Prelude to the HoF Ride...... A Jekyll Story

[Jekyll]

Here is my latest Jekyll Story. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did living it!


The prelude to SHOF

How do you know when you’ve been invited to be part of something special? Honestly, most times you don’t…….until afterwards. Sometimes however, if you’re really lucky you understand the significance right from the start.

For me it all started with an email from KWC (Kevin Campbell). Seems he and Pacman (Ross Heavener) had this idea of a Snowmobile Hall of Fame pre Vintage Challenge shakedown weekend. I loved the idea and after adjusting my work schedule, it was on the calendar. Kevin and Ross had been Up-North over the Christmas week shaking down the “new” sleds they had built for this year’s event. After both found some items that needed attention on their machines, they decide there were others that could also benefit from such an opportunity. They picked the date and location, so on Thursday January 13 I found myself on the road headed for paradise (Paradise, Michigan).

My plan was to ride my mount from last years VC, the Mo-Ta-Ski as it had been come to be known. The only problem with that plan was that the machine hadn’t been repaired or seen snow. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t been working toward getting it running, there were just “other things” that kept getting in the way. I decided to concentrate my efforts on updating the machine foolishly thinking I could rush the process and pull off a miracle in less than 3 days prior to the ride. I made real progress, but with so many loose ends (and can’t over state how much I REALLY hate getting towed back), I opted to ride our 1981 Polaris Cutlass clone.

She hadn’t been running the best lately, but I figured since the trip had more of an R&D feel, I should be able to live with some small issues and after all, if the others were as excited as I was, no one would mind a little tinkering on my part. I made a few more changes on Wednesday night, decided it was as good as it was going to get, loaded the machine in the back of my truck, packed my bags and hit the rack at 1:15am.

My usual travel companion on such vintage snowmobile adventures (Dinosaur Dan) had already scheduled a trip that weekend and wouldn’t be joining us. Left without a partner, KWC offered me to ride along him and Ross. I had hardly slept when the alarm sounded my 4:50 wake-up call. It was snowing heavily when I went to bed and having a 50 mile drive to meet KWC by 7:00am, I couldn’t take the chance of being late. It was a pretty smooth transition and soon, we were on our way to St Johns, Michigan to meet Ross.

The other players in this moving snowmobile circus were/are Don and Bob Amber, Sean (Son/Brother in law of the Ambers) and traveling from southern Indiana, T-Roy (Troy Miley). To this day, I’m not quite sure how Dan and I (two dyed in the wool Polaris guys) got adopted into the John Deere fraternity…………….I guess I don’t need to know, but I’m glad it happen.

With good roads we made great time as we traveled north. We stopped in Moran for lunch, and then it was a quick 30mins to the Cabin. Ross and Kevin made quick work of snow clearing while I stood around trying to be helpful. We figured the Indiana crew was 45mins behind us so we unloaded our machines and moved the vehicle to give them plenty of room to park and unload their rig.

The Indiana Boys unloaded as soon as they arrived. This was my first opportunity to see Don’s #27 Busco Bullet in person. He had sent me photos a few weeks back but I must say it’s even more impressive in person. I didn’t get the gist of Don’s disappointment at first, then KWC told me they had been having troubles getting the Cross Country to run correctly.

We moved her into the garage and as a group we got down to business. We checked and rechecked the basics (spark, fuel and compression), then made sure the crankcase wasn’t flooded. T-Roy remembered a scenario where the cdi box lead wire color had been reversed from the original factory spec. After reversing their position, we test fired it on spray gas. The backfire issue appeared to be gone. KWC brought everything needed to check the ignition timing, so with everything marked, we fired her up. Timing checked out OK so it was time for Don to take the initial ride up and down the driveway…….of course. The Busco Bullet was ALIVE!

I liked how (while working together) we fell right back into the Sportfire Charity sled build mode. I’ve always been more ambitious about helping other people work on their machines then on my own. I know for myself, I really wanted to see Don ride this sled!

Jovial conversation followed as we made our supper plan. We were heading for the Silver Creek Tavern, our sleds all ran and we were ready for Friday!

