Connect with us! RIDE NY TRAILS ABOUT SAFETY EVENTS MEMBERSHIP FAQ PARTNERS CONTACT The Official Publication of the New York State Snowmobile Association New York SNOWMOBILER Online October 2018 In this Issue: Fred Carpenter ~ 2 News from the Big East ~ 9 Pre-season checks ~ 16 Snowmobile Events Planned ~ 18 ..and so much moar!!
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RIDE NY TRAILS ABOUT SAFETY EVENTS MEMBERSHIP FAQ PARTNERS CONTACT
The Official Publication of the New York State Snowmobile Association
Contact NYSSA: PO Box 1040, Pine Bush, NY 12566-1040 * EMAIL - [email protected] October, 2018 - Page 4 TOLL FREE: (888) 624-3849 * FAX: (888) 317-2441 * www.nysnowmobiler.com
President’s Message by Rosanne Warner, NYSSA President 315-697-8130 [email protected]
Happy Fall Everyone!
Autumn is finally in the air and the leaves are beginning to peak. With the exception of winter, fall tops my list of favorite seasons.
Club memberships are coming in and over 16,000 registrations have already been filed at the DMV. The Farmer’s Almanac is calling for a long, “teeth-chattering” winter and I for one am looking forward to getting my sled out of storage and smelling some Amsoil.
This fall also marks the 90th birthday of Mary Brusoe who is considered by some as the “mother of NYSSA”. Mary was instrumental in the development of what was originally called the New York State Coordi-nating Group, later renamed the New York State Snowmobile Association. Although she no longer rides a snowmobile, she is still active in snowmobiling and participates by writing articles and stories of snowmobiling trips she took when she was still able to ride.
Everyone at NYSSA wishes Mary a very Happy and Healthy 90th Birthday!
With the joy of wishing well to one club member we unfortunately have to say goodbye to another. Fred Carpenter from the Salisbury Ridgerunners Snowmobile Club passed away September 12, 2018 after a long battle with cancer. Fred taught the Snowmobile Groomer Operator Class at the Forum every year and was the 2015 Most Valuable Snowmobiler. Over the years, I had some great opportunities to get to know Fred and he was a man of great character who gave not only to the sport of snowmobiling but to his commu-nity and country. The NYSSA Board of Directors sends our deepest condolences to his wife Linda and his family.
With October snowmobiling sees yet another hurdle and re-cent reports from the Adirondack Daily Enterprise on Octo-ber 5th outline letters sent to the New York State Depart-ment of Environmental Conservation by Adirondack Wild and the Adirondack Council opposing the re-construction of a snowmobile bridge over the Cedar River north of Indian Lake. NYSSA fully expected this move and we will continue advocating for community connector trails in the Adirondack Park that will enhance the trail system while bringing much needed economic impact to the communities in the North Country who benefit from snowmobiling.
Although these issues are frustrating, we are making pro-gress and I am confident that at some point, the bridge and trails will be built. We snowmobilers are used to fight-ing for our rights as we have all too often been excluded from the equation of uses inside the ‘blue line’. Please help us support the DEC in this initiative of getting the bridge over the Cedar River rebuilt.
Contact NYSSA: PO Box 1040, Pine Bush, NY 12566-1040 * EMAIL - [email protected] October, 2018 - Page 6 TOLL FREE: (888) 624-3849 * FAX: (888) 317-2441 * www.nysnowmobiler.com
From the Desk of the Executive Director By Dominic Jacangelo, Executive Director [email protected] 888-624-3849 x 104
Summer has now come and gone. I hope that you man-aged to have a great summer with lots of outdoor recrea-tion. Personally, I spent many a weekend with friends this summer with my toes in the water….!
