My first sled was a 1970 Sno-Jet Star Jet. My family owned the Jet and a '71 Ski-Doo. By the time I was ready to ride, the Ski-Doo's integral chassis gas tank was pretty rusty. As a result, we couldn't keep it running because of clogged fuel lines - so I learned to drive on Big Blue. I can't remember how old I was when I began riding (probably 10 or 12), but that old sled served me well.
The first sled I actually owned was a '95 Arctic Cat Puma 2-up that I bought in December of '94. I wanted a long track and I didn't have deep pockets. The Puma was everything I wanted, and it wasn't too expensive.
Me and the Puma during a storm that dumped 19 inches of snow in Central MN - January '97
The Puma was a great sled for me, but after a couple of seasons I wanted more power than the trusty 340 could deliver. I decided to do an engine swap, replacing the 340 with a 440, rather than lay out the big bucks for a new sled. My plan was to either buy a dual carb engine, or install a second carb if I only found an engine with a single carb. The best motor I found was off a '97 Jag demo sled. I researched the cost of adding the second carb and it was rather pricey. Plus I would have to adjust the oil pump output and I didn't want to mess with that. So in the end, I basically had a '95 Panther without electric start or reverse. I renamed my high-powered sled the "Puma Z!"
My first test with the new motor was during Thanksgiving 1997. I aimed the Puma up a steep slope known locally as the Cat Hills (why? I don't know). I wasn't expecting the little leaf-blower 440 to launch the sled so well. Over the top I went! I landed so hard the hood tie downs let loose and the cowling popped open. Whoops!
One of the guys I ride with, Andrew, began his riding career on the same Sno-Jet I did. Another riding buddy, Zac used the ol' Jet a lot as well, though his family had a '72 Panther 440 that he soon got running. Pretty much every wintery Sunday afternoon, Zac, Andrew, and I would get out the sleds and cruise around the fields in the area. We had the Jet, the Panther, a '79 Polaris Gemini (244cc twin), and a Scorpion Super Stinger (The Scorp was originally a 290cc twin that kept burning pistons, so I grafted 399cc jugs onto the crankcase and we ran it that way for a while until we burned it down again).
Even a sawdust pile is no match for the big 550.
When Andrew decided it was time to buy his first sled, he picked out a '93 Jag. What a dog! My Puma with the 340 seemed to have more power than that thing! Not being one who is content to stay at the back of the pack, Andrew really made an upgrade when he picked up a '95 Cougar two seasons later. That 550 was Cummins territory for us! Being fairly impatient waiting for snow, 'Drew often ran wherever he could find grass. I didn't turn down an offer to run the Coug' either!
Zac's first new sled was a '97 ZL 440 that he bought new. What a great little sled! Good power, light weight and agility make this a fun little carver.
Neither Andrew nor Nick liked eating (literally) my snow-dust, so they went ahead and laid down some serious green for new machines. Andrew picked up a 2000 ZR 600 and Nick opted for a '97 ZR 440; those sleds still didn't satisfy, and Andrew upped the anty once more with a 2002 ZR 800 and Nick purchased a '98 ZR 600. Other sleds have come and gone, but my Powder Special continues to keep me on the trail each winter.
Remembering the days of yore...
Launching over the top on the Cat Hills!
The Gemini was Dad's sled, so we didn't drive that one much, and the Jet was the sled that never broke down, so we drove it most. Picture three young boys having the time of their lives as one drove, a second rode as passenger, while the third (usually Zac) would hang onto a rope as he was pulled around on a cheap plastic sled! We drove over plowed fields, gravel roads, and driveways. As the sled wore out or tore in half, we continued to use it until there wasn't anything rideable left. I think we went through 4 sleds one year!
Yeah, we all like to show off for the camera once in a while!
This machine is bone stock except for heavier clutch weights required for the lower altitude. I didn't even change the gearing. My first ride on the new sled exceded my every expectation. I literally had to anchor my feet in the footwells, and hang on tightly to the handlebars as this thing launched me from a dead stop. Clutch engagement came on at 5000 RPM and she shot ahead. I thought it was terrific until the tach needle swung just past 7 grand and I discovered there was a deeper well of power to tap into than I had imagined. There was more power on tap - gobs more - as the exhaust note changed from a growl to a whine and the sled launched ever harder. The PS wasn't as fast as a ZR, but suffice it to say that she accelerated HARD! I had fun that first winter wasting everyone off the line, even if they did catch up to me a couple of miles down the lake! Even now after nearly 4000 miles have clicked off the odometer, the ol' Powder Puff will still run with the best of them and hasn't lost a step!
The styling of Andrew's plain-jane Cougar didn't sit well with the Big Dog for long. He added a low windshield, some stickers, plastic skis, a few color additions and his sled was about as nice a machine as I've seen anywhere.
When the '98-'99 season ended, I decided it was finally time for me to upgrade from the Puma Z. One of the driving factors was that we were talking seriously about taking a trip out west, and I knew that a mountain trip would be so much more enjoyable with a more mountain-oriented sled. The Puma had given me nearly 5000 miles of trouble-free service, and while I hated to see her go, I pre-ordered a 2000 Powder Special 500 Limited. I wanted the then-new "giant killer" 500cc liquid-cooled Suzuki engine, and I also wanted a long-track. The only way to get both that year was in the Powder Special. However, the standard PS 500 had a 37" ski-stance and that sacrificed front suspenion travel. The cure was to order a Limited Edition model, which was equipped with a 41" ski-stance. The track came with 1.4" lugs, and while I didn't know it at the time, I had purchased an excellent sled for both midwest trail riding and high-altitude mountiain riding. The "experts" will give credit to the '01 Ski-Doo Renegade as the first of the popular "hybrid" sleds - a sled which is not a pure trail sled, nor a pure mountain sled. However, that isn't true. The 2000 PS 500 Limited you see here is the original hybrid!
