ZR 8000 Sno Pro Limited

The new 6000-Series Arctic Cat C-TEC2 600, its 2-stroke engine with

dual-stage injection

ZR 6000 EL TIGRE, powered with Arctic Cat’s new 600cc two-stroke

SLED SERIES ENGINE MANUFACTURE HORSEPOWER

5000 C-TEC4 1100cc Suzuki 4 stroke 125 hp

6000 C-TEC2Dual stage Injection Arctic Cat 2 stroke 600 123 hp

7000 C-TEC4 1049cc three cylinderYamaha 4 stroke 135 hp

8000 800 H.O. Suzuki 2 stroke 160 hp

9000 C-TEC4 1100 turbo Suzuki 4stroke 135 hp


on the RMC hydraulic brake for en-hanced braking. There is a new front-arm mounting geometry on the Fast-Track SLIDE-ACTION rear suspensionthat decreases track tensioning duringsuspension compression, delivering im-proved comfort and compliance. Thereis new seat foam and a new shape fea-turing added height, new sculpting andfor improved ergonomics and for greateroverall comfort. There is a new drivenclutch sheave with larger cooling finsto reduce the drive belt temperaturefor improved performance and durability.The 2014 Sno Pro and Limited modelsnow have the new FOX FLOAT 3 skishocks, with a new feature for improvedair valve access for easier pressure ad-justments. On the LXR Arctic Catmodels the IFP rebuildable gas shocksare on the front suspension and ArcticCat IFP rebuildable gas shocks are onthe rear suspension. All of these modelsalso get a new deluxe digital gaugethat has several functions.

2014 the 7000 Series, the ZR7000, ZR 7000 LXR, ZR 7000 SnoPro and ZR 7000 Sno Pro Limited, allthese models are powered with the7000-Series C-TEC4 Yamaha 1049cc

three cylinder 4-stroke engine withEFI. These models are part of theMutual Supply Agreement with Yama-ha. For more information on thesesleds, see the 2014 Yamaha Snowmobilesection in this issue. What makes the7000 sled different from the YamahaSR Viper are the Arctic Cat clutches,Arctic Cat fuel system, Arctic Cat ECUand some other subtle differences. Im-portant Note: whether you buy a Yama-ha SR Viper or the Arctic Cat 7000version of this mutual agreement, itgood to know that both the Yamahateam and the Arctic Cat team of engi-neers and technicians are working to-gether to come up with the best cali-brations possible for this model.2014 8000 Series, ZR 8000, ZR

8000 LXR, ZR 8000 Sno Pro, ZR 8000Sno Pro Limited models all come withthe 8000-Series Suzuki 800 H.O. 2-stroke engine that is batteryless andhas EFI, APVvalves and EPTS. TheZR models also get the 2104 updatesthat are listed above.2014 9000 Series, ZR 9000

TUR BO, ZR 9000 TURBO LXR, ZR9000 TURBO Sno Pro, ZR 9000 TUR-BO Sno Pro Limited models all comewith the 9000-Series C-TEC4 Suzu-ki1100 4-Stroke engine with intercooledturbo-charger, producing 177 hp and121 ft.-lbs of torque. These modelsalso get the 2014 Arctic Cat updates.

In 2014 Arctic Cat continues withtheir model lines in their XF Crossover,M-Series Mountain sleds, Touring,Utility and the ZR120 mini for the

kids. All of these models have severalof the updates listed above and somemodels have even more, see your ArcticCat dealer for more information.

ZR 8000 Sno Pro

2014 XF7000, powered with Yamaha’s 4-stroke

Deluxe Digital Gauge

2014 XF 9000 CrossTour


Support Your LOCAL Snowmobile ClubBUY WHERE YOU RIDE

TRAILPERMITS:

HWSC What a Ride!

OFSC District 7 MuskokaBox 987, 1 Robert Dollar Dr., Bracebridge ONP1L 1V2 1 800-328-7245 / 705-645-3123

• Algonquin S/C• Baxter S/C• Du-Ya-Wanna S/C• Happy Wanderers S/C

• Highland Rovers S/C• Hill & Gully Riders• MLSTA• Muskoka Sno-Bombers

• SMART S/C• Snowcrest Riders S/C• Tall Pines S/C

OFSC District 7


Du-Ya Wanna S/C:We hope everyone has enjoyed this

winter, snow conditions not withstand-ing. Our packers and groomers havebeen busy on the trails doing whatthey can with the limited snow, butthen the weather turns and wipes outwhat progress they have made. I think we can all agree, January

was not the best snowmobiling monthwe have ever had. Most of us are get-ting used to 1 January thaw, but 2 !!!Here’s hoping February and Marchstay cold and the snow hangs aroundfor a while.Early in the season we put out a

thank you to the landowners whoseproperty we cross and the volunteerswho work on the trails, but it seemswe forget the organizations, shops andthe actual people who sell the trailpermits. These people take time awayfrom their work to help us and at thistime we would like to give a big thankyou to all these outlets across theprovince and especially those here inHuntsville. Right now the snow is falling, the

trails are calling so, happy snowmo-biling.

and by 1979 had sales in excess of$185 million. In spite of this, 1980and 1981 still resulted in staggeringlosses and the banks got jittery – theycalled in the company loans in February1981 and 11 days later Arctic Enter-prises filed for bankruptcy protection.What was their 20th Anniversary yearwas also the demise of the company.When the company assets were auc-tioned off, a group of former employeesof the company rallied together andbought everything they could. Theyformed Artco Incorporated and resumedsnowmobile production in August 1983.There was obviously a lot of brandloyalty for Artic Cat snowmobiles be-cause production could barely meetdemand. During the ‘90s Arctic Catbegan producing Tigershark personalwatercraft and had reasonable salessuccess although not enough to justify

production after 1999. Artco, at theurging of its’ 1200 dealers renameditself Arctic Cat Incorporated in 1996so as to capitalize on its’ primary brandrecognition. The company had alreadyentered the fertile ATV market andhas never looked back since. In theensuing years Arctic Cat has consis-tently been a leader in engineering de-velopment bringing to market numerousinnovations in design which have oftenbeen adopted by othersArctic Cat owners are among thefiercest supporters of their brand.Arctic Cats are renowned for theirspeed and durability. The company it-self has a colourful history full ofups and downs but always found away to carry on to greater heights.Hats off to the guys (and girls) at Catwho put their best into their product.Dan McCormack,

Director Happy Wanderers.What a ride ! The weather that

is…. once again we have been facedwith a winter that can’t make up its’mind. Everything from -30C to plus10 temperatures in the same week ! Ireally don’t need to tell you fellowriders the havoc this causes us in tryingto get the trails up to standard so I’llleave it there. Last month I wrote acondensed version of Ski-Doo’s historyand on that trend I’ve chosen ArcticCat this time.

