[AJD] My new John Deere/JD Spitfire

[Kyle Sands]

Greg, Liquifire's seem to be quite popular now with vintage collectors while the Trailfires are popular due to the smaller price tag vs. a Liquifire.  I honestly think the Spitfire has them beaten hands-down just because it is such a nimble machine.  You can't get much more basic than a Spitfire, and John Deere really nailed it with this design.

Kyle

> 
> Kyle
> Back when we used to sell JD sleds, we always marketed the Spitfire 
> as an all around
> sled for the family as it was smaller and manueverable and the 
> family had an easy time
> with it. The Trailfire was the workhorse of that series. Plenty of 
> power and decent
> performance. Both sold about equally for us. The Liquifire was for 
> the "go fast" crowd
> and took quite a bit of tinkering to get to perform properly.
> The Spitfire was an innovative sled due to the direct drive as you 
> mentioned and was
> basically troublefree.
> The green and black versions, as well as the later Sprintfire and 
> Snowfires, make for a
> neat series to collect
> Greg
> 
> 
> 
> Greg Stephen
> The Old Tractor Company
> Stephen Equipment Company
> PO Box 709
> Franktown, CO 80116
> 303-663-5246
> 303-468-0377 FAX<<--GREAT WAY TO REACH ME!
> 
> On Thu Jan 27 12:34 , 'Kyle Sands' <willys_46 at mail.com> sent:
> 
> > Chris, I don't know how many more JD's I can fit in my garage.  
> > I've got nearly a
> dozen old snowmobiles right now and can't find a place to house 
> them all under cover at
> this point.  But you know how that goes - a lack of storage space 
> doesn't always
> prevent anyone from buying more toys.
> >
> > I'll waste some badwidth and give you my impression on the 
> > Spitfire.  It is NOT a deep
> snow sled by any means.  My impression from talking with owners of 
> other late JD models
> tells me they don't do so well in the powder either.  The Spitfire 
> is a direct drive
> meaning there is no chaincase - the secondary clutch is mounted 
> right on the drive
> axle.  As a result, the track has a very steep angle of attach in 
> relation to the
> snow.  So the sled has to work pretty hard to get on top of the 
> deep stuff.  It never
> really succeeds and sorta just plows through it until it loses 
> momentum and you get
> stuck.  On hardpack or shallow powder however, it is a blast to ride!
> >
> > Kyle
> >
> >>
> >> Nice find Kyle.  I'm sure more of those Deere's will follow you home now....
> >>
> >> After viewing the pictures of you cleaning the snow off the 
> >> heads in the deep snow, I am curious how vulnerable that little 
> >> Spitfire is to getting stuck.  I won't waste bandwidth grumbling 
> >> about how easily the early Deere snowmobiles get stuck.
> >>
> >> Chris
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> > Take a look at my newest Deere:
> >> >
> >> > http://sledaction.homestead.com/JDSpitfire.html
> >> >
> >> > Ok ok, I know it's not exactly what you had in mind, but it IS 
> >> a > 2-cylinder, just makes a different sound.
> >> > Regards,
> >> >
> >> > Kyle Sands > --
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