Polaris Mutt Mod
- Thread starter skiroule
- Start date
Tim in Indiana
Active member
Awesome job, I love it.
skiroule
Well-known member
Funny…Not really. In fact, I’ve only fished once so far this winter and the supply is getting low but I’m hoping to correct that problem in Feb. and March. Have a couple of extended outings planned.
It’s kind of a weird feeling seeing the shop like this. Not a sled in sight and the section of the bench where I keep a lot of my parts for a current project is empty. It is nice to have some time to take a breath, regroup, and reorganize though. I’ve been able to catch up on a bunch of stuff that has been neglected.
Could there be another project in the works someday? Maybe, if I figured I could get it done in a timely manner.
skiroule
Well-known member
I don't miss too many but I didn't see that one. The Skiroule snowmobiles still have a really loyal following. Like so many snowmobile brands of the day, if they had been able to build a better dealer network, things might have turned out differently for the company.
skiroule
Well-known member
Finally managed to load up a couple sleds and get out to a show in East Grand Forks this weekend. As with a lot of the Midwest, it didn’t look much like winter. Brown grass and bare pavement instead of snowbanks and ice-covered asphalt.
In spite the uncooperative winter it was a great show with lots of cool stuff to see, like this Thunder Jet racer. Talked to the guy that used to race this very sled back in the day. He had some great stories and also brought four of his other race sleds to the show.
The restoration bar is usually set pretty high at these events and this pair of Masseys is just one example. Beautiful sleds.
Sleds aside, one of the best things about these events is the interesting and friendly people that you meet. There’s probably no place on the planet where it’s easier to strike up a conversation than at a vintage sled show.
Speaking of interesting and friendly people, since it was his home turf, I managed to track down the bear rassling legend, Bearrassler himself. Been several years since I went on a ride with him and some of his ND friends and tried to keep them from getting more than one zip code ahead of me.
It probably wasn’t quite the same as the Centurion he used to ride but I thought he looked right at home on the seat of the Mutt.
In spite the uncooperative winter it was a great show with lots of cool stuff to see, like this Thunder Jet racer. Talked to the guy that used to race this very sled back in the day. He had some great stories and also brought four of his other race sleds to the show.
The restoration bar is usually set pretty high at these events and this pair of Masseys is just one example. Beautiful sleds.
Sleds aside, one of the best things about these events is the interesting and friendly people that you meet. There’s probably no place on the planet where it’s easier to strike up a conversation than at a vintage sled show.
Speaking of interesting and friendly people, since it was his home turf, I managed to track down the bear rassling legend, Bearrassler himself. Been several years since I went on a ride with him and some of his ND friends and tried to keep them from getting more than one zip code ahead of me.
It probably wasn’t quite the same as the Centurion he used to ride but I thought he looked right at home on the seat of the Mutt.
skiroule
Well-known member
The recent “mini-blizzard” gave me one last chance to take this little buckaroo out for a spin before it was put away for the season. Good thing I did, as most of the snow has already melted since this photo was taken.
It’s been a while since it was finished so maybe I’ve forgotten how much work it was but it really feels like it was worth the effort. It runs even better than I had hoped and I love the look and sound of the sled and how it rides.
A co-worker picked up a 79 El Tigre’ this winter and only got to ride it enough to know it’s crazy fast for a vintage sled, as I suspected it would be. Another friend is getting his Scorpion Stinger and 440 Whip up and running so we should have some fun next winter.
I missed out on the vintage event at the Boondocks this year due to a medical appointment conflict but I don’t intend to have that happen again and am already booked into a cabin there for next year.
It’s been a while since it was finished so maybe I’ve forgotten how much work it was but it really feels like it was worth the effort. It runs even better than I had hoped and I love the look and sound of the sled and how it rides.
A co-worker picked up a 79 El Tigre’ this winter and only got to ride it enough to know it’s crazy fast for a vintage sled, as I suspected it would be. Another friend is getting his Scorpion Stinger and 440 Whip up and running so we should have some fun next winter.
I missed out on the vintage event at the Boondocks this year due to a medical appointment conflict but I don’t intend to have that happen again and am already booked into a cabin there for next year.
skiroule, is that a true massey sled? as in "massey ferguson"? have never seen one of those and if it is I didn't think they were in the business long enough to make a sled that looked like that, aerodynamically that is, only ones I've ever seen were quite boxy.
any hints to what may be next on the horizon?
any hints to what may be next on the horizon?
skiroule
Well-known member
The sleds in the photo were sold as Massey Fergusons and as you said, they certainly don’t have the “garden tractor” styling that was typical of the Ski Whiz. This is because the last couple of years that the Massey snowmobile brand existed, their sleds were built by Scorpion.
