maxwell
Active VIP Member
it was like that on both sides it seemed. When i went into MM i felt the same, but specialty always treated me well, but lots of guys felt they got the cold shoulder at specialty aswell.
Mountain Magic
- Thread starter Sledtillded
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it was like that on both sides it seemed. When i went into MM i felt the same, but specialty always treated me well, but lots of guys felt they got the cold shoulder at specialty aswell.
Oh for sure, both pretty private guys, and both the "Soup nazi's" of the sled world at the time'
Seemed to me the more you ran into Specialty in the middle of nowhere the more Reich respected a guy! I can honestly say in all my years I didn't ever see Dohi "spelling" ?? anywhere except at a cabin! Didn't like him personally but always admired his meticulous workmanship!
Frankenytro
Active VIP Member
Speciality was great for the race gas by the gallon. I used them more in the summer for drag bike fuel than I did in the winter, but I certainly respect both businesses and their leadership.
rightsideup
Active VIP Member
I have known Ken of mountain magic since 87. Man of his word and customer satisfaction was always one of his priorities
Mountainman52
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Ken where was this race at here in Alberta ? is that the Milo Mile........
snopro
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That is as Alberta Championships in Hobbema in 87’. Here another pic from Whitecourt same year. Kenny didn’t like us twintrackers ganging up on him all the time. The new guy on end was Dale Laniuk from Vegreville.Ken where was this race at here in Alberta ? is that the Milo Mile........
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rightsideup
Active VIP Member
Dale laniuk kept burning down if remember right. I am from vegreville as well
snopro
Active VIP Member
Yeah he didn’t seem to ever get his sled dialed in for some reason. He had a lot of cash to play with as well. I was told he still has his twin in storage. Everett Backus still has his on display at the dealership last I heard. I found out mine is hanging from the ceiling at a gun store in Moosimin, Saskatchewan. Not sure if Ken Dohei still has his sled or sold it as well.
rightsideup
Active VIP Member
Yeah Dale had a very bad mechanic out of Hairy hill. Dale also has probably one the most complete car collections in Alberta.
Chrisco
Active VIP Member
Ken retired from the retail sled business, the new breed of sledder took all he had left in him. He also had 2 guys that Phu*ed him on builds took the sleds and didn't pay that was the last straw for him. He is still working on sleds from an undisclosed location for long time customers and friends.
pfi572
Active VIP Member
I couldn’t imagine having to do what some of you have to deal with on the retail end at this time in our lives .
Most are experts and have millions and are daft as F couldn’t rub two nickels together .
Good thing the good customer's keep you folks smiling and doors open.
snopro
Active VIP Member
Thus is todays customer.
I know I don’t miss the bad ones.
Shredder
Active VIP Member
Yep you nailed it for everyone there. Ken built sleds and trusted people to pay when they could on their word. Being a friend of Ken's I went on sled trips with him and stopped by the shop for a bs and out to grab lunch when I was in Edmonton. He always just did what I wanted done in the shop and I drove away with my sled and a "Haven't got around to making out your bill yet Rob; I'll let ya know. Then you can just pay when you can." Some guys shouldn't be given that freedom. Most places now won't give you your sled/quad/truck etc until the bill is paid in full. The idiots that run out on a bill are the reason for this. Ken also stood behind some products that failed due to a defect. Don't need to throw a name out there and start a discussion; but he returned people's money and tried to get reimbursed from the company and got nothing back from them. Sell a bunch of someone's product; then refund money and take the loss, that hurts a small business, but it's the way he ran Mountain Magic. Proud to say I am a "Mountain Magic guy".
Mountainman52
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Local Alberta, would not see that chit now days to much pollutions LMAO Awsome Ken great pics and even better memories !!
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Sledtillded
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One of Ken’s old
builds up
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- #36
It must have taken a fair amount of power to spin a twin track?
snopro
Active VIP Member
Same engines as in Ken’s single tracker Doug. The guys like Ken and the Bensons always holeshotted the twin trackers but would eventually get beat as we would eat them up in the corners. The twins had a clutch system on them that allowed the inside track to disengage turning when you turned the handlebars to the left. The outside track would continue to drive thus creating an advantage when cornering. A lot of tracks depending on corner radius I could hold my throttle wide open through the corners where the single tracks would have to back off for a couple seconds to get the sled to turn better. I passed a lot on the outside or you would run into them in the corner which is never good. The twins were amazing race sleds but sadly they were the demise of that level of racing because they pretty much drove Polaris and Cat out of the sport. At the end it was Skidoos racing Skidoos.
mur190
Active VIP Member
One of the main drivers that pushed me away from the industry 12-13 years ago, even running a parts department was tough to deal with certain types of people,I couldn’t imagine having to do what some of you have to deal with on the retail end at this time in our lives .
Most are experts and have millions and are daft as F couldn’t rub two nickels together .
Good thing the good customer's keep you folks smiling and doors open.
you give them your knowledge and every resource to help them and when you get ch!t on it leaves a bitter taste that is hard to make sweet again.
Moving to a industry that people aren't spending their own money is waayyyy more better.
Also they are keyboard experts and have millions in credit, but talk like they have 30-40 racks in the trucks center counsel ready to spend haha.
For a few years I was able to supply ken with all his Cat parts and was really awesome to deal with.
I remember the interest in his voice when I told him we has no issue sending M1000 ECU's to cat for "improved or race" mapping and remove rev limiters.
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