THE END FOR OMC SNOWMOBILES

Press Release April 1975 - Outboard Marine Corporation will manufacture and market its lines of Evinrude and Johnson snowmobiles for one more year only.  The OMC board of directors announced that it would discontinue the manufacturing of snowmobiles at the end of the 1976 model year.
The company is, however, presently in production on its 1976 models.  The snowmobile division manager, said that two new models are being produced and would be marketed for the coming 1976 season.
The company said that its snowmobile operation lost 13.9 million on sales of 16.7 million in the fiscal year ending September 30, 1974.

1980 SCORPION TK

1988 WILDCAT

This What Arctic Cat Had To Say About The 88 Wildcat - The Wildcat has an aerodynamic hood and windshield design to cover the 650cc liquid-cooled Suzuki powerplant.  It has highly-visible instrumentation and a tank-mounted control panel. Whether it be racing through an open meadow or blasting through mountain powder, the Wildcat has plenty of muscle to flex.

HYPOTHERMIA WARNING SIGNALS

Hypothermia is a condition of abnormally low body temperature that can lead to serious complications and even death.
The symptoms are: - Change in appearance or behavior, uncontrollable shivering sometimes or none at all, stiff muscles, speech may be slurred, breathing shallow or slow and confusion, disorientation and drowsiness.
If the pulse is weak and blood pressure is low, and symptoms of confusion, disorientation and drowsiness are present, get help immediately. Until help arrives do this.
Warm the person by wrapping in an electric or thermal blanket and place a hot water bottle or heating pad on the abdomen.  If the victim is alert, feed the victim warm food or beverage but no alcohol.  Keep the head low and the feet up to get warm blood circulating to the head.
If none of these procedures are available, and you're out on the trail, warm the victim with your own body by lying close.  Do not rub the person's limbs in hopes of improving circulation.  Do not give the victim a hot shower or bath, as it could cause sudden shock.
Chances for recovery are good if the person's general health is good, if the hypothermia is detected early and if the case is not severe.

MENTAL SNOWMOBILE RACING

It is good to plan the race in advance.Think over what you will want to do in a certain situation, but be prepared for changes.Race with a positive attitude and try not to let the crowd bother you.
Concentration is vitally important. Always think ahead.
The most important aspect of racing is that you, the racer, enjoy yourself. Racing is a sport and you should have fun, other than trying to win.

INSIDE LOOK OF A 1975 YAMAHA GPX

 Leading the way in the Yamaha line for 1975, was the high performance GPX series of snowmobiles.
Yamaha offered 338G and 433G models with free air twin cylinder engines.  Both rode on a 15-inch reinforced rubber track, have an aluminum frame, slide rail suspension, autolube oil injection, disc brakes, intake silencer, tether switch, parking brake, gas and oil gauge, and CD ignition.

1984 YAMAHA PHAZER

 For 1984, Yamaha claimed that after three years of rumors, the Yamaha mystery sled appeared as the 1984 Phazer...as close as coming from a fresh sheet of paper as anything ever built by Yamaha.

1982 KAWASAKII 440 LTD

In 1982 Kawasaki claimed it's LTD to be The All-Around Rocket. It didn't matter whether you were interested in touring along a twisty trail or tearing across a frozen lake, spending a day at the races or a night on the town.
This was the sled that did it all.  High performance, responsive handling, unmatched comfort, and super styling. 

AUTO-SKI INC FILES BANKRUPTCY

February 1974 - Levis, Quebec - Auto-Ski, Inc., manufacturer of Auto-Ski snowmobiles, has filed bankruptcy with more than $900,000.00 owed to creditors. According to Paul LaCasse, company president, loss of backing from major a shareholder and reduced snowmobile sales for the past two seasons, were the major contributing factor to the corporations indebtness.
Paul and Maurice LaCasse, brothers founded the company in 1968. Auto-Ski sold 700 1973 snowmobiles and produced 1,800 machines for the 1974 season.
The LaCasse brothers purchased the parts inventory from the bank and indicated that they would seek financial backing to produce 1975 snowmobiles.

THE 1988 POLARIS INDY's

In 1988 Polaris claimed that it would be tough to make up your mind which Indy to buy.
The fleet of Polaris Indy snowmobiles may be the most impressive fleet of trail sleds on the market, Polaris claimed.
With The Indy 650 leading the way, there were many selections of options in The Indy lineup.  The Trail Indy had a two-up seat which offered comfort for both driver and passenger.  Polaris offered two long tracks which turned enjoyment out of any task.  The Indy Classic impressed the competition with its graphic design and then there was also The Indy Sport, The Indy 400 and The Indy Sprint.

1984 SNOWMOBILE RACING SEASON

The winter of 1983/84 saw a significant increase in snowmobile racing opportunity of all kinds for both racers and racing fans.  More races from oval sprint and endurance to snocross and cross country were scheduled in all the traditional competition hotbeds and in several new locations for the season.
A long line-up of sponsors including Budweiser, Schmidt, Pabst, Stroh and more put up healthy purses and promotions to add punch to the biggest racing season in more than a decade.
Snocross, plus oval and cross-country events were all showing growth and vitality for the 1984 snowmobile racing season.

SNOWMOBILING GROWING FAST

September 1976 - Since 1973, snowmobiling gained 19 percent more participants (from 7,700,000 to 9,200,000), which made it the third fastest growing sport in the nation.  So said a recent sports survey conducted by a National Research firm.
The study was conducted among 3,000 U.S. households. (2,000 households were surveyed in 1973), with the results projectable to all households and individuals in the U.S., according to the company.  The survey toke into consideration 27 sports activities.

