SOVIET AMBASSADOR GETS U.S. SNOWMOBILE

Press Release - November 1971
Anatoly F. Dobrynin, Soviet Ambassador to The United States (center) and Hubert Humphrey, U.S. Senator from Minnesota, try out a snowmobile presented to Ambassador Dobrynin recently at the Russian Embassy.  Lending advice to the pair is Lowell T. Swenson, president of Arctic Enterprises, Inc., who manufactured and donated the Arctic Cat snowmobile to the Ambassador.  Dobrynin has expressed a desire to try snowmobiling to Senator Humphrey during a reception at the Soviet Embassy and Humphrey passed the comment along to Swenson, who then arranged through Humphrey to present the 1972 Panther to the Ambassador.  The machine will be shipped to Dobrynin's home in Moscow.

ANTIQUE CLUB CONTINUES GROWTH

November, 1983 - Wisconsin
The foundation for an antique club was formed on Labor Day weekend back in 1976, when Jack Woeckner of Green Lake, Wisconsin and Bud Wieman of Franksville, Wisconsin met to discuss the idea of establishing an organization to preserve old snowmobiles. Before the weekend was up, Woeckner (representing the Green Lake Antique Snowmobile Society) and Wieman (past president of The Association of Wisconsin Snowmobile Clubs) formed a new club known as the Antique Snowmobile Club of America.
   By-laws were established for the club, designating any snowmobile with a model year of 1966 or before as an "antique."  Bud Wieman served as first president of the club and registered 100 antique snowmobiles in the first year
   Anyone with snowmobiles that might qualify as an "antique" can find out about eligibility by sending the brand name, model name, model number, chassis serial number and a photo, if possible, to The Antique Snowmobile Club of North America, 1302 Locust St., Sterling, Il 61081

THE NEW 1974 RUPP SNOWMOBILES

November 1973 - The 1974 Rupp Snowmobile Line.  The Sport and American are basically the same as the 1973's with some new stripping but The Nitro II is an all new sled.
   Rupp's Back In The Ballpark With A Very Light, Super Fast, All-Out Handler.- The Rupp Nitro II is the first major design change out of the company for years, and deserving of more significant recognition than a mere "II" added to the old name.  The most obvious giveaway is that for the first time at Rupp, the engine has been moved down and ahead of the chassis tub.  This forces the relocation of practically every component under the hood.  This effectively lowered the center of gravity by about two inches and makes it one of the lowest  in its category.  The Nitro II is powered by either a 340cc or 440cc Kohler fan cooled engine with dual Mikuni carbs.  The suspension is also new with a new involute track and drive system.

ARCTIC TO MAKE KAWASAKI/SNO-JET SNOWMOBILES

May 1976 - A 1976 Press Release  from Arctic Cat says that Arctic Enterprises, Inc. will manufacture snowmobiles for Kawasaki Motors Corporation, USA, beginning with the 1977 model line at its plant in Thief River Falls, Minn.  The contract between the companies is for three years, and calls for Arctic to manufacture a minimum of 10,000 Kawasaki/Sno-Jet sleds for the first year.
   Earlier this year, Kawasaki purchased the tooling and manufacturing rights for the Sno-Jet line from Conroy, Inc. Arctic had assembled Sno-Jet's 1976 models.
   Kawasaki's research and development center in Shakopee, Minn. will be responsible for product engineering and improvements for the Sno-Jet line, including a new Kawasaki engine that will be used in more than half of the Sno-Jets to be built by Arctic this year.  The Shakopee facility will continue to plan the development of a completely new line of snowmobiles that will be sold beginning with the 1977-78 season.

THE 1985 SNOWMOBILE FUEL ECONOMY RUN

October, 1984 - Annual Fuel Economy Run.  The Arctic Cat Jag, sipping just three gallons of gasoline, recorded a fuel economy best MPG of 33.6 Overall average.. The 1985 model Jag, with a 440cc engine, did in fact get 33.6 MPG. under real world conditions, on real trails.  That's 3 gallons of gasoline for 100 miles.
   This wasn't some government EPA estimate. The Jag did pass tech inspection. It was stock.
  The Yamaha Phazer was the next best at an average of 26.44 MPG followed by the Polaris SS at 25.44 MPG

THE 1980 YAMAHA ENTICER 340 DELUXE

October 1979 - Yamaha said this was the supreme machine of snowmobiles.  The 1980 Yamaha Enticer 340 Deluxe sled.
   You get a lot of machine and rich looking plush, plus all the favorite inbred Enticer traits. On the scale it's 392 pounds (dry).
The Deluxe is fitted with a 338cc fan-cooled engine that develops 32 horse power at 6,500 RPM.  The Deluxe is built to perform.
The Enticers basic equipment includes CD ignition, a single Mikuni VM38 for carburetion, as if that weren't enough to cover the price tag, the deluxe has Autolube. That's Yamaha's own oil injection system. Autolube means hassle-free driving.
   Yamaha's engineers venture to say that the Enticer Deluxe is the highest performance 340 on the market.

THE 1974 SUZUKI XR-440 SNOWMOBILE

Autumn 1973 - Beautifully Built, The Suzuki XR-440 make tracks over a trail zoomed along by a 37-hp, 432cc twin with reed-valve induction.  That's the most powerful engine in any Suzuki snowmobile.
   Handling has been improved with a new slide-rail suspension that's claimed to cut track friction on the snow and deliver more horsepower.  Starting is easier because of pointless CD ignition.  Luxury touches include dual rear view mirrors, padded handlebars, tachometer and speedometer.

MERC, YAMAHA DOMINATE HODAG

December, 1975 - Rhinelander, Wisconsin
Mercury and Yamaha dominated the 12th annual Rhinelander Hodag 50 oval events December 13 and 14, as the two companies combined to take every class title but one over the weekend.  Mercury finished as the individual leader, winning six out of seven stock classes on Saturday and four out of eight in the mods on Sunday.
   The top drivers were Brad Hulings, Edinboro, Pa, who had two stock and two mod stock wins, and Ed Schubitzke, Duluth, Minn., who took two super mod classes and one mod stock.

SNEAK PEAK AT THE 1989 YAMAHA OVATION

April 1988 - For 1989 Yamaha offers A new sled called the Ovation.  This easy handling trail machine looks somewhat like a cross between the Invivter and the Phazer.  The Ovation has many of the same front end components as the Phazer, including TSS independent front suspension and a wider ski stance.
   Available in standard and deluxe models, the Ovation is powered by the same 337cc fan cooled motor made famous by the sled it replaces, the Enticer.

1972 SNO-JET THUNDER-JET

November 1971 - Sno-Jet is building 100 of it's "Thunder-Jet" racers in each of the 292, 338, 433 and 643cc classes.  Sno-Jet will then sell these to distributors, who in some cases, will race themselves, and will sell others to selected racing dealers.
   Sno-Jet pays the entry fee for all of the Thunder-Jets entered in any races.  The purpose, according to a spokesman, "Is to develop a more dependable consumer sled."
   The Thunder-Jet features aluminum chassis, slide suspension, disc brakes, stamped tunnel pipes and other features.