The Massey Storm is similar to the Scorpion Whip and since Scorpion had purchased Brutanza Engineering, they built a Massey version of the Brut and it was sold as the Cyclone. Even though they were built by Scorpion, Massey Ferguson apparently had a lot of input into improvements that were incorporated into the Massey versions of the sleds.
They are cool looking sleds but I don’t think they sold a lot of them so you don’t see them very often.
As far as future projects, I’m sure I’ll continue to mess around in the shop but don’t really have anything that I can commit to at this point in time. So far I’ve been lucky because I haven’t been burned by launching into a public build long before I had any idea if it could be finished. Maybe I’m worried about continuing to push my luck. Guess we’ll see if anything looks promising by next winter.
skiroule
Well-known member
Pretty funny. I guess things are just naturally a little slow on here in the summer. We are approaching the dog days of summer and I think people are really busy.
I do suspect that sleds and sledding are still on the minds of quite a few people though. For me, there’s not much choice, I can’t walk into any building on the place without seeing a bunch of sleds. I even got in a few rips on my latest addition this summer (76 440 Cyclone). It felt good and it was nice to lay down a fog of blue haze in the front yard.
I do get out in the shop to tinker a little, built myself a much heavier duty metal brake but this is the first summer in a while that I haven’t been all-in on a sled project. Which is not to say the wheels have stopped turning. At the risk of playing the teaser, I think there’s a good chance there will be a project this sledding season and things should start coming into focus before the sun moves too far south.
So, patience my young man, and continue to enjoy our all-to-short summers!
skiroule
Well-known member
You might be onto something there but the goal would have to be pretty low to be reachable, say maybe $10.
Every now and then when I walk in the “Sled Den”, Neil Young’s album title “Rust Never Sleeps” comes to mind. I doubt if he came up with this in the context of vintage sleds but somehow the mental image fits and it does make me realize that the clock is ticking for bringing these olds sleds back.
I’m not there yet but it seems like I get closer every day. In fact, just today I lit up this classic and ran it across the yard to the house garage so I have more room to move around in the shop and storage area.
I’m always impressed at how tough these old sleds are. Even after 25 years, it fires right up. Smokes like a coal-burning locomotive but crack the throttle and you’ve still got a fun ride.
Nothing better than a cloud of 2 stroke in August, beautiful sled!
skiroule
Well-known member
I agree. I have a friend that starts his 79 El Tigre a couple of times a summer just to fill his garage with Klotz.
Back in 2000 I snow checked a brand new 500 version of this 45th Anniversary model. Wickedly fast 500. Had it for several years and eventually sold it to Elf. He used it as a family sled for many years and finally sold it to another fellow. As far as I know, it’s still going strong.
ddhanna
Active member
I checked one of those 500's also. Still my favorite sled of very many. Wish I could get it back!
hermie
Active member
Very nice looking sled. You make a very good point. Is this sport expensive. Yes it is if you need to say I am on the latest and greatest. Did forward riding make the hitting the bumps easy on your body,I feel it does. I also feel it may let me ride to an older age than the old iron. There is still something to be said though about the guy who just wants to get out there and ride and has just as big smile on his face riding an older sled that hasn't spend $20,000 for a new sled. Still making great memories. The old iron is sooo much easier to work on to which for some is half the fun is working on there sled and then getting out there and enjoying there hard work. I definitely miss the days when I could have the engine pulled and sitting on the bench in 20 minutes. I am lucky if I can change the spark plugs in 20 minutes now. 
skiroule
Well-known member
Those VES 500’s were overachievers’ and the sleds rode and handled surprisingly well. There are sections of trail with a lot of tight corners where I’d still rather be on this chassis than my later models.
While an obvious goal of the manufacturers is to attract new people to snowmobiling, I think that one thing that really drives sled improvement and innovation is keeping existing riders in the sport longer. If they were still rolling out leafers, how many of us would still be ridingVery nice looking sled. You make a very good point. Is this sport expensive. Yes it is if you need to say I am on the latest and greatest. Did forward riding make the hitting the bumps easy on your body,I feel it does. I also feel it may let me ride to an older age than the old iron. There is still something to be said though about the guy who just wants to get out there and ride and has just as big smile on his face riding an older sled that hasn't spend $20,000 for a new sled. Still making great memories. The old iron is sooo much easier to work on to which for some is half the fun is working on there sled and then getting out there and enjoying there hard work. I definitely miss the days when I could have the engine pulled and sitting on the bench in 20 minutes. I am lucky if I can change the spark plugs in 20 minutes now.
.This being said, your comment about getting on an older sled and just having a little fun with it is a great take. Maybe wouldn’t use it regularly to tackle rough trails or rack up big miles but in the day of high-tech sleds I think we sometimes sell short how much fun these sleds can be to ride.