I love that build! That is a very sweet combo of everything and making it work. That takes alot of skill great video! My cousin took his 99ZL500 and made a great logging machine. He extended the track, reinforced tunnel, and skid to fit a 151 with 1.75 lug track. He lowered the gearing and changed the clutching to accommodate and did about 68 to 70. Pretty kewl to witness what his ZL was able to do with a big load of wood in deep snow.😁
Looks like a pretty decent sled; while I've had more than a few sleds in the past, such past relics like the 73 Norseman (Evinrude), simular to the Evinrude Bobcat, and both out of existance, also had a Rupp 440 Sprint also out of existance and finally an old OMC Snow Cruiser, which is also out of existance. I think its the nostalgia of these old sleds that evokes fond memories of our sledding day. Living in Ottawa, there is really no place to sled, unless we go to Carleton Place, or Greely.
I got beat by one of those in July 1973. I was 18 and didn't know a thing about mods but had to run "mod 2" because I had stingers and a Comet 110C on my 1971 340 EXT. Grass drags. Winner take all. Lebanon Valley, NY. 1st Arctic Turf Tiger, 2nd Ski Doo Elan, me 3rd. Ski Roule right on me. 100 feet longer and I would have been last. Didn't win a thing but what a blast!!
I like to thank Erik Larsson for his reply "you're right Erik ! " i live in south Florida where Sea Doos are all the rage,I just want to encourage other to create their own interesting machines. Your English is excellent .
Wow Louis great great Video ,lots of details that anybody can use to build somethin similar and the Elan ,is like a jeep thing ,you only know why ones you,ve owned one ,and i think a great choice for a build and a great job you did at that ,100% ,a baseline machine made that much better is a something onto itself ,thank you for the effort and please make more like these ,just love the up close and personal rapor of this kind of video real winner !!!
built something similar. I dropped a 399 rotax twin into an elan body used 1972 olympique handle bars and ski's with 2 leafs removed. I used the chaincase from the olympique and it bolted in easily. I used some old Harley Davidson pipes and twin piped it and twin carbed it. The sled was pretty quick and sipped gas on the trails. It never got stuck with the longer ski's in deep snow and I could lift each end with one arm. The 70's era skidoos are easy to swap parts with because the motor mounts are all similar. I like what you did to the rear suspension. I had trouble with studs hitting the tunnel with the stock bogie setup, I had to tighten the track up to avoid that problem, I didn't mind the leaf springs on the front because I was standing up on that machine most of the time in the bush and the old skidoos are fun to carve with. It was awesome in slush and open water.
My 2001 Arctic Cat ZR 500 revs up to about 4900-5000 RPM's then it launches.. But I found out that at about 25-30 mph if you bar it, she is pretty snappy for a 500. Anyways, I absolutely love watching your videos and I hope you keep on working on sleds and modding them and having fun!
I live in Vankleek Hill. My buddy Peter Barton claims to know you. I was sitting at his kitchen table and I pull up this video of this awesome modified Elan and he's like "Ya, I know him". I wasn't sure if he was serious then he pulled up your profile on his facebook page. Small world. I just bought a 72 Elan. Picking it up on the weekend.
That is a sweet sled, I've been thinking about building a widetrack utility sled using some of my non running junkers I have sitting around. I'd love to build a powder sled from an Indy Lite. The Yami 540 was a good reliable engine, but never a powerhouse. Have you thought about a Fuji 550 fan from a Polaris for power? They're about 75 HP bone stock & get great gas mileage. The newer ones can give you electronic reverse - where it spins the engine backwards. A timbersled with Rvrs, sweet.
that thing is ridiculous.....i bet its a ton of fun to ride. i have a couple old elan carcasses and a few engine combos i could try......you have given me some food for thought!!
I'm going to be building a 86 ski doo citation ls up with a 137" track and 500cc artic cat spirit fan cooled motor that's been bored and race pistons and putting logos on the front because of this video
Thanks! Ya almost dialed in the way I want it - this coming season will be the real season for it. If I like the C3 synchrodrive I'm putting on my 700 doo I might put one in the elan.
Very nice sled!, ya know it's to bad there isn't a market for custom made sleds... your a regular Canadian Orange County Chopper builder of snowmobiles. I like that, and have done a little customizing of old sleds my self but, not as much as you. Keep up the good work!
@lshobie you wont get a 1.5 track in it - put a 136x1 or 1.25 track and that is all you need, but you will need something with a 1.97 driver - and anything over 3/4 inch will need a custom axle shaft (modify a tundra shaft) so you can fit smaller drivers on.
