295/s.....potential

[JRC ETD]

As the Deere race models compare to competition the 295/s had the greatest straight line speed advantage over all it's competition. Many of you have seen the Snopod picture of Marv Ode's 1974 I-500 winning A-cat from last Thursday, Marv drove a great race and finished the first 500 that was inverted from St.Paul up to Winnepeg. But.....on the road or lake surfaces the 295/s had a easy 10mph speed advantage overy any sled in the field, the boggie slide suspenion was a real speed multiplier on flat surfaces and in marginal snow. The S motor was awesome and still wins stock 300cc grass drags today, the sled was built with 3 suspensions boggies, boggies slide and slide. 2 gallon in glove box tank was standard, with aluminum skis.... a drag sled in drag for the I-500. My flight off Lake Pahlin in St.Paul started 5th, 10 sleds to a flight, at the end of the lake I was in already in the top ten with the speed advantage the S gave me....passed everything like they were parked.........carbides gave out on the roads leading into Alexandria, went down to springs after the ski's went away. Deeres were dominate in speeds, but we had not learned the carbide 10 inch trick yet.......No sno-princess kisses that day Rich....just more humility! Best JRC ETD

[400brian]

Great story Jon!

I rode my Uncle's brand new 295S back in the day.
He was a dairy farmer at the time, and had blown the motor on his '72 500, and didn't want to wait to get it fixed. He said he bought the 295S because it carried the skis across the dealer's parking lot! It was never raced, he trail rode it, which I would say it was not particularly well set up to do.

I got to ride it one night, I was probably 16 years old, and was used to riding our '72 400s. My recollection is that it was scary fast! The clutch engaged at a higher speed than I was used to, and once it engaged, the thing would just keep accelerating until you let off the gas. When you were talking about racing across the lake, I instantly recalled that night on the sled.

[JRC ETD]

Brian....your description is right on....it carried the skis so far that you would have to drop the throttle to drop the ski's and turn.... of course rough terrian is another story with challanges and performance targts exceeding any other OEM's. The sled has a strong engine, light weight chassis, and suspension that made it a contender. Best JON ETD

[grantnelson00]

Did you guys see the 295 for sale on Ebay? Item #150049955008

I realize I'm probably preaching to the choir.

[WinnipegStPaul9]

Jon, I too remember 74 well. I was riding Polaris. With a lack of snow, I kept my fingers crossed that I could finish the first day but, no such luck. Don't remember where I was but the track/suspension just disentegrated. Awfully short race for a long drive from Indiana. Later, I became friends with Tom Otte. He needed a farm truck that I had (I owned a Chevrolet dealership) and I wanted the 295/S that he raced to 9th in 74. I borrowed a semi and hauled the truck to his house and brought the 295/S home. I couldn't wait to ride it (my downfall) even though it lacked the belt guard. I rode it to a local lake where I knew I could run wide open and was doing so when the belt broke. It shattered the hood and more importantly, the headlight. The headlight was important as it was about 2am. I can only hope that I've gained a little wisdom since then. Oh, during the race, the throttle cable thumb control broke so Tom got out his ViceGrips, pulled the throttle
cable all the way out, clamped it down to the handle bars and finished the race using the kill switch when he needed to slow down. Don

[JRC ETD]

Don....Tom's 295/s finished 10th if I remember correctly, great stories, Rich you guys worked very hard with great success all through the Deere years. The bottom line on racing Deere sleds was commitment and making your own advantages because we never had the whole performance package even with the Liquidator.....Cross Country Liquifire may be the closest design to performance harmonization and reliability. The 295/s remains a amazing striaght line speed sled. Best JRC ETD

[I500]

Jon

Not sure if i should thank you or not for my addiction to JD sleds.

My addiction started as a St.Paul kid from the Lake Phalen area watching all the Deere sleds and Drivers . Not because they were cool or anything but because they were different than all my neighbors sleds . My Neighbors and friends were all riding cats and polaris sleds. As far as that goes our family had Rupps.

Yes Jon, I met a bunch of you guys on the Lake and that memory has ben with me to this day. Maybe even haunted me . But here i am . Lots of brand loyalty at schools them years and i always stuck with supporting Deere. I even told my self one day that i would own a Liquidator.

I do a little drag racing with the 295/s and 340/s and have had a little success with much more work to do. I do believe in the performance of the little 295/s and consider it as one of my favorites to ride if not my favorite.

I do remember the Winnipeg and now i also own that Liquidator I promise myself
as well as a couple other Deere sleds. I will met you guys again at the Hall of Fame this winter and look forward to it. Thanks for the memories

PS. Did you have a chance to use that Liquidator decal set i sent you a couple years back.?

Chuck

[Matt]

Thanks JRC. I've only ever gotten to ride mine a few times, and it is by no means tuned to it's potential, but it is definitly a fun ride.

[JRC ETD]

Thanks Chuck....hope your addiction is satisfying, The decal set is going on a team sled I am restoring...The "Lake" has alot of memories for all of us. Matt the 295/s is always a kick to drive. Best JRC ETD

[deerefanatic]

I don't know about you guys, but is it just me or is the 00/jdx series of sleds better designed than the later first gen liq & cyclone?

You know, the fact that the 295/S could do huge ski lifts and such... My dad's buddy when he was growing up had a JDX8.... Was one of few sleds that could hold a candle to my dad's Polaris TX..... Dad says how that X8 would hold skis off the ground for a good 100 feet or so.... My 440 Liquifire wont even think of such a thing! Even on grass or marginal snow! too much weight far out front I think...... With the engine being front mount instead of mid-mount.........

I have to agree that the 340/S sure ushered in an era of better looks though!!

[Matt]

You won't get too many replies here since this is an archive section.

There are a lot of things you are not taking into consideration. The big advantage to the Liq/Cyclones are handling. Yes, mid mount have better weight transfer to the rear of the sled because of where the weight of the engine sits, but they are a handful to turn in some conditions. The Liq/Cyclone will walk circles around them. Also, just because the Liq/Cyclone doesn't lift skis, doesn't mean it is not just as fast off the line - it just has more weight up front and lower so it is harder to do, but they can be just as fast.

[Liquifire 4/6]

I don't know about you guys, but is it just me or is the 00/jdx series of sleds better designed than the later first gen liq & cyclone?

You know, the fact that the 295/S could do huge ski lifts and such...

deerefanatic.....while a sled dangling it's skiis in the air for a couple hundred feet may look impressive, it is by no means an indication of a better designed sled. It takes power to lift skiis. Power that would be more productive if used to make the sled move forward rather than upward. And since most snowmobile races are measured in distance as opposed to altitude, oftentimes the drag sled that lifts the skiis the highest is the last one at the checkered flag. It's also a real pain to steer a sled when the carbides are a foot away from the ice. That being said, it still love to find a 295/S.