[AJD] My new John Deere/JD Spitfire

[greg at theoldtractorcompany.com]

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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