hey stewartb

[longtrack]

I see you have the VK540 in one of ur pics. I'm thinking of picking up a used one to play in the bush so I don't bang up my new TF. Can you give me your honest opinion on this machine. I can't seem to get any other opinions from any one else.

Thanks

 

[stewartb]

If one of my best friends hadn't wanted it so badly I wouldn't have let it go. I love the VK540III version. The II version was good but the longer travel rear on the III is more comfortable. When I first bought the '02 in the picture I was concerned with the long travel rear since I was pulling heavy sleds. It never gave me a lick of trouble. The buddy that bought it came off a Polaris Widetrack and is grinning ear to ear. He says he isn't used to getting off a freighter and being able to walk upright.

 

[longtrack]

So its good in the tight trails and in the deep snow and lots of low end torque?

 

[stewartb]

Like any wide track it'll push in tight corners. In the deep stuff it gets by okay but it isn't a mountain sled. Wide tracks don't climb well in loose snow. The top speed with a 540 is about 55mph. If you want nimble find a single cylinder Tundra with a long track. Those are absolutely amazing little sleds. And they aren't afraid to work. Once I broke the hitch on my Viking and had to pull 4 full 55 gallon drums the final 20 miles to the cabin using the Tundra, including up a fairly good hill with a few turns in it. It wasn't comfortable since the towed sled outweighed the pull machine, but it made it without complaining.