A Family that Yamahas together.......stays together!

[yamagone]

Out of the three sleds I miss the Phazer the most. Still got all three kids though lol.

 

[snobill]

Cant wait for my kids to get old enough ! Looks like alot of fun !

 

[yamagone]

Its the best when the kids can finally ride along with you. I used to take alot of heat from people when they seen pics over the years with 11 and 12 year old boys following behind me on modded up 700's telling me I was irresponsable, careless bla bla bla. It made them better and more careful riders in the end. They learned to respect and under stand what was at the tip of thier thumbs. Let em' ride I say.

 

[Superman]

Riding with the Boys last winter. These are fun days for me. The kids have a blast. It takes a little thought when planning a route as the youngest was only 9. But we get it done. Riding the single track trails takes me back to the early/mid 70's when I was their age. When we didn't have groomed trails. It's a blast.

 

[darv]

My daughter was 12 an she would drive my V-Max all day an I would get the phazer too people would give me crap about it too but I agree she has a lot of respect for what is under the hood. They where great days when we rode together.

 

[09nytro]

I have two daughters 7&soon to be 9 . They have been riding there 340 doo's all around the house , this year my 9 year old ( she will be 9 oct. 18 ) wants to ride it down the trail this year , she was controlling everything last year I was just sitting on the back she wants to do it her self this year ... It's not the first time for either of them I had them ridding there xc120 down the trail for a few years now so I think both are ready myself but I will wait on the 7 year old

 

[ViperTurboPete]

Its the best when the kids can finally ride along with you. I used to take alot of heat from people when they seen pics over the years with 11 and 12 year old boys following behind me on modded up 700's telling me I was irresponsable, careless bla bla bla. It made them better and more careful riders in the end. They learned to respect and under stand what was at the tip of thier thumbs. Let em' ride I say.

One day my son and his friend were riding their sleds on the lake (Ovulation and Bravo respectively) and they were 12 at the time. The bravo broke down so his friend was allowed to use his dad's 700 SXR. I cringed while watching him ride because he couldn't "handle" the sled although he was a great rider on the bravo. Anyway, my son wanted to use one of my SRX's so he could keep up. I said absolutely not, that is a recipe for disaster. My son would regularly drive my SRX, but with me and not with another kid. So one day, the kids go riding up the lake with the other kids dad and others. My son's ovulation was too slow so it was parked on the lake and my son was told to hop on the back of the SXR. At 80 mph the kid t-boned another sled and bodies flew everywhere. No one was killed. According to my son, the kid just froze and rammed into the other sled while it was going at a high rate of speed also. Both sleds were totalled, no one died, and my son came hobbling back because he hurt his leg a bit.

I am all for kids riding sleds regardless what displacement as long as they are supervised or following along like yamagone. I would not let my kid ride a rocket with other kids. They are lucky to be alive.

 

[09nytro]

My little 04 ski doo's still have the round slide carbs so I turn the adjuster screw all the way in so they only have 1/2 throttle when they ride them by the selfs

 

[09nytro]

Its the best when the kids can finally ride along with you. I used to take alot of heat from people when they seen pics over the years with 11 and 12 year old boys following behind me on modded up 700's telling me I was irresponsable, careless bla bla bla. It made them better and more careful riders in the end. They learned to respect and under stand what was at the tip of thier thumbs. Let em' ride I say.

One day my son and his friend were riding their sleds on the lake (Ovulation and Bravo respectively) and they were 12 at the time. The bravo broke down so his friend was allowed to use his dad's 700 SXR. I cringed while watching him ride because he couldn't "handle" the sled although he was a great rider on the bravo. Anyway, my son wanted to use one of my SRX's so he could keep up. I said absolutely not, that is a recipe for disaster. My son would regularly drive my SRX, but with me and not with another kid. So one day, the kids go riding up the lake with the other kids dad and others. My son's ovulation was too slow so it was parked on the lake and my son was told to hop on the back of the SXR. At 80 mph the kid t-boned another sled and bodies flew everywhere. No one was killed. According to my son, the kid just froze and rammed into the other sled while it was going at a high rate of speed also. Both sleds were totalled, no one died, and my son came hobbling back because he hurt his leg a bit.