Arctic Cat’s origins began with acompany named Hetteen Hoist & Der-rick based in Rosseau Minnesota backin 1955. Edgar Hetteen’s companyspecialized in custom farm implements. A local resident in Rosseau approachedthe company and asked for a “gas pow-ered motorized sled”. Hetteen’s broth-er- in- law came up with one and theprofit from that first sale allowed thestruggling company to make payroll !A second order came in and a third.By the end of 1956 the company hadbuilt 75 machines and the followingyear 300. At this point, Hetteen Hoistand Derrick changed its’ focus entirelyonto snowmobile production and re-named itself Polaris Industries. That’sright – Polaris Industries. In 1960,the market for snowmobiles was stillhit and miss and Hetteen decided on apromotional stunt - he took some ofthe machines to Alaska in March andalong with three friends completed a1,100 mile trek in 18 days from Bethelto Fairbanks Alaska. In retrospect, I

would call that a very brave (maybefoolish) risk given the probable (un)re-aliability level of those machines. Itpaid off to some extent by drawing ahuge amount of attention from themedia but also caused Hetteen problemswith his investors back in Rosseauwho felt he had ignored his local com-pany duties. The dispute resulted inHetteen leaving Polaris Industries andby January 1961 he opened a new com-pany called Polar Manufacturing tobegin building commercial grade snow-mobiles for forestry & hydro electriccompanies. After that first successfulyear, the company was renamed ArcticEnterprises and produced its’ firstrecreational model - a red machinecalled the Arctic Cat 100. The machineswere sold through 19 Distributorshipsaround the US and a growing legionof dealers.

Hetteen left Arctic Enterprises in1964 and in the hands of new managersthe company continued to grow. 1966saw the introduction of the Arctic CatPanther – the first of the traditionalblack Arctic Cat machines. Like manysnowmobile companies at the time,Arctic Enterprises diversified into otherareas by producing Silverline Boats,mini-bikes, lawn mowers and even bi-cycles. This expansion cost the companydearly with disastrous year after yearlosses which peaked in 1974. Snow-mobile demand had waned considerablysince 1970 and by 1976 there were 13competitors in the field. This dramaticchange in competition actually helpedArctic Enterprises recover for a time

CANADIAN TOUR for All 2014 OEM SnowmobilesMost shows are free, to see the new 2014 snowmobiles, you can talk directly with factory

representatives to get the inside scoop on the new models along with info on spring programs. Thecomplete tour schedule of operation, show details and directions can be viewed at

www.snowsneakpeek.comMarch 25- 26 Kanata, Ontario / April 19- 20 Barrie, Ontario

[email protected]

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Kort Duce Photos for American Snowmobiler Magazine

LONG-LASTINGAIRBOOTS

By: Diane Ross-LangleyPresident Baxter Snow RidersThe Port Severn and Honey Harbour

area have a long history of snowmo-biling. Dog sled teams originally cre-ated some of the trails to bring suppliesback to the island residents. Childrenwere transported to schools by snowmachine. This area also producedsome of the best puddle jumpers andracers. Some things changed andothers remained similar. There arestill dedicated volunteers that give upweekends to work on the trails to clear,rebuild, reroute, sign, stake and brushso that the groomer and riders canenjoy them. We have an experiencedTrail Patrol team that provides infor-mation and education on the trails.We have Driver Trainers who lookforward to teaching our future snow-mobilers. Our groomer operators takea lot of physical jarring to their bodiesas they pack the trails on runs up toeleven hours preparing the trails forthe drag. We were recently outfittedwith a Mogul Master drag that so farhas left the trails in pristine conditions.We are reviving our Wednesday Wan-derer trek, meeting at Bressette Houseat 10 a.m. on Wednesdays and startinga Saturday morning ride. Our AnnualBBQ is scheduled in February. For

updated information. Along with thenewsletter, we continue to have ourFacebook fan page click "Like" to joinhttp://m.facebook.com/profile.php?v=feed&id=179513518767123&refid=17 Or visit our public forum on our

website – www.baxtersnowriders.comTo join our forum, please email vol-

[email protected] for auser name and password. The Baxter Snow Riders member-

ship has changed dramatically over theyears. In the past, full time and long-term residents made up the Executiveand Directors. Presently, half theBoard and membership is seasonal res-idents. As a result, our meetings areheld on Saturday mornings bright andearly. We are working closely withour neighbouring clubs in District 8and District 7, sharing resources, knowl-edge and experience as well as sup-porting their events. The end product,of course, is a positive experience forall snowmobilers. Baxter Snow Ridershave goals for the future and they in-clude having the best trails that wecan and a building for the groomerwith plans for a clubhouse. Snowmo-biling for us is twelve months of theyear. Bring on the snow, we are readyfor it.

Long History of Snowmobilingin Baxter

By Sandi Clarke,Office Administrator

Winter…….love it or hate it, weare in Canada, we are going to get awinter. Whether it be cold, rainy anddamp or freezing and snowing. It’sgoing to happen. Personally, I wouldrather see above 25 degrees year round(except Christmas, I do like a whiteChristmas). Since I have been withthe Snowcrest Riders I have become a“weather nerd”, I have the WeatherNetwork up on my computer and Black-berry from November 15 until the endof March and of course the radar isup as well. (no wonder my computer isslow). I don’t like -36, but it’s goodfor the trails, I had to keep remindingmyself that week we had nothingwarmer than -18, yeah, it’s good forthe trails. I don’t like cleaning thesnow off my car and I hate driving init...but it’s good for the trails. And Iam constantly doing the snow-danceto the point that my chiropractor ab-

solutely loves me. I am actually jealouswhen they have snow squalls in otherdestinations, how come they alwaysget them. The wind is in the right di-rection, the temperature isperfect...WHERE ARE MY SNOWSQUALLS?

