Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Difficult trail conditions for the Iron Dog

When you hit water, you have to press the joy lever and hang on. Don't slow down!

This years conditions will make last years race look like a walk in the park.

Leader's in McGrath, averaging 37 mph?????


The dirt trail looks a lot more formidable, especially for 'liquid cooled' machines, than the open water crossing vid.

Pluck that....

Here's what the real deal looks like when you have no partner, you're pulling a sled, you're not running a higher HP liquid-cooled machine, and you don't have level easy launch platforms:



(The designers of these newer machines obviously don't have an appreciation for the older tub-style belly pans and high clutch positions for dealing with occasional water; wet clutches are immediately disabling. )

Well, they ain't jet skis.

Depends who's gripping the handlebars. Some of my buds poke the skis in the water, squeeze the trigger, and 'walk across' - but I ain't them…if only obviously. (BTW, my pic is the Oh 13-Oh-oh 14 moose season/hunt…um-hmm! )


B-BTW, this was the 'self-rescue' effort I used to drag that water-logged dog off the semi-floating ice cake:

Looks like a beeyootiful April day there Klik!

I've seen machines morphed into jet skis, but that's not their highest and best use

How do they keep the hyfax alive when riding on dirt that much?

Don't know if any of the teams mounted small water bottles to drip water on the hyfax to keep em cool, but that would seem like a rather simple fix. Would certainly beat having to try and replace them mid race!

Between that and no snow on the heat exchanges, it would be a rough go for sure.

Water/mud/wet dirt are a whole lot better for keeping hyfax plastic cool than is cold, glare ice. The grit doesn't do the track clips any favors when it gets imbedded in the plastic, but that's really the major downside. Of course, bare ground is really going to add drag via skegs and skis which is going to work the engine and clutches..the whole drive train- a lot harder, and that is going to make cooling a tough deal. They have to be using added/larger heat exchangers as well as fans and radiators to get liquid cooled machines across extensive bare stretches.

Dumfugs ain't heard of ATV's?

I believe the only team that added a radiator was the owner of Wilderness Skidoo in Nome and they scratched the 1st day at Skwentna.

They came across virtually purring….amazing to beat these machines over the ugly trails they had this year and they look this good.



Average speed on the clock: 49 mph over 2031 miles