I am all for kids riding sleds regardless what displacement as long as they are supervised or following along like yamagone. I would not let my kid ride a rocket with other kids. They are lucky to be alive.

Dude that is so scary , I'm glad everything turned out ok and no body got killed or hurt to bad

 

[OVR4D]

This is an interesting post ... especially for me, since I have 4 kids between 12 and 8. I haven't let any of them ride a full size sled yet, but the oldest is probably ready IMO. She will need to complete a snowmobile training course in order to ride this year (law in MN), but all of my kids have ridden the local trails in our area since they were 6 or 7 years of age. I have two snosports that they ride (sometimes 2-up) when we go out. They follow behind me whenever we're cresting a hill or rounding a corner ... otherwise I put them out in front of me so I can keep an eye on them. I do not let them cross roads alone. I do worry about approaching sleds, especially those that ride the trails as if it is a race track, but because of our slow rate of speed, we're usually able to see or hear oncoming traffic and move off the trail until they pass. So far, the mishaps have only been minor mechanical issues with the older snosports (Knock on wood).

Anyway, I have been looking pretty seriously at the new Doo with the Ace 900 motor as a sled that my oldest (and the wife) could ride. My thought is that my younger kids could all transition to this sled when they're old enough. I like that the Ace 900 motor, because it has drive by wire, can be limited to approx 25 mph with a programmable key (so I'm told). IMO, this would be a great way to keep the sled at a safer performance level for my oldest until she (and I) become comfortable with her riding abilities on this sled. I've read lots of positive reviews on the new Doo. What do you guys think about a 12 year old riding a sled like that?

 

[fastdave]

I have 3 boys (now ages 23-33) and a 17 year old daughter. I only let them drive a sled in the yard until they got their Snowmobile Safety Certificates. I don't think it's legal (in Wisconsin anyway) for someone without a drivers license to operate a sled on the state trails without one, unless a parent is on the sled with them. I always stress safety with them and I think it payed off - no accidents of any kind. The boys still ride with me (we have 3 sleds) when they come home during the winter and my wife and daughter ride regularly. Ain't family life great?

 

[OVR4D]

In Minnesota it's legal for kids under 12 to operate a sled on trials provided they're supervised by a parent (or someone 18 years or older if that person has the parent's permission). The kids cannot cross any roads by themselves, which is why I will cross the sleds for them. Once they're 12, they have to complete the safety course to be able to ride by themselves, and even then there are limitations. We go over the rules, snowmobiling etiquette, and simple common sense each season. I have never felt comfortable putting a younger kid on a full size machine. Even if the sled was way down on power, I think the bigger sleds are just too big and heavy for them to handle ... they have trouble getting unstuck even with the little snosports. But my 12 year is almost as tall as her mom now, and I think she could be ready to ride a full size machine ... I'm just concerned about the power. That is why I asked for others opinions on the new Doo. It could be the right fit for my family.

 

[fastdave]

I have an older 440 Cat that they all started out on except the 33 year old, he started out on an Excell III. Most of them prefered the smaller sled, after I had them try the full size one. They just thought the "big one" was too tiring to turn until they were 16 or 17.
PS I thought "with an adult" meant with one physically on the same sled. We were stopped once and the DNR guy asked for my sons Snowmobile Safety Certificate which we had. In the class they say to always have it with you when you're on the trail.
Even as old as they are now, my kids never really wanted to go sledding alone.

 

[BlkHawk73]

As long as he keeps his grades up, the boy will prob a Phazer next year.

 

[raginyamaha]

Im 30, and i remember going out with my dad all the time. he had a 650 poo RXL and the old exiter 79 440, i was not allowed on the RXL untill i was 14 440 i couldnt ride till i could start it on my own. and even then i wasnt allowed to go on the trails with it, just the lake and around the cabin. At 14 I would ride the 440 exiter while he rode the RXL. he would always be in front controlling speed and watching for danger and would always go thru saftey before we left, side of trail hand signals and whatnot. I hope to pass snowmobiling on to my 3 girls, all under 4 right now but my oldest rides in front of me and loves it. My dad said he always trusted me, it was the other wackos he was worried about, which makes sense the way some people ride out there. To this day it is still our favorite thing to do together, exept i set the pace now, lol.