After having some of our SnowcrestRiders trail system open, along camethe January thaw. We had + tempera-tures in the double digits, lots of rainand even a thunder storm! Everythingthat had been frozen was opening upagain. Then, the high winds & cold re-turned for a couple of days, and thenless than 10 centimeters of fluffy snow.We received several calls from permitbuyers wanting to know why we wereslow getting the trails groomed. Wedo our best to educate those that callwith questions like this. We explainedto them that the areas that refroze donot have enough ice to carry the in-dustrial groomers. At least if we hadmore snow, if the groomer did bust

Snowcrest Riders S/C:


open the ice in some of the wet areas,snow from the drag could be pulled into fill the wet spots so they would pack& freeze again. Without the snow, thegroomers would cause more damageto the trails. We'll have to wait formore snow.

Most permit buyers understand afterwe explain this to them, others not somuch. We understand they have boughttheir permit and want to ride on smoothgroomed trails. Hey, I and our Boardof Directors including our Club Pres-

ident purchase our trail permits aswell. We want our groomers out onthe trails as soon as possible so we canenjoy the trails too. Not to mention,doing our best to have trails open tosupport the local businesses that supportus.

I have decided not to talk to MotherNature anymore, she needs to be fired!!But, when the snow does come (and itwill) and it turns really cold (and itwill), I will be totally ready to hit thewell-groomed trails in Snowcrest Coun-

try because I know we have some ofthe best groomer-operators and whenthey say the trails are ready, they areready. Somehow they manage to takea very little amount of snow and turnit into some the best trails available.There may be a little “clicking” hereand there, they may not be the trailsfrom twenty years ago when there wasa three foot base, but I will be out onmy sled, enjoying all that winter hasto offer...after all we are Canadians!This is what we do, but I still may go

and buy that really cute, expensive,hugely warm sweater I saw in the dressshop window.

The areas that refroze, do not haveenough ice to carry the groomers. Atleast if we had more snow, if thegroomer did bust open the ice in someof the wet areas, snow from the dragcould be pulled in to fill the wet spotsso they would pack & freeze again.Without the snow, the groomers wouldcause more damage to the trails.

We'll have to wait for more snow.

By: Dustin Cleveland,Club SecretaryIn this last publication of the season

I delivered important club news toyou, beginning with the announcementof the Annual General Meeting (AGM)scheduled to be held at the MuskokaRiverside Inn in Bracebridge April18th, 2013 at 7:30 PM. As this is apublic meeting everyone is welcometo attend. Among items on the Agendais the election of two executive officersand three directors. Board positionsare usually held for a period of twoyears. Board positions to be filled atthe 2013 AGM include Treasurer, Sec-retary, and three Directors-at-large.The positions of President, Vice-Pres-ident and the remaining three direc-tors-at-large shall hold their positionuntil the 2014 AGM. To run for thesepositions one must be a permanentresident of the District and must be amember in good standing of theMuskoka Sno-Bombers at least 45 daysprior and consecutive to that of theelection. Membership includes thosewho have purchased an annual mem-bership or an O.F.S.C. Trail Permitfrom the Muskoka Sno-Bombers. Alsopertinent to business of the eveningare a selection of non-Board positions.Not restricted or limited to a term orperiod, these positions include thosesuch as Trail Stewards, TrailsBoss/Groomer Manager, VolunteerCoordinator, Signage Coordinator, TrailPatrol Coordinator and so forth. Ifyou are interested in learning moreabout these roles or wish to hold oneof these positions please contact meat [email protected] and/or at-tend the 2013 AGM. Secondly, I cannotrecall an Autumn that was free of trailrenovations; they present themselveseach and every single year. Lookingahead to Autumn 2013 a myriad oftrail renovations are already in theplanning phase and shall surely enhancean already gorgeous trail network.

Some of the renovations forecasted tooccur include the re-route of TransOntario Provincial (TOP) ConnectorC102D inbetween Secondary 34 andTOP Trunk D. Some plans have beenmade but are yet to be confirmed,please look forward to the news in alater issue. Another re-route plannedto occur is along Secondary 37 justnorth of Highway 141, to eliminate aportion of road travel. Finally, the7th Annual Muskoka Sno-BombersGolf Tournament will take place inSeptember 2013 and if it is anythinglike it has been in previous years itshall be an excellent day for the Musko-ka snowmobiling community. Pleasevisit our website www.sno-bombers.comfor further details about this and otherevents. Until next time, best wishesfor a happy and healthy summer.

Muskoka Sno-BombersClub News:

19890 Highway 11, Box 1240, Bradford, ON

905-775-1717WWW.EDGEPERFORMANCE.CA

HOLLAND LANDING

THURST

HOLLAND LANDING

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11HWY

CENTRE

ATHURSTATHURSTPERFORMANCE

HOLLAND LANDING

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CENTRE

WWWWWW.EDGEPERFORMANCE.CA905-775-1717

Box 1240,y 11,y 11, Box 1240,aay 11,19890 Highw19890 Highwa

.EDGEPERFORMANCE.CA905-775-1717

ONd,d, ONadforadford, Br Bradfor Box 1240, Box 1240, Br

Tall Pines S/CPoker Rally Results: Gord McBride DirectorIt is February 12th and we just

completed our 33rd Annual Poker Rallyon February 9th. Attendance was con-sistent with last year which was a sur-

prise due to the major snow storm thathit southern Ontario the day beforedropping approximately thirty cms ofsnow on Toronto and surroundingareas. This made it difficult for manyto travel north to attend the event.


We received approximately 20 cmsof fresh snow from this storm whichmade for excellent trail conditions forthe ride.There were 147 riders and atotal of 208 ( including riders and vol-unteers ) attending the dinner andawards function afterwards.Patti Gunter won the $2,000 1st

prize with a Royal Flush. Patti wasvery gracious and donated $1,000 backthe camp facility. The 32 inch TV prizefor the highest pledges went to PeterWright with $2,935. 50/50 draw winnerJim Soule also donated his $690 win-nings back to the camp. A big thanks to the approx 35

volunteers that make this function asuccess....there are too many to list!Further poker rally details will be

posted on the club web sitewww.tallpines.orgOther club news ....Raven Lake and

Kawagama Lake from Marina Bay totrail # 68 were staked January 29thjust before rain came close to wipingout what snow we had the following24 hours. A big thanks to Jim Spears

for helping Garry Evans and myselfstake. Groomers were sent out justbefore the rain to ensure that the trailbase would be flat once cold temps setin again...mission accomplished. Withindays the trails were rideable, yet icyunderneath once we received enoughsnow . Garry and Shone Evans stakedthe balance of Kawagama to the eastend February 7th.Warm temps and rain forecast Feb-

ruary 11th once again threatened oursystem however we seemed to havedodged the bullet this time with onlynominal rain and an additional threeinches of snow by the evening.The long term forecast is showing

decent riding weather ahead!


