The Snowboarder's Journal - frequency 16.1
Giraffe on a Tricycle
Words: Tom Burt 2018-09-17 18:56:29
“Giraffe on a tricycle”—that’s what my sledneck friends call me. I’m well over six feet tall, and my antiquated snowmobile is about half the size of a modern mountain sled, but I’ve never felt the need to replace that 1978 Yamaha Exciter 440.
The Exciter isn’t pretty. It’s got two inches of travel and an old-school track with hardly any paddles. It looks like it wouldn’t go up any hill compared to modern machines with twice its length and power, but it punches up most things if someone has set a trail. The vinyl has long since rotted away, leaving pitted orange foam on the seat. For nearly 30 years of ownership, I have never done anything but add oil, gas and a new belt now and then, and it still starts on the first pull.
I got the Exciter not long after I bought my first house in 1989 in Kings Beach, CA, on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe. The sled and trailer were next door at my great uncle George Kazakoff’s house. He was storing it for a buddy of his. I noticed that after the first winter, the sled hadn’t been ridden. I asked if I could use it, and he said yes.
A few years later, George sold his place. The Yamaha just moved over to my lot and has lived there ever since. It’s never been registered, and it’s been used every year since 1991 for backcountry access during plenty of Tahoe film projects and for fun laps around the Sierra. It made its media debut in Standard Films’ TB2 or TB3 being towed behind my $450 1982 Subaru GL wagon. Because of its length (maybe eight feet long) it fits inside the back of my Ford long-bed truck with the cap on—just drive in and yank it out.
The little machine is the best investment I have ever made: Store it, and it’s yours. It will be a sad day when it dies, but now entering its 40th year, the Exciter seems to want to keep living. I’ll keep riding that thing till death do us part.
Photo Caption: Tom Burt’s 1978 Yamaha Exciter 440, still in service 40 years after it rolled off the assembly line. Photo: Andrew Irwin
©Funny Feelings LLC. View All Articles.
Giraffe on a Tricycle
https://digital.thesnowboardersjournal.com/articles/giraffe-on-a-tricycle