I’ve always been an Arctic Cat guy, everyone knows that. When I was little, I rode my Kitty Cat literally into pieces. My dad never had any trouble getting the hood off, mostly because I already had it off for him. I guess you could say I was testing and tuning at a very young age.
Growing up, I loved to ride and I couldn’t get enough of it. I’d blast through the ditches before I got on the bus for school and rip around the yard until my mom flashed the porch light for me to come in at night. I even have a picture of me sporting my cowboy boots while riding my Kitty Cat in the summer!
I still love to ride but now all my time on a sled is spent racing or “officially” testing and tuning. It doesn’t leave time for recreational riding, but this year there are no excuses. I’m making time to ride because I just introduced my new ProCross F800 Race Replica snowmobile.
My replica sled has been in the design pipeline for a few years. Arctic Cat asked me if I’d like to work with them on a signature consumer sled, it was quite an honor. I was excited and nervous at the same time because I knew it had to be unique and truly reflect me.
We drafted a concept and timeline, and then got to work. The goal: to produce a snowmobile that had the tried and true features of my race sled; could be ridden aggressively, yet still handle well for trail riders and of course, look mean! After countless hours in meetings, working with engineers and stylists, we launched my race replica this fall at Hay Days.
I’m really excited how it all came together. Here’s a quick run down on the signature details that made the final cut.
-
- I am so pumped on how the graphics turned out. They have the same design elements of my 2013 race graphics including the glossy/matte double “H” on the side panels.
-
- The replica hand guards not only look cool but they protect your hands from wind and roost!
-
- Finally, what’s a replica race sled without number plates? These are the same number plates I’ve raced with since 2004. I’ve adapted them to three different chassis’. I just love the way they look.
-
- The first time I raced with white skis was the 2000 Winter X Games. We all know how that worked out so the white skis stuck. Now, I’m almost superstitious about it! A few years ago, I decided to paint my rails white; it really tied in the white skis. For my replica, it was a no brainer to add white skis and powder coat the rails white.
-
- I’ve always been particular about the cut of my windshield. When the ProCross chassis came out last fall, I knew I wanted to design a custom windshield to race with. Armed with a roll of tape and a tin snip, I got to work. After a few rounds of revisions with Sportech, we finalized the cut and did a limited run for the race season.
-
- It’s no secret that FOX Shox makes the best suspension components in the industry. I’ve been racing with FOX Shox my entire career and first started testing with Kashima coating two years ago. The gold coating fills the little holes on the shock body to reduce friction. My replica sled is the only snowmobile on the market that comes stock with Kashima coated shocks. Only the best! I even run a Kashima coated fork and shock on my mountain bike.
