Friday, July 4, 2014

1974 CHAPARRAL SSX

The 1974 Chaparral SSX got a new liquid cooled Xenoah engine in 1974 and Chaparral claimed that it runs cool all day long, reduced the chances of piston seizure, smoother, more consistent power output and virtually eliminated the possibility of vapor lock. The SSX was available with either a 340cc or 440cc.  Chaparral claimed the 340 put out 40HP and the 440 50HP

Thursday, July 3, 2014

1976/77 POLARIS COLTS AND THE PRICES

A Polaris ad with the features and prices of their 1976 and1977 Polaris Colt sleds

Polaris Star Engines
Torque Balanced Drive System
Polaris Slide Rail Suspension
Polaris Hydraulic Disk Brakes

Polaris Advertised: Squeeze the throttle and away you go.
The Polaris Colt will give you a run for your money 
 

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

THE BEGINNING OF SNOCROSS RACING

AFTER YEARS OF WAITING IN THE WINGS, THE SNOWMOBILE RACING EVENT KNOWN AS SNOCROSS HAS BURST ON THE SCENE WITH MUSCLES, ICE AND FIRE.
The first seeds of snocross were planted in 1976, when Sno Pro drivers returned from Scandinavia with reports of a different kind of snowmobile racing being practiced there.
   Based on motocross, the summertime event for motorcycle consisting of a mile or two of rough, bumpy terrain full of hills, jumps, sand and stones, snocross is a natural extension of the sport for Scandinavians.  Snowmobiles there are called "scooters" and most Europeans regard sleds as motorcycles for snow.
   The American drivers saw upwards of twenty Scandinavian sledders at a time racing on motocross style tracks carved out on the deep Arctic Circle snow.  It was fast, popular with both drivers and fans alike and although no one could report seeing anyone hurt racing snocross, it looked scary.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

MOTO-SKI'S VACATION CONTEST

Valcourt, Quebec - As winners in Moto-Ski's  "Winter Dream Safari" contest, 10 couples received a free snowmobile vacation in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, during the first week of February, 1975.  The contest ran from October 15 to November 30, 1974 for consumers who registered at participating Moto-Ski dealers.
   Winners were flown to Reno, Nevada then driven to Lake Tahoe for the six day vacation, which included guided safaris through the mountains.

Monday, June 30, 2014

POLARIS SETS SALES RECORD

The 1986-87 sale season, which included severe snow droughts in some prime snowmobile sales markets, was the sixth straight record-setting sales year for Polaris, which saw the total sales top $100 million for a one year period.

Saturday, June 28, 2014

ABOUT MYSELF

I would like to tell you a little more about myself.  As I've illustrated in my profile within this blog, my life has been centered around snowmobiles which includes the present time.  I was a Rupp dealer from 1969 thru it's death in 1978.  In 1980, I, along with some help made an attempt to bring Rupp Industries back into existence.  "GO HERE", To read all about this attempt.  In 1984, I moved to South Dakota and went on to expand my snowmobile parts and accessories operation by the name of SnoCat Shack and later was renamed Sport Shack, because of a legal matter.  I sold Sport Shack in 1996 and started a company by the name of Battery Shack and sold over 14,000 batteries in 10 years. "CLICK HERE", To learn more about this business.

RUPP INDUSTRIES RECEIVING ADVERTISING REWARD

Eight awards for marketing and creative excellence in advertising and sales promotion were awarded to Rupp Industries for 1971.
   Rupp received one first award with no second or third place honors of excellence. The first award  was for the best coordinated advertising campaign.  This was the third consecutive year that Rupp has captured top honors in that category.
   Other awards to Rupp included Citations of Excellence for point of purchase display; sales aids; trade paper ad; radio commercial, 60 seconds; consumer magazine campaign, 3 or more colors; direct mail, folder stuffer, and 24 sheet outdoor poster. This included all of the companies products - snowmobiles, cycles, Ruppsters and carts.
  Rupp was also awarded a Certificate of  Excellence in Graphic Design by The Meade Paper Company for the companies 1970 Annual Report, the first annual report for Rupp, which went public in April of 1970.
   Learn all about Rupp by "Clicking Here"

Friday, June 27, 2014

1977 ARCTIC CAT LINEUP

After lying dormant for a year, the Lynx emerges as Arctic Cat's "newest" sled for '77.  Restyled and redesigned from the track up, the Lynx is aimed at the snowmobiler looking for a sled with lightweight price and heavy weight value.
   In addition, Arctic is back with it's bread-and-butter machines:
Jag
Pantera
El Tigre
Panther
Cheeta

Thursday, June 26, 2014

1980 KAWASAKI INVADER LTD 4/6

The 1980 Kawasaki LTD 4/6 not only looked good but also performed good.
  The Invader LTD 4/6 went far beyond any Kawasaki snowmobile ever introduced.  It paralleled the original Invader concept, but delivered more performance combined with more standard features than most snowmobiles offered as options.
   Its rich glacier green coat with silver black accents with gold pin stripping was an indication of the engineering effort put into the LTD.
   The LTD is powered by a newly developed four-into-six transfer port 440cc liquid-cooled engine designed to provide a denser, more quickly fired fuel charge.  The engine uses a twin spark plug capacitor discharge ignition (CDI) and dual tuned exhaust for optimum performance.