CANADIAN TOURfor All 2014 OEM Snowmobiles

Most shows are free, to see the new 2014snowmobiles, you can talk directly with factoryrepresentatives to get the inside scoop on the

new models along with info on spring pro-grams. The complete tour schedule of

operation, show details and directions can beviewed at www.snowsneakpeek.com

March 25- 26 Kanata, OntarioApril 19- 20 Barrie, Ontario

Team Rockstar Energy Polaris Rac-ing’s Iain Hayden regained the pointslead in the CSRA Pro Open Mod Snow-cross Championship at the Grand PrixDe Valcourt snowcross classic in Val-court, QC, Febuary17th. This year theGrand Prix, which is a combined CSRAand SCM Racing event and this race,was part of the CSRA points chase.On Saturday points were up for grabsagain and Hayden recorded a good runin the qualifiers, claiming 4-2 results.In the final, the defending champ foundhimself going into turn one in thirdplace, where he resided until about thehalfway mark. At that point a brokenshock saw Hayden having to nurse hisPolaris IQ around the track, losingthree positions in the process. Becausenone of the CSRA contenders made itinto Saturday’s final, including Hayden’sarchrival in the championship, DaveAllard, Hayden sixth place was goodenough to put him back in the ProOpen Mod points lead. In Sunday’s qualifiers, Hayden was

on top of his game, grabbing 4-1 resultsthat put him on the front row for thestart of the final. As in Saturday’s final,he rounded the first turn in third placebut this time he ran a trouble-free race

and finishedin that posi-tion.“Saturday

was a bit ofa drag, espe-cially the fi-nal, butthings stillturned outokay, as I man-aged to take over the points lead again.The racing was tough this weekendand nobody gave up an inch, the way italways goes when you have two racingorganizations co-sanction an event,”Hayden said.

Steeped in tradition, the list of winnersof I-500 cross-country snowmobilerace reads like a who’s who of snow-mobile racing. This past weekend ArcticCat’s racer Ryan Simons added hisname to that list when he won the40th running of the prestigious race.Unlike it’s original point-to-point formatwhich brought racers from Winnipegto St. Paul or vice-versa for so manyyears, the current race centers aroundthe home of Arctic Cat snowmobilesin Thief River Falls, Minn., and ridersfollow a unique course each day, loggingroughly 160-miles a day for three daysdown frozen rivers, snow-filled ditches,

woods andmin imumm a i n t e -n a n c eroads. The racebegan onThursday,February 7.S i m o n s

opened a leadof nearly three minutes on Day 1, butonly after a big crash. “I had a bigcrash on the first day,” said Simons. “Itwas a potentially race-ending crash,but I got lucky and was able to finishthe day and the crew fixed the sled upfor Day 2.”On Day 2 Simons openedhis lead up to 10 minutes after a nearflawless run. Over the 160-mile coursethat included two fuel stops and variousstop signs at road crossings, Simonsheld a 66MPH pace. To give you andidea how fast that is, an off-road trophytruck like you see in the Baja 100 typi-cally runs about a 60MPH averagespeed.“My mechanics Hector Olson andCory Berberich told me I had to dial itback or the sled wouldn’t last the racedistance,” said Simons. “I had the leadand now they told me it was about fin-ishing, so I didn’t ride as hard as I didon the first day.” After two days ofclear skies, the third and last day ofthe race dawned gray with freezingdrizzle. With poor visibility from flatlight and moisture freezing on his gog-gles, Simons again slowed his pace butheld his 10-minute lead for the rest ofthe race distance. “I was definitelyslower again on the last day, but I knewI had a big lead and I didn’t want tomake any big mistakes in the flat light,”Simons said. “Also, the intake screenson the sled froze over so the sled was

down on power since it wasn’t gettingany air.”A brutal race where attrition is a

huge factor in the results, for manycross-country racers the I-500 becomesa source of frustration and many becomeobsessed with winning it.

Swedish snowcross champion AdamRenheim captured his first FIM Cham-pionship on Friday, February the 8th,riding his Ski-Doo to finishes of 1-2-2in the three race main event format.For Renheim, the biggest challengeduring the event was just getting intothe finals. A crash in the first cornerof the qualifying round meant havingto go through the last chance qualifyingrace to secure a spot in the championshiprounds. Renheim started the seasonracing the AMSOIL ChampionshipSnocross tour in the United States.After competing in the first two roundswith mixed results, Renheim returnedto Sweden to focus on repeating as thenational champion and becoming aWorld Champion. Over 25,000 specta-tors were on hand to witness the eventwhich was broadcast live in HD forthe first time.


SCO had a question sent in from areader, they asked about, those thingsthat the racers were using on theirskis at the Winter X-Games. What arethey? It turns out that it’s a Canadianinvention. SCO talked with inventor

Allan McLeod, about his race legalSno-Keelzz product. These Sno-Keelzzare to prevent the snow from "blow-ing" over the tops of the skis in cer-tain grainy/heavy snow conditions,when this loose snow does blow overthe ski sideslips in corners. The Sno-Keelzz mounts; either directly to skibackbone frame or to frame usingshort standoffs to get the Sno-Keelzzright to the ski edge for maximum ac-

tion. These are made from Hi-Impactresistant low temp HDPE, the samematerial as C&A Pro skis.

Racer Jakob Rosko-Fong likes theSno-Keelzz after testing, he said, “theywork well and I think it helps keep theother guy's ski off the top outsideedges of my ski, I really like this.”This new product will availablethrough Sled Pro, a distributor here inOntario.

