I used to hang around Bob Remolds gas station in Bethany Ontario. He sold Colman products wheelhorse and skiroule. Every so often he would take me for a ride up Moes hill and it was steep and three feet of snow, that thing would climb and go through snow like crazy. We were on a 440 RTX I believe
I started snowmobiling in 1975 with a Ski-Doo 440FA. Man was that a fast sled around the neighborhood. You know, snowmobiling is a sport that craws into your soul. I'm 72 now and have had major back surgeries and still love the smell of 2 stroke smoke on a 15 degree Fahrenheit morning. My mind still wants to go but my body can't catch up.
Nice! I never had a Free Air. I had a 73 Ski Doo TNT Silver Bullet 340 fan cooled. Then a few Blizzards. Well one Blizzard and one Moto-Ski Grand Prix Special which was the same as a Blizzard 5500. Your 440 Free Air must have been damn fast.
I bought a 1978 Kawasaki 340 Invader as my first sled. I almost always had a passenger and it didn't slow it down one bit on top end. I beat 500 cats and ate 440 snowtwisters for lunch top end. I cant explain how fast it was. I twisted the speedo cable off the second week i had it on a back road racing a 440 blizzard and 440 john deer. both brand new as well.
I never understood why they got out right after spending a boat load of money on R&R? The 1979 Invader broke every record and the 24 hour record might still not be broken. Im a Ski Doo guy but would race my old F/C drifter with anything hands down it's got to be one of the most reliable brands ever. Kawasaki clearly has a winner hell they still power Cats
I remember back in the mid 70's we had 399 ski Doo Olympic snowmobile. It seemed like you could fill the gas tank and ride all day. What great memories.
My first snowmobile experience was on a 1969 MS- 18 Moto-Ski my father purchased, we were avid ice fishers and the sled and Skimo made a great up-grade for covering ground. It also made towing the Bob-House out on Lake Winnipesaukee effortless and provided entertainment while waiting for a flag. Memories made that will be always cherished.
I remember back in the 70’s my dad buying two Mercury snowmobiles and a matching snowmobile trailer all for around 1,500. We rode them day and night. We had a ton of fun
I’ve had lots of sleds over the years. I started riding when I was 10 in 1977 and in 79’ I got my first snowmobile. It was a 67’ ski-doo w/ a 10hp single cylinder Rotax. It wasn’t very fast and had a few bugs to work out but it sure was fun once it was straightened out. I could blaze trails through deep powder while other bigger sleds would sink and get buried. Greats times and memories!
Named and featured a bunch of classic sleds...but left out Yamaha. I had a GP292 when I was a kid and it was the fastest one lunger on the lake...later on, a succession of Yamahas, an Arctic Cat or two (even a Wankel!) a Moto-Ski Zephyr, a couple of random SkiDoo Olympiques and Elans and even one 399cc Harley Davidson...then a few Rupp Nitros and a Thundercat 900 (that incidentally was a screamer and scary fast, but loved to eat middle pistons). Never did get that Merc Sno-Twister I always wanted. When I was a kid, sleds were the only reason we put up with Massachusetts winters! Thanks again for the awesome video...it brought back lots of great memories.
First sled 1969 Nordic 371 in (1985). 1973 Yamaha GP433, 1974 TNT 400 F/A , 1979 Olympic 340, 1973 John Deere JDX8 440 case reed, 1974 TNT 440 electric start, 1969 Ski-Doo single cyl. 1978 Everest 440, 1996 Formula S 380( new), 1980 Enticer 340, 1994 Polaris Sport 440 fan. All bought/ rode/ sold. Currently have 1994 XLT580. Loved that two stroke smell!
Also there is a really good video of 24 hours of Kawasaki's competing for a new world record. It's a really good watch on RU-vid. I have 3 440 Kawasaki invaders needing restoration and i have lots of extra parts as well. I am looking for the 550 and they are absolutely the fastest in the day. I have no idea why my 340 was so fast but it could have a lot to do with the volume of the lower block is more compatible with the piston displacement. I would also like to find a 440 LTD with the expansion chambers and 4 into 6 porting
Love this video...we have quite a few "old timers" in our sheds and trailers. Ride 71 and 73 Moto Ski's Ski Whiz on our club's Old Timers Rides. We were Rupp people for years...switched to Yamaha for a while...then to Polaris:-) Thanks so much for doing it! Brought great memories of snowmobiling and I can share with my grandkids who are into it now! Love the stories! Thanks!!
You WILL become famous with the moniker 'Downtown Brown', it's only a matter of time. Freakin' awesome video with all the glorious snow machine brands from better days like Massey-Ferguson, Harley D, Sno-Runner, Rupp, Mercury and Ski-Roule. I always wanted the cock-pit style Raider, it was a dream machine for me as a child in Ontario Canada. My most sought after snowmobile would be a 1971 Ski-Doo (Bombardier) 335 Olympique. A sled my Dad had in the 70s.
Love This Vintage My Dad Used To Assemble Skiroules 1971 _ 72 Small dealer Mid Alberta If I Remember Correctly With His Discount New ( 340 SX ) Was $650 + -
No mention of the Ski-doo Elan. 27 years of production. No other model can say that. I got my first one in 1976, had one or more ever since. It became a bit much to keep 8 going. Down to 4 of them now. The 300 SS is a little rocket.
That man at the 9:00 mark just described the essence of man and machine. Speed is not the thing…it’s staying on top of a machine…regardless of speed…that gives you speed as a sensation.. Speed ruined snowmobiling …well, not ruined it…but escalated it into an “everything faster mentality. “ And it did not have to be that way. Such is man’s weakness….he thinks of his strengths in only terms of power. I could parallel this to golf and softball…how the same mentality messed up those sports…. Anyway. Listen to 9:00 and tell me if I’m wrong. Plz
Thank You , A nice reminder of where sleds came from I do plan to restore my 1992 SPX Indy . It means a lot to me because I personally put some of the rivets in the bellypan and we only built 200 . Thank You. As a point of trivia the first 200 XLTs were built with no motors , the motors were added about 2wks later . Happy sledding
1972 was my first 24hp Ski-Doo, then in 1974 I switched over to The John Deeres and had 7 different models they were awsome machines then in 79 I gave it up snowmobiling...
This is good stuff, but yes they did miss Scorpion, Columbia, Boa Ski, Snow Bunny, John Deere , and so many others. Would be really cool to see some of these covered as well.
