First Snowmobile

[DLDeere]

First sled I road was a late 60's Ski Doo Olympique, 12hp, then upgraded to a newer Olympique with an 18 hp motor. Then in 1973, my brothers & sisters & I pooled our money from our savings accounts. I was 12 and the oldest. Dad helped out by trading in a riding lawn mower and threw in some more cash, and we bought a brand new JD 400 from our local JD dealer, Galesburg Implement in Galesburg, ND. We all have great memories of snowmobiling with friends, neighbors and cousins, riding the small river near our farm. We still have that 400 and the original invoice. It is restored and running. That same 400 is the first sled my kids rode!

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• JD_400.jpg (95.21 KB)

[DevonV]

My first sled i rode was a 1974 JDX6 and i still own it 2 day

[69camaro]

Please keep the stories coming. They are great!!!!!!!!!Duane

[JDT]

Way to go Howard.

[Cabindweller]

The first Snowmobile I ever drove was an old scorpion one lunger, Don't remember what model. I was around 13 at the time. Boy what a blast it was to get that machine up to 30-35mph. The sled belonged to my best friend. The Track ripped wile I was at the wheel and that ended our fun. I few weeks later my buddy found a JDX4 with out a moter in it. So our plan was to take the Motor out of the Scorpion and put in the Deere. Boy I remeber we felt like ace machanics trying to figure out how to make the switch. We had to drill new moter mount holes in the Deer to get the Scorpion Motor bolted in. After a good day of working on it we had it going and finally could get back out in the feild and take turns riding it. Wouldn't you know that the track tore on the Deere wile it was my turn to ride. My buddy was a little hot with me because both tracks tore wile I was driving. There we sat without a sled to ride again. It was the following fall that I saw my first true love when it comes to sleds. I was staying with my Uncle for deer hunting. My Uncle was a sled head. He had quite a collection. Wile we was out and about his place one day I took a look in a small shed he kept some of his sleds in. And there she was... 1976 Liquifire 440, I was awe struck. Her sleek Lines and killer paint scheme had me mesmerized. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I asked my uncle if he would ever consider selling it and was surpriesed when he said yes. When I got home I bothered my Dad about buying me that Liquifire untill he couldn't take it no more. So my first Snowmobile was that 76 liquifire 440. Like A fool I sold it to a friend of mine in high school. and he smashed it into a fence or a tree and wrecked it. He took the 440 motor and put it into a 340 chassis. I Just got that back last spring. And that is what brings me to this forum. I love them Deere sleds, especially the first generation Cyclone Liquifires. I Like all the deeres but them Liquifire Cyclones are my favorites. Its my opinion that they are the sharpest looking sled ever made. I know that is debatable, but it is how I feel about them.

Jerry

[400brian]

First ride was an OMC, probably around '68. I remember being taken for a ride on frozen lake Wisconsin. After that, it was all Cats. My aunt had me driving her Panther around their house when I was around 10 years old.

In the fall of '71 Pa bought the brand new 400, and I was one happy kid!

The dealer had set up a display of the new sleds at the county fair that summer, and Pa had picked up a brochure which I seeming spent hours looking at ( still have it ).

I had a mini bike that got run more months of the year, but snowmobiling was always a much bigger deal!

I was totally out of sledding from around '80 till'around '04. It had gotten so that I hated winter. But since I got back into it, winter is more tolerable.

[340s]

I first rode a 340/s when I was 7 (aside from a 72 kitty kat). My dad took me out for a ride and then MADE me drive with him on the back. He kept telling me to go faster across the farmer's field. I remember doing 70 and looking back to find out dad had intentionally slid off the back at high speed and I was alone (not smart but hey it was the 70s!). So I turned around and went to pick him up. Should have made him walk home! He later said he wanted me to learn to not be a wuss on a sled (not sure if that worked or not).

So I went back and picked him up in the field but it was a story that never quite got to Mom when we got home! LOL Anyway, that's why there's a 340/s in my own garage today. Great memories.
Craig

[augie]

my first sled was an evinrude twin cyl. with elec start and reverse , my uncle gave it to me, i was young, top speed was 35, great on trails, my buddys would all fly past me when we got to a field and wait at the other end for me. thank goodness for the big storage space under the seat , i had tools bolts nuts and other hardware because things were constantly falling off of it. the next summer i went over it and as i said was young, i cut the end of the exhaust off and it was disgustingly loud, dependable but loud. traded it for a truck and that was the end of riding for me. about 1980. i just got a spitfire and am waiting for snow.

[S_Kyle]

I'm surprised that there is so many OMC/JOHNSON/EVIRUDE products listed here. They must be more common than I thought.

Scott

[400brian]

In the early to mid-sixties, OMC was WAY ahead of everyone else.

If you go to the Eliason Museum in Sayner, WI., that is very apparent, as they have a good selection of those early models. They stayed with the opposed twin too long, and didn't make the change from building snow tractors to sport machines until they had lost their market.

Around here, the OMCs were the first ones people bought.

[S_Kyle]

They seem to have vanished for the most part around here. There are still a few cashes hidden away, went to visit a old guy with 12 OMC's 3 in almost new condition. But his deal is take them all or none

Scott

[EricR]

Omc's were the indestructable tractor of the sled business. I spent many hours riding sometimes three up on a '70 Evinrude Skeeter with the 20" track, reverse and electric start. Thee up and towing one on a tractor innertube on a long rope. It would bore through cattails on the lake's edge until the screen on the carb intake was clogged with fluff and keep right on going once it was cleared. Loud, slow and heavy, it never quit. Plus in lake areas Johnson and Evinrude outboards wer very popular as well as a large dealer network. From what I understand the JX/Skimmer sleds were great machines, and could have been released in '72 rather than '74 but the factory brass didn't want to release them for sale.

Now on another note, the first sled I got a ride on was a '72 Panther in about '73 or so. The first actual machine I rode myself was my dad's '69 Ski Doo Nordic 371. The first owned was a '70 12/3 Ski Doo Olympique purchased on a garage sale for $95 in the fall of '80 or '81. It ran great but the track wasn't good. I destroyed that sled learning to work on them.

[DevonV]

u destoryed it working on it?

[DevonV]

how did u manage that?

[cledussnow77]

I still own my first sled , 78 spitfire , dad bought two of them brand new in 78 , its the one to the right in the pic i also have the other that my dad bought with it but its not in the pic love sharing this story and hearing stories just like it thanks guys ed

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• spitfires.jpg (148.4 KB)