Sno-Keelzz, aSnowcrossProduct Test

Canadian RacerRyan SimonsWins USXC I-500

Hayden back incontrol of AnotherPro Championship

#93 Iain Hayden CSRApoints leader

Team Arctic’s racer Ryan Simons

Europe’s FIMWorld SnowcrossChampionship

Adam Renheim wins FIM WorldSnowcross Championship

Sno-Keelzz

Snowmobiles with ice scratchersisn’t a new thing, mountain snowmo-bilers have been using these accessoriesfor years. As a matter of fact severalmountain models come with ice scratch-ers as standard equipment. With therecent Ontario weather and its constantmelt downs, ice scratchres are makingmore and more sense. Have you ever

come to a lake crossing and found thatthere is no snow, just glare ice. Ridingthrough this situation is bad for a mod-ern snowmobile. Machines depend onthe snow for lubrication of the slidersand depend on the snow dust to betossed on the heat exchangers for enginecooling. With out snow, or the lack ofsnow, the engine will overheat and the

sliders will stickto the track.With no snowfor lube, the fic-tion created fromthe track cleatspassing by thenylon slides, willcreate heat, thisheat will melt thenylon and makethe cleats stickto the heated ny-lon, and this sit-uation stinks,

both in smell and in mechanical failure.All of this can be avoided by using icescratchers. SCO has recently done aproduct test on different ice scratchersand the following is what we found.

Installing Traditional WireSpring Ice Scratchers

The traditional wire spring scratch-ers are hard to mount to a short track

snowmobile, they are easy to install ona long tracks that are found on the

mountain style sleds. The problem hereis mounting the scratcher far enoughahead to make a snowy / ice dust dif-ference. RSI, an aftermarket accessory

manufacture from Minnesota, makesan idler wheel adapter that mountsboth the idler wheel and the springscratcher together enabling one to getthe ice scratchers mounted towards

the front. Installation can be done inthe sled, but in this case we took therear skid out to replace the sliders atthe same time. We needed to drill alager hole in the rails to mount thelager bolts that come with this kit.Getting the wire spring scratchersmounted as far forward as you can,this is key and the adapters make thispossible.There is warning all over the pack-

aging and it is also well known in themountains that you never back-up with


Product Test: Ice Scratchers

The RSI kit includes everything fora short track sled, make sure thekit includes the idler wheel

adapters

The RSI kit with the idler wheeladapters installed, notice the wirewrap around the idler wheel

adapter

The cable system comes complete and is the easiest to install

The cable system mountingbracket, ready for the cable

install

this style of ice scratchers. If you do,they will destroyed, bent beyond re-pair.Installing the Newer Cable style

Ice ScratchersThe cable system is from ACS, a

Canadian manufacturer based here inOntario. This system is easy to install,just drill 2 ¼” holes close to the edgeof the running boards. Now bolt onthe mounting bracket and then boltthe cable on using a pair of 9/16wrenches. Mount the cable with somepressure on the cable so the carbidehas a chance to dig into the ice. Thecarbide tips are replaceable, so you canalways keep it sharp.

Testing the DifferentIce Scratchers

In order to keep things equal andconstant, we used the same test sled,same driver, maintaining the same speedover the same test area.During testing the wire spring

scratchers worked really well, betterthan expected. It is easy to fold thewire scratchers over the rails when not

in use or when you are ready to back-up. This system works better than thecable system, but is harder to install.We believe this success of this systemis due to the additional spring pressurethat is put on the end that scraps alongthe ice. The extra spring pressure issignificant over the cable system.The cable system does work and it

was easy to photograph, but it doesn’t

leave a snow /ice cloud like the wirespring system. This system is also veryawkward when not in use, it was hardto tie up and our technicians felt itwould lose its tension when it was tied

up. We are recommending that you re-move the scratchers and carry them inyour tool pouch until they are neededand can be installed on the fly withtwo wrenches.

This photo shows the scratch lines left from the tested ice scratchers

This photo is NOT blurry, there is asnow cloud that follows the wirespring scratchers, this snow cloud

is what you want!

This photo shows the cable sys-tem in action leaving a scratch line

These photos show an overhead view of the cable system andwire spring in action


OFSC District 11 Near North Trail AssocuationBox 237 160 Pinewood Park Dr. North Bay ONP1B 8H2 866-338-6682 / 705-495-4333

• Almaguin District S/C• Argyle Ryders S/C• Bonfield S/C• French River Snow Devils• French River Snow Voyageurs

• Mattawa & Area S/C• Near North Snowdrifters• Nipissing Veuve River S/C• North Bay S/C• South Shore / Restoule S/C

• Temagami Trails / NNTA S/C• West Nipissing S/C

OFSC District 11

By: Blair BallantyneDirector ADSCHello from the ADSC. I hope every-

one is having a safe season so far andthat you have been able to take advan-tage of the efforts of our groomeroperators. They are doing the bestthey can with the snow and equipmentthat we have. All our trails were shapingup quite nicely after the 15cm. we justreceived on Jan. 28. Well here it isJanuary 31 after another major melt-down yesterday and we've had to closeour trails again. Everything is freezingup again and hopefully the Snow Godswill bless us with plenty of new snowso we can reopen again soon. By thetime you are reading this we will hope-fully have had another successful Poker

Run on Feb. 9 and possibly even ourannual Rider Appreciation Family DayBBQ on Feb.16. If any of you haveever considered doing some volunteerwork with your local club I stronglyurge you to do so. I guarantee youwill find it a very rewarding experience.You'll meet some great people & evenhave some fun. I've sent along somepictures of some of our hard workingvolunteers redecking a bridge on anew section of the D trail at the northend of our trail system. It was a beau-tiful day in October and the manyhands made light work of a big jobthat anybody riding our trails or doingthe RAP tour will appreciate. Have asafe rest of the season, PRAY FORSNOW!! Happy Trails.

