I Survived the Vintage Challenge...

JoeRainville · Post by **JoeRainville** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:07 am

Hello all,

The NY Posse have been looking forward to the Horicon show and HOF Vintage Challenge since JRC posted "anyone up for a ride to the UP?" when Brian Lindner and I were posting about how many Deere Cross Country racers we could get to show up at the HOF in 2009.

Well, things don't always go as planned. First, Tim and Nick both had to back out due to other commitments, but the Watersboy and Todd "Stymie" Myers and his crew were able to make it. Secondly my 340/s "I-500" resto was no where near done on time. The chassis is still at the welders 8 weeks later. Grrr...

So I had to enlist the help of Tim and Nick for a last minute thrash on my two back up sleds, my trusty 78 CC and an 84 Liquifire. First Nick and I got to work replacing the crank seals on the CC while Tim cleaned and rebuilt the carbs. Tim looked angry for some reason...

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JoeRainville · Post by **JoeRainville** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:18 am

After Tim cleaned the CC carbs, he got to work on the 84 Liquifire. Both sets were pretty clean to start with, so the job went quickly. Did I meantion that this was one week before the Challenge? Between replacing the bulkhead on my snocross sled, and working on the 340/s, I hadn't touched the back up sleds before then. Opps.

Since we had to remove the stator and trigger to get to the mag side crank seal, I figured we better replace them with NOS parts since that sled had an idle missfire on the mag side. The job went well, but it did not fix the problem. Rats. Turns out it was the mag side coil. Replaced it with an NOS one and she idled like kitten.

Nick then tried to repair the suspension on my original 340/s, as I broke the front arm grass dragging it this summer. We found it had the original 15" bonded on cleated track, and figured it's going to be a full chassis tear down so it can wait.

First pic is fishing the wires through the case on the CC.
Second pic is Tim and Nick goofing off while I worked away.

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JoeRainville · Post by **JoeRainville** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:29 am

Well, we planned to head out Weds night to make the Horicon event before the HOF. Cari is out to dinner with friends, and I took a 1/2 off from work to register the 78 CC and the 84 LF. Couldn't reg the 84, dispite having a PA title and registration for it, I forgot a bill of sale. Rats.

Got home and load up the trailer, and prepare to pick up Kenny at 8:00 pm. Darn dog gets sprayed by a sunk about 7:00. Call Cari to pick up some de-senting stuff at a pet store on her way home and wait for her arrival...at 9:15! I wrestled with my 70 lbs of smelly mutt and got her sent-newtralized, but then I need a shower and change of clothes.

Finally arrive at the Watersboy residence at 11:00 pm, loaded up and hit the road. Around 2:30am Thursday morning we are in Ohio and I am exhausted and let Kenny drive after a fuel stop. I woke up around 3:30 with the truck and trailer sliding sideways down I-90...this is not going to be good. I shout a few suggestions to Kenny, like "get off the brakes" and "push in the clutch and stear!" but the trailer does a full 180 jack knifing the truck. It comes to a stop with the trailer on the shoulder and the truck pointing straight down into the median.

Luckily the only damage was where the truck tailgate contacted the trailer, it was a small dent. I was also able to back the truck out of the ditch and turn it back around 180 deg and resume our voyage on the icy slop covered highway.

Tomorrow: missing rims and running late...

-Rainville

jd16 · Post by **jd16** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:27 am

It was a long trip but worth it huh Rainville because it would of been different with out u and kenny it was fun while it lasted i hope will ride together next year [cani-cani]

JoeRainville · Post by **JoeRainville** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 1:04 am

So after Kenny I found no real damage on the truck and trailer, other than to Kenny's pride, we backed that baby back onto I-90, did a much more controlled 180, and headed west once again. At the next Diesel fill up, I noticed a rim was cracking the paint and figured it must be bent. Since it was 4:00 AM, 14 degree's out, and snowing, I figured (incorrectly) that it could wait.

At the following Diesel stop at 6:30 AM we decided to check the rim for damage, but found it was already gone. Rats. It snapped 2 studs out and tore off 4 lug nuts on its way to becoming a target for an Ohio State Highway lawm mower. At this point, I had 1 hrs sleep in the last 24, so it was time to catch a nap and deal with it in the day light.

Two hours later we were on our way to a small gas station south of I-90 on RT-20, about 20 minutes from Toledo. We figured we lost 4 to 5 hours total before we got the hub repaired and the spare mounted. After hitting the road, we picked up a Ski-Doo south of Chicago for a buddy in Syracuse, and headed to Horicon, hoping to catch at least the end of the meet and greet at the union hall held Thursday night.

We rolled into Horicon at 7:45, and did not regret it. Those guys put on one heck of a reception for us, the food was great and the beer was cold. Got to talk to Ed Kruel a bit, and check out his 340/s and a Dator he also drove.