With summer gone, it is now time to plan for this winter. It is time to do two things post haste! 1. Join your club. Clubs need your membership fee now to get trails prepared for the winter. Most clubs have not received all their Trail Fund money from the work they did last season. They need your membership dues now to make up for what the municipal sponsor has not yet sent to them. 2. Make a plan now to assist your club. The lifeblood of any snowmobile club is its volunteers. While at the Big East Snow Show, my wife Terri, who was volunteering at the NYSSA booth at the Big East Powersports Show, asked someone if they had joined their club and volunteered to help. The answer she got shocked her! His comment was that since he paid his membership he did not need to volunteer! OMG! He actu-ally thought that his membership fee supported folks to work on the trails.
Clubs that pay for trail maintenance are the exception, not the rule. One county association and a few mu-nicipalities support some paid workers, but for the most part everyone who prepares trails, builds bridges and runs grooming equipment are volunteers. Volunteers organize club activities such as fund raisers and manage the club’s affairs.
When I asked the question last year in a survey, 50% of respondents said they never volunteered at their club. The excuses ran the gamut of rea-sons, but the most common one was that they lived too far away from the club to volunteer. If you can find the time to snowmobile, you should be able to find the time to put in a few hours to help out your club. I know you are busy!
That is why I say “make a plan.” Pick those couple of weekends this fall when you will be in the area and send an email to the club asking what work may be going when you are there. Then make it your goal to go out and help with the work that needs to get done. Don’t wait for the club to ask, ask the club.
Still can’t find the time? Then sit down and write your club a big fat donation check with a letter of apology for not being able to get there. Remember that club membership dues are set fairly low, presuming that the club will get some volunteer time out of you. If your club is a 501(c)(3) not for profit, your donation may be tax deductible, and in fact that travel to and from your club volunteer activity may also be deductible.
(Continued on page 8)
JOIN NOW AND VOLUNTEER!
Terri Jacangelo, John Occhino (NYSSA Treasurer), and
Contact NYSSA: PO Box 1040, Pine Bush, NY 12566-1040 * EMAIL - [email protected] October, 2018 - Page 8 TOLL FREE: (888) 624-3849 * FAX: (888) 317-2441 * www.nysnowmobiler.com
Time to Get Ready!
For many of us who trailer, it is not all about the sled. It is also about being sure that trailer is ready to go and in good shape for the winter months. As much as I love the winter, I hate it for working on stuff with frozen tools which usually leads to frozen hands.
Fall is the perfect time to get the trailer ready. This past weekend I put a new coupler, bolts and chains on the trailer to ensure that I don’t drop the trailer along the interstate. With the help of some good size wrenches it is one of the easiest maintenance items on the trailer. Just be sure to adjust the nut at the bottom of the locking mechanism to get a tight fit on your draw bar ball. As soon as I pull the trailer out of its parking space I will grease the wheel bearings and make sure all the wiring has not been eaten away by critters.
(Continued from page 6)
New straight coupler, two heavy gauge chains, $8.50
worth of brass bolts and nuts, and two carabiners
rated at 2k kilos each. The bucket in the background
covers the coupler in the winter to prevent ice cover.
Ed: In the summer it is home to local bees...
It was my pleasure to meet the Clarkson Clean Sled Team at the Big East Snowmobile show. They are a great group of young engineers who are almost ready to have at it. They represented Clarkson very well with lots of folks stopping them to ask questions. How could you miss them in their classy green shirts.
Via SLEDNY, NYSSA supports all three Clean Sled teams with annual donations. The other two teams are Uni-versity of Buffalo and Rochester Institute of Technology.
First row left to right: Keenan Lynch, Ryan Phillips, Anne O’Dell (NYSSA).
Back row left to right: Dom Jacangelo (NYSSA), Jake Wood, Billy Windsor, Mike Lucyk, Austin Pase, Clayton Lyon, Shawn Schneider.
Contact NYSSA: PO Box 1040, Pine Bush, NY 12566-1040 * EMAIL - [email protected] October, 2018 - Page 9 TOLL FREE: (888) 624-3849 * FAX: (888) 317-2441 * www.nysnowmobiler.com
THE BIG EAST SHOW … moving to a new location next year!