Almaguin District S/C

Mark Lepage,Club Volunteer Here we are halfway through the

season and really we are just gettingrolling. The Jan thaw of 2013 reallydid wipe a lot of snow away. It’s toobad as the BSC had spent hundreds ofman hours packing, grooming and get-ting all the signage ready when thethaw happened. Moving on, over theweekend we had 26 cm of fresh snowand all trails are freshly groomed,today the temperature is a mere -30degree without the wind factor.It really saddened me that during

the thaw that someone decided to rideall the trails in Boulter Twp on a quad.It really screwed up the trails to thepoint of actually being dangerous toride. If they had been left alone, thetrails would have been just fine. Thebest thing to do when temps get thatwarm is to stay off trails so they don'tget damaged. The BSC volunteers hadto re-pack and groom all these trailsto bring them back into shape, volunteerhours that shouldn’t have been re-quired.The BSC was lucky this year in

that we were able to get out over theChristmas vacation and get all thetrails up and going. This hopefullywill allow for an eight to ten weekseason this year for our members. TheBSC truly believes that if you put theproduct out there, that people will buy

permits. We have been able to do thatbecause of our dedicated volunteers.Even though we had a couple of break-downs, the work got done. Thanks toall who got the equipment repairedand rolling so quick. With this I believe being the last

newsletter of the year, I would be re-miss in not thanking everyone fromthe dedicated volunteers, the merchantsthat sell our permits, our memberswho buy our permits and all who helpkeep the BSC, the best little club inthe District. It truly is a group effortand the directors of the BSC wouldlike to thank all. Here's to the rest ofwhat I hope will be a great season andhope to see you all next year.

News from Bonfield S/C

Snowmobilers from across Ontario,United States and Europe have beenenjoying the Mattawa & Area Snow-mobile Club trails this winter, we havereceived many positive comments fromthe ridership and this support helpsmaintain our enthusiasm and keepsdriving us forward striving to do better. It is important for all snowmobilers

to recognize the hard work by volun-teers, stopping trailside to let a groomeroperator know how much you appreciatetheir hard work is like the fuel in yoursled that drives you forward. We would

like to recognize our Groomer Super-visor Mathew Veil who to date hasput in over four hundred hours of op-erating time as well countless hourshelping to install signage, clearingbrush and maintaining the Mattawa &Area Snowmobile Clubs new CASE

IH groomer. Without Matt’s dedication,hard work, perseverance and enthusiasmwe wouldn’t have the fantastic trailsthat we have today. We would also liketo thank Scott Adams for his hardwork helping Matt out on the trails. Next time you are out riding and

see a groomer on the move, or a clubvolunteer out on the trails take a mo-ment and stop and thank them foreverything they do! Mattawa & Area Snowmobile Club

has 50/50 tickets for sale – buy one ina local business for a chance to win up

to $2000 cash! (Draw March 30th2013) Please visit our website www.mat-

tawasc.ca Please visit our facebook page

www.facebook.com/mattawasc

Mathew Veil beside completed Tourism Billboard on TOP A112A trail

Mattawa S/C PositiveComments from Ridership


By: Brian Baker,Club PresidentWell here it is seven days after the

big rains and meltdown in late January.We were all very discouraged as ourtrails had just opened and were ingreat condition with a good base andthere was severe flooding and washoutseverywhere. A week later, with lotsof hard work by our Groomer Volun-teers, we are almost back to normal.Looking at the OFSC Interactive TrailMap, it appears that a lot of clubs tothe south did not survive the meltdownand that is very unfortunate. All threeof our groomers have put on a lot ofhours and both the Redbridge andnorth groomers are putting in over24 hours of work to open up thesection of A102Q between NB308 andTemiskaming. All of our nine trailmap signs have been installed and mosthave a mailbox which we regularly fillwith District 11 trail guides. TheMattawa Area Snowmobile Club(MASC) has really improved theirclub’s trail map signing and congrat-ulations to them for such a huge im-provement. Our District Trail Patrollerof 2012, Al Clark and I encounteredtwo sledders without any trail permitson the past weekend. Al took severalphotos of their registration numbersand told them to buy a trail permit atThe Portage within 24 hours or we

would forward to the OPP requestingthat charges be laid.I have stopped posting on both

Hardcoresledder and Freedomsledderdue to abusive comments from a fewbut it is not worth the time and ag-gravation to cater to everyone with apersonal reply. Our NBSC websiteand Facebook are updated almost dailyand the response has been terrific. Wealso send regular e-mails to those onour trail permit buyer’s list so if youwant to be added just send a note [email protected] The logging companiesare currently plowing approximately25 kilometres of Forest Access Roadswhich we utilize for our trails. Loggingwork is underway on A102Q, A112A,NB308 and NB300. We have met withNipissing Forest Management as wellas Tembec, Janveaux Forest and Stur-geon Falls Brush who are doing thework. Both groups have agreed to co-operate with each other and improvesigning so that the hazards can be re-duced. Hopefully we can get anothersix to eight weeks of great snowmo-biling before the season comes to anend. We certainly don’t want a repeatof last year’s meltdown in the firstweek of March. NBSC has a smallgroup of great volunteers who do atremendous job maintaining our over300 kms of trails in great condition.See you next season.

North Bay S/C Web Page andFacebook Updated Daily:

By Helen Vaillancourt,Club Treasurer

At the beginning of the groomingseason, the operators with theSouthShore Snowmobile Club gatherat the clubhouse to review the policiesof the club. Rules as to ice crossingsand the thickness of the ice, the correctuse of SPOT, the importance of accu-rate logbook reporting, not only ofroute taken but also of any mattersthat need attending to on the trail, theimportance of a circle check beforegoing out on the trails etc. This year anew groomer and drag was on display.At a special session, each operator forthat particular groomer was taken outindividually for a training session bypersonnel from The Shop Industrial.New operators this season will betrained by experienced operators andwill not go out alone until they aredeemed competent. Over the years wehave found this an excellent time tobring the operators together, to goover the club policies and to insurethat we get off to a good start oncethe snow comes.

In MemoriamWithin the past ten days we have

lost two long time friends and membersof our Board of Directors with theSouthShore Restoule Snowmobile Club.Bruce Wain had over thirty years withus, first with the Restoule SnowmobileClub and later with the amalgamatedclub. Bruce coordinated the groomeroperators, looked after the signage ofthe trails, helped with brushing andtrail repair, and set up for the SnowRuns and special events. He visitedbusinesses in his area for sponsorship.He went out on rescue runs to retrievestranded operators or sledders. Thesecond long time friend we lost is,Rolly St Pierre, who had served manyyears with the SouthShore RestouleSnowmobile Club. Rolly operated agroomer, looked after signage for theAstorville area and worked on trailrepairs and brushing. He knew thepeople in his area and was often calledupon to speak with and solve landownerissues. Volunteers such as these twomen are hard to replace. They will besorely missed.

