A potential ending to a great season...

After purchasing my 2004 440 Race sled this past spring, I was nothing but impressed from the get-go. Lots of snap, and without a doubt a great chassis for my riding style. After countless miles around midwest Wisconsin and a trip up to the upper peninsula of Michigan, my lucky finally ran out. My girlfriend has never been snowmobiling, so I decided to take her out, and sure enough after about five miles my sled died. After many pulls and some basic troubleshooting, I found out that I had a serious electrical problem. After a buddy picked me and my sled up, I did some more work to figure out that my stator was dead. Not a fun, nor inexpensive fix for someone in my position. This may spell the end of the season for me, which is saddening/depressing/sickening. The sled I waited so long to ride finally got sick of the beating!
I see this as the end of a season, but the beginning of an off-season full of fun work and modding, and probably some spendy purchases. I guess I don't see how people who only ride their sleds during the winter and store them away the second the season is done can keep their passion for the sport. I find working on my sled is half the fun of the sport. As you can probably see by the poll to the right, I am seriously considering getting a larger bore trail-style motor to drop into my sled. The 440 gave me a GREAT season, but proved to be extremely picky and lacking mid-top end power/torque. My goal would be to buy a complete sled that contains the engine I want, transplant engines, and part out the remains on forums & eBay. Time to start saving money!
Until next time-
Luke