The Revolution — REV — in the Way We Snowmobile
Back in the 1980s I snowmobiled a lot. “My sled” was a 1978 Cross-Country RV and I loved it–when it was about ten years old we sold it and “upgraded.” My interest waned. Then I developed fibromyalgia, so my days of driving my own snowmobile were replaced with 2-up sleds, doubling, and groomed trails that didn’t cause too much pain.
Giving up a sport you love is never easy, especially one like snowmobiling that’s as much a lifestyle as a sport.
Like many things, it all changed in the blink of an eye. Out snowmobiling with a group, a new sledder thought her arms couldn’t take the ten miles of driving home, so I switched my passenger’s 2-up seat with her to at least give her a couple of miles of rest. Surely, I figured, I could do that much.
Her sled had the new REV chassis. Five feet into the ride, I was back snowmobiling! Everything I’d loved about my Cross-Country RV was packed into the REV chassis, along with a lot of things I’d never even dreamed about as a sledder.
So, what made the revolution of the REV sleds from Ski-Doo such a monumental change in the way we snowmobile? The REV design introduced the rider-forward seating/chassis design and set up that gives the rider a whole different riding experience. Instead of extending the arms forward from a seated position and man-handling 500 pounds or so of machine, riders are seated forward up over the front of the machine and handlebars, changing their whole center of control.
That’s exactly how I used to ride my RV, albeit with lower handlebars than most prefer with the driver-forward sleds. Weak upper body strength means snowmobilers need to ride with legs and body, throwing their weight into the corners, as if they’re on an ice oval track. New designs also let sledders stand over their handlebars for the rough stuff, making the bumps a lot easier on the body.
When winter rolled around this year I had a REV of my own, a 2004 with a 600 engine. While my friend’s 550 fan is a nice machine, I love the more powerful 600. Now that it’s just “my sled” we’re also working on the modifications to make it truly suit the way I ride. The handlebars are lower and moved forward, at about the same angle I use on the keyboard, so where I have the most well-developed muscles.
While instinct takes over with most riding challenges, I’m having fun trying out this standing up style of taking the bumps. And my grandson just loves to yell, “Good air, Grandma!”
by Linda Aksomitis,
Managing Editor for SnowRider Online Magazine
and www.guide2travel.ca
