Time for a change?

Now has finally returned to north central MA and as usual I'm caught completely flat footed. Fortunately the '78 Pantera fired up nicely yesterday, took a bunch of pulling but we got there. It needs the tinwork pulled to release a mouse nest but other than that no worries.

The big '95 Ski-Doo was a different story. I put the battery charger on it even though the charger said the battery wasn't taking charge, after sitting all summer the battery should have at least been a little flat, especially considering how little exercise its had for the last 2 years. After an hour I hit the key and the starter goes "thunk" but nothing else happens. I pulled the starter rope to ensure that the engine wasn't seized which it isn't but theres NO WAY I can start the big 670 with the rope. I feel like an 8 year old trying to start a 440cc...

Battery should be here...

So the battery is pooched, hardly a surprise its 5 years old. I headed down to the shop for the bad news, Randy says I'm in for $65 which isn't bad, $13/yr which puts a pretty positive spin on things.

However I've never really fallen in love with this machine, its huge, its heavy, I can't start it without the electric start. I think its time to move on. The boys hanging around the shop knew of a couple 440/500cc fan cooled 2up machines in the $1000 range. We refinanced the house this year so money is actually more available than it has been in the past. A quick look at Craigslist shows a bunch of machines in the $1500 range, some with reasonably low miles.

So I guess I'm in the market for a new machine:
370-500cc
Fan cooled
2up
Electric Start
Reverse

At this point in my life reverse is something I really like. I'm thinking 2up because then Angie can ride with me, I think 2up sleds also have a smoother ride just from being longer. That said I could give up on a 2up since Angie rides with me very infrequently and we've got extra machines so she could ride her own. I could also give up electric start if I had a machine I could pull over myself although I really like estart.

Finally I'd like something with a lot less throttle weight. The 670 is a wrist breaker. I spent some time last year lubing all the cables and it got a little better but its got 2 huge carbs with big springs, its never going to have an easy throttle. Apparently theres a throttle lightener which costs you some top end. I don't really care about top end but I've never been find one...