Vintage Snowmobiles, Yes ANOTHER Hobby!-(Original Content and Pictures)
Good Morning Friends
If you've been following along, I'm certain you've noticed that I have a pretty diverse group of hobbies.
Time to show you another one!
Vintage Snowmobiles.
^^^Sending it on my 1979 Enticer!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Vintage Snowmobiles, or as I call them, Vintage Sleds.
There is just something about them..The smell of two-stroke, the rough-riding, almost crudely engineered suspension, and the ease of repair, Not to mention that I can usually find old, worn out, non running sleds for next to nothing, or sometimes even free!
Some of my sleds required full teardowns, like this 1978 Yamaha 440 Exciter. This sled can easily do 70mph on the straights, which is super-impressive for something built before I was born!
^^^Doesn't look like much sitting there, but this sled is quick!!!
^^^I had to rebuild the top-end, replacing the pistons, rings, wrist pins, needle bearings, and gaskets. I also had to put in a new fuel pump and ignition coil.
I wish I had a before picture of this sled I refurbished for my son. It actually started out as two parts sleds that I built one complete sled out of. He has since out-grown it, but boy he loved it!
^^^1987 Arctic Cat Kitty Kat
I'm a big fan of the Enticer series from Yamaha. I have the 1978 ET250 pictured above, as well as a 1980 ET340. Here's a cool side by side shot of the pair:
I've only ever repaired one Skidoo, but she was a fun little thing. This is my 1981 Skidoo 3500 Citation:
All in all, I've repaired and sold 19 snowmobiles over the last few years, and currently have 4 of my own that I'm keeping(for now) and one more larger sled for my son since he out grew the last one. That one will be ready for next season for him.....He can't wait, and neither can I!
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it!
Please upvote and follow along for more posts of varying topics!
Cheers!
Tim
Nice! My favorite older machine would have to be a Tundra.
Your first pic made me think of Enticer Larry, you ever watch his youtube videos? LOL
If you ever can't find some vintage parts, let me know! My parents own a sled repair business here and I know they have some vintage parts section in the back shop, I can go have a look for ya 😉
This alpine was my son's favorite when he was younger lol
Oh yeah!!!!
THAT IS AWESOME!!!!
The tundras are awesome, although I’ve never had one.
Enticer Larry, Hahahahah! Yes, did you pick up on my “sending it” comment under that pic? Lmao
A sled shop, cool!!! I appreciate the offer, I will let you know! My current project is not terribly vintage lol, it’s a 1980 Yamaha Bravo long track for my son. He loves it! Needs some odds and ends, and it will be back to its glory.
Cheers!
Tim
Nice! Bravo's are great little sleds too, he'll love it! The older ones are always easier to repair eh?! That's the same reason I drive all older Chevy's, easier to repair 😉
You got that right!!!!
Well well well someone else with a "problem" as my family likes to say ha! I have the same "problem" with camper vans (as you may have noticed)! This is so cool though...it's actually been on my radar to buy a snow mobile. I get so bummed out when our mountain pass closes, but I realized I can still go up there and make the most of it, and since hiking in waist deep snow doesn't sound fun to me, I thought: SNOW MOBILE! First step, working on a 4wd rig, but I'm going to hit you up when it's snow mobile shopping time. Also, I really appreciate you like the old ones with character. I feel the same about my vans:)
Hahahahahaha!
Yes, I've got a "problem" all right!
I love the old sleds. I once had an Arctic Cat that took third place in the snowmobile nationals in 1978! Lots of history and character just waiting to be uncovered.
Interesting about the camper vans, and 4wd rigs...I think I told you in another post about my desire for a overland setup...Well, I'm a bit closer now! Picked up a truck that needs some attention, which I'm going to try to do a conversion on, though my heart is really with old Jeeps and similar vehicles.
We shall see! Can't wait to see the 4wd rig, and when you get into snowmobiles, let me know!!!
:)
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Impresionante, yo siempre he querido usar una moto de nieve :o
¡son muy emocionantes!
they are very exciting!