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Csusm Student Seeking Snowmobile Usage Information

797 Views 7 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  Pepsi_fuzz
I am a student at CSUSM (Cal State University San Marcos) and am doing some research on the snowmobile industry and its popularity and growth. Here in southern california the desert and dunes are the big attraction and I grew up on dirtbikes and atv's. In the hot summers I go out butdo most of my riding at night and aftermarket lighting is a must.

I am hoping to find information on snowmobiles, their popularity and uses, and products. I do alot of riding at night and noticed that most all snowmobiles are equiped with lights but I haven't found much information on just how many people snowmobile at night, and if they do whether there are aftermarket lighting products out there. If you know anyone I could talk to or contact please let me know. These are some of the questions im hoping to answer so if you could take the time to please answer them and post them or e-mail them to me at [email protected] I would really appreciate it!! Thank You!!

How do you find new products for your sled?
Do you feel that a certain brand or product is superior to others? If so what sets it apart from the rest?
Do you use your snowmobile at night? If not, why not?
Do you believe there is a need for lighting accessories?
What do you look for in the product in terms of fit, finish, installation, use, etc.?
Where do you do most of your shopping for products: Catalogs, Online, E-bay, Phone, Store Location, Dealers, etc.
What is the biggest selling point for you in terms of cost benefit?
Where do you do most of your product research?
What type of lighting have you purchased?
Do you remember what you paid for it?
What other action sports are you involved in that require the use of lighting products?
What is your age and gender?
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Are you trying to invent a light for a snowmobile and become rich???lol
How do you find new products for your sled? I do my research.


Do you feel that a certain brand or product is superior to others? Yes.

If so what sets it apart from the rest? Durability.


Do you use your snowmobile at night? Day and Night. If not, why not?


Do you believe there is a need for lighting accessories? It depends on the situation, most sleds are well equipped, much like today's cars.


What do you look for in the product in terms of fit, finish, installation, use, etc.? I buy new, so this is not an issue (just take a look at any dealership).


Where do you do most of your shopping for products: Catalogs, Online, E-bay, Phone, Store Location, Dealers, etc. E-bay is online, so there's no need to enter it twice. Typically, I buy my snowmobile accessories from the dealership, but for my other hobbies I buy a fair bit online (ebay or other)


What is the biggest selling point for you in terms of cost benefit? In terms of cost, if it's cheaper I'm more likely to buy it :)


Where do you do most of your product research? Online.


What type of lighting have you purchased? None, it came with lights.


Do you remember what you paid for it? Yep.


What other action sports are you involved in that require the use of lighting products? All action sports which require the use of lighting products come with the lighting products, and I'm also invovled with motorcycling, muscle cars (70's) and... go figure... bicycling.


What is your age and gender? 24 male.

And if you weren't expecting sarcasm, you don't know me at all! :devil:
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In winter much of the day is night anyway. Of course we ride in the dark. I'd rather have handwarmers that work than more light. I don't find the OEM lights to be inadequate. Usually there is a limit to how much juice you can pull from the lighting coil on these machines anyway.
As mentioned, the days are pretty short in the winter and of course we ride when ever we can.
Day or night.
You mention your experience on dirt bikes and ATV's and riding at night and you sound bewildered that our sleds don't look light northern Quebec lumber trucks with a gazillion candle power light bars across the front looking for Bullwinkle Moose. The big difference is the stuff we ride in.
Sand and dirt don't reflect light very well. Thus a lot of light is required to light up your way.
However, snow reflects light very well. In fact on a full moon lit night, you could ride without any lights at all. At a reduced speed of course.
I hope this helps you to understand the differences between the sports.

And yes, modern day snowmobiles have very adequate lights.

Jeff
Thanks for the responses guys it really helps answer some of my questions! After a good bit of research I was beginning to wonder if people really did sled at night or not. I searched for lighting products and came up empty handed. In the desert you need all the light you can get and aftermarket coils and HID lighting is essential if you want to ride fast at night so I assumed snowmobiles would require the same. Also in the desert dust really hurts visibility as it reflects light and can be almost blinding and in those situations the less lighting you have on, the easier it is to see and I was wondering if it is the same when snow is falling? Thanks Again!
TTT, the more replies I get the better so if anyone else could please take the time to answer the questions I would appreciate it and thanks again to those who already have!!
I think Trailblazer answered it best. You're not going to get much more adequate answers than that one.

I'll add this though: I often ride without high beams at night. There's no need for them when you have 4 headlights with good stock reflectors on them. :) Brighter than most cars, for one thing.
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