The 2018 Big East Show was a fairly good success, if one viewed the number of attendees who left with bags and bags of new snowmobile product. But after many years at the OnCenter in Syracuse, for 2019 the Big East Show will be moving to the newly built Exposition Center at The NYS Fair in Syracuse! This is the location where the NYSSA/SLEDNY SkiDoo sled was seen at The Fair this year. The facility is HUGE…which should be a great thing…the parking is easily accessible and the opportunity exists for outside vendors like grooming vendors to bring their products. If they want, they may even be able to host outside events like the Toronto Show does, such as sno-cross exhibitions on a hay track and mini-sled races.
More News from the Big East!
WINNER:
TC RIDERS!!! (The winner was drawn live on Facebook, from all
entries deposited in the box over the three-day
event).
Hi John, Anne & Dominic,
Wow, what a surprise and honor for TC Riders
Snowmobile Club to have been drawn to receive
Snow Goer Mag's prize.
Thank You for giving back to the clubs and all you
do for the sport of snowmobiling year round.
We eagerly look forward to next years Big East
Show at the State Fairgrounds with better accommo-
dations and parking!
Thanks again to all of you.
May our season be plentiful with snow this year. . . as the old sayings go...
'Bountiful apple crop predicts a long hard winter' and 'It can't snow until the swamps are full'.
Well the amount of rain CNY and PA have gotten the past few months should be evidence
enough !
Darlene Haflett
TC Riders Snowmobile Club
SLEDNY Auctioned off its 2009 Yamaha RS Vector at
the Big East Snowmobile Show to the highest bidder.
Contact NYSSA: PO Box 1040, Pine Bush, NY 12566-1040 * EMAIL - [email protected] October, 2018 - Page 11 TOLL FREE: (888) 624-3849 * FAX: (888) 317-2441 * www.nysnowmobiler.com
Trail Coordinator Report by Jim Rolf, NYSSA Trail Coordinator 888-624-3849 x 102 [email protected]
NYSSA/SLEDNY INTERACTIVE WEBMAP
As announced last month, NYSSA voted to develop an Interactive Webmap with an experienced vendor which will showcase all NYS snowmobile trails and who maintains them. This interactive map will allow all Trail Maintenance Entities (TMEs, mostly Clubs) to update trail status as OPEN, CLOSED, or NOT REPORTED. Points of Interest (POIs) as well as trail reroutes and club unfunded trails will also be able to be input by the TMEs themselves.
We are excited about this project and expect a draft product to be available soon for the NYSSA Trails Commit-tee to review, prior to the anticipated release on Dec 1st.
Stay tuned for more on this new venture which should help alleviate riders’ concerns about which trails are officially open or closed. Only TMEs can deem trails open or closed, but the opening dates are generally based upon hunting season dates. Download the Hunting Season Summary (pdf)
Contact NYSSA: PO Box 1040, Pine Bush, NY 12566-1040 * EMAIL - [email protected] October, 2018 - Page 12 TOLL FREE: (888) 624-3849 * FAX: (888) 317-2441 * www.nysnowmobiler.com
OPRHP Snowmobile Trail Signing Handbook
I once again want to remind riders of the safety signs they will see and make aware of their meanings within the NYS Parks Snowmobile Trails Signing Guidelines Handbook, which was updated in 2017. This handbook is used by clubs’ volunteers who hang safety signs along their snowmobile trail systems, but it is also meant for riders to be aware of what signs will be viewed and what they mean. It is impor-tant for all riders and volunteers to recognize the safety signs so we all can try to adhere to them when they indicate a trail characteristic change or potential hazard to watch out for. Please check the book out at the link below.
This is an excerpt directly taken from the NYS Parks Snow-mobile Trails Signing Handbook guidelines, and covers some of the reasons for the book:
“Objectives, Purposes, and Roles
Recognizing the objectives and purposes of signing and the role of the participants will help provide the guidance for a well signed trail.