Friday

The morning dawned bright and sunny. Don made us a breakfast fit for kings and after staying up a little late, that was just what the Dr ordered.

We fueled our sleds and headed for the coast……………..literally (the coast of lake Superior). Ross lead us on a mostly off trail excursion for the first leg of the ride. There were a few straights where those that needed it could do a plug check. The first “adventure” of the day happens just after that. Someone had driven what I’m guessing was a logging truck down the road we were on leaving deep ruts. I snagged one of these with the right ski almost tumbling off the side of the machine as she laid over with the belly pan almost dragging the ground. I’d like to claim that my lightning quick reflexes or dozens of years riding experience took over saving me from the clutches of great bodily injury…………….in all reality, I think I was just lucky.

Our travels took us through some winding multi use trails that were a little bumpy, but still fun to ride. What a remarkable experience to be riding a 1981 Polaris snowmobile, following a John Deere 340S and seeing a 1978 Cyclone and 1979 Deere Cross Country right behind me. We made a quick turn through the tree line and were met by the staggering sight of the largest of the Great Lakes.

Superior was unusually calm and we could clearly see the Canadian shoreline as we stood and gazed across the narrows. Don made a joke about Gordon Lightfoot (he sang the 1970’s song Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald). It’s amazing to think a 700 foot long great lakes freighter sank into over 500’ of water in an area we could see across.

We remounted our machines and headed back through the woods. The snow was pretty thin as we zigzagged along the narrow tree line just inland of the lake. Ross, being very familiar with the area was leading us up to another great photo-op destination; Whitefish Point. The Great Lakes Shipwreck museum though shuttered for the winter season still provides a look into the past. We took our time walking around the museum grounds then out on the lake overlook for some more photos. Don took one last group photo of us by our sleds and then we headed back south.

What happen next………….

The trail follows the road shoulder for the first 2 or 3 miles then turns into the woods. We grouped back up at the turn then headed down the trail. Don was third in line behind Ross and KWC. T-Roy was following Don when it happen. The trail was a little bumpy so we were going fairly slowly. There was an uphill rise with an immediate left hand turn on top as the trail started downward. Our speculation is that the rear spring stabilizer (on the right ski) got caught on the underside of the belly pan causing the skis to stay locked turning left. Troy said Don’s machine just veered hard left striking a medium size tree left ski first. The collision sent Don crashing first into the dash then throwing him off the machine landing him in the middle of the trail.

At first I didn’t even recognize Don’s sled as it was lying on its side facing the wrong direction. I really though there must have been a machine coming in the opposite direction that had struck the tree and Troy had stopped to render aid. As I walked forward I could see Don on the ground…………he was talking and seemed to have all his faculties. Don’s many years of paramedic experience, plus Bob and my years in the fire service helped keep things “calm” as we tried to figure just how hurt Don may have been. The other guys came back and we formulated our plan for getting some medical attention for Don plus moving the damaged machine back out towards the road.

While very sore and slightly banged up, Don was able to ride the one new machine in the group back out to the road. Luckily (if that term can be applied at all here), Ross’ cabin was only 4 miles down the road. Soon we got Don and his sled loaded into Ross’ truck and they were off to the cabin. When the rest of us got back, Bob & Sean took Don to get checked out at the hospital in Newbery.

Troy, Ross, Kevin and I spent some time looking the Cross Country over and trying to determine just what had happen. Don did seem OK but there was a definite pal on the afternoon. I’ll leave any description of just how badly torn up the machine is till when the Amber’s have a chance to get it home and apart, suffice to say there is a tremendous amount of damage and Don is one very lucky guy.

Not sure what to do next, we did what guys do…………………we went to town for some lunch. Next time you see Ross, ask him what a “swamp thing” is. Lol

After lunch we spent some QGT (quality garage time) tinkering with the machines. Troy seemed happy with his 340S, but after some discussion and talking about some ideas we each had, we went to work. A couple of tweaks here, a few twists there and several passes across the lake………….well he came back smiling! His biggest mistake was offering me to take it for a ride………..you see there was this “mostly” buried log……….yea, I found it. lol All I’ll say is the noise it made was REALLY loud. The sled was undamaged but not my pride. Thank You Troy for not being too upset!

