Best/Worst Designs

[tieszo6]

For the most part, I am a Deere guy but over the past few years I have been branching out. It started with Mercury and now I'm working on a Rupp as well. Nothing can replace my Deeres but I am enjoying seeing how the companies differ in their designs, sometimes better sometimes worse. As I probably won't own one of every brand, I thought I would poll others to see what you think are the high and low points are.

Mercury Trail Twister:
Negative - Stamped aluminum chaincase cover never seems to seal up for me.
Positive - Engine can be pulled out in about ten minutes. Factory clutching sure seems good to me. For a 340 fan, it pulls pretty strong.

76 Rupp Nitro: I'm just getting into this project so I can't make a full judgement but so far what I've learned is-
Positive - Built pretty light. I'm curious to see how it stacks up against my 81 LF. This one is a 340 but rated for 65hp.
Negative - Built pretty light. I guess it's typical for the 76's but the bulkhead bends, cracks and ultimately collapses. Their thin fiberglass saved a lot of weight but didn't hold up very well.

What other brands have praiseworthy or laughable designs?

Mark

[jep_800]

Mark,

I'll only speak to my other sled I own: 74' El Tigre 440. Positives: Very quick and powerful sled. As long as the carbs are in tune, good spark, timing correct (you know, all that important stuff), that machine will move. Very agile and easy to manhandle. I think the overall style of this sled looks great. Sleds like El Tigre, Rupp Nitros, Merc Snow Twisters, look cool, mean, and fast. Negatives: I don't like where the guages are positioned (under the handle bars), vs. my 75' JD 800 which are above the handle bars. It's hard to look so far down to see where you're running, especially if you're on a tight trail. The exhaust pipe connection isn't good if you have old or weak springs. It's basically a ball / socket type joint, whereas my Deere has a collared sleeve that connects to the header pipe. The Deere seems to seal up better. The seat storage (back of seat) is a velcro flap. I don't mind it being in the back, it's just that it doesn't seal well, and you can get a pile of snow in there when running. Need to have things in water proof cases (which is a good idea on any sled, I suppose). I love both sleds, though, as they do offer different things, and you can have fun comparing.

Jason