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The Evinrude Twin Track

Subbmitted by: Olav Aaen

Back in the early seventies as the industry was dialing in on what would be a practical snowmobile, there were a lot of experimenting with both single ski and twin track sleds. There were both Twin track Manta Trail and Race sleds, and of course Gilles Villeneuves Twin Track Alouette racer. Gilles Twin Tracker showed all the signs of a winning concept once he got off the line. He was often slower in the start, but once he got going he could pass at will in the corners. The Alouette had the engine in the back between the track, and the driver in front race car style, and the Manta’s was of the same design. We felt that the weight distribution would maybe be more favorable with the engine up front and the driver between the tracks. Since the engine only weighted about 80 lbs, and the average driver 160 lbs, there would be more weight on the track, and therefore better hook up on the start. How would you place the driver? Should he sit leaned back or on his knees as was the practice in race boats. We felt that kneeling in between the tracks might give the racer a chance to stand up at the start for better weight distribution, and he would also be able to lean out over the inside track in the turns. So we made some layout sketches and showed them to the management. They were not well received, but not because it was not a good idea.
It turned out that the vehicle department was thinking in the same direction. Evinrude had a designer/stylist on contract. His name was Brook Stevens, already famous for his industrial designs and his manufacturing of the Excalibur car, a very nice retro-styled vintage car looking like the famous Duesenberg long hood movie star cars of the roaring twenties, but on a modern Chevy chassis. Stevens had just started on the twin track front engine concept sled for the Snow Show season. It had the driver leaning back and holding a steering wheel. The cockpit was padded, it had an Indy style wing in the back, a rotary Wankel engine in the front and futuristic Cobra skis from Mechanical Industries in front. The styling was great and the whole machine was very low to the ground. Because his project was ongoing we were told to back off for the time being on the race sled. Marketing wanted to show the sled on the fall Show Circuit to gauge the public interest. If there was great interest, and a twin tracker went into production, it would be of interest to have a twin track race sled program, but if we only made conventional single trackers, we should race single trackers, was marketing’s opinion, and they were correct as history proved later. The Stevens Show Machine created interest, enough to encourage further investigation of the concept. Although the sled was sleek and futuristic there was a major problem with the lay back driver position. It was good on glare ice, but once you hit rough trail you were thrown around and ended up with a sore back due to the limited suspension available at the time. To try and solve this problem, a twin track prototype was made were the driver had his feet in the well between the tracks, but he sat on a sort of banana shaped bicycle style seat. This meant that the driver could stand up in the bumpy sections and use his legs as shock absorbers, just like on a single tracker. The twin track prototype also steered real well in the corners, which was actually a surprise. In the end the concept was more expensive to build, not as easy to carry a passenger on and of course heavier and more difficult to transport on just an open double trailer. When the whole thing was evaluated, it was questionable if enough units could be sold to be a profitable venture. The twin track concept had performance advantaged as Ski-Doo would later prove with their very successful Oval racing F1 sleds. Ski-Doo also found a better position for the driver, sitting on top of the inside track tunnel. The Ski-Doo twin tracker was actually so dominant that the other manufacturers pulled out of the F-1 pro circuit, because they saw no value in allocating engineering resources to racing sleds that did not directly contribute to their bread and butter. Ski-Doo actually made a side-by-side twin track sled called the Elite, but it found limited acceptance. The other manufacturers instead concentrated on F-3 production based Oval-Racing sleds and the new emerging sport of Sno-Cross racing. To keep oval racing alive circuits went back to “Champ” class single track sleds which is now the top class at the Eagle River World Championship. So it turned out that the Evinrude marketing department was correct in their evaluation. The Stevens prototype was a great looking and futuristic styling exercise. The sled today sits prominently in the International Snowmobile Hall of Fame Museum next to the Derby Race Track in Eagle River, a great showpiece documenting a historical golden Era of snowmobile development.