My Uncle let me drive his antique 1970 Ski Doo 440 TNT and to this day it was the scarest and fastest sled I have ever been on and he use to Lake Race it on Onieda Lake!
Your beautiful Elan and good work inspires me so much that i want to setup a modification project on my old Ski Doo Skandic 377 (1986) to something close to your Elan :-) Keep up the good work and post videos :D cheers
@Xeduses The best single transplant that will get your 27-28hp is the 277 rotax, it is awesome, check out my 277 elan build and you will see. with little mod the 277 fits right in - twins are too big to keep it light and the 277 probably weighs about 10 pounds less than the 250 single. with the elan you are limited on snow depth because of the boggies and suspension height. some people extend the bogie mounts down about 6 inches and that gives more ground to running board clearance.
best thing to do is check the yami parts list for the vk, you will see different specs, o look for a vk high altitude spec chart. that carb should be fine if set up right. no idea how the 250 carb would work.
@xNightShooter anything can be done but it depends on how capable you are. that same chassis design has the 550 in it - the freestyle 550 so you should be ok to install one of those - but very hard to find that engine. i had the same rf tundra and hated it - made all kinds of changes and still horrible in deep snow. My advice to you if you want to go in deep snow is to sell it and get something that is better. Been there done that!
@xNightShooter You should check out the tundra twin track 800 on dootalk - that thing is pretty cool. as far as an easy install goes I am not sure what you could put in it - i am not a fan of the 550 either as I think they are time bombs, I'd rather put a cdi 503 in it instead. My tundra 300f was a nightmare, it wouldn't move in out deep snow we get here and on the lakes with slush it was an anchor. after one bad trip I listed it for sale and almost gave it away, next day i started the elan.
I wish I kept my 68 rupp, we had it on our trapline, had 377cc Motor Sach, all aluminum and no bogie wheels, it had sliders Right from the factory . Coke sponsored stickers, wissico pistons All light parts I sure it was for racing.
@atomlab88 The vk540 is rated at about 50hp iirc, so add a pipe/porting/polishing and reeds and it is going to be near 60hp. I might go with a bigger carb next year but to be honest I want this engine to be reliable as well for my 200kms round trip to my camp in teh winter - so I'm not going to tweak it too much.
Thanks four you time sharing your efforts. I have a vk540 and am tempted to lose the stock carb in favor of a mikuni off of a 94 Yamaha wr 250 motocross bike. I live at 9600 ft in Colorado so I know your jets will be off but what are the base jets? My motor is fresh and nearly stock. Thanks for your help
@lshobie To be honest I haven't been able to test it in 3 feet of real pwoder since the 151 went on with the timbersled rear suspension so that will have to wait til next year now. but, in 3 feet of crusty snow it walked over the polaris 159 mod sled i built. The crust kept me from carving and side hilling - and from having any real fun - next year!!!
That is so funny, i started off as a kid with a 1972 skidoo olimpic with a 12hp 300cc rotax, My ears still ring...wish i had this sled when i was young all my Friends would Freak over such a Track and suspension..But Technology was not there...
just bought an old elan..and was thinking about swaping the original motor with a 01 mountain cat 800...will the original cluch and new motor work well together...and in general is it a good idea......
Pogos are great shocks. They are simple, they do not have many moving parts and they just plain work. Also very easy to mount. They just don't perform quite as good as A arms do.
Tobirama Senju pogos are amazing for in the woods, I previously had an expedition and the suspension was just too fragile. I now own a skandic 600 2001 and I love it, it is my favourite sled I've had and driven.
Umm, title says "details" Doesn't say sound. I'll title a video with "listen to this" or "Sound" when I I want you to hear sound. Sorry you didn't understand that from the title. But check again next season as I'll be running this sled a lot more. I will remove Jaws from the title so as to not confuse anymore though.
What do you think of rail extensions. I am thinking of changing my 800 edge x from a 121 to a 136 or a 144. But not sure how the extensions will hold up. Your advice would be appreciated.
I think I watch these videos every year, I love this sled!
Very cool, glad I can help!!! feel free to ask questions and stay tuned for a cool series on an old sled rebuild!
I dont know why anyone would give this a thumbs down. You still run this thing? Awesome build.
I love that build! That is a very sweet combo of everything and making it work.
That takes alot of skill great video!