I had the opportunity to try Ross SRX next. All I can say is WOW! Trust me on this…….your perception of Resto-Mods will change after you guys see these sleds in action. You will not believe how successfully Kevin and Ross have pulled this off.

We met the Ambers on our way to Silver Creek for supper. Small details had been phoned back to us but the report from Don……….3 broken ribs, various bumps/bruises and soft tissue injury to his left hand. The best part was that his spirits were up and he repeatedly stated how glad he was that we were all able to make the trip together.

On the way back from supper, it started to snow. The road was covered when we got back to Paradise and there was almost an inch of fresh show at the cabin. As we talked, joked and laughed (a lot), we watched it snow harder and harder.

The evening ended perfectly……..watching Smokey and the Bandit, quoting the movie almost line for line. Needles to say, it was another late night.

[Jekyll]

Saturday

Don felt well enough to cook breakfast with help from Troy. Again there was great conversation at the breakfast table. It really was nice that Don’s spirits were so good. He mentioned multiple times that even though there had been an incident, he was so glad that we were all able to make the trip together.

As we headed for town to fill up our fuel cans, we could tell just how much new snow had fallen overnight. In some areas there had to be 4+ inches of warmer “sticky” snow. There was energy in the group………….it was gonna be a good day!

Everyone geared up (except for Don of course) and we headed for the lake. There was enough new snow that most of our tracks from last night were already covered. Kevin and Troy did plug checks and we headed for the trail. Ross took us down some unplowed county roads that were fast and smooth. I was third in line and just working the snot of the little Cutlass. Even with keeping it wide open, Kevin and Ross disappeared into the distance. Five or six miles into the ride, light snow began to fall. The scenery was beyond beautiful, the trail had a perfect top-coat and we were flying down the trail doing just what we had come to do……….ride vintage snowmobiles!

The farther we ventured, the more it started to snow. The combination of heavy fresh snow coupled with my desire to keep up while driving an underpowered direct drive sled gave me a new appreciation for fun on this snowmobile. I was thinking back to all the snowmobile magazine “new sled” reviews I had read over the years. You know the ones where they tell you this machine is “perfect” and then in great detail explain how nimble it is when they slightly let off the throttle, use “body english” to “loosen” the rear, tap the break at just the right point then “cob” the throttle (Thanks for the new term Troy) powering the machine off the apex sending you down the straight hungering for the next corner so you can do it again blah, blah, blah. Well, on this day, with this little sled you could do exactly that! I could ride this machine absolutely as fast as it would go, throttle to the bar, steering it opposite to catch the rear end…..just like in the magazines…..except that I was only going like 40mph. lol

About the time I’m trying to decide weather I really am this good a rider, or if the machine is just that slow, I begin to take notice how hard it’s snowing. When we stopped to regroup and take a couple of photos, my seat had almost ½ inch of freshly fallen snow on it. When we started back down the trail it was snowing so hard it was like a white-out. In almost 37 years of riding, I’m not sure I’ve ever tried to ride with snow falling that hard.

Not only could I not keep up, I couldn’t see. I removed my goggles after they fogged up so bad I couldn’t see anything. There was so much snow swirling around plus falling off the trees in massive clouds, it was coming through the foam seal at both top and bottom of them. I dropped my shield but then my glasses fogged, so I opened the shield which allowed snow to land directly on both sides of the lenses. I kept slowing down more and more jus trying to maintain some reasonable form of forward progress……this sucked!

In my mind I was thinking they guys behind me were growing more frustrated by the minuet ‘cause I would get going, not realizing they couldn’t see any better than I could. This was happening simultaneously with being scared shitless that I was going to run over Kevin and Ross not being able to see they were stopped. I was seriously having difficulty seeing more than 20-30 feet in front of my ski tips.

The second time I stopped to clear my glasses I noticed Troy and Bob weren’t behind Sean and I anymore. We waited a couple of minutes then turned back. My heart sank as I saw the hood off (it doesn’t really tilt open like most sleds) of Troy’s 340S. I had suggested some carburetor changes yesterday and in that moment I was crushed thinking my “bright idea” had burned down his extremely rare engine. By the time we turned around and pulled into line behind them, Ross and Kevin arrived back to where we were.

