1975 TNT 245 RV – Black is Beautiful
Vintage Rider
October 17, 2017
0
In the winter of 1975 if you wanted to know what was coming down the pipe from your favorite sled builder, the race fan was heading to the oval track to have a look at the SnoPro oval race sleds or the limited build oval stockers. The winter of... Read more
1973 Alouette Super – “Villeneuve Magic” is Born
Vintage Rider
April 21, 2017
2
January 1974, Eagle River Wisconsin. The World Championship flag traditionally drops at 3:00 pm sharp. Giles Villeneuve eased up to the start line with his 650 cc Alouette Super racing against the likes of Factory Polaris riders Bob Eastman and Stan Hayes, Yamaha Sno-Pro team members Wayne Trapp and... Read more
Arctic Cat has never been a company that follows. Since the day Edgar Hetteen rolled into Thief River Falls and set up shop, Arctic Cat has always led the industry with some of the most creative and off the wall sleds to hit the snow. Ski-Doo had been dominating... Read more
SNOPRO 1974 – Does Racing Improve the Breed?
Vintage Rider
March 15, 2017
0
It’s hard to believe but 43 years ago this past fall the snowmobile world was abuzz with a new race series called SnoPro. We all recognize SnoPro as the name used by Arctic Cat on a number of its sleds, but in reality the label “SnoPro” was proposed by... Read more
Bad-Ass V-Twin Snowmobile that Never Made it to Production Back fifteen years ago (in 2002), BLADE Snowmobiles (of FAST M-10 fame) was preparing to release their OutLaw™ snowmobile, powered by a torquey, four-stroke, American made V-Twin from S&S CYCLE, Inc. The OutLaw had a rather unique appearance with somewhat... Read more
1974 Mercury Sno-Twister
Vintage Rider
February 25, 2017
2
When the history of snowmobile racing is written there will be a select few sleds that will be recognized for totally dominating the competition. The 1974 Sno-Twister was just such a sled. It arrived at the time when Mercury Marine had decided to go racing after manufacturing sleds that... Read more
The Chase for a Snowmobile World Speed Record: A Short History
Vintage Rider
January 17, 2017
0
By Hal Armstrong Who is the fastest? Whether it’s the 100m run at the Olympics, NHRA top fuel record or the Land Speed Record we are all still captivated by these words whenever we hear them. Break a world record and you get recognition by the media that even... Read more
1978 YAMAHA SSR
Vintage Rider
January 4, 2017
6
By Hal Armstrong – Today we all take independent front suspensions for granted. But, in the spring of 1977, three of the big four sled builders were working overtime to figure out the intricacies of this new innovation. SnoPro 1977 was a year for the record books for Polaris.... Read more
Scorpion Snowmobiles
Vintage Rider
December 12, 2016
3
The history of snowmobiling is littered with memories of brands that have faded away like melting snow. There are however certain brands that were major players for three decades until they closed their doors in the early 80’s.
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Vintage Snowmobile Special: 1979 POLARIS CENTURION
Vintage Rider
October 7, 2016
5
By Hal Armstrong Back in 1979 when Polaris Industries was celebrating 25 years in business they were a much different company, producing only snowmobiles. That wasn’t the only difference: their engine supplier was Fuji Heavy Industries (a.k.a. Subaru) who had been working with them since the late 60’s. Polaris... Read more