My cousin took his 99ZL500 and made a great logging machine. He extended the track, reinforced tunnel, and skid to fit a 151 with 1.75 lug track. He lowered the gearing and changed the clutching to accommodate and did about 68 to 70. Pretty kewl to witness what his ZL was able to do with a big load of wood in deep snow.😁
Looks like a pretty decent sled; while I've had more than a few sleds in the past, such past relics like the 73 Norseman (Evinrude), simular to the Evinrude Bobcat, and both out of existance, also had a Rupp 440 Sprint also out of existance and finally an old OMC Snow Cruiser, which is also out of existance. I think its the nostalgia of these old sleds that evokes fond memories of our sledding day. Living in Ottawa, there is really no place to sled, unless we go to Carleton Place, or Greely.
Thank you. Brings back memories of my first sled in 1978, a 1971 Ski-Doo Olympic 335.
I got beat by one of those in July 1973. I was 18 and didn't know a thing about mods but had to run "mod 2" because I had stingers and a Comet 110C on my 1971 340 EXT. Grass drags. Winner take all. Lebanon Valley, NY. 1st Arctic Turf Tiger, 2nd Ski Doo Elan, me 3rd. Ski Roule right on me. 100 feet longer and I would have been last. Didn't win a thing but what a blast!!
I like to thank Erik Larsson for his reply "you're right Erik ! " i live in south Florida where Sea Doos are all the rage,I just want to encourage other to create their own interesting machines. Your English is excellent .
Wow Louis great great Video ,lots of details that anybody can use to build somethin similar and the Elan ,is like a jeep thing ,you only know why ones you,ve owned one ,and i think a great choice for a build and a great job you did at that ,100% ,a baseline machine made that much better is a something onto itself ,thank you for the effort and please make more like these ,just love the up close and personal rapor of this kind of video real winner !!!
built something similar. I dropped a 399 rotax twin into an elan body used 1972 olympique handle bars and ski's with 2 leafs removed. I used the chaincase from the olympique and it bolted in easily. I used some old Harley Davidson pipes and twin piped it and twin carbed it. The sled was pretty quick and sipped gas on the trails. It never got stuck with the longer ski's in deep snow and I could lift each end with one arm. The 70's era skidoos are easy to swap parts with because the motor mounts are all similar. I like what you did to the rear suspension. I had trouble with studs hitting the tunnel with the stock bogie setup, I had to tighten the track up to avoid that problem, I didn't mind the leaf springs on the front because I was standing up on that machine most of the time in the bush and the old skidoos are fun to carve with. It was awesome in slush and open water.
My 2001 Arctic Cat ZR 500 revs up to about 4900-5000 RPM's then it launches.. But I found out that at about 25-30 mph if you bar it, she is pretty snappy for a 500. Anyways, I absolutely love watching your videos and I hope you keep on working on sleds and modding them and having fun!
Cool video! Seems the sun is ALWAYS shining in Canada. Need more light in this world.
I live in Vankleek Hill. My buddy Peter Barton claims to know you. I was sitting at his kitchen table and I pull up this video of this awesome modified Elan and he's like "Ya, I know him". I wasn't sure if he was serious then he pulled up your profile on his facebook page. Small world. I just bought a 72 Elan. Picking it up on the weekend.
Industry needs to take some notes! Light and nimble 👍Curious what factory snow bikes will look like.
That is a sweet sled, I've been thinking about building a widetrack utility sled using some of my non running junkers I have sitting around. I'd love to build a powder sled from an Indy Lite.
The Yami 540 was a good reliable engine, but never a powerhouse. Have you thought about a Fuji 550 fan from a Polaris for power? They're about 75 HP bone stock & get great gas mileage. The newer ones can give you electronic reverse - where it spins the engine backwards. A timbersled with Rvrs, sweet.
that thing is ridiculous.....i bet its a ton of fun to ride. i have a couple old elan carcasses and a few engine combos i could try......you have given me some food for thought!!
I'm going to be building a 86 ski doo citation ls up with a 137" track and 500cc artic cat spirit fan cooled motor that's been bored and race pistons and putting logos on the front because of this video
Thanks! Ya almost dialed in the way I want it - this coming season will be the real season for it. If I like the C3 synchrodrive I'm putting on my 700 doo I might put one in the elan.
Yes they started here in 93 on the tundra 2 model.
Damn...I sure wish the manufactures would produce something like that! Small, light low-tech and inexpensive.
C Kohln yeah man thats track abd that litesheesh shell go any where
This thing does look pretty cool with the cover on the motor
This is awesome i had an elan 250 single what i was a kid man it ran like a tank!