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JoeRainville · Post by **JoeRainville** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 10:19 am

As many of us have written, the Horcion meet and greet was awsome. Funny thing I noticed though was that several guys had name tags. Good idea, except many of them said "Hi my name is John Deere Joe Rainville" Odd, I thought that was my nickname given to me a dozen years ago by a vintage Ski-Doo collector. He anounced as I pulled into a show "John Deere Joe is here!" and it stuck. I didn't care for it at first, but like I said, it just stuck.

Was everyone having an identity crissis, or did I forget who I am? Nope, each tag had a back ground color, and that color was AMBER. As in Don and Bob Amber. Seems someone suggested we have name tags at Horicon, Lindner thought they all should say "Joe Rainville" so Don printed these off. Oh those wacky Deere independant racers...

Got to meet most of the Horicon JD Sled Riders crew and looked at all the geat things on display. Talked with Ed Kruel, Stan Hays, and of course Rich. First time I've seen Rich's collection of pic's and such from his oval racing days.

Always great to visit with Matt, Wanie, Jesse, and met many other board members like Pat (Harley Sportster) plus many others. Kenny and I called it a night at 11:30 and hit the hotel in Beaver Dam for some much needed sleep. Got a few pic's before we left, and it turns out I am still way shorter than Wanie.

Hit the road in the AM to pick up a sled out near Tomah, but had a flat when we got there. Since the spare was already on the trailer, we had to drive 20 minutes to a tire store while trashing the flat even more. Bought two tires, had one mounted, but the guy didn't have any rims to fit my trailer so we tossed in the spare loose. Back on the road toward Horicon were we met up with Jesse and Daune to swap parts.

Finally made it to Horcon after the show offically ended, but stayed around BS'ing for 2 more hours anyway and met Ron (Feere the Deere) and his wife. Then off to the HOF! But first, we had to replace the remaining two trailer tires...

-Rainville

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pj sportfire · Post by **pj sportfire** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 11:02 am

Great stories! Thanks for sharing!!

PJ

JoeRainville · Post by **JoeRainville** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 9:58 pm

More of the tire saga... that I was quickly getting tired of!

At a Diesel stop before returning to Horicon, Kenny found the two remaining orginal tires on the trailer were tearing away at the side wall. Lucky they even made it back to Horicon. Wanie suggested we hit the local Fleet Farm to buy new ones. Luckily they had one Carlisle tire on the rack that matched the other 2 we had already purchased. Unluckily they told us it would be 3-4 hrs before they could mount it. Guy at the counter gave us direction to a Goodyear store. Turns out they were not too thrilled to mount a competitors tire, but did the job fast and cheap anyway.

Finally on the road to the HOF. I let Kenny drive after dinner, as I was suffering from sleep depervation. We arrived in St. Germain pretty late (big surprise!) and drove right by the 19th Hole where Stymie and the rest of the JD crew were hanging out with JRC and Brian Nelson. (Todd called me a few times to let me know what I was missing. I am guessing he didn't know I got very sick last year from their fish fry, so I wasn't missing the food!) So Watersboy and I picked up our trail permits at the Citco station in St. Germain, and head back to the 19th hole.

Turns out the big outdoor sign is off and bar is closed. But, the nice young lady let me in if I promised to kick out Lindner. Upon arriving upstairs, all the usuall suspects were there, and JRC gave me the "where have you been?" gesture. Long story! It was nice to finally catch up to everyone and here some of Brians stories on the way out.

Troy and Linder had there sleds outside the bar, so Troy let me take his very nicely restored 340/s for a hot lap. I had to do my best Roger Jensen impression and slide it around 180 degrees in the parking lot. What fun. We then met up with Troy and Brian at the Whitetail and heard about Brians bad luck with his 340/s. Since I couldn't find a parking spot, Lindner begged me to take his after he dropped his trailer.

Brian did a gas run for Kenny and himself while we fired up sleds and ran around the place. Let Brian and Troy take my CC Liquifire for a few hot laps to get their impressions. They seemed to like it more than the 84 Liquifire I also had. Finally Kenny and I call it a night and hit the rack at 12:30 am...HOPING our sleds were ready for the next day...

-Rainville

JoeRainville · Post by **JoeRainville** » Sat Feb 28, 2009 3:35 pm

Breakfast at the Whitetail started at 7:30 I believe, and Kenny I rode over and arrived around 7:45. Turns out that evil AMBER color was up to no good. With a small donation to the HOF they got Loren Anderson to anounce on the PA: "If I may have your attention: John Deere Joe Rainville is in the house!" as I was registering. Dispite feeling a bit embarassed, I was wondering who put Loren up to it. Didn't take long to find the laughing guilt party!

