This summer, I noticed the rear skid shock on our 2001 Panther 440 two up was missing all the bushings. Ordered the bushings and pulled the skid today. Also found out the shock is cooked; leaking oil and it’s not coming back into position. So that’ll need to be replaced. This is one of those “fun” jobs to do solo. It’s only 4 bolts that hold the skid in, but you need to back off the tensioner bolts to assist in getting the skids out. And even then, it’s still a struggle due to the lack of slack in the track and the drive lugs love to catch multiple parts of the skid and bogie wheels. Long story short, I used an old bumper jack to get the sled up in the air a bit, then some ratchet straps to lift it further so the skid would drop below the tunnel. Things went according to plan, until I tried to remove a long bolt that holds in these two bogie wheels. The bolt just spins and won’t come out. I gave it as few shots of silicone lube, some taps and no dice. It’s coming back to CT where I can work in the garage; more space and more tools. Here’s how the sled sits now:
Looks like fun. Never had to wrench that much on my sled but came close. 2015 Polaris came with crap rear shock. They’d heat up and collapse. Almost swapped in some Walker shocks but sold it for lack of snow in Ct. Had a few good years out of it tho and the entire forest to myself LOL
Same here , I had a pair of them and bailed out with Ct. not having the snow to support them and the fees , registration and insurance to run in Vt. just didn't pay. I was actually talking to a friend who has the house we used to stay at and he was saying that the VAST membership for the year has gone up again.
Gotta say the best part for me was being totally alone out in the forest. Makes it more of an adventure. Last decent snow was 2017 tho. 2018 we had one storm that threw down 12” of heavy wet snow. Tipped over every sapling tree along the trail. That was no fun. Traded it for the ATV. I do miss the exercise tho. Nothing like acting 18 years old in the snow
I had considered a jet ski or two as her daughter lives next to the CT river in East Haddam, but shy away as i dont want the BS behind the scenes stuff that goes with them.
When I used to go to Vt. the night rides were the best , out in the middle of nowhere during the middle of the night was just awesome. Moon-lit skies with snow everywhere you could read the paper. I do miss it. If I was to do anything now I would probably go side by side , Had numerous ATV's over the years so would like something different.
Yeah the night rides were nice. If it’s snowing it’s cool. Or bashing through drifts when all the snow comes over the sled lit up by the lights,,,cool stuff. Was on a cruise one night and ran across this. I’ll admit the hair stood up on the back of my neck when I realized what I was looking at,,,,,even tho I’m still not sure what I’m looking at LOL. I’d guess a bear was using this trail a lot. A friend says it’s a Sasquatch It’s a pinch point in the forest and animals use it. Now these tracks were at least 80 yards away. Zoomed in the camera from the top of a ridge. Straight line I’m assuming a moose. You can see a deer crossed that path. Just some stuff you don’t normally see in Ct unless you’re out in the woods in winter.
I’ve thought about using the saw on the lake as a propulsion unit when there’s glare ice. Fortunately I’ve been able to keep that idea under wraps. I’ve got enough busted parts but I’m not at the point I want to remove any of them
Is that trail near you? No squatch sightings in your area. Most recent in New London County! October 2019, New London County (Class A) - Close-range, multi-witness motorist sighting of a Bigfoot in Pachaug State Forest near Griswold OBSERVED: Griswold CT off 201 trail 2 to Mt Misery.. bigfoot crossed in front of us .. 2 people on the road .. thought it was a deer coming through woods .. but no .. it was a upright creature running .. passed over gravel rd trail.. we were in a full size Kia sorento.. it was at least 4ft higher than the suv.. this was in 2019 early oct around 430pm.. this thing was huge.. and quick.. It was dark brown .. tall and very wide from the side.. 2 legs definitely..made a very big ruckus coming through woods.. This copy pasted from the BFRO website.
Wow, never heard that story. I go with the assumption anything’s possible until someone proves it’s not LOL That’s the trail that runs between my house and the processing area. The other far end. All I know is it wasn’t done by humans. The tracks all left the trail at different places. Not a sign of vehicle or foot tracks for a at least a mile in both directions. No one in Ct just boondocks in the woods in deep snow. We’d all get lost LOL
Funny thing is her and i scouted the state park right near there to go camping. I had checked the BFRO website after and read that report. Gave me the heebie jeebies. We havent camped since. Ever heard any funny howls or wood knocks while out there? Go on the BFRO website and you can see the reports from Connecticut. They actually did a BFRO expedition in Connecticut last June. First time in the state. Another is planned for next year too. I thought about signing up for it.
I had a trike for awhile that I’d take out in CT when it snowed. I then got the Wolverine and did the same. Then it stopped snowing in CT and we bought the weekend place up north. The quad is up there now. Even in VT, we’re not seeing much snow. We don’t ride on VAST. We are lucky and have a small club in our town which has a loop we all ride. It’s maybe 15+ miles around. It’s tight technical riding on the sleds. The fanners are more than enough engine for the trails. Gotta order some parts for that skid. Consensus on the sled form us that bolt will need to be cut out and replaced. May need a new shock mount too as I drilled through that to see if the sleeve inside was seized. This is a classic example of a 3 hour $20 project that escalated quickly!
