The sickness continues.... (Updated, first ride!!!)

[idMXLT]

While I was showing my 83' Trailfire at Hood River this past August a fellow PNWVSC member approached me about an 80' Liquifire he was looking to sell. He indicated that it was restored and ran well, but he wanted to focus on his Arctic Cat collection and was parting with his other brand sleds. A few weeks later I swung by his house, and for a few bills this is what I got.







Best part is he's a clutching guru so all the usual LF clutch issues seem to be sorted out. This thing rips off the line, ski's a-flying! I can't wait to try it out this season.

I ended up with some spare engine parts for it (good piston/jug, water pump, thermostat housing, JD star studs in original packages, etc.) and some older LF parts as well.

A 340 LF engine:




A 440 LF bottom end (crank feels good!):




Not sure what I'll do with the reed engines yet, might sell them here if there is any interest.


The sickness continues....

[sledhead16]

She's a bute

[idMXLT]

So I finally got my "new to me" Liquifire out in the snow the last 2 weekends for some riding. I thought I would post some pictures and my riding impressions. For reference my usual vintage riders are in the "slow, narrow, and light" class of sleds and I do a good amount of bushwacking. The JD's I have are a departure from that, and this is our first season on them.



There is no doubt about it.... the LF is pretty darn fast. It will gobble down trail faster than I can reliably ride it I only had the stones to "see what she'd do" a few times given our trail conditions but a lasting impression has been made. Traction was an issue. The snow was a little odd and with large applications of throttle the back end of the sled wanted to trade with the front. Normally I would have adjusted the skid for less ski pressure, but this one is already cranked tight on the front springs and with no limiter strap to let out I think it is the nature of the beast. Overall, a fantastic vintage trail machine for eating up serious miles in a day.

The flip side? This thing is terrible for deep snow! I knew that going into all this but it bears repeating



Mount Baker




The Oly got left behind all day




The pack

[Cabindweller]

Awesome to you both! Nice Pictures. I got my 82 Liquifire motor put back together and running Saturday. Still need to drain and clean the tank. Hopefully this weekend I will get her out and take her for a rip. I have never rode any of the 80's John Deere's. Cant wait.

Jerry

[Matt]

Wow. That looks like an amazing area to ride.

[nick80lf]

Wow. That looks like an amazing area to ride.

I was thinking the same thing.

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[buckeyetrailfire]

Great pictures they look like postcards

Mark

[Jd sled rider]

I think my wife would even like to ride in a place like that! Awesome pictures.Lincoln

[JDT]

Mt Baker is where???

Awesome scenery!!!

[sledhead16]

I'm completely Jealous of your riding area.....WOW!....All we have in south central MN here is fields......or and some more fields.

[idMXLT]

We are located in western Washington, between the Cascades and Puget Sound. It is a great riding area, but like all places it has its quirks. There is little/no snow in the valley, it's only at elevation so you have to trailer your sled anytime you want to ride. Except for grass drags I guess . Also, there are very few frozen lakes to really open a sled up on, all of our trails are forest roads and cat tracks. Still, the views are amazing and some places can get 90+ feet (yes feet) of snow per year. Most of the backcountry requires a longtrack mountain sled to explore.

[skoalmint]

Wow !!!!!! Looks like a beautiful place to ride. We got 6 inches here in Ohio last night and we cant even ride ! it is like the most fuffy snow i have ever seen. You can walk on it and still feel the earth below your feet. .Brock

[Vmax540]

Wow !!!!!! Looks like a beautiful place to ride. We got 6 inches here in Ohio last night and we cant even ride ! it is like the most fuffy snow i have ever seen. You can walk on it and still feel the earth below your feet. .Brock

6" It is a start, give it a couple days to settle. http://www.sharonspeedway.com/2014/11/1 ... anuary-10/