We were surprised to find out the Vintage Challenge group has the largest sign up that morning, with about 35 brave soles registered. We then all gathered at HOF to line up with our groups. After the outdoor group photo, we were the 2nd group to head out. JRC climbed on his Dator and gave us the 'fire 'em up' sign and we were off.

Late the night before, I was on laptop in the lobby of the Whitetail Lodge. I noticed Larry Preston had posted a nice artical about the HOF Vintage Challenge. There was a sentance something like "...being led by Jon Carlson and Joe Rainville..." Boy, if that didn't put the pressure on a bit. So I figured that I better help get the crew to fishtails. So, as Lindner noted, the Watersboy and I cut up to front of line. I also wanted to see Jon's Liquidator in action too.

While we headed onto the trail, I was pretty pumped to be finally on the ride. Then a little voice kept saying..."what if my Deere breaks down?...what if I fail a CDI box...what if one of the crank seals didn't seat correctly?" After about 10 minutes of that I said heck with this, lets ride her for all she has, hoping she made be pround and brought me home!

First pit stop on the trail was due to Troy pulling over and stopping. He fouled a set of plugs. Waters and I helped him out and changed him. Tom Rowland then pulled up on his nice looking 77 CC Cat, and when I asked him how it was running, he said it was boggy. He didn't have any smaller jets, so I suggested dropping the needles a click. Should only take a minute with two guys doing it. Kenny jumped in and lent Tom a hand. A few other sled pulled over and made small adjustments too. Luckily Waters and I were able to keep out hood shut.

Soon afterward JRC came by on the Dator, and we saddled up and hit the trail again. Didn't realize Troy bogged out, but luckily the very helpful Brian Nelson helped him drop his needles a click.

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JoeRainville · Post by **JoeRainville** » Sun Mar 01, 2009 11:14 pm

After our first unscheduled "Pit Stop" we hit the trail heading north again. We pulled up across a lake or two, and it was there that I got to see something live that I've only previously seen on a video. That was a Liquidator at speed.

JRC was leading us, and I was able to pull along side him and just enjoy cruising across the lake. Luckily Jon didn't nail the throttle as I was about topped out on my little 45 hp 340 CC. It was a pretty cool to be cruising along side JRC and a Dator, just enjoying the moment. Also lucky Jon didn't stress out his Dator considering what happened after the fuel stop.

We hit Cisco Lake and the first refueling stop after about 45 miles to make sure everyone had enough fuel to make it to Fishtails. They let us use two gas cans to pre-mix, so we got to it. Jon had me take care of his Dator while he attended to the ride business. I mixed up 40:1 for his sled, and 50:1 for mine. Jon needed about 4.5 gallons, while my CC needed about 3 to 3.5. Gave Stymie the rest of my 50:1, and it actually filled his 440 Cyclone. That thing really sipped fuel!

We put the Watersboy to work collecting the money, and I continued to help fill the sleds. It was then that someone noticed my rear ski pin was about half out on the right ski. Todd jumped right on it to see what he could do. Tom Rowland offered up some "Arctic Cat wire" to repair my Deere, and it held up the rest of the ride. I joked with Tom (great guy by the way, and visting his Cat dealership, Thomas's SnoSports, in Oglive, MN is a must do, darn nice collection of rare vintage Cats!) that my ski pin must have come loose while I was passing him, LOL!

After we got all the pre-mix and injected sleds filled it was back on the trail for everyone still running. Unfortunately we lost Eric and his beautifully restored Cat at this stop, but he was able to rejoin us for the ride back to St. Germain later on...

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Post by **ICCSF 108** » Sun Mar 01, 2009 11:55 pm

Wow, Joe you look really good in those leathers to bad your so short, :lol22:

Kenny

400brian · Post by **400brian** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 5:39 am

Why is Todd fixing Joe's sled, while Joe is just sitting there "styling" for the camera?

Post by **ICCSF 108** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 5:56 am

Because he is the infomous

"John Deere Joe Rainville"

Kenny

JoeRainville · Post by **JoeRainville** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 10:38 am

Hey Guys,

Kenny, the jacket fits pretty well, but that Willi Richardson was about 6'4" so the bibs are HUGE on me! If I put them on, my feet are about where the knees should be. It was neat to wear a real Bates leather jacket that matched my 78 cc. And remember Kenny, "If you can't be famous, be infamous. It's easier and requires far less tallent!"

Brian, I was helping fuel all the sleds, including Todds, so he jumped in and gave me a hand. I had time to pose for a pic of course! Man, that was a good time riding with you guys...

-Rainville

DeereKid9 · Post by **DeereKid9** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 2:08 pm

JoeRainville wrote:Hey Guys,

Kenny, the jacket fits pretty well, but the Willi Richardson was about 6'4" so the bibs are HUGE on me! guys...

-Rainville

Ok, but was Willi going thin on top too?