January 19, 2013 Goulds Solo Sled Rip: (10 Photos)

 

10.   Having spent most of the fall working on Project Powertek REV, to say that I was anxious and excited for my first ride would be an understatement. My hopes of a ride last weekend after our Blizzard Warning were dashed by heavy rains and 3 days of mild temperatures.

 

9.   Thankfully mother nature pulled through this week and gifted us with 20cm of fresh powder Friday evening.

 

8.   Sooley sold his sled, Long, Bill, & French were working, and Maffer was dealing with lost keys to his work truck, so I was faced with riding solo on my first rip of the year.

 

7.   Under sunny skies and sub zero temps I loaded up Project REV and headed to the Goulds for its maiden voyage after major repairs and a new motor. I had Maffer on standby who could come out and rescue me if needed.

 

6.   I unloaded the sled on Power's Road in the Goulds and took a run around the fields to the North, eventually picking up Chicken Farm Road. I stopped here and opened the side panels to make sure everything looked alright, it did, so I continued on.

 

5.   I made a wicked fast run across Chicken Farm Road to see how my maximum revs were, and they were spot on at 8100 RPM, again everything looked OK and the belt wasn't too hot.

 

4.   I continued on, crossed to Northern Pond Road by the camper fields and headed in the road eventually picking up the Poleless Poleline back to the Goulds. I spent the next couple hours picking my way around every field I could find.

 

3.   In many areas Friday's snow caught up creating drifts of 2-3' powder, needless to say I tore up every bit I could find. The roads and trails in the area were in pretty good shape. Wooded areas trapped most of the Blizzard snow, what was left was now frozen solid into a great base, and topped with fresh powder from yesterdays storm. Open areas were only covered in fluffy powder snow, so you had to take your time to avoid damage from rocks, but were easily ride-able. Cold temperatures this month have frozen the marshes and watery trails pretty good which makes for nice clean riding. 

 

2.   Project Powertek REV is holding up very well. After closer inspection I found one loose hose clamp I forgot to tighten, which was an quick easy fix. The bed liner coating on the tunnel is holding up well, temperature gauge working great, and the sled pulls like a train. I am super impressed with the suspension set up, ride quality and power, all major major improvements over my old sled.

 

1.   All in all it was an excellent day. I logged about 50km, got the all important first test ride out of the way, and most importantly, had a lot of fun!

 

Cheers, MIKE

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