TRAIL SIGNING OBJECTIVE: It is the goal of Parks to achieve a comprehensive and uniform system of trail signing across the state. The objective of trail signing is to:
• enhance the safety of persons, vehicles, and property,
• improve travel within and between trail systems,
• increase comfort and confidence in navigating the state-wide trail system,
• standardize and promote recreational snowmobiling.
THE PURPOSE OF TRAIL SIGNS: The purpose of snowmobile trail signs is to:
• regulate the flow of traffic along the trails,
• warn riders of trail characteristics and potential hazards,
• provide information necessary to the enjoyment of the rec-reation.
ROLES: The responsibility of Parks is to set guidance for the signing of state funded recreational snowmobile trails and provide a model for local trails. Responsibility for installing, maintaining, and removing trail signage rests with the local snowmobile program administrator (Local Sponsor) and/or Trail Maintenance Entity (TME).” (NOTE, TME is the entity that maintains official snowmobile trails)
(Continued on page 13)
TRAIL SIGNAGE
55 MPH Speed Limit MAXIMUM on Snowmobile Trails
In 2006, NYS Law was updated to include a maximum speed limit on public lands and trails, “unless posted lower”. In recent years, I have had law enforce-ment officers and even a Judge tell me that some snow-mobilers who were stopped and received a speeding ticket claim that they did not know there was a speed limit on the trails. While that is most likely just a wild maneuver to get out of the ticket or have the Judge give them leniency, I searched around to see how easy it was to find that law…and found that it was not that prevalent out there in public for all riders to see. Work-ing with the NYSSA Trails Committee and Voss Signs of Manlius, I designed a new “sign” that clubs can pur-chase and place as reminders on their trails systems. It is suggested that clubs place these signs on kiosks and at trails which may be long and straight, enticing a rider to unwittingly go over that maximum speed limit.
Riders need to know the laws of the jurisdiction they are riding in. In NYS, the maximum speed limit as well as the “imprudent speed” law needs to be recog-nized, understood, and adhered to for all riders’ safety. Just as STAY RIGHT is always implied while riding on the trails, so is the fact that “speed not reasonable or pru-dent for trail conditions” is the operator’s responsibil-ity. This sign is the one which clubs should be purchas-ing and hanging along their trail system, and which all riders should comprehend.
Contact NYSSA: PO Box 1040, Pine Bush, NY 12566-1040 * EMAIL - [email protected] October, 2018 - Page 13 TOLL FREE: (888) 624-3849 * FAX: (888) 317-2441 * www.nysnowmobiler.com
To reiterate NYS Law, all snowmobilers need to be cog-nizant of the fact that they are responsible for their own actions while operating a snowmobile, and that “the rules of the roads” are the same as the “rules of the trails” in regards to adhering to signage, staying right, yielding to others who have the right-of-way, and to drive defensively. Signs are great, but it is every snowmobilers’ responsibility for their own actions: “…snowmobiling is a voluntary activity that may be haz-ardous…”.
This updated handbook addresses the minimum sign-age which riders should expect to be seen on snowmo-bile trails, with their intended purpose and meaning. Click the link and save it: https://parks.ny.gov/recreation/snowmobiles/documents/2017NYSSnowmobileSignHandbook.pdf
Safety on Snowmobile Trails
NYSSA’s STEP signing classes (Safe Trails Educa-tion Program) will continue again this year. These train-ing classes are held to help those hanging signs better comprehend the handbook and to train advisers to go to other clubs to inspect signs that may not be in accor-dance with the guidelines. Any club volunteer is able to attend the STEP classes, dates and locations of upcom-ing classes will soon be posted within the NYSSA Calen-dar of Events page on our website, at: http://nysnowmobiler.com/events/. If you are interested in attending but don’t see a class scheduled near you, contact your local club to express your desire to go to one of these educational classes or email me for more information who then should contact me.
