Put up the Scratchers. I learned this the old fashioned way, through experience. After going for a ride on the lake with the scratchers deployed, I rode back into the yard, and reversed into a spot to park. Then I remembered the scratchers were down. Left side, under a little stress and maybe bent slightly. No problem, can bend that back into shape. Right side, different story. It was only half as long as it should be. Yep, I snapped that one. The good news, i found a set of universal scratchers at Canadian tire at 65% off, only $23 and before next ride it’s a simple one socket wrench job to replace the broken part.
Headlight aiming adjustment wheel. I have glanced through the owners manual. Read the important parts, but after several rides, I was still left wondering what this adjustment wheel was for.
It’s the headlight adjustment wheel. Spin it left or right to lower / raise the angle of the headlight. I haven’t riden at night yet so that’s a feature for another day, or night.
oil
Fuel grade (91 octane). This part of the manual I did read. It recommends a 91 octane fuel, and not to use ethanol fuels. Same stuff I use in other toys so the gas left over from summer in the jugs is good to go.
The windshield. I remember on our old Polaris we had when I was a teenager, we had a full height plastic windshield, we broke that a few times and paid our of our own pockets to replace it. That was not something our dad was willing to foot the bill for. I don’t remember ever paying for gas so I guess had the good end of the deal. It was always difficult to see through. This Polaris has a lower windshield, actually no windshield. Good goggles and that doesn’t seem to be any worry.
Speaking of goggles, invest in a good pair of anti-fog, goggles. They are well worth the convenience. I tried an older pair and had problems with fogging and had to pull them down. Okay for a short ride but if it was snowing, that would have been a problem. My snowmobile also has a heated face shield wire. I don’t have that feature on my helmet so maybe something to consider for a future helmet upgrade. While this feature sure sounds like a luxury, I’m it would be well worth the convenience.
As I am learning, when you head out and go for a longer run in the countryside or down the lake a few kms you want a machine and gear you can trust. It wouldn’t be fun to be stuck a few kms of deep snow away from the cabin in -20 C temperatures with a little Saskatchewan windchill to with the walk.