Murphy’s law Applied to sleds…

We all know “Murphy’s law” – that if it can go wrong, it will. That’s how it’s been with sleds this year. Mine is the only one that hasn’t broke down yet (it broke down last year, though!), and two of my dad’s sleds are going back to be fixed again.

We have seven sleds. They are: the Elan (a 1972), the Mod Elan (a 1972), my old sled (Freestyle, a 2006), the old work sled (Tundra, a 1990), the work sled  (Skandic, a 2000), my sled (600 summit, a 2006), and my dad’s sled (800 summit, a 2007). Unfortunately, it’s extremely hard to keep all of them going – especially at one time. And when you depend on them for transportation, it’s not good when yours breaks down…

Right now, four of our sleds run, but one of them has the worn clutch bushings, so it’s not entirely dependable. My sled blew up a motor last year, so I’m hoping it’ll hold together this year. My dad’s main sled, which is newer then mine, and with a 1000 miles less, has been to shop 6 or 7 times, for various reasons.

It’s always something. “Something” can be ice in the fuel pump, an extra part shorting out the magneto, a faulty engine controller, a worn-out coil, and/or a worn out clutch bushing. Yes, all of it can be fixed, but it means dragging the dead sled out, and driving several hours to the dealer… Plus, it cuts into precious riding time!

Now, if we could only afford a backup sled… We’d have yet another sled to work on.