SouthShore Restoule S/CGroomer Operators’ Meeting:

By Rheal RivetThis season, snow has not been in

abundance; however, there is not enoughto declare all of the trails in WestNipissing available. Nevertheless, dueto the record rainfall we received lastweek, it was a challenge to mark thetrails on the lakes because of the pres-ence of slush. There are low spots inour trail system where water has ac-cumulated up to two feet in depth.While the ice in these places is enoughto support snowmobiles, it cannot sup-port the groomers. With the forecastcalling for continuous cold weather,these places should soon be safe forthe groomers to do their job. As always,please check our website for the latesttrail conditions; they are updated daily. Now for the good news, our club

has been approved for a much needed

new groomer next year. The choiceof which machine to buy is still notofficial, because the committee is stilllooking at different options. Lastly, our volunteers ...these dedi-

cated and relentless people are stillcutting some branches which couldcause minor problems on our trails. Itis also impossible to write these articleswithout special mention of thelandowners who give us permissionto cross their properties, because with-out these people, we simply would nothave a trail system. If you know anyof these landowners, we encourageyou to make an effort to go and seethem and say thank you. Again, for the remainder of this

snowmobiling season, we encourageyou to ride safely and enjoy our trails.

West Nipissing S/C:New Groomer Next Year


2014 Ski-Doo Snowmobiles

Ski-Doo’s marketing people are ontop and they always deliver a first ratepresentation and this year was no ex-ception. Pascal Vincent, BRP’s Snow-mobile Product Manager was quick topoint out that they have improved theirmarket share and they are still numberone during his opening remarks. Theyare very excited about the success ofgaining market share in all segments,especially with their new 2013 Summitline, this success was way more thanexpected.

What’s New for Ski-Doo in 2014;they have expanded the REV-XS plat-form throughout the model lines. TheREV-XS has a striking style, improvedwind protection, added storage, easierserviceability and more aggressive er-gonomics. The REV-XS platform nowmoves to several new models, includingMXZ X RS, MXZ TNT, Renegade,Adrenaline, Renegade Backcountry,GSX LE and the Expedition Sportsleds. 2014 MXZ X-RS This model has

several highlights, it’s now in the REV-XS chassis and this chassis has severaladditional reinforcements for 2014. Italso comes with an adjustable forwardsteering post. This model has the rMo-tion rear suspension, its rear shockshas the Easy-Adjust compression ad-juster with 22 clics, a whole range ofadjustments. This rear skid is wrappedwith a 1.25 inch lug RipSaw track. Onthe front of the new MXZ X-RS arelightweight chromoly front suspensionlower A-arms and a pair of KYB Pro40 aluminum piggyback front shocks,this stronger front end is fitted withPilot 5.7 skis for the best in steeringcapabilities. MXZ X-RS also has aBrembo racing brake with braided stain-

less-steel brake line for a very positivefeel when braking. The 2014 MXZ X-RS has the unmistakable yellow paintedtunnel, hand wind deflectors and 6 in./ 15 cm windshield for that aggressivelook. It also has the convenience ofgauges and a Multifunction digitalgauge with display and 5 minutes highsampling rate record mode.Ski-Doo Drops another ACE!Rotax ACE 900 engine BRP is ex-

panding its line of ultra efficient RotaxACE snowmobile engines for 2014 withthe ACE 900 motor. This inline three-cylinder 4-stroke engine uses the sameAdvanced Combustion Efficiency, as inthe ACE design of the ACE 600.

The new ACE 900 is to deliver out-standing fuel economy, lightweight per-formance and low cost operation. Notonly does it offer more power than theACE 600 at 60hp, the ACE 900 at 90hpis a break through in usability and cus-tomization features with the debut ofBRP’s iTC electronic throttle technol-ogy. This is the world’s first throttle-by-wire snowmobile. The iTC tech-nology has a set that includes threedriving modes and Learning Key func-tionality. BRP rates the engine at up to23.3mpg (10L/100km) in its ECO driv-ing mode. It also requires no air radiator

in touring applications, because of itsefficiency and cooling system enhance-ments.

ACE 900 Technical DetailsThis 4-stroke engine has 899cc, and

it’s an inline triple. It has 12:1com-pression, 4 valves per cylinder, DOHC,hydraulic valve and chain adjustments.Its fuel system is electronic fuel injection(EFI) with a single 46mm throttlebody. When this motor is at 7,250-rpm operation it develops 90hp, it has3-into-1 exhaust system and uses adry sump oil lubrication system and ithas a powerful 420W magneto chargingsystem.

The ACE 900 is the first sled to usethe iTC throttle-by-wire technology.This system has 3 driving modes: Sport,Standard and ECO. This system is easyto control with a switch on the dash.Sport Mode brings out the full per-

formance of the ACE 900 engine. Whenthis mode is selected, the idle is increasedby 200 rpm to pre-charge the plenumand deliver a snappy response, full

power and rapid acceleration and yesit has engine braking is this mode.Standard Mode is where most own-

ers will ride most of the time. It’s amid setting with normal accelerationand good fuel economy. Its linear ac-celeration ensures smooth clutch en-gagement, therefore smooth take offs.No engine braking in this mode.ECO Mode both reduces fuel con-

sumption and delivers a relaxed per-formance. Unlikemany automotive ecostyle systems that only “coach” thedriver into reducing fuel consumption,the iTC technology's ECO mode is anactive system that modifies engine per-formance and notably reduces fuel con-sumption. Speed limiter: 44mph(70km/h) and in this mode there is noengine braking. Note; BRP rates thisengine’s fuel economy at up to 23.3mpg(10L/100km) in its ECO driving modeonly.The Learning Key was adopting a

concept from Sea-Doo watercraft, theLearning Key feature of iTC technology

2014 MXZ REV-XS leads the charge 2014 MXZ X-RS has a bold new look for 2014

The all new 2014 Rotax 900 ACE The all new 2014 GSX LE 900 ACE


limits the performance of the whenthe owner determines it necessary. Po-tential applications might be to assistnovice snowmobilers in gaining expe-rience safely, commercial usage or rentaloperations. The actual learning key isa special D.E.S.S. (Digitally EncodedSecurity System) electronic tether keyindicated by a green cord. It’s pro-grammed by dealer at 44mph (70km/h)or 25mph (40km/h.). The 3 modes arestill active but the snowmobile will al-ways be to the programmed speedlimit.