(Continued from page 12)
CLUB NEWS
Fall Trail Work is Upon Us
To stay on a topic which many clubs ask NYSSA to continue promoting…many clubs are posting trail-work days and projects on their social media sites already this summer AND are in need of help. The main point of most of those announcements seems to be the lack of new volunteers. I realize that this is an issue every season and many riders don’t appreciate seeing those postings, but the fact remains that without enough volunteers clubs simply cannot build, sign, and maintain the trails that they have. This means that they are either going to allow them to go into disrepair or close them down altogether. Please take the opportunity to help YOUR SPORT and get involved. Fundraisers, trail pro-jects, signing, grooming, groomer maintenance, and the pa-perwork clubs must file with NYS Parks is all open for more help. PLEASE…
Super Raffle Tickets
Another great way to help out the clubs is to buy the Super Raffle tickets they will be able to begin selling later this month until April. Volunteers that offer to sell these tickets, $5.00 each, bring the opportunity to their club of 50% of their total sales going back to their club in exchange for a chance at a slew of prizes that purchasers can win. Help out the clubs by supporting their fundraisers, and this raffle is a “NO COST TO THE CLUBS” benefit thanks to the folks at the Onondaga County Snowmobile Association and NYSSA.
Contact NYSSA: PO Box 1040, Pine Bush, NY 12566-1040 * EMAIL - [email protected] October, 2018 - Page 14 TOLL FREE: (888) 624-3849 * FAX: (888) 317-2441 * www.nysnowmobiler.com
Join a club, wherever you ride!
SLOW DOWN! Enjoy the ride…safely!
TRAIL VOLUNTEERS…NEVER ENOUGH OF THEM!
THINK! You are an ambassador of this sport
State Land News
There are a few DEC Unit Management Plans (UMPs) which will be open for draft review and public comments, or will give the opportunity for final plan review. Clubs who may be affected in those areas are notified to allow them to pass on the announcement to their club membership, attend any meetings, and to submit local comments on the plan. Clubs are always asked to give NYSSA their experienced input so that we can submit comments to that same point of view. Club members are urged to submit comments on what they want to see in regards to access for snow-mobile use too. Thank you for being involved.
Contact NYSSA: PO Box 1040, Pine Bush, NY 12566-1040 * EMAIL - [email protected] October, 2018 - Page 16 TOLL FREE: (888) 624-3849 * FAX: (888) 317-2441 * www.nysnowmobiler.com
Pre-Season Checks – The Basics All Riders Should Know
Submitted by Rosanne Warner, NYSSA President
Pre-season checks are essential to keeping your sled running and on the trail this winter.
Carburetors, slides, shocks, tracks, belts………they should all have your atten-tion before the season begins. No one likes to be out on that first ride and breakdown so here are a few tips for get-ting your sled ready for the great year we are going to have.
*If you are not mechanically inclined, you will want to find a snowmobile repair shop to help you with some basic items of pre-season checks and repairs. There are also some great instructional videos on YouTube for proper snowmobile mainte-nance.
Carburetors
Carburetors are essential to keeping fuel running through your sled. With the intro-duction of the E-85 fuel, many snowmo-bilers are having trouble with excessive amounts of water in the fuel, increased fuel separation, less fuel economy and failures of plastic parts. Carburetor diaphragms (boots) tend to dry out causing them to crack or develop pin holes. Ethanol is an alcohol based product which will also dry out fuel lines after just 2 or 3 seasons so you should check all of these components thoroughly before the season begins. It is highly rec-ommended that any last season fuel be drained and replaced with fresh fuel.
Clutch and Belt
At the end of every season you should remove your clutch belt to release any tension on the clutch. Clean the clutch plates with a dry green scotch pad to make sure you remove any rubber and debris that may have coated the plates. Inspect your belt before reinstalling in the fall. Make sure it is free of any burns or cracks and that all of the fins are in good condition with no tears. Substandard belts can cause bigger, more expen-sive problems with your clutch if left unattended. If you install a new belt, make sure it is installed in the cor-rect direction! Most clutch units have 2 grease fittings so they should be filled as well. Your clutch runs up to 9000 rpm’s, grease is your friend, use it.