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2017 Douglas, MN

GREAT SOUTHERN GRASS DRAG NATIONALS AKA DOUGLAS

On September 23rd the Byron Snow Bears held their 23rd annual event at their Douglas location. This years event was blessed with warmest weather in our events history with temps in the mid 80's. Because of the awesome weather our attendance and swap suffered a bit but there was no doubt after talking to transport teams coordinator he claim they have never been busier.
Over at the grass drags Tony Kruger and his PSDR Team had over 180 entries to race on one of the best grass tracks with clay starting lines in the Mid West. Mandi Higgins raced her Yamaha to wins in Vintage B, C & D while Tina Badker rode her Yamaha's to wins in Vintage A, AA & Mod Stock 340 F/A. Shania Kirkof finished up with the Ladies domination on the grass in the Vintage Class' on her Polaris with wins Vintage Mod Stock 440 F/A, Vintage Mod Stock 340 & 440 Liquid and Vintage Pro Stock 340 F/A. Local racer Turner Childs had another great run with wins in Vintage Open Mod 500 & Classic Pro Stock 600.
At the Swap around 300 swappers were selling their goods with some having great success and some not so much success, just like any swap...prices and demand can make or break you.
Now on to the Sled Show we had 86 participants this year with James Krubsack of Prescott, WI. taking home 4 Trophy Plaques including Best of Show along with the 1st Place in 1976 and Newer Race Class with his 1980 Arctic Cat Sno Pro and his 1977 Arctic Cat Z brought home the 1st Place Plaque in Original Race Class too. Local Oval Racer and Ski-doo Restoration legend Al Bruggenthies of Rochester added 4 new plaques to his collection winning 1st Place with his Restored Ski-doo K62 and also his Original 1972 Ski-doo Nordic brought Al the top award and topping it off his trophy run with a 1st with his Original 1978 Ski-doo Everest. Another multiple plaque winner was Jason Johnson, Belle Plaine, Mn. Jason took 4 Plaques home with a 1st Place with his Original 1975 Scorpion Stingerette in the Metal Flake Class. Local collectors that took home 1st Place plaques were Gary Bromley from Mantorville, MN. took a plaque home for his 1975 Rupp Nitro and Mitch Miller also from Mantorville showed off his 1970 Wheel Horse Custom to take home the top plaque in the Custom Class and Mark Shafer, Rochester, MN. won the 1975 and Older Race Class with his 1973 Polaris 340 Starfire. 1st Place Plaques were awarded to Allen and Dave Emme who made the drive down from Glencoe, MN., Allen picked up the top award for his 1968 Arctic Cat Panther while Dave got an 1st Place plaque for his 1971 Yardman. Other 1st Place Plaque winners were Trent Messner from Henderson, MN. with his 1976 Moto-ski Sonic and Brad Gomer of Bryant, SD. with his 1979 Polaris TXL also made the long drive to Douglas but the ride home was made easier with both heading West with top awards. Clint Matzke of Lewiston, MN. took 1st with his 1983 John Deere L/F while Springville, Ia.'s Dennis Neilson brought a 1982 Ski-doo MX North and took the 1st Place Plaque. Another 1st Place Plaque went to Lance Miketey from Fairfax, MN with his 1986 Polaris Indy 600 LE. Then Gene Anderson of Clear Water, MN. took 1st with his 1974 Raider Eagle and Kyle Baynes, Elko, MN. brought home the President Choice Award with his 1978 Ski-doo Super Mod an original Chuck Decker tribute sled. So to sum it all up... what an awesome day of Swapping, Grass Drags & Vintage Snowmobiles, the funds raised by our club are used maintain our Groomer and trails between Pine Island, MN. to Stewartville, MN.
Tom Anderson
Vintage Guy for the Byron Snow Bears

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15th Annual Snodeos Grass Drags and Swap

This year the Brainerd, Mn Snodeos Club held their 15th Annual event at the Crow Wing Fairgrounds September 15, 16, 2017. Friday started out very wet with a dumping of rain during the day. That did not stop the Races and Swappers from pulling in on Friday about 2 :00 pm.
Saturday September 16th started out cool and damp, but a good crowd developed by around 11:00 am. The Swapmeet offer many good deals and was much larger than the past. A good crowd of Drag Racers showed up and the drivers did a great job of helping keep the show going smoothly. There was a great crew running the races also! With the weather being what it was the show was on the lite side. The show sled owners that braved the weather brought out some very cool vintage machines.
All in all it was a great show, a lot of fun for all.

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Don Cummings Memeorial Show

Saturday May 17, 2014

Perry, NY

Story and Photos by David Wells

      Rainy weather and some localized flooding leading up to the 6th annual Don Cummings Memorial Antique and Vintage Snowmobile Show didn’t scare off many exhibitors, but it did alter use of the facilities at the Charcoal Corral Restaurant and Silver Lake Drive-In just south of Perry, NY. Wet grounds meant that this year’s show had to be confined to the drive-in parking lot instead of the inviting grass field. But no matter, there was more than enough room for the solid turnout of exhibitors drawn from three states and two provinces.

