by "Elkidmino" (elkidmino)
Published 02/07/2017 at 07:34
by "Elkidmino" (elkidmino)
Published 02/07/2017 at 07:34
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STARS: 9
Here we are folks, the final days before the lunacy on the lake, the championship of cheapskates, the battle of the beaters, THE DOMINATORS OF DITCH PICKLES.... CHEAP SLED CHALLENGE 2017!! The arms drop this Saturday on a frozen lake in Mexico and only one will reign supreme.
The contestants have been working tirelessly for the last couple months buttoning up the loose tie-rod ends and slapping lipstick on their pigs in hopes of achieving CSC glory for another year. There are 16 vintage sleds competing this time around which doubles the previous years entry list. The list includes a couple Johnsons, a handful of Arctic Cats and a mess of Yamahas with a lone Ski-doo as the cherry on top.
Here’s a run-down of the vintage sleds:
1972 Johnson Trailblazer - 437cc Opposed 2-cyl, reverse and electric start
1973 Johnson Reveler Turbo - Mitsu 16g & Custom Exhaust& BOV
1979 Ski-Doo 440 - “Beautifully Majestic” Yellow and Rebuilt
1979 Arctic Cat Lynx 2000 - 275cc Suzuki
1979 Arctic Cat Panther 5000 - P-40 Warhawk Livery aka The Shark
1979 Arctic Cat Panther 5000 - “Electrified Powertrain” w/ Dora Seat
1978 Arctic Cat Panther 5000 - “Digi-Camo 2k18 Panther”
1979 Arctic Cat El Tigre 5000 F/A - 500cc F/A, The Green Machine
1972 Arctic Cat Panter 440 - The “Catillac”
1980 Yamaha Exciter 440 - The Mystery Machine
1979 Yamaha Exciter 440 - ‘78 440 SRX Hood
1983 Yamaha SRV - Born in a van
1985 Yamaha SRV - “Louder than your Mom”
1981 Yamaha Enticer 300 - #stock
1981 Yamaha Enticer 340 - The Postal Service
1981 Yamaha Enticer 340 - “Test Mule”
Competing for posterity (sleds outside the year restriction of 1985):
1991 Polaris Indy 488 - Army Green
1996 Polaris XLT 600 - Sunoco Edition
Returning sleds from last year’s race will be the Shark Panther, that has graced the highlight reel in my previous posts, the Turbo Johnson Opposed 250, and the yellow Ski-Doo 440 that locked the motor up on the second drag race last year. The Johnson now includes an electric fuel pump in hopes of pointing the boost gauge needle above atmospheric and the Ski-doo comes with a fresh rebuild and dreams of 1st place finishes.
While plasti-dip may be the choice of “customization” for the neighborhood poser, the CSC guys look to paint work and wraps for their rides. We’ll be seeing digi-camo, green chrome, pink carbon fiber and even test mule camo gracing the ice. Speaking of customization there’s rumors of neons, LED light bars, custom loud pipes, stickers and even electrification in the line up this year. There’s no rules for what someone can do to their sled to make it stand out so the gloves are off when it comes to polishing a turd. Some of these relics are in relatively decent shape and require little more than a powerwash and buff; while others need to cover the years of neglect and abuse with obnoxious slogans promising to bang your mom later. Necessity is the mother of invention and with a $300 budget these guys are getting creative.
Looking at the line-up from a macro view one would think that the two 540cc SRV’s will dominate the challenge followed by the 440's, 340's and so on, but we’re talking about a group of friends who work in auto industry and know the value of a good sleeper. There’s a Yami 300 Twin that comes with the hashtag, #stock , which appears to be stock on the outside, but has posted a 65mph top speed on the group’s FB page. The “electrified powertrain” Panther retains its 500cc motor so it’s very capable of big numbers, the 500 F/A El Tigre is a factory race sled and yours truly put together a mystery machine with all stock components that may hurt some feelings.
It’s anyone’s game and everyone is excited to check out the competition when we get to the cabins this weekend. Competitions will be similar to last year with an elimination style drag race, longest catwalk, circuit race, top speed, best paint, best exhaust, biggest POS, most reliable, most air, and best stopping. Should be a riot. Go Pro’s and cameras will be rolling to catch all the action and a compilation video will be released after the competition.
Stay tuned.
Previous posts for history can be viewed here and here .
"StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8" (stndibnz1)
02/07/2017 at 10:25, STARS: 0
The Catilac will decimate all! In comfort and style. That or it will blow up magnificently and I’ll have a nice comfy place to sit and watch the rest of the competition......we’ll see!
"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond)
02/07/2017 at 10:50, STARS: 0
I’ve always thought that supercharging a 2stroke would be the way to go. The 2 stroke that uses piston travel to compress the crankcase fuel/air mix then ports open to let it in the cylinder. Supercharging that crankcase would be the best thing, methinks, except for it really becoming a thermobaric bomb.
"StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8" (stndibnz1)
02/07/2017 at 10:53, STARS: 0
The turbo sled will be very interesting if it works. I do like the supercharged idea, there may be one there as well......
"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond)
02/07/2017 at 11:11, STARS: 0
I lived up north NY state, Adirondaks area,and there’s some hotrod shops turbocharging Polaris 700's, and bigger. Some of the frozen lakes I used to fly over when I was flying cargo at the time had straight lines from one city to another on the other side, miles and miles long, so I knew they were doing around 150 all the way there, if not more for some of the ‘woodchucks’ that did it.
"StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8" (stndibnz1)
02/07/2017 at 11:57, STARS: 0
Thats awesome.
"Pickup_man" (zekeh)
02/07/2017 at 12:32, STARS: 0
Can’t wait to see the video, I love this little series and I want to do something like it myself.
"Elkidmino" (elkidmino)
02/07/2017 at 14:03, STARS: 0
Thanks! If this keeps up might have to do some kind of official sponsored event.
"Pickup_man" (zekeh)
02/07/2017 at 14:46, STARS: 1
The fact that you already have 16+ sleds is awesome, I’m sure you could get it sponsored by someone. Now that my friends are all out of school and “catching up” on loans I’m seriously thinking about starting something similar next year.
"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
02/08/2017 at 08:44, STARS: 0
Lakes can freeze in Mexico? I didn’t think it got that cold down there.
Do I want to know what a ditch pickle is?
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
02/08/2017 at 10:19, STARS: 0
I see Michigan registered tags. I may have to make a trip home if the secret event location is far enough north. South of the bridge is where the crazy people live.
Edit: I can’t imagine going 65 on one of those old sleds.
"Elkidmino" (elkidmino)
02/08/2017 at 15:08, STARS: 1
Good eye, was throwing in a 1320 reference there and trying to keep it on the DL since this is a public forum. We’ll say it’s in the Northern Lower at one of the bigger inland lakes. 65mph isn’t bad, it’s 70 that gets scary.
"Elkidmino" (elkidmino)
02/08/2017 at 15:09, STARS: 1
Ditch Pickle = beater Arctic Cat in this case.
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
02/08/2017 at 15:19, STARS: 0
How many hours from the bridge?