I have been contemplating building and racing a John Deere for the local circle tracks for a couple years. Since I have extra JDX/00 sleds. I would like to build one of these but I kind of doubt one would be competitive in the classes available. I also have '78 liquifire minus the engine that could be built as a fan or liquid cooled racer. Or would sport/trailfire be better on the oval? Any thoughts, ideas, stories of deeres on the oval would be appreciated. My goal is something cheep, reliable and different than all the Yamahas out there.
Here is a list of classes and rules that I think a Deere might fit in.
Race Rules
9. PRE 84 0-485cc FAN STOCK - must be stock machine, 485cc Phazer with pogo suspension allowed.
10. PRE 84 0-485cc OPEN FAN CLASS - no factory racers.
11. PRE 85 440cc MAX LIQUID OPEN CLASS - sleds must have leaf spring front suspension.
14. 0-0440 FREE AIR OPEN CLASS - must be leaf spring front suspension.
15. CLASS X - must be snowmobile frame, includers all twin tracks, manta or raider (must have roll bar) must have full track enclosed side panels, any snowmobile engine, any skis, any snowmobile clutch, any suspension, any fuel delivery system.
'72 500 x2 '72 400 not running '73 400 parts sled '74 295/S x3 missing many parts '74 300 not running '75 600 missing engine parts '75 800 not running
'73 JDX4 not running
'74 JDX6 '75 JDX8
I dont have any valuable tips for you, but I think its a great idea. I have seen a few trailfires run, they looked like they were having a lot of fun but must not have been dialed in as they were towards the back of the pack. If you stay committed and have a little time you will make any one of those sleds work. I'ts my dream to oval race a 78 cyclone. just havnt got the guts yet......yet. Good luck Bryan
I also don't have any experience in oval racing the Deere's BUT, what I have learned from Cross Country racing the Std. Deere models Cyclones, Sportfires,Trailfires, Spitfires, Ect. is that you can't compete with the sleds with twin carbs with out pouring a big bunch of money into the engines to try to make up for the HP differences, The std consumer Deere's just don't have it..
Now IF your talking a Liquifires then that would be a different story as a good driver could be very competitive.. OR if they had a single carb class then the Trailfires, Sportfires, Spitfires, etc. could be made competitive, but as far as I know all the other Mfg. used Duel carbs on there free air or fan cooled engines..
I got to know a guy back in 79 that raced a Spitfire, he just couldn't keep up to the Yamaha's in the Stock Direct drive class they were just to fast compared to the Spitfire, that same year we raced a Trailfire in the stock class same problem we just couldn't keep up to the twin carb fan cooled Yamaha's, Polaris's, & Cats..
Just my $.0735 worth
Kenny
AKA: Kenny, Grumpy, Mr. Richard Head
"I Hunt For it, Purchase it, Haul it, Sometimes Repair it, Sometimes Break it, Then Fix it Again, Label it, Warehouse it, Talk About it, So NOW, HOW Can I Take Any Less $$ For It?"
"God I love the smell of KLOTZ in the morning, That smell, you know that Gasoline/Oil Smell, MAKES the whole place SMELL like.. LIKE VICTORY. You know someday the 2 strokers are gonna end..."
Do Anti-War Protesters have reunions? If so what do they TALK about?
BEVRA has what we call "Barnstormer Stock" for sleds like the JDX and 00 series sleds, the class is bascially 1974 and older fancooled trail sleds, with a 6" carbide rule and up to 96 studs, must use a oem style carb and oem for model exhuast. The idea of the class is to get these older sleds out on the ice with other sleds that they can compete with. Kyle Weis has raced both a JDX 8 and a 295/s with success in the series, other sleds that compete in the class, my 73 tnt silver bullet, a chaparral SS/III 440, skiroule 340, arctic cat cheetah, boaski 340ss, a scorpion stinger, a sno jet sst. Might be a bit more of a drive for you to come over to Lakeview from the thumb area, but at least you would get to race against similar sleds. more info at http://www.bevraracing.com
The BEVRA "Barnstormer Stock" sounds perfect. Thanks Maxiracer. I may have to check it out this winter. To bad Lakeview is a 3 hour drive when the track in Elkton is 4 miles from me. ICCSF 108 thanks for info too. If I want to race it looks like I need to spend a bunch of money on building a deere , burn alot of gas driving to lakeview, or work on the local tracks to make a deere friendly class.
'72 500 x2 '72 400 not running '73 400 parts sled '74 295/S x3 missing many parts '74 300 not running '75 600 missing engine parts '75 800 not running
'73 JDX4 not running
'74 JDX6 '75 JDX8
ME