Troy looked frustrated and his fingers looked cold as he reported it had just died….as if it ran out of fuel. I was guessing possible vapor lock, Troy was thinking plugged fuel filter. We started at the carbs working backwards and unhooking the fuel hoses and blowing into the tank through the vent line. After working back the filer, we could push fuel in either direction. We hooked the line back up and could push fuel all the way into the carbs. Problem fixed but mystery unsolved. Either way it was still snowing its rear off and it was time to get headed for some lunch.

The last 8 miles around the loop to Paradise wasn’t much fun. I finally surrendered to my situation and left my shield up. I could feel my eyebrows freezing as well as my eyelashes had enough snow on them that it felt like they were sweeping the inside of my glasses each time I blinked. The best way I can describe this snowfall would be like standing out in the rain. As we parked next to the Red Flannel Saloon it was starting to let up. It felt so good to get inside and shake some of this snow off. Just wiping to now frozen snow/ice from my face felt great.

The lunch conversation was just like our other meals had been……….full of laughter and funny stories. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much in two days. Since Troy’s sled was running fantastic again (is was so cool to see him smiling at how happy he was with the changes he had made to his sled and just how well it was running), we formulated our after lunch plan. Our first leg had been about 35 miles and there was still plenty of time to ride.

Snow was still falling after lunch but at a manageable rate. We gassed up and decided we would ride most of the loop backwards. Bob opted to run the road back to the cabin and just hang out with Don. We had run into a friend of there’s from back home and he was going to go with Bob and visit also.

The first trail segment out of town was REALLY bumpy. We missed this on the way in as we rode the shoulder due to heavy snow falling. After just a few minutes of this I told Kevin I knew my now full stomach wouldn’t take much more of this pounding. He thought it would get better when we turned off onto the county road…………he was right, back I went to full throttle.

We rode pretty steady till we got to Chic’s trailside concession stand. This is also the location of the famous “bra tree”. The story behind how it got started was a little vague, and there was some mention about shoes being boring……….I don’t know. Chic took some photos of us and told a funny story of sledders on modern machines talking about this group of guys on old John Deere snowmobiles out riding.

As we were leaving Chic’s Ross asked me if I wanted to ride the SRX. I wasn’t about to give him the chance to rethink the wisdom of that decision (remember the log?). I quickly mumbled something about not letting the Cutlass get away from him and left in a cloud of snow.

I could write and entire story about that machine………but I’m going to stay with my earlier statement that he and Kevin have re-shaped peoples idea of what a Resto Mod sled could/should be. Those of you heading to the Hall of Fame weekend are in for surprise of the season.

The best way to describe the last 10-12 miles of the ride on the SRX vs. the Cutlass is like the difference between ‘light speed” and going “plaid” for you Spaceballs fans.

Turning into the campground was a little bitter sweet. It had been a great day of riding, but we would have to load up and head home tomorrow. We stood around and enjoyed a few adult malt beverages and recalled the event of the day. We had ridden almost 60 miles and had fun doing it. We had found some problems and issues that need to be addressed before the HoF ride, but the cool thing about the attitude of this group is that we all felt lucky to have found them NOW, rather than in the parking lot of the Whitetail Lodge.

Pizza would be our gourmet meal of the night as we watched my favorite vintage snowmobile video; The Winter Ride. It was a treat for me because even though I’d seen it at least 20 times (just ask Francine or the kids), no one else had seen it. Very fun!

After supper it was time for another evening movie. Tonight’s feature presentation; Old School. By the time it was half over, my side already hurt from laughing and judging by the looks of the rest of the room, I wasn’t the only one. Troy and I were the last ones up as we chatted at the table.

Tomorrow will be a long ride home back to important things like family and work. There is still snow at home so I’m hoping to take the kids out sledding each of the next few evenings. I hope they find a hobby that provides them such fulfilling opportunities to build friendships as vintage snowmobiling has for me.

Its 1:20am now and I been typing for the past 2 hours trying to finish this story.

Do you remember my first statement about recognizing the opportunity to be part of something special?

Well……………….