      This participant-judged event is presented by the Oatka Valley Snowmobile Association with help from numerous mostly local sponsors. Yamaha was this year’s featured brand. Mini-bikes and ATVs were a late addition to the show but aside from one large display of mostly Yamaha trikes, didn’t account for many entries.

      Best of Show went to Ralph Sonkey of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, for his original 1974 Kohler Sno Pro 650 triple. Sonkey is a serious three-cylinder collector, and got a chance to add this very rare machine to his collection. He says it contains a lot of Bombardier parts, which isn’t a surprise because the machine was one of a batch of just five sleds initially built for Kohler of Canada to compete in the new Sno Pro racing concept in the 1974 season.

      Best of Featured Brand went to veteran Vintage sled restoration artist Mark Elwell of Arkport, NY, for his beautifully rebuilt 1971 Yamaha SS 433, one of several Yammies from the 70s and 80s that he entered.

      The new Oatka Valley Snowmobile Association Choice Award went to James Blunden of Sherburne, NY, for his beautifully restored 1973 Chaparral Firebird 250 which was shown with a Chaparral suit, helmet, banner, and various other supporting materials that created a great display for the red sled.

      The nicest and maybe the most historic trio of sleds on exhibition was in the substantial Yamaha exhibit put together by Elwell, Jan Lesterhuis, and Gerry Murphy. A 1974 GPX 433 shown by Lesterhuiswas next to Murphy’s 1975 GPX 433 that was next to the derivative 1977 Exciter 440 also owned by Lesterhuis. Other notable Yamaha entries included Murphy’s grass racer replica 1972 GP 292 with a GYT kit, Elwell’s very clean and all original 1984 Phazer SE, and Murphy’s clean original 1986 Vmax 540.

      Other entries of note included a seldom-seen Arctic Cat House Cat shown by Pennsylvanian Bill Sowers. The bottom end (sub-Kitty Cat model) of the 1972 Arctic Cat line was an inflatable “snowmobile” styled after the big Cats and powered by the leg muscles of the rug rats it was made to carry. Henry Briscoe’s Arctic Cat competition sled display included Turf Tiger grass racer, a 1971 EXT Special, a King Cat 800,and a Sno Pro. He also exhibited a beautifully restored Cat Ramrod mini-bike. Steve Eichman brought a really nicely done 1972 EXT 650. Doug and Bob Crandell had their usual display of super clean Cats. And Adam Leubner showed a 1982 Arctic Cat Puma prototype with direct drive and a huge driven clutch mounted directly to the drive shaft. This model was never produced because Arctic Enterprises was forced into bankruptcy very soon after this rare prototype was constructed.

      Jeff Goole exhibited his 1995 Lynx 440 race sled from Finland, another very rare sight in North America. Richard Kepler showed a pair of 1974 Sno*Jet Sabre Jets, the commonly seen model with the 440 Yamaha engine and the rare one with theHirth 281RO 650 engine. Pete Kemp had his usual superlative line-up of Polaris and Polaris-built beauties. And Bruce Lindsley showed his georgeous 1972 Polaris Starfire 650 that is now dedicated to the memory of Gail Barber from nearby Bliss, NY. Barber was the biggest Polaris dealer in New York State for a time, and tireless promoter of the sport even after he left the dealer business. Tom Dickerson showed his usual nice group of Scorpions including a custom pinstriped 1980 Sting. First time show entrant Jim Van Wormer showed a pair of nicely restored John Deere green machines, and took home first place in class F with his 1974 model 300.

      One of the more interesting machines on display was an original 1974 Alsport Tri-Sport three wheeler powered by a Kohler 340 sled engine exhibited by show co-organizer Tim Rosenberg. Snowmobile engines like this K340-2AX axial fan twin represented a major power upgrade for the three wheelers of the early 70s that were more typically powered by four-cycle lawn mower engines or small industrial engines, so these vehicles certainly have a legitimate claim to be seen at snowmobile shows.

      Throw in a bunch of parts swappers, souvenir t-shirts and other apparel on sale, an excellent chicken barbecue, and other attractions, and the 6th annual Don Cummings Show was a complete vintage snowmobile experience. This show continues to improve every year, and we are already looking forward to next spring’s event.

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