Feb. 8, 2010: Snowmobile Digest

New incentive to participate in Take a Friend Snowmobiling Week

The snowmobile community is excited to announce the second annual Take a Friend Snowmobiling Week, which will be held Feb. 12-22. This period celebrates friends and family snowmobiling for 11 days, including two weekends, according to the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association (ISMA).

The snowmobile week was introduced to go hand-in-hand with the Take a Friend Snowmobiling campaign and has been developed to encourage snowmobilers to take their non-snowmobiling friends out riding.

Clubs are encouraged to participate in the activity and hold a special day or weekend encouraging members to bring non-snowmobiling friends to the clubhouse to go for a short ride and discover what snowmobilers do.

This effort follows the guidelines and recommendations ISMA’s customer research has shown, namely that non-snowmobilers know very little about the sport. The research shows that people who don’t snowmobile rate their desire to go snowmobiling a 9 on a 10-point scale.

As a special incentive to take non-snowmobilers snowmobiling, manufacturers will give away a $250 gift certificate to a lucky individual who registers and participates in the Take a Friend Snowmobiling Week event. The registration form is on the Go Snowmobiling Web site, www.gosnowmobiling.org; the ACSA Web site, www.snowmobilers.org, and the CCSO Web site, www.ccso-ccom.ca. Non-snowmobilers and their snowmobiling friends need to fill out a registration form to be entered in the drawing for the gift certificate. The registration form can be e-mailed, faxed to the ISMA office at 517/339-7798, or mailed to: Take a Friend Snowmobiling Week , 1640 Haslett Road, Ste. 170, Haslett, Mich., 48840.

SnoBarons of Blaine, Minn. named Club of the Year

For the first time, the International Snowmobile Hall of Fame (ISHOF), located in Eagle River, Wis., named its first annual Snowmobile Club of the Year Award.

The recipient was SnoBarons of Blaine, Minn. No other snowmobile club has achieved the level of excellence the SnoBarons has when it comes to producing a nationally recognized major snowmobile event, according to a press release from ISHOF.

Their Haydays event in September kicks off the snowmobile season, not only in Minnesota but also nationally as hundreds of vendors and tens of thousands of snowmobilers pack the show grounds. Proceeds from the event have been parceled out to scores of clubs for snowmobile projects benefiting the sport.

The announcement was made by ISHOF President Scott Eilertson at the SnoBarons Christmas party.

“ISHOF is very excited to create this new annual award and to name the SnoBarons as the first recipient,” Eilertson said in the release. “They are truly an inspiration to all clubs and the grand sport of snowmobiling.”

The official presentation will be made this fall at the induction ceremony held in Eagle River as they induct the International Snowmobile Hall of Fame class of 2010, the International Groomer of the Year award, sponsored by Arctic Cat and the new Snowmobile Club of the Year award.

BRP expands its E-TEC engine

BRP introduced its new Rotax E-TEC 800R engine. BRP says this two-stroke engine uses electronic injectors and a powerful central computer to deliver improvements in performance, efficiency and ease-of-use. This engine debuts in a limited build 2010 Ski-Doo MX Z X-package sled, reported the company in a press release.

“This is a no- compromise engine. Not only does it generate more power, but it sets new benchmarks for fuel and oil economy,” Bob Lumley, Ski-Doo’s vice president of sales and marketing, said in the release. “In fact, the new E-TEC 800R engine is up to 37 percent better than our competitors in fuel economy.”

Benefits of the 800R E-TEC engine include horsepower exceeding the PowerT.E.K. 800, fuel economy of 19 mpg, fuel range of 202 miles, increased oil economy of 264 miles/quart, lower emissions than any other 800cc snowmobile on the market, automatic break-in function and automatic summerization function.

“This introduction reflects the outstanding innovative capabilities of BRP, especially in expanding environmentally friendly technologies,” Yves Leduc, vice president and general manager, BRP, North America division, said in the release. “Transferring technology and know-how from one product to another demonstrates the strength and capabilities of our design and engineering teams.”

A limited number of black 2010 Ski-Doo MX Z X snowmobiles powered by the new engine will be available for purchase at North American BRP dealers.

Yamaha snowmobiles recalled

About 2,500 model year 2009 FX10 Yamaha snowmobiles were voluntarily recalled by the manufacturer. In cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Yamaha Motor Corp., recalled the sleds because of a possible loss of steering control, according to the CPSC.

There have been no injuries reported, but a bolt in the right front A arm can loosen in the suspension/steering system, resulting in the sudden loss of steering control.

The recall affects the FX Nytro, FX Nytro XTX, FX Nytro RTX, FX Nytro MTX and FX Nytro RTX SE. The sleds were sold by Yamaha dealers from June 2008 to January for $10,000-$11,000.

Polaris industries launches snowmobile riders’ Web site

Polaris has formed an exclusive partnership with WeatherNation, weather content provider, to give snowmobilers free access to information about weather conditions, forecasts, snow cover, trail conditions and more from their computers or handheld devices, according to a press release from Polaris.

By visiting the Polaris WeatherNation Web site, http://riders.polarisindustries.com/, or through the Riders menu on the Polaris snowmobile Web Site, snowmobilers can access live-time information, including maps of North American snow cover, snow depth reports, weather forecasts, live doppler weather data, views of snowmobile trail systems across the United States and Polaris dealership locations.

Riders also will be able to determine the distance between any two points they plot on a map.

“To help snowmobilers enjoy their riding to the fullest, we’re providing them access to a wealth of information to help them find the best snow for their favorite types of riding,” Polaris Snowmobile and PG&A Division Vice President Scott Swenson said in the release. Swenson notes Polaris hopes its partnership with WeatherNation will benefit all riders, not just those on Polaris snowmobiles.

Riders will have access to even more Polaris WeatherNation resources in future releases, when snowmobilers will be able to view trail maps of Canada; locate restaurants, gas stations and lodging across North America; use the “Plan a Trip” feature to access — and save to their computers — information about travel routes, lodging and other services. Riders will eventually be able to download this information to devices such as a GPS or SmartPhone. Also riders will be able to post comments about their experiences and upload photos of their trips.

Later this year, Polaris plans to introduce Polaris WeatherNation tools to serve the needs of Victory motorcycle riders and Polaris off-road enthusiasts. This information will likely include information about ATV trail systems across North America.