1982 SKI-DOO 5500MX bLIZZARD

SNOWMOBILING AT ALBERTA

MERCURY DROPS SNOWMOBILE LINE

March 1976 - Mercury Marine discontinued the manufacture of snowmobiles according to announcement of a company spokesman.  According to Mercury, they will continue to provide service and parts to current owners and will honor warranty claims.
The spokesman said that the company's complete snowmobile inventory was sold out during the current season.  He also said that negotiations with three snowmobile manufacturers were currently underway regarding the purchase of production rights for The Mercury Snow-Twister line.
Mercury Marine entered the snowmobile business in 1967, and according to the spokesman has sustained losses each year since that time.

1988 ARCTIC CATS

1988 ARCTIC CATS

This is the complete line of models and specifications of the 1988 Arctic Cat snowmobiles

AKTIV GRIZZLY

A snowmobile manufacturer in Sweden has become popular in The United States, particularly in the west.
The AKTIV Grizzly has proven to be a prime piece of working equipment which not only offers a form of transportation, but can haul or pull cargo as well as perform many other utility tasks.
The Grizzly is powered by a 432cc Fugi fan cooled engine and it has a twin-track (15 by 151 inches) and is a single ski snowmobile.  It has a reverse gear and plenty of storage space.
The Grizzly will go virtually anywhere a track vehicle can go.

DEERE SWITCHES TO KAWASAKI ENGINES

January 1977 - John Deere announced that starting with its 1979 snowmobiles, they plan to purchase engines from Kawasaki Motors Corporation for use in their snowmobiles. The 1978 models continued to have Kohler and Kioritz engines

SNOWMOBILE SPEED RECORD

1985 Speed Record:
Marv Jorgensen's Chopper City Special holds the existing world speed record of 158.53 mph set in St. Paul, Minnesota, February 6, 1985

ARCTIC'S EXT RACING SNOWMOBILE

In 1972, Arctic Cat had a brand new sled for its factory racing team and for professional consumer and dealer racers.

The new EXT featured Kawasaki engines in 245, 290, 339, 398 and 436cc sizes in two-cylinder models.  In the 439 and 646cc sizes, the engines were three cylinder. Among the features of the EXT were new Arctic clutches, Arctic slide rail suspension and hydraulic brakes.  The sled was built wider (33 inches) than the consumer sleds which were 29 inches.
The EXT racers were made in sufficient quantities to be raced in all classes - modified or stock

SNOWMOBILING IN UTAH

ACCORDING TO THE STATE OF UTAH - snowmobiling in Utah is a dream, where the state works for the snowmobiler and the snow is made to order !

SNOCROSS CHALLENGE: EAST VS. WEST

December 5th and 6th, 1987 - Top western snowmobile drivers traveled to Minnesota - Flatlanders toke on mountain men.  The stage was set for a major snowmobile racing event when more than 20 top western racers traveled to Hill City, Minnesota, for the Toyota-Yamaha Formula Challenge North American Snocross.
Although the mountain men drivers were relatively inexperienced in the style of competition, they were not intimidated by the challenge.  They were confident that their skills would match up with the skills of the midwestern racers.

ANTIQUE SNOWMOBILE ENDURO

Green Lake,Wisconsin - The Green Lake Enduro Challenge, featuring competition among America's antique snowmobiles was held February 4-5, 1984. 
The event was sponsored by The Green Lake Antique Snowmobile Society.  The event had become one of snowmobiling's most interesting and fun event.
The antique snowmobiles were ridden in competition against each other, using a handicap formula to equalize advantages.

1985 SKI-DOO SAFARI'S

ALLEN HETTEEN- POLARIS CO-FOUNDER, DIES

November 1973 - Allen Hetteen, Co-Founder and past president of Polaris died November 24, 1973 as a result of a tractor accident on one of his farms near Roseau.
Hetteen, a pioneer in the snowmobile industry, began work on his first snowmobile in 1954 while in business with his brother, Edgar Hetteen.  The the Hetteen brothers, along with David Johnson, thus established Polaris Industries as a snowmobile manufacturer.  Edgar Hetteen later founded Arctic Enterprises in Thief River Falls, Minn.
Allen Hetteen became president of Polaris in 1960, and managed the company through its high growth years of the 1960's.  Polaris was sold to Textron, Inc. in 1968, and Hetteen continued as president until his resignation in m1970.

1969 HOMELITE SNOWMOBILE

In 1969 Homelite built three models of snowmobiles: The Ranger with a 10HP Husquevarna engine and a 12 inch track, The Forester with an 18HP JLO engine with a 15 1/2 inch track and The Explorer with a 23HP JLO engine with a 18 inch track.

BUDWEISER-POLARIS SETS SPEED RECORD

January 30, 1983 - The Budweiser-Polaris set a new world speed record.
The Budweiser-Polaris super-speed machine blasted down a quarter-mile of Lake Phalen at 150.75 Miles-Per-Hour (smashing the long standing speed record of 135.9MPH) to obliterate all records for an over-the-snow machine and also breaking all records of The Guinness Book of Records as being the fastest over the snow machine ever.

1977 SCORPION LINE-UP

In 1976 Scorpion expanded its Whip lineup with the Range Whip.
For 1977 Scorpion introduced another all new sled called The Sting, with a 440cc fan-cooled Cuyuna engine and either slide or Para-Rail suspension for the performance buyer.  The complete 1977 line-up included the Whip (with a deeper blue paint job), The Range Whip (in new rogue red), and The Lil' Whip, which also is a little deeper blue for 1977.