2014 GSX LE This new model has several high-

lights, as it too is now in the REV-XSplatform. The rear suspension is rMo-tion, the industry bench mark. Thetrack is also an industry bench markwith its lightweight 1.25-inch lug Rip-Saw track. The new 2014 GSX LE hasan aluminum handlebar with integratedJ-hooks, a Multifunction digital gaugewith display and a temperature gauge.Yes, this model has electric start and italso has12V power outlet and a heatedvisor power outlet. This model has avery functional 15 inch windshield withintegrated hand wind deflectors foradded protection. It has a large GSXexpandable tunnel bag along with theLinQ system available for the ultimatein bags and accessories. This GSX LEhas different engine choices but thenewest engine added to the line up isthe ACE 900.2014 Grand Touring LE, this mod-

el continues in the REV-X platform.What’s new? Are the rMotion rearsuspension and the SilentDrive Systemthat has been added to this model. ThisSilentDrive system has new track driv-ers that are more rounded, a newinterior track design and suspensionmodifications to reduce track sound by70%, this system also has less vibration

that can transfer to the riders feet. Thetrack itself is a 15X137X1” with aRipSaw pattern. The Grand TouringLE comes standard with lots of riderwind protection; side panel wind de-flectors and 24-inch high windshield.The 2014 Grand Touring LE has 4-stroke engine options, the new ACE900 and 4-TEC 1200, regardless ofwhat 4-stroke engine, this power isfitted with the new eDrive 2 driveclutch for smoother operation. Thistouring sled comes standard with acargo rack, adjustable backrest andpassenger grips and a quick attachmodular seat. It also has the convenienceof a Multifunction digital gauge withdisplay, temperature gauge and a 12Vpower outlet along with heated visoroutlets for the driver and the passen-ger.

SCO has chosen the previous 2014Ski-Doo models to best describe the2014 changes. There are several modelsin the different segments with the samechanges already covered, but the bestthing to do is talk to your Ski-Doodealer for all the latest information onthe 2014 Ski-Doo models.

The 2014 Grand Touring LE

The new SlientDrive System reduces tracksound by 70%!


Hill & Gully Riders Open House and Antique Sled Display Saturday February 16

Best trails in a long time thanks to Mother Nature and our BR180


Another sunny winter day on the trails,gotta love it!

Algonquin Snowmobile Club’s Annual ChiliCook Off is another success. This year’s

winner Tammy MaschmannOOPS! This Classic sled has no permit, trail patrolexplains, he now has to buy a full season permit

Tall Pines SC's Groomer, could go lots of places!The Kawagama Lake Gang

rides again!

I know we made the right turn back there... I musthave a map here somewhere

SCO recently had an opportunityto interview Jake Lacourse the mar-keting Guru for North Bay’s ClarionResort Pinewood Park. This was aneasy interview to do as Lacourse wasup-beat and excited to talk about thesnowmobile biz. Everything he had tosay was cheerful and positive as hetalks about his snowmobile customers,one can tell that he looks forward to

working with his snowmobilers everyyear. His dedication and passion forwhat he does is obvious and he is cer-tainly is a pleasure to deal with. Thefollowing is what Lacourse had to sayduring our interview.SCO: Please tell us about the snowmobileindustry and how is relates to your busi-ness.Jake Lacourse: The snowmobile

business is vital for our winter opera-tions. We fill rooms with snowmobilers,35-40% capacity in January and Marchand 50% of all our rooms in February.A lot of our snowmobile business isrepeat customers, I find snowmobilersare a loyal group of people and oncethey find a place they like, they comeback year after year.SCO: Could you expand on these repeatcustomers.Jake Lacourse: We have a large

core group of repeat customers thathave been coming to us for years. Theyknow what have to offer and they comeback again and again. Our resort hasgroomed trials to the door, a securelook up, restaurants, a Tim Horton’sthat is close by and two choices of fuelstations. We also have a hot tub and avery unique to the area, an outdoorheated swimming pool. Our repeat cus-

tomers know that we cater to snow-mobilers and they appreciate what wedo, I believe this is why they continueto come back to us.SCO: Do you cater to a specific group ofsnowmobilers?Jake Lacourse: Our customers

vary from group to group; sometimesthere are families or couples groups.Sometimes it will be a group of guysthat want to stay here and use ourfacility as a staging area as they go offor a multi-day tour. Some do the RAPtour and some do the RAN tour andsome make up their own tours. We tryto our snowmobiler customers happy,what ever their needs.SCO:The Clarion has been advertising

with SCO for years, do you have advice toanyone that is thinking of advertising inSCO?Jake Lacourse:We believe that we

are tapping into a market of peoplelooking for a good place to stage andsnowmobile from and we also believethat our ad in SCO is working for us.We have several copies of SCO in ourlobby all the time and you can see thereader interest first hand. Anyone inthe snowmobile business that is not inSCO, should be, they are missing outand they need to get in there.

Industry Profile

Jake Lacourse, Director of Sales andMarketing for Clarion Resort PinewoodPark. ``It’s very gratifying to see repeatsnowmobilers come and stay with us

during other seasons.``

By Terry Wilson, SCO readerThank you SCO for all of your excel-

lent work bringing the issue of dockbubblers to the public's attention. In thelast few days my brother, Peter, and Ihave taken our snowmobiles around ap-prox. 60% of the shoreline of Lake ofBays. The noted dramatic difference fromthe last winter to this is the clear evidencethat cottage owners have listened to andacted on your information expressed inyour articles and presentations.

During our rides, without exceptionall observed functioning bubblers weresigned and in the majority of cases markedwith flashing amber light. Perhaps moreimportant, owners have controlled theoperation of the bubblers to significantlyreduce the area of open water aroundtheir docks. One example- Last winter abubbler operating near the shallow nar-rows between Turners Island and themainland caused the narrows to haveopen water virtually all winter. This yearthis same bubbler has been restricted andthe open water confined to an area ofabout 3 metres around the piers.Thanks to SCO, your diligence, knowl-

edge and persistence have made Lake ofBays safer for all of us that participate inwinter activities on the ice. Again thankyou!

Makes aDifference

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Snowmobile Central Ontario Feb 2013

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Transcript of Snowmobile Central Ontario Feb 2013