frankenstein Snowmobile hood repair

[OCD Solutions]

I just found some pics of a snowmobile hood I repaired a couple years ago for my buddy. I used #16 AWG TEW fine strand copper wire with a red jacket and laced it back up in staggered holes. I originally did it as a joke but it ended up being much stonger than anticipated and was still going strong 2 seasons later when he sold the sled.

I drilled out the end of each crack and layed out the holes with a marker. Each crack is done with one single "lace" pulled as tight as could be managed and then crossed over on the underside to the next set of holes to add strength, just as you would lace a shoe.

 

[Shifty]

Looks good, and it matches well. How much does an OEM cowl like that run anyway?

 

[OCD Solutions]

$450-500 new plus paint. Used are around $250. Well worth the time to patch up and get a few more years out of at that price. Especially when you think that you could roll your sled in the mountains your first trip out and wreck your new hood.

My buddy loved it! He called them his battle scars. He rode his ski for 2 months all cracked up and flopping around and was too cheap to replace the hood and too lazy to repair it so I did it myself when he left his sled in my shop for a couple weeks.

 

[Shifty]

Wow, big price for a part that is so vulnerable. I have been snowmobiling once and it was awesome, even on rental sleds. Even though I could never use it here in Texas, I still want one.

 

[OCD Solutions]

The old ones used to be fiberglass and bust up pretty easy but the new ones are incredibly tough. We were riding in -30°C and had a wreck to have caused this. Modern composites have come along way in such a short time.

I have footage of another buddies sled tumbling down a mountainside after a failed hillclimb, we counted over 200 revolutions, pieces are flying off the whole way including the hood coming partially off and getting drug and flipped alongside the whole way. All he replaced was the front hood hinge for $35 and everything else, including the hood and windshield was just fine.

 

[FlightRisk]

The old ones used to be fiberglass and bust up pretty easy but the new ones are incredibly tough. We were riding in -30°C and had a wreck to have caused this. Modern composites have come along way in such a short time.

I have footage of another buddies sled tumbling down a mountainside after a failed hillclimb, we counted over 200 revolutions, pieces are flying off the whole way including the hood coming partially off and getting drug and flipped alongside the whole way. All he replaced was the front hood hinge for $35 and everything else, including the hood and windshield was just fine.

Post it up. I'd like to see it.

Hope he wasn't hurt.

 

[OCD Solutions]

Post it up. I'd like to see it.

Hope he wasn't hurt.

Just his pride. He used his windshield to slide down to where his sled finally stopped We dug all the snow out of the engine bay, gathered up all the pieces, put everything back together, duct taped the hood back on and finished out the day. He rode it back to the truck and even poked a couple more hills on the way. Bombardier may make crappy watercraft but they rule the roost when it comes to making the best sleds on the market.

 

[b.lee]

That first picture is awesome....

 

[BombThreat]

those are some killer photo's. have they been altered at all?

 

[QuickMick]

Nothing wrong with that repair, it gives it character and a story. :hail:

 

[yamaslut]

Just his pride. He used his windshield to slide down to where his sled finally stopped We dug all the snow out of the engine bay, gathered up all the pieces, put everything back together, duct taped the hood back on and finished out the day. He rode it back to the truck and even poked a couple more hills on the way. Bombardier may make crappy watercraft but they rule the roost when it comes to making the best sleds on the market.

great shots... what camera/lens were you guys using?? I would love to shoot out there...

 

[jMike]

Just his pride. He used his windshield to slide down to where his sled finally stopped We dug all the snow out of the engine bay, gathered up all the pieces, put everything back together, duct taped the hood back on and finished out the day. He rode it back to the truck and even poked a couple more hills on the way. Bombardier may make crappy watercraft but they rule the roost when it comes to making the best sleds on the market.

Hmmm seems I have seen those photos before...:hitwithrock:

.

 

[OCD Solutions]

those are some killer photo's. have they been altered at all?

great shots... what camera/lens were you guys using?? I would love to shoot out there...

All the pics are off the Bombardier website for use as Wallpapers, we're gearheads not photographers. :biggrin: I always had a camcorder rollin but it's hard to shoot good pics in snow conditions without filters.

I do have over 200 hrs of footage still on minidv but lost all the stuff i had on my computer a couple years ago and just couldn't be bothered to reload it. I made all our antics into a DVD every year called "Elements". One day I'll get around to resizing it and put it up on Vimeo.

This is more our style of pics...

 

[yamaslut]

that looks fun.. I had a ski doo when I was really young and it was a blast... I want to ride again so bad...

 

[jMike]

that looks fun.. I had a ski doo when I was really young and it was a blast... I want to ride again so bad...

Ya it's too bad you live in Florida :usa2: What a bummer...

The bluebird days after a fresh dump of powder are few and far between but hard to match in any sport for greatness.

All this mountain riding fun isn't a light duty! As you can see my buddy gets a giant Smirinof bottle to the face cause the digging gassed him out so much.. he might have been drinking that night too.. :headbang:

It does come with a serious side, This year at the Big Iron Shootout in Revelstoke BC two guys died and dozens were injured when they triggered a massive avalanche burying over 20 sleds, 200 sleds were hit by the slide . The media was jumping all over it as reckless and stupid. Their are risks in every sport, even when the riders choose to participate in dangerous conditions. I could have gone down there to ride that weekend but I chose not to because of the warnings of high avalancha danger other guys thought it was safe enough. Thats the sh'ite part of the sport it is very condition dependent.. I haven't sledded around my house for over 2 years due to the lack of snow.. Now im just rambling..

jMike

 

[Mark44]

Too damn cold for me.

Mark44

 

[OCD Solutions]

Ya it's too bad you live in Florida :usa2: What a bummer...

The bluebird days after a fresh dump of powder are few and far between but hard to match in any sport for greatness.


All this mountain riding fun isn't a light duty! As you can see my buddy gets a giant Smirinof bottle to the face cause the digging gassed him out so much.. he might have been drinking that night too.. :headbang:

It does come with a serious side, This year at the Big Iron Shootout in Revelstoke BC two guys died and dozens were injured when they triggered a massive avalanche burying over 20 sleds, 200 sleds were hit by the slide . The media was jumping all over it as reckless and stupid. Their are risks in every sport, even when the riders choose to participate in dangerous conditions. I could have gone down there to ride that weekend but I chose not to because of the warnings of high avalancha danger other guys thought it was safe enough. Thats the sh'ite part of the sport it is very condition dependent.. I haven't sledded around my house for over 2 years due to the lack of snow.. Now im just rambling..

jMike

Where were you riding in those pics Mike? looks awesome! We rode around Tumbler Ridge for the most part and tried out Kakwa around GP a few times. I only made one trip to Revvy and it was too early and they hardly had any snow.

 

[rebelliousracing]

heres my sled i built....


not in it for looks im in it for fun and when it doesnt look good then you can have more fun

 

[rebelliousracing]

first one is a level ground catwalk

second one is a drift bust

 

[jMike]

Where were you riding in those pics Mike? looks awesome! We rode around Tumbler Ridge for the most part and tried out Kakwa around GP a few times. I only made one trip to Revvy and it was too early and they hardly had any snow.

That is the Chapel/Milage area about 30ish-km past Valemount. 30km of trail to get up there but it is pretty awesome when you do. Just check before you go for the heli ski boundaries, the get pretty grumpy. Try and go past the main lake and you'll get back into some nice areas.

I didnt make it to Revy this year.. Snow was the poops pretty much after Jan so I decided to pack it in a start prepping the skis.. No need to get wrapped up in a slide for one more weekend.