Very nice sled!, ya know it's to bad there isn't a market for custom made sleds... your a regular Canadian Orange County Chopper builder of snowmobiles. I like that, and have done a little customizing of old sleds my self but, not as much as you. Keep up the good work!
trimmed tundra axle with citation drive cogs, 151 track 2.52 pitch
@lshobie you wont get a 1.5 track in it - put a 136x1 or 1.25 track and that is all you need, but you will need something with a 1.97 driver - and anything over 3/4 inch will need a custom axle shaft (modify a tundra shaft) so you can fit smaller drivers on.
My Uncle let me drive his antique 1970 Ski Doo 440 TNT and to this day it was the scarest and fastest sled I have ever been on and he use to Lake Race it on Onieda Lake!
@yamaharules163 Yup, but we are slowly educating them!
Great looking machine, Good Job my man, Cannot wait to get mine in the mountains...
this sled is sick i look at the picture every time im on utube never watch until now it was woth it good job man!
That thing looks so cool ! love the orange track
@xNightShooter it was a 2006, it was very comfortable and i liked the ride, but in deep snow - very sad.
@cornflakes900 a very good sled to learn on - when you learn how to drive on an elan you 'll master every sled later on in life with ease.
Your beautiful Elan and good work inspires me so much that i want to setup a modification project on my old Ski Doo Skandic 377 (1986) to something close to your Elan :-)
Keep up the good work and post videos :D cheers
@Xeduses The best single transplant that will get your 27-28hp is the 277 rotax, it is awesome, check out my 277 elan build and you will see. with little mod the 277 fits right in - twins are too big to keep it light and the 277 probably weighs about 10 pounds less than the 250 single. with the elan you are limited on snow depth because of the boggies and suspension height. some people extend the bogie mounts down about 6 inches and that gives more ground to running board clearance.
best thing to do is check the yami parts list for the vk, you will see different specs, o look for a vk high altitude spec chart. that carb should be fine if set up right. no idea how the 250 carb would work.
@xNightShooter anything can be done but it depends on how capable you are. that same chassis design has the 550 in it - the freestyle 550 so you should be ok to install one of those - but very hard to find that engine. i had the same rf tundra and hated it - made all kinds of changes and still horrible in deep snow. My advice to you if you want to go in deep snow is to sell it and get something that is better. Been there done that!
We were thinking dual front pogo suspension, lightweight everything, big tracks, big motor - watercraft 1200.
i remember the ELAN having the smallest engine of any adult sized machine....SWEET
This is basically the adult version of the elan:)
Thanks for watching, glad I can help!
@xNightShooter You should check out the tundra twin track 800 on dootalk - that thing is pretty cool. as far as an easy install goes I am not sure what you could put in it - i am not a fan of the 550 either as I think they are time bombs, I'd rather put a cdi 503 in it instead. My tundra 300f was a nightmare, it wouldn't move in out deep snow we get here and on the lakes with slush it was an anchor. after one bad trip I listed it for sale and almost gave it away, next day i started the elan.
I wish I kept my 68 rupp, we had it on our trapline, had 377cc
Motor Sach, all aluminum and no bogie wheels, it had sliders
Right from the factory . Coke sponsored stickers, wissico pistons
All light parts I sure it was for racing.
@atomlab88 The vk540 is rated at about 50hp iirc, so add a pipe/porting/polishing and reeds and it is going to be near 60hp. I might go with a bigger carb next year but to be honest I want this engine to be reliable as well for my 200kms round trip to my camp in teh winter - so I'm not going to tweak it too much.
lo, ya that makes sense, but how any french person who doesnt like an elan - wel that doesnt make sense! thanks for watching!!
I was thinking about getting a elan or skandic for my farm, but that elan you have is nice.
Love it! All function, no fluff!
I'm working on it! Atv's and trucks:)
Thanks four you time sharing your efforts. I have a vk540 and am tempted to lose the stock carb in favor of a mikuni off of a 94 Yamaha wr 250 motocross bike. I live at 9600 ft in Colorado so I know your jets will be off but what are the base jets? My motor is fresh and nearly stock. Thanks for your help
just today me and my dad are looking into buying a 1978 ski doo elan 250 twin.
Awesome build man
@FrankaDith Thanks frank more vids coming!
sweet build ,, answered lots of my questions i had also
timbersled - you can find them used online from about 800-1500
Hey thanks veyr much I really appreciate the feedback! And thanks for watching!
