Jim Solberg's Vintage Snowmobiles
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Jim Solberg's 2011/2012 snowmobile season in review
1970 Panther "Goldie" 2011/2012 customization project log
My Vintage Sled Collection
1972 Scorpion Stinger II 400
"Big Red"
1970 Arctic Cat Panther 440J
"Goldie"
1971 Arctic Cat Panther 440A
"Time Bandit"
1973 Scorpion Stinger 290
"Little Red"
Jim Solberg's Vintage Snowmobile Web Log
December 4, 2011Time to clear out last year's blog and start fresh for the new season.All four sleds are ready to ride, Goldie with a new track and rear suspension transplant from a '73 Panther. The other sleds just got some routine maintenance. One of my goals for the winter is to get a 440 Kawasaki built up to install in Goldie next summer.We had a little snow last night, so at least it's looking more like winter. With the colder temps forecast for the coming week it should stay. Trails won't open until Dec. 12 at the earliest due to the antlerless deer hunt going on this week.
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December 20, 2011We're still waiting for snow. It looks like it will be a brown Christmas as there is no snow in the forecast.On Dec. 10th, Jennifer and I attended a vintage sled display in Hurley Wisconsin as part of their Red Light Rally weekend. There was just under thirty sleds in the display lines as I recall. We had a good time, and got to catch up with some of the Hurley guys that I have not seen in quite a while.While unloading Goldie at Hurley the windshield was broken. Kind of sad as it was the original blue window, but I have been thinking for quite a while that I wanted to put on a yellow windshield so that was just the kick in the pants I needed. I ordered one up from Jeff Haugen at www.cannonclassicsleds.com and it was here in just a few days. I could not be more pleased with it.December 25, 2011My sister and I were rummaging through some old papers and photographs while at my mother's house today. I found a few old snowmobiling items. Several photographs taken in 1971 were found. They are "instamatic" type photos of pretty poor quality. Scanning and posting them here would be of little value. I did find a snowmobile trail map of Ashland County. There is no date on it anywhere, but I estimate it is from about 1970. The best part is the seventeen advertisements from regional snowmobile dealers, including Ante Snowmobile Sales where dad bought our Scorpions. I will post this map in the Literature section.January 1, 2012FINALLY!!!! We got a modest snowfall overnight. Not enough to make most trails passable, but enough to cover the corridor and the alleys to get there. Jennifer and I mounted Time Bandit and Big Red and headed out for Pine Creek Pit Stop. Sadly, they were closed today, but still a nice ride out and back. What a great attitude boost for me!
January 15, 2012A mini-snowstorm midweek deposited enough snow to at least get out and ride again. Jennifer and I trailered the machines to Long Lake on Saturday and rode up to Pub & Grub where we had a delicious lunch. Trails were passable. I even got to break trail for a few miles. The forest roads are in very good shape. Boring, but nice riding.On Sunday I took Goldie out for a few miles on the corridor just as a shakedown to test out the mods I made over the summer. The speedometer does not work for some reason, but otherwise it ran fine and no issues with the new rear suspension and track. A much quieter setup than the original. Here she is sporting the new yellow windshield from Cannon Classic Sleds.
January 22, 2012Jennifer and I trailered to Mellen, where there is some snow, and had a short ride of 30 miles on Big Red and Time Bandit. Forecast is for 3-7 inches of snow tomorrow! We could sure use it.January 29, 2012A very busy weekend, but I did jump on Little Red for a brief ride on Sunday. I left straight from home to test out local trail conditions. I rode down trail 13 to just past White River. I was surprised that there were very few bare spots, and although there's not enough snow to groom, the trail was not that bad. I broke open our access route from town to the trail with ease.
At White River bridge. A familiar location if you read this blog much!February 4, 2012A week of temps in the high 30's has decimated the snow. It's in the low 40's today. Might as well get started on my latest project. I plan on transplanting a 440 T1 Kawasaki into Goldie this summer.Toward that end, I collected all of the parts I have for that engine and spread them out on the work table. Shoot, I had more than I thought! There should be plenty there to construct the engine. The only thing I'm short on is the ignition. I only have one of those. In the next few days I'll sort through the stuff, decide which parts to use, and order gaskets and seals.
What you see here is all of the used parts. I have three NOS cylinders and seven NOS piston and ring sets to choose from as well. I also have a used electric starter that I will use since the sled is currently set up with electric start.
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February 12, 2012The 2012 Hoffman ride went off pretty much as planned. With not enough snow to ride on locally, we trailered to Mellen and rode from there. On Thursday and Friday we rode east to Bear Chasers on Island Lake. The conditions were very good. On Saturday we rode west to Clam Lake. Trail conditions were equally as good, except for a few rocky sections on trail 77. I was pleased that Jennifer came along on Saturday, even though she was leary of the distance to be traveled (about 60 miles round trip). She did fine though, and had a great time.
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February 18, 2012Jennifer and I trailered up to Long Lake in search of snow. We found it! The forest roads were excellent riding, and pretty smooth. Our short ride on Lenawee trail found it with plenty of snow, but not groomed and full of moguls. The Battle Axe trail was very nice. No bare spots anywhere we went, even the plowed roads were great riding. We stopped at Old Baldy, made us a campfire and roasted some weenies. It was a gorgeous sunny day about 30 degrees and light wind. Little Red and Time Bandit ran flawlessly!
Jennifer tending the fire.
And enjoying the fruits of her labor.
February 26, 2012On Saturday we ventured north of Duluth to the annual Fish Lake vintage ride. There was a big turnout as usual. The weather was great, sunny and upper 20's with little wind. The lack of snow made the trails off limits, but there was plenty of snow on the lake.
Jennifer and I, Tim Compton, Ron Shuga, Kyle Schmidt, and Kyle's daughter and brother (didn't get names!) made up our little group.
March 3, 2012We received something like 20 inches of snow during the leap day storm. Plenty to finally take an extended ride from home for the first time this year. Jennifer and I did the Sanborn-Marengo loop. Trails a bit bumpy, but we're not complaining. The first time in two years we've gotten in a March ride.
Outside Trail's End in Sanborn. We stopped for some lunch.
Jennifer, the Arctic Cat pilot.
Just north of the White River bridge.March 17, 2012I think the season is done. The temperature today was in the mid 70's, same forecast for the next two days. The last remnants of snow disappeared from my lawn today. I drained the gas tanks and ran the carbs dry on the sleds. That's all I do for summer layup, and it's worked well so far. I also gave all of the seats a good dose of Vinylex.Following are mileage totals for the season;72 Scorpion Stinger II 400 - 23171 Arctic Cat Panther 440A - 23870 Arctic Cat Panther 440J - 8073 Scorpion Stinger 290 - 74For a total of 623 miles.That is a pretty puny total compared to previous years, but we really had an awful year for snowfall, and I'm happy to have gotten in this much riding. Jennifer rode Time Bandit with me always, except for two days of the Hoffman ride, and one short solo outing I had.I always try to pick a highlight of the season, and this time it is the ride Jennifer and I had from Long Lake to Baldy on February 18. It was a perfect weather day, not too warm or cold, and the campfire and picnic lunch at Baldy was great fun. Something we'll remember for a long time.I am very pleased with the track and suspension swap made to Goldie last summer. I got to test it out on the Hoffman ride and at Fish Lake. It's a better ride and a lot quieter. The droning from the external sprockets hitting the cleats is gone and there is a lot less banging and clanking going on over bumps. I didn't tighten down the chain eccentric adequately and it loosened up on me on the Hoffman ride, requiring a trailside fix. That was a great source of enjoyment for Josh, poking fun at me a little. Long overdue, since I like to give him a little razzing at his breakdowns. I have started the buildup of the Kawasaki T1B 440 I plan to install this summer.There was one other breakdown this season. Jenner and Tracey decided to take a little ride on their own after the Leap Day snowstorm. They didn't get far before trouble came up and they had to call me to the rescue. Seems a connector on the ignition switch shorted to a spring covering the throttle cable. This melted the cable sheath and caused the throttle to stick. It also sent electrical current all over, melting some wiring and absolutely destroying the speedometer cable. Other than that, I'm happy to say all the sleds performed well. No engine problems at all.
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