The cabin is quiet with a cozy fire going in the fireplace. I’m the last one up and the luckiest guy here!


Roger

[buckeyetrailfire]

WHAT A AWSOME STORY THANKS FOR SHARING.

Mark

[DeereKid9]

I have ridden the UP a number of times but, I have never riden in anything like we did Saturday afternoon. I sweared it was like it was raining snow. It was so grey and the snow was coming down and the wind blowing. It made for an interesting stretch of riding.

Here is a picture of a trail crossing where we all gathered to talk about the snow.

Left to Right: Sean Motter (my bro-in-law), Ross Heavener, Kevin Campbell, Roger Jordan (Part of him). I guess Troy Miley was taking a pic next to me and not in the frame.

DSC00331 resized.jpg (148.99 KiB) Viewed 2193 times

Due to the fact that I haven't got the 82 Lf running yet, Ross let me ride his 06 Yamaha 4 stroker.

I don't have alot to add to Roger's story, but thank you's to Ross and Kevin for the invite. I had a great time.

[427cobra]

Great Read...

Sorry to hear about Don's accident!

Sounds like everyone will be ready for the HOF ride this year.

Thanks!

[Mottsi]

Roger,

It was a pleasure to meet and ride with you, Troy, Kevin, Ross, Bob and Don. I had an absolute blast. Thank you to Ross for allowing me to tag along with Don and Bob. I Hope I didn't slow you guys up too much. Thank you to all of the guys for helping this rookie out on the trails.

Sean

[nick80lf]

That's a great picture / story. Hope the comish is feeling well.

[DeereKid9]

Mottsi,

You didn't tell anyone that you won the "Iron Man" award for the miles you put in on the ol' 78 Cyclone with absolutely NO suspension what so ever.

I'm posting your picture from the gas station so all can make comments.

[pjr]

Great story Roger- thanks for sharing and as usual, very well written to where it felt like I was actually there myself!

DA left me a text message on Friday night that said something to the effect of; "Sled is totaled, have 3 broken ribs, will call later". At first I thought...what? What did he just say!? I called back, but got his voicemail, where I left the message of "I hope all is ok and I sure hope you're joking". I was sadened to hear later after talking to him that he wasn't joking, but I'm sooooo glad everyone is ok..

Sounds like it was a fun weekend for all (except for the obvious) but like DA said, at least you guys' got to ride together and that's what it's all about.


pj

[HoosierDeereMan]

WOW! Talk about a fun trip!

I'd first like to thank Don and Patty Amber for welcoming me for a overnight stay. It made the start of my trip much easier.

A huge thank you goes out to Ross and Kevin. Ross for his wonderful hospitality. The cabin is fabulous and the heated garage was great! Kevin and Ross both for planning this event!

You sure could not have asked for a better group of guys to wrench, ride, and hang out with.

Roger's journalistic skills do not leave much to comment about. Outstanding write up!

I have some pictures that I will try to post in order of Rogers accounts.

Troy

[HoosierDeereMan]

Here's some photos of Don's 78 CC. The last one is him on the maiden ride. Look at that smile!

[HoosierDeereMan]

Here's some shots from inside the garage. That's Kevin's Dator project sled with the hood open. My 340/S is beside.
Next is Ross's 78 SRX project sled and Sean's 78 Cyclone. Last is Don's CC and Ross's 79 SRX that he had at the HOF ride.
Sorry Roger I didn't get one of the Cutlass in the shop!

[HoosierDeereMan]

One of the stops to pull and check plugs after some run time. Half the field had new pistons and nervous riders! I'm glad we had Roger along. I got a good lesson on how to read plug electrodes correctly.

[HoosierDeereMan]

Here are some beautiful shots of us on the shore over looking Lake Superior. As Roger stated it was very calm and almost serene.

[HoosierDeereMan]

Ross led us up to the lighthouse and museum at Whitefish point. It was closed but Ross and Kevin gave us the real tour. It was interesting to see the old lifeboat they used back in the day when they rescued sailors from the lake. It would have been neat to see the bell from the Edmond Fitzgerald and all the pictures of the different lighthouse keepers over the years.

In the last picture you can see Canada!