First Real Trail Ride Report

[cannondale27]

Finally hit the road and flew down the trail! I had 60mi ditchbanging and river riding here at home but trails werent open past weekend so saturday after work a buddy and I headed out. The place we chose was a great choice since I didnt leave work till 3pm
saturday! Work sucks. Antigo/Summitlake area to Tomahawk,Northern Wausau and back. Areas to south were closed.

No pics but saturday night 8pm we arrived in Antigo. After calling hotline which said trails were open in entire county we headed out from Hotel with Summit Lake as destination. Found out pretty quick trails south of J to Antigo were closed. Was pretty nice riding though.So kept going since now we were on open trails! Hotline and locals were uninformed. Made SummitLake and had a drink and bite to eat. Got lost coming back somehow and were back at hotel by midnight with 80mi on. Antigo get your notification system fixed or at least tell the hotels and gas stations since they all thought they were open. Sorry.

 

[cannondale27]

Sunday we reloaded sled and went to Summit Lake ATV parking area. I know these trails well since I ride quads there any chance I get. Lots of hills,tight trails,curves and best of all Jumps right on the trails! Winter is just as fun on a good sled. Also is Corridor trails for if you want to bypass the real trails and go for speed. Not many pics but it was a blast and we made it to Tomohawk after going through all the real trails in Parrish Highlands and Harrison hills. Ate at Snappers in Tomohawk then after searching for trail maps unsuccessfully headed toward Marathon/Wausau sort of on purpose since we missed a turnoff on 17s and kept going out of fun! Turned back and within 5mi of Tomohawk again found 16E which leads all the way back to Summit lake where truck was. Got back by 7pm.

 

[YamahaTim]

Good stuff...Yamadog, apexgt40 and I got out to and had a chance to hit the trails hard. I love the sled. Great pictures....man that arctic cat looks huge compared to the Viper...lol

 

[cannondale27]

Conclusions:
Thankfully a few weeks ago I traced a no power issue to the throttleblock because it did it again! This time was in the dark and middle of nowhere. turm key on and NOTHING except starter. No guages and no start. Yes I checked kill switch repeatedly before having to take block apart in the dark and wiggle wires. It then powered right up. Will be getting a new throttle block since it is very hard to diagnose a issue that doesnt happen all the time

I really love the suspension and power the viper has. It hit all the jumps and g outs yet still is plenty plush. Feels very level in the air.Not front heavy at all. Engine braking is just perfect. Very easy to ride. and jump.

Cornering. The stock skiis are going in the garbage. Trails were Powder with no hard base and it pushed at anything over 35mph even off the gas. I raised the PSI in front shocks which improved push a little but then it would lift a ski when it wasnt pushing. Till this is fixed the higher speed handling in my opinion Sucks.

The AC 600 I rode with would put 8gal in to my 6gal so real happy with mileage. I saw 93mph on speedo on a lake so real happy with that since the cat was way behind.

Would I buy again? Yes Yes YES! Even though the electrical issue scared the crap out of me it will be fixed. It was a awesome ride and we made it back very happy 240 smiles later. Thats what its all about.

I found our trail guys. Check out the sign. TY Trail!

 

[cannondale27]

Good stuff...Yamadog, apexgt40 and I got out to and had a chance to hit the trails hard. I love the sled. Great pictures....man that arctic cat looks huge compared to the Viper...lol

I heard about time eh! It does look huge. Those things are really crude compared to the Viper and they stink behind. Just led most of day and all night since his lights are really bad.

 

[Shane]

Sweet!!! Thanks for the report.

 

[horkn]

The happy snapper in tomahawk? That place is great. Great food at a great pure too. I do most of my riding in the tomahawk area as my cottage is about a mile away from the snapper on the same lake.

 

[cannondale27]

Yes Happy Snapper! Bacon Bourbon Swiss burger was awesome and the view was good too! I will look you up next time.

 

[DigitalFusion]

Love the ride report and the pix!


I have to ask tho, WTF is a throttleblock?

Conclusions:
Thankfully a few weeks ago I traced a no power issue to the throttleblock because it did it again! This time was in the dark and middle of nowhere. turm key on and NOTHING except starter. No guages and no start. Yes I checked kill switch repeatedly before having to take block apart in the dark and wiggle wires. It then powered right up. Will be getting a new throttle block since it is very hard to diagnose a issue that doesnt happen all the time

 

[AKrider]

The throttle block is what the throttle lever connects to. The kill switch is built into some of them depending on make and model.

 

[Grimm]

Great to hear about ride quality on the Viper, crappy to hear about the sub standard throttle block connections. Fortunately, you knew what to look for problemwise. Anyone else would have been walking.

Imo, you should invest in a gps...will save you grief when needed, especially on trails you don't know. They can be had pretty cheap.

 

[Viper_Dave]

Nice review.... Of my riding area lol. We have a place on Silver Lake and head for Summit Lake for supper or lunch at least once every trip. And please stop bragging about. Harrison area. Don't want it all cluttered up do we.

 

[cannondale27]

Viper you are the third person to warn me about telling people about those trails! I have been riding quads there for 20 years and been to trails all over the USA I still rate them no1! Hope they never change them. Sure goes quick on a sled. I never snowmobiled the atv trail since I thought all the rocks would be a issue. I was wrong. Special place indeed!

 

[cannondale27]

Great to hear about ride quality on the Viper, crappy to hear about the sub standard throttle block connections. Fortunately, you knew what to look for problemwise. Anyone else would have been walking.

Imo, you should invest in a gps...will save you grief when needed, especially on trails you don't know. They can be had pretty cheap.

.

I am definitely going to do that. Ended up downloading the Polaris trails app and when there was service it worked well. I plan to mount a old tomtom I have this week and will invest in a good one soon.

 

[sorenson1610]

Harrison hills are nice trails, how close did you get to Wausau? Trails arent opening till the 25 in marathon cty. Next time you come up this way let me know I will try to tag along.