Saweet machine, your a thinker for sure, enjoyed your video
@lshobie To be honest I haven't been able to test it in 3 feet of real pwoder since the 151 went on with the timbersled rear suspension so that will have to wait til next year now. but, in 3 feet of crusty snow it walked over the polaris 159 mod sled i built. The crust kept me from carving and side hilling - and from having any real fun - next year!!!
@xNightShooter yes - i even changed the clutching and spring, belt, i was going to blow it up!
I should do a lot of things! Might doo it one day:)
like your suspension set up
I was wondering if you can makke a video on how you put that twin cylinder in there
Nice Primary Clutch I had the exact same one Comet 108 EXP
Thanks for answer , great vids ,il keep watching it. Sorry for my english ,im from Quebec
That is so funny, i started off as a kid with a 1972 skidoo olimpic with a 12hp 300cc rotax,
My ears still ring...wish i had this sled when i was young all my Friends would Freak over such a Track and suspension..But Technology was not there...
Nice machine :) I wonder what kind of aluminum the chassis is made of and what thickness too
i love this sled :)
im really likeing your videos on moding sleds ive learend a nice bit from it to.
just bought an old elan..and was thinking about swaping the original motor with a 01 mountain cat 800...will the original cluch and new motor work well together...and in general is it a good idea......
it came with the tank, a business in guelph - I'll try to find it.
Could you please tell me how you put the rear suspension on. I am in the process of making one and would greatly appreciate your help
its an elan cab - i used an old one as a mould.
Nice machine. Frank sent me your way.
I always ditch the oil injection - premix at 50:1, 40:1 on hot days.
I see someone has a bucket of AN and MS hardware. Kind of reminds me of my bike.
i saw this sled at the toronto sled show a few months ago
But why didn't you just change the pogos to real shocks
+Eric Stpierre the shocks are in the pogos
+PowerModz what I meant was a suspension with a arms and and all those modern stuff
Pogos are great shocks. They are simple, they do not have many moving parts and they just plain work. Also very easy to mount. They just don't perform quite as good as A arms do.
Tobirama Senju pogos are amazing for in the woods, I previously had an expedition and the suspension was just too fragile. I now own a skandic 600 2001 and I love it, it is my favourite sled I've had and driven.
you can find them used on snowestonline or other sled forums
Thats totally what u should name it
The man Elan.
Lol. That thing is awesome!
AWESOME sled ya got there man...totally AWESOME
sure is!
Thanks ! What year was your tundra ? Your elan is so awsome great job !
did ya ever out it on a commercial scale?? if so what it weigh? if not please do lol
great build!!
hey nice job man! i was wondering were you got that suspension? i want to put something like that on my 93 ext
Awsome job Louie
its my favorite sled when its the orginal so this must be the best sled:)
i realize it is kind of randomly asking but does anyone know of a good place to watch new tv shows online?
@Johnathan Rudy I use FlixZone. You can find it on google =)
@Devon Mauricio definitely, have been watching on Flixzone for months myself =)
@Devon Mauricio Thanks, I went there and it seems like they got a lot of movies there :D Appreciate it!
@Johnathan Rudy no problem :)
Hey thanks for watching! I'm actually in Ontario.
thats awesome, thats what I'm here for!
Umm, title says "details" Doesn't say sound. I'll title a video with "listen to this" or "Sound" when I I want you to hear sound. Sorry you didn't understand that from the title. But check again next season as I'll be running this sled a lot more. I will remove Jaws from the title so as to not confuse anymore though.
i have the mold but dont have much time for punching out hoods - do you live near ottawa?
@15rylzey Next fall done for sure!
great job man cant wait till its complete!!
I'm thinking of putting a bigger newer engine in a 1979 Arctic Cat Jag any suggestions?
thundercat 900 triple. I'm putting one in my 94 ext 580 mountain cat
we've thought about modding one:)
What do you think of rail extensions. I am thinking of changing my 800 edge x from a 121 to a 136 or a 144. But not sure how the extensions will hold up. Your advice would be appreciated.
@ratsledz Please do! And make sure you tell your users about my giveaways, I give helmet cams and other cool things away!
Thanks!
Sweet build!
love it. how did you whip up the cowl?
Sorry, I have no idea what you are saying - but thanks for watching!
@xNightShooter Your english is great!
LSHobie DANG nice SLED!!
BUD
Im posting it on my site~
How much was it after everything was done how was the chassis made and what's the original sled