Shocks
Shocks are located on the front arms of the snowmobile as well as under the seat. They should have flex to them when pressure is applied. If you sit on your seat and it compresses, that’s a good thing. If you sit on your seat and it does not spring up when you get off, you may want to look into having your shocks re-charged, rebuilt or replaced. The same is so for the front shocks. Check for compression and release. If they release slowly or not at all, you need to service them. Check them for any leaks. If you see any fluid leaking, it’s time to address them.
Contact NYSSA: PO Box 1040, Pine Bush, NY 12566-1040 * EMAIL - [email protected] October, 2018 - Page 17 TOLL FREE: (888) 624-3849 * FAX: (888) 317-2441 * www.nysnowmobiler.com
Slides
Slides (aka “Hi-fax”) are located in the bottom of the track area of your snowmobile. They are plastic run-ners that guide your track and are found in between the slide rail and track. Excessive riding in low snow conditions on along roadsides can cause the slides to burn and wear over time. In some instances, burning plastic can even be smelled indicating that you need to lubricate your slides (Get back into some snow). The easiest way to check your slides is to remove pressure from the track by jacking up the back end of the sled. Pull the track down and inspect the plas-tic slide at the point where the track bends on the
rail which is the most common place for slide wear. If you see that it is thin or worn through, it is time to re-place both sides. It is common to find that the left side is more worn than the right as when riding alongside a road, your right side is more likely to be in some snow than the left.
Track
Track inspection is fairly simple but track replacement is rather costly and labor intensive. Assure that your track lasts as long as possible by storing it away in the spring with the back end up on a jack stand. Leaving the track directly on the ground during storage months, whether concrete, stone or dirt floor will only contrib-ute to dry rot of the track. At the beginning of the season do a visual inspection of the track to check for cracks, torn rubber, missing studs, missing bolts and broken track bands. It is recommended to replace any missing or loose studs if found as empty holes and loose studs can contribute to track failure and heat ex-changer damage. There are several grease fittings located in the track frame. Once again, grease is your friend.
Carbides
Carbides are located on the bottom of your skis and act as the steering mechanism for your sled. Depending on your sled and rid-ing needs, the carbides you will need run in different sizes. The most common size of carbide for trail riding needs is 6 inch. In-spect the carbides for wear. Carbides, like slides commonly wear from the bend back. If you run a lot of roads expect your carbides to wear quicker and dull even faster. Sharp carbides make a dif-ference so you may want to consider sharpening them up using a tool such as those offered by Bite Harder. Based on the number of miles and areas of riding, you should expect to replace your car-bides every couple of years.
Fluids
Chain Case Oil – Your chain case cap is usually yellow and should be checked regularly. Failure to make sure your chain case oil is full will cause gear damage which leads to big repair bills.
Oil – For obvious reason, check your oil EVERY TIME you ride. Oil in snowmobiles does not last as long as oil in your car. Failing to check your oil every time you ride will only lead to being stuck on the side of the trail with serious engine damage.
Contact NYSSA: PO Box 1040, Pine Bush, NY 12566-1040 * EMAIL - [email protected] October, 2018 - Page 18 TOLL FREE: (888) 624-3849 * FAX: (888) 317-2441 * www.nysnowmobiler.com
Antifreeze – Like all fluids, antifreeze should be checked EVERY TIME you ride. Low levels of antifreeze will cause your sled to overheat and overheating can cause serious engine damage. Grease – As noted previously above, snowmobiles have many grease fittings, mostly in the rear suspension frame. These grease fitting should be checked and filled before you even begin the season.
Fuel: If you used an fuel that is 10% Ethanol to put the sled away and did not use a storage agent, drain the fuel and put it in your car. The car will run fine but the fuel loses significant Octane over the summer and gains moisture, and the sled may not run well. Refueling with ethanol-free fuel is recommended whenever possible (check Stewarts gas stations, for example) and be sure to put a storage agent in it.