Some of the most interesting snowmobiles came from Canada – in fact, a lot of them did whether they were interesting or not. This 1965 Hus-Ski 200A is certainly interesting and the seller has it listed here on eBay in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, the heart of snowmobile country in the US, or one of them. There is an unmet $2,750 opening bid and no reserve after that. Let’s check out this former museum piece.
These two-piece snow machines, snowmobiles, sleds are incredibly interesting, or they are to me. I think there are quite a few vintage snowmobile fans among Barn Finds readers, some great and informative comments usually come up when we show one here. The photo above, I believe, is when this snowmobile was in the fantastic International Snowmobile Hall of Fame Museum in Eagle River, WI. If you’re even a remote fan of these winter machines you have to see that museum. The seller says that this one was actually in that museum for fifteen years and was recently removed. It’s nice enough to be in a museum, that’s saying something.
The Hus Ski was born in Ontario in the late-1950s and was the brainchild of the McOuat brothers. They had the idea of a “tractor” with tracks that pulled a sled that the driver or rider rode on and several prototypes were built between 1958 and 1961. It was originally called the Sno-Traveler but due to Polaris having had used that name for several years, they changed it to Hus-Ski for 1964. In 1965 the 200A model came out which offered a new driven clutch and new drive, the handlebars were slightly inclined, and the rear flap was changed from metal to rubber.
This one has been restored and kept up with small touchups here and there over the years. The seller refers to the cosmetic condition as being a 7 to 7.5 out of 10 which seems a bit low to me but I’m guessing that they know more about these sleds than most people do. It sure looks nice to me. We saw a related 1969 Bolens Diablo Rouge here on Barn Finds at the beginning of 2017. Remember that era? Didn’t things seem at least somewhat normal back then? The seller is including an extra sled and two skis that can be used as spares.
The engine is a 148 cc JLO with 8.8 horsepower, the same as what would have been offered in both 1964 and 1965. Before that they used a 134 cc West Bend Power Bee that wasn’t cutting it but the JLO worked much better. I think that the West Bend Power Bee is basically the same engine that I have in both the Sno Runner and Rokon. The seller says that this one has been kept in running condition and it’s ready to go right now. This sure looks like a machine that I would want to add to the oddball collection if I could. Have any of you owned or ridden a two-piece snowmobile like this Hus-Ski?
Who could have possibly wrote this