Been riding since 1966. I still have the invoice from that 1966 from Archie's Live Baits in Antigo--$895.07 uncluding tax & 1 qt of oil. Needless to say there have been countless sleds thru the years, just ordered two Adventures. Yes the sport is kind of costly, but so is any motorized sport. Look at what you have dollar wise if you fish musky or walleye tournaments. We race super late model (pavement) stockcars, a good motor from B & B, Wagners, or Goodwin will cost upwards of $25,000 or more for just the motor. I used to live in Stevens Point, but retired and moved north. We built a house adjacent to the snowmo trail. Now I trailer 6 times a year to the UP or N. WI, otherwise I ride from the house. I also ride a Goldwing, last summer I put on 17,000 mi, all the miles were in N. WI & the UP, with one trip to the Trestle INN for a hamburger. I do without quite alot, no trips to the Carribean, no baseball games, no football games, etc. I have prioritized what I want to do. Yes, there have been bad winters & wet summers, but it will be a sad day when I won't be able to snowmobile or ride the G.W.