Sled Bought
Friday, September 10, 2004, 09:11 PM
8/26/04

I bought a new sled today. It’s an ‘87 Indy with a ‘93 hood on it. I wasn’t exactly in the market for a new sled (since I already had 6 sitting in my back yard) but I saw this one sitting out at the local junk - I mean stuff - shop and I’d always figured that if I were to buy a “new” sled, I’d buy an Indy. I asked how much it was just out of curiosity and was told that it was $299. I expected it to be $500 or more. I went out and looked at it and found a cool 3 cylinder engine with triple Aaen pipes there. Well, that certainly upped the cool factor for me. I was still nervous about buying it for a few reasons. 1) My hobby money is limited and I need parts for my other sleds, and if I bought this, that would be a big chunk, plus who knows how much money it would take to get it running. 2) My back yard is already full of running and non-running sleds. 3) I’ve always been afraid that if I bought a newer sled, I’d lose interest in my old ones. I just love old sleds and I don’t really have much of an attraction to this Indy as I do to my Liquifires or Panthers, but I have been wanting a more modern suspension for long trail riding. My fear is that once I get a taste of IFS, I’ll be less patient with the old leaf spring suspension. I thought about it for a few days and then decided to offer $200 for it, thinking that if I could get it that cheap, it would trump my other concerns. The guy said no, but if it didn’t sell in a few days, he’d lower the price. I waited a few days and asked again and he said he’d sell it for $249 with a new belt and new Woody’s carbides thrown in. Sold!

I decided to try to haul it home with the rusty old trailer that Kyle gave me. Two of the middle members were totally rusted away, but I figured it would be good for a mile or two if I drove carefully. BIG MISTAKE. Once I had the sled loaded on it, I was able to drive about a quarter (very slowly and very carefully) mile before the trailer just totally fell apart. The axle broke in two places and the poor old trailer just crumpled. I managed to pull the sled off and get the sled and the (heavy) trailer off to the side of the road, just as a State Trooper went by. Luckily, he didn’t stop. I got my boat trailer and got the sled trailer up on it to get it home. Later, I had my friend Bryan help me get the sled into the back of our minivan and we drove it back to my house. Stupid, stupid, stupid. :)

I really need to stop buying snowmobiles!


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