Daryl, I have a 1999 600 Powder Special and am thoroughly happy with it. I has great power and I love the EFI. I used it as a trapping machine and except for low mpg it worked great. You get enough snow down there that a wide track may be better. Are you looking for something just to trap with or to play on also?

How much snow and what kind of snow are you dealing with? If we know these things we can help you out much more.

Thanks for your replys. trapping is my intrest not snowmobiling, its just a means to and end ( trapping) there is about 18 in of Hard snow now some of the line is near a road that is traveled only by snowmobiles, much of it will be on logging roads that havent had any traffic . Bearbait ,Ted sure put Lincoln on the map! i have only been here since 7- o5 we moved here from Miles City, Mt. after starving out on irrigated farm. Are there enough roads in Ak that you can get to fire wood ? is it timbered where you are ?

bearbait & fishermann -

We've gotten quite a bit of snow here this year. It will usually rain away in a few days but this season it has stacked up like in the old days.

I feel like i'm missing out on something in the hills with all the people running snowmachines + i don't go uphill on foot as well as I did 20 years ago. The snow is pretty loose but there are lots of packed trails. I doubt if there is enough room in our area for a trapline but who knows.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge on the snowmachines and to all reading this for their info on trapping - its a great way to end a day reading about your days in the woods (or tundra). Daryl

Gary, most of Alaska is timbered but some areas are so barren the fox can't even find a stick to pee on! I burn about 4 cords a year to heat my garage, wood isn't hard to get around North Pole. Daryl, I visited Juneau a few years ago and and everything is uphill there, that's some steep country.

$2900 for the powder special is high, more around $2000 sounds right. I had that in a 700 carb, and it was a ripper, but the newer models allow for more clearance with the snow..they were low riders..

gary, we have trees for fire wood, but they are junk,.Spruce and birch, it is horrible wood, but all that we have. No hardwood anywheres, back home we wouldn't even think of cutting one of these down to burn, but we got no cherry, maple or oak here.

and yamaha vmax, it is an ancient ttechnology, triple.. I wouldn't take it if you paid me too.

Thanks Alaskans.

Here's a few things I added to my new Tundra. I do not have a speedometer so I took out the piece of plastic that covered the hole and put a bottle holder in it's place. The fabric inside the hole is perforated to recieve heat from the engine and keep drink from freezing and there is a drawstring to close in your beverage of choice. I bought the 2 bags from Sportsman Warehouse, they came attached to each other, the botle holder also came with them. The forward one came with velcro on it and a piece of velcro tape and was perfect to stick on the dash, the velcro holds it well. I used zip ties to hold the rear bag in the center of the handlebars, under the mountain strap. Both bags are insulated. The machine didn't come with the mountain strap and I didn't care until I rode it and realized how many times I reached for it and it wasn't there so I added it.

Bearbait where did you get the 1/4 inch UHMW? I just got a new Tundra and would like to put a skid plate on it. Also what did you attach it with? Thanks for the great pics. Really like your trapping box.

I got it from a machine shop in Fairbanks. Lots of places carry it up here but it'll probably be harder to find there. You might look in the phone book under industrial supply or plastic. When I attached the skid plate I had a jack lifting the front end so the suspension was extended and the plate wouldn't prevent the full extension of the suspension. I attached it with 6 or 8 bolts in the front through the plastic nose of the machine. The back is attached using existing bolts that hold a bracket for the suspension, the existing bolts are long enough, look under there and you'll see what I'm talking about. My latest addition is a hot pot for midday hot lunch. It doesn't work well along my trapline because I'm poking along too slow to build much heat. I'll get some thin sheetmetal and build a shroud and that should solve the problem. I'll take some better pictures this weekend.

TrapperTy,

Any dog mushers in your area? If you know of any, ask where they get their runner and toboggan plastic.

UHMW is commonly used for the beds on the toboggan type sleds used in middle- and long-distance racing. It sometimes is used for runner plastic, but is not quite soft enough for most of that type of application.

Machine shops and glass replacement shops sometimes carry it.

Pete

Here are a couple more pictures of the skidplate, it is 16" wide and 24" long.

if anyone has a widetrack, superwide with the 550 fan, or the suv 600 carb, there is an update kit for the carbs from ski doo that will make the mileage upwards of 13 mpg. I believe it is a new slide for the carb that does it. not sure on the cost, but a aquatance got it done and gets over 13mpg on his super wide instead of 7mpg.

Thanks for info guys and pics Bearbait. I checked online for UHMW and found a place (online metals) to order it from. The Tundra is awesome! We went out last weekend and tried it out in 2 feet of fresh powder. It was almost impossible to get stuck and the most manuveable machine I've ever ridden. It's a little weak on climbing hills without a trail to follow but makes up for that in the way it handles. The RMK was stuck about every half hour. Anybody else have coments on the new Tundra?

I can't comment on the new tundra, but I HAVE to mention the modifications I've made to my Skandic 440. I've managed to decrease wind drag CONSIDERABLY from the windshield, placing it directly onto the rider. Here is what I did:

Driving about 35mph behind a friend. He dropped something from the sled he was pulling. I tapped on the breaks (maybe slammed). Apparently its a no-no to use the breaks on ice. Turned sideways, hit good snow, rolled, pitched me (landed on my chew can) and rolled the machine a few times. Whal-A: no windshield.

I recommend everyone do this so I don't feel so stupid.

Ty, I think the skidplate will help the front end to float in deep powder, but I haven't had it in enough snow to find out. The new Tundras haven't been real well accepted up here, there was alot of displeasure when the old style was discontinued. I agree on the handling, you just turn the handle bars and it turns.

Alaskan, now you need to lower the handlebars so you can laydown and ride it, like those mortocycle racers. You should be able to get at least 5mph better plus better mileage.

they look better with the zip tie stitching anyways. Now it has attitude, and people won't ride so close to you anymore.

Oh No, there are NO zip ties. That would require some windshield left. I was happy that the windshield slowed the snowmachine down, as I was still sliding in its path. The real destruction was to my chew can and my right butt cheek. OW!!!

I've been told (by myself) that the windshield-less edition is worth more. So I'm not sure if I'll replace it. Plus, I'm sure its not cheap to get a new one, and I haven't done enough stretching to go visit my local dealer. Just not ready to grab my ankles just yet.

Been there done that Alaskan.