Over in the Final Check thread, I mentioned that my 6th grade school teacher had a snowmobile. That was a long time ago and I was just a little kid, but I"m pretty sure that Mr. B. told us that he had that machine up to almost 100 MPH. For a small kid that's just crazy fast, I guess that's why I remember it?

Anyway, Mr. B's daughter Becky and I are friends on facebook, so I sent her a message the other day. I was just thinking, it never hurts to ask. Maybe they had it parked back in the corner of the barn. With him being a school teacher and all, it probably was a top of the line machine?

Becky said that they did have one back in the 70's but they don't anymore. I told her that I don't really need one, but I'd like to have one anyway. She said that it was fun when it snowed.

Here where I live we get snow every winter, I remember years when we've had snow on the ground from before Thanksgiving on into March. Other years, we probably didn't get 10 inches total all winter. The elevation makes so much difference, most times. Sometimes you can stand here in town and watch it snow for 2 or 3 hours on the mountains, before we even get a flake.

It seems that snow machines are just a thing of the past in this area, I guess back in the 70's that was before 3 and 4-wheelers became popular. Up in the mountains a feller could run a snowmobile for 2 or 3 months out of the year, the rest of the year it'd sit and rust and rot away.

Someplace, somewhere, there is an old machine sitting around that a feller might be able to buy for nothing. Get it fired up, take it for a nice ride and then walk home. But it sure would have been nice to have had one back in February.

Forgot about the part about cranking it a thousand times to start it.

Yep. After a couple hundred pulls, a man oghta give up.

Not with a snowmobile. That's when you take out the spark plug, crank a few dozen times to clean out the excess gas, clean the spark plug, reinsert it, and crank some more.

Somewhere in there you have to warm up your hands, too.

Reminds me of the old joke where the Little Boy trades his push mower for the Precher's bicycle. It went something like this:

The Little Boy wanted a bicycle and the Preacher needed a lawn mower. So, they got on a deal and traded even up. The preacher and little boy were both happy.

A day or 2 later they bumped into each other out on the street, the preacher told the young man that he couldn't get the mower started. The little boy asked if he'd gave it a good cussing? The preacher said: No. The little boy told him that the mower wouldn't start till you gave it a good cussing. The preacher told the young boy that he'd been a pastor for 20 years and couldn't even remember a cuss word. The little man told the preacher, you keep on a pulling on that rope, and it'll come back to you. (after a hundred pulls, I'm sure it'd come back to me.) Probably about 15 would be all it'd take!!!

I'm not going to blow a bunch of money on a snow machine, something I can only use for 2 or 3 months out of the year. (if I'd have time) I'm not sure, but at one time this winter we had over 2 feet of snow on the mountain east of town. I really think that it'd been up to 30 inches, maybe 3 feet? Not all one snow, it was in layers.

Not sure what texture is best for a snowmobile? But it would have been a solid snow, and I really think a snowmachine would have pretty much floated on top.

Years ago, friends of mine had 2 snowmobiles, and the man that kept them invited us up to go for a ride a couple evenings. Nights after work. We had a small field where we could ride, and a little loop, thinking about it now, it'd been 3/4's of a mile or so? I remember, if you'd get off of the trail in the field, and get out in undisturbed snow, that would really bog down the machine. Still fun.

If I'd find one for sale, cheap. I'd keep the "For Sale" sign.

I sold my last snow machine in 2007. It was a nice one 2-up with reverse. If you stuck it you needed a chain fall come along and a D4 to un stick it.But it was fun to go riding with the gang. I could not break trail with this machine it was to hi strung. Then a couple open winters in a row and only got to ride for about a month did it. By-by.
I next went into the atv faze. I'm still there. Im on my 4th one. This is a two-up with power steering. Independent suspension and came with a 3000lb winch. About 3 or 4 years ago we splurged and bought a set of tracks for it.. We like going ice fishing and in the spring i can collect the sap in a tank strapped on back. What a game changer this is. I've gone hunting in 2 ft. of snow and broke trail into camp on 4 ft. of untouched snow pac. We as a rule don't have a lot of snow during our trapping season but if we did id be using it then also.
I takes me about a half hr. to install the tracks and about the same to un-install them. I have only been stuck one time and that was my own fault. I was told to not drive over a tree or log buried in the snow. The Mrs and i were pleasure riding and came upon a buried tree. I could see the hump but i tried crossing anyway. The front tracks went up and over the tree and the rear tracks plowed rite into it. I tried reverse and the front tracks wouldn't climb back over. It's all in the design of the tracks. The front tracks have a forward up-sweep the rears dont and neither do in reverse. Lesson 1. Do as your told by the dealer. Lesson 2. Carry a chain saw always. The trail you travel can be blocked tomorrow.
Anyways if I had known the tracks were going to be so good id have got some with my first atv.
I do have a windshield on mine to help cut the cold air and they have hand and thumb warmers as options.
Good luck and safe travels.

When tracks first came out, they were quite popular here. The advantages were obvious: one machine to buy, own, insure, and put a license plate on. It was also 4 stroke and therefore less expensive on gas and not as smelly.

They also were pretty good in the snow.

But their huge drawback was quickly discovered. Unless you can thaw them out, they become a huge frozen ice ball. Same for the driver. You also had to have a big ATV.

Four stroke snowmobiles became available. People say that the tracks were good BUT no where near as good as a snow mobile.

I guess it all depends on how much snow you have and if you have a heated garage.

I rarely see tracks anymore.

Well, the mountains were white again yesterday. April 1st and we had snow flurries just about all day, here in town. Chilly too. I had 27*F. at daylight, just a little bit on the mountains yet and windy.

I don't need a snowmobile, but. 2 or 3 weeks ago I called the cycle shop down in the next county, I think I caught the man offguard when I asked if they sold snowmobiles. So, I asked if he knew where I could find one. (I was really thinking, that maybe they'd have an old junker sitting in the back room, nothing doing.) He gave me the name of one of his friends, that runs a shop in Elkins, WV. I'm sure these guys are paid on a commission of what they sell, I didn't call. Cause I don't need a snowmobile. But.

I've asked a half dozen people about snowmobiles, that have rode or driven one, yet none of them have for years. There was an old snow machine sold at a local auction, 10 or maybe 20 years ago? I'm positive that it sold for less than $500, and I really think it was closer to $300. I wasn't at that sale, but I know the auctioneer, don't see him very often, but he might remember who bought it. Probably the only snowmobile that he's ever auctioned?

Someone told me to look on facebook's "Marketplace" thing. I searched the "PowerSports" section, and found 2. Both of the machines are almost 20 years old, and reading the descriptions, it looks like someone is trying to sell their headache.

The one machine was described as "Only 1,200 miles on the new engine. Twelve Hundred miles seems like a lot to me. Makes me wonder how many total miles are on the machine and track and all. I'll pass on those "Jewels"

My brother and I were talking the other day, he told to just go north, to Maine or someplace and rent one. So, if a man that lives in Maine sells his snowmachine because of the lack of snow, that's a pretty good indication that a feller that lives below the Mason-Dixon line, probably don't need a snowmobile. But, I'd still like to have one.

Well, I missed out on a bargain the other day. Two of them.

A friend of mine is an auctioneer, (not the same man that I mentioned above) back in January I asked him to keep his eye out for a snowmobile. So far he's found 3 that he thought maybe I'd be interested in.

They were asking $400 for the first one, forget what brand? Reading the description, it said it needed a new track, starts and runs but loses power at top speed. I figured that's a long walk in the making. I asked him to keep on looking.

Last week he sent me a link to 2 more that were for sale. $100 each. I've met the lady that was selling them, I sent her a message, then found out that they were already sold.

One of them was a John Deere, I have no idea about their snowmobiles, but they make a decent tractor.

But for 100 bucks each, I would have taken a chance on them.

Not sure what all a feller would look for when buying a used machine, I guess just wear and abuse, mileage or hours like anything?