Wife tipped her sled, anything special to be aware of?

[Oyvind]

We were out riding today, or would that be tonight since the sun is currently below the horizon and we're well into the polar night...

She rides a Venture Lite, and tipped the sled over when she got stuck on a slope. Widshield cracked and some engine oil was spilled. When restarting, the engine turned itself off after a short while and the yellow engine protection light(?) flashed. It ran fine after we'd got the sled pointing downslope again, however, and we had no further problems on the 40km ride back home.

Apart from obviously checking engine oil level, is there anything else we should be aware of and check? It was a quite gentle tipover.

 

[sherlock29]

you should be fine... oil came out of the crank vent line on the bottom of your airbax... take top off and clean up old oil... your air bax will have quite a bit in it ... one of the problems with a yammy and a tip over... your sled shut off because of oyur low oil pressure sensor... chances it had a air bubble... and its a safety the motor has at idle.

hope the wife is fine.... happened to mine a few times till she got used to the weight.

 

[Vectornut]

I really think you are fine as long as the light doesn't come back on anytime soon. I through a stud through the cooler and ran the sled for quite a while before I noticed the yellow light flashing. It wasn't just on," It was flashing". Replaced the cooler and the track etc. and there has not been any other problems since. This was 3000 miles ago. Where is Spitsbergen? Norway, near Bergen?

 

[Oyvind]

Ok, thanks. I'll check and clean the air box then.

... Where is Spitsbergen? Norway, near Bergen?

Not quite, though it is a part of Norway.

Spitsbergen is the main island of the Svalbard archipelago. At 78deg N, Longyearbyen is the closest you can possibly get to the North Pole and still send your kids to school. No roads up here, except the very few kms we have in Longyearbyen, so travel is by snowmobile in winter and boat in summer. Polar bears outnumber people by about 2:1, so carrying a rifle is mandatory outside the settlement.

Link to Longyearbyen on Google maps: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=208 ... 4,1.347198

 

[Vectornut]

Velkommen!!! To the Totallyamaha Forum. You will enjoy this website. MiKe

 

[Ruckus]

Ok, thanks. I'll check and clean the air box then.

... Where is Spitsbergen? Norway, near Bergen?

Not quite, though it is a part of Norway.

Spitsbergen is the main island of the Svalbard archipelago. At 78deg N, Longyearbyen is the closest you can possibly get to the North Pole and still send your kids to school. No roads up here, except the very few kms we have in Longyearbyen, so travel is by snowmobile in winter and boat in summer. Polar bears outnumber people by about 2:1, so carrying a rifle is mandatory outside the settlement.

Link to Longyearbyen on Google maps: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=208 ... 4,1.347198

I can see your house from there!

 

[rc2ubro]

Did anyone click the satellite view, what an awsome place to live!

 

[Supa Dexta]

That is up there! How self sufficient are you? Still a lot of hunting and fishing? Or is stuff flown in?

 

[Ruckus]

I don't know how close you are to a dealer, but get them to check the sled. I did the same and a week later my engine seized. I'm glad the local dealer checked it over and gave it the green light before it went. Cheap insurance. New engines are not cheap for these machines.

 

[BigShow29]

Ive flipped,rolled a few times.. Filled it back up with oil and no problems...

 

[Dimebag]

Øyvind,
You should consider getting a rollover valve for the sled. You can get one from www.oftracing.com . Since you have no taxes thats a extra cheap insurance.

I roll my sled often, and lost a lot of oil before i got the valve.

You got much snow up there?

 

[Ruckus]

I installed the 4 stroke solutions roll over valve. It is awesomesauce and well worth the price. I've been stuck on a face and had to roll it down to get it out, just pull the tether as its running, it'll shut down and shut the reservoir tank closed. Rolled it to the bottom, sat it on its skis, checked the oil and perfect. Started it up and drove away. Also good for tipping your machine on its side for working on it. Yank the tether while its running and flip it on its side. No worries about spilling oil in the snow!

 

[jlparker77]

I have found that as long as you kill the engine as soon as you can when it gets tipped over, then you won't lose nearly as much oil. you will lose some, but it won't drain it all out.

 

[Oyvind]

That is up there! How self sufficient are you? Still a lot of hunting and fishing? Or is stuff flown in?

Definitely good hunting and fishing up here, though we certainly don't rely upon it for food. Huntable animals include reindeer, seal, ptarmigan, goose and fox (for fur). But you'll be disappointed if you view hunting as a sport that involves stalking and cunning. Since humans have only been here in force for a hundred years or so, the wildlife has not yet developed a natural fright of humans. You can happen upon a flock of ptarmigans, shoot five of them and the rest will politely wait while you reload and shoot the rest. Some people actually don't bother to shoot them, but club them with a long pole instead.

There's a daily flight to mainland Norway, and also a daily cargo plane. So we have fresh milk, fruit and veggies in the store (almost) all the time, or as long as the plane can land - which doesn't always happen due to the weather...

Longyearbyen is actually the perfect urban wilderness town. To name but a few of the attractions, we have four good hotels, a handful of bars, a university, a coal mine and one of the world's fastest internet connections - courtesy of NASA and ESA.

Step outside the town, however, and you're instantly in the wilderness. Just this August, one British student was killed and four other seriously wounded in a polar bear attack.

All the sled brands are well represented through the three sled dealer/rental places here.

There's not a lot of snow so far, but enough to go sledding with a little care though it's not time for the most ambitious trips just yet. Besides, we're in perpetual darkness right now. The sun will start to brighten the horizon at the end of Januray, and by the middle of February we will again have proper daylight. The midnight sun starts April 19.

There are no proper snowmobile trails here and certainly no grooming. Weather can be fierce, temperatures drop to -40C and cell phone coverage is severely limited. For longer trips, you're well advised to pack an EPIRB/PLB, Iridium phone, GPS, tent, sleeping bags, food, and a multifuel stove so that you can sit out an unexpected storm.

 

[Oyvind]

Regarding a rollover valve; since this is SWIMPAL's sled and she's not likely to do any seriously ambitious mountain climbs or high marking, I'm not sure this will happen too often once she learns to handle the sled - she's new to snowmobiling. I'll just start packing some engine oil so that we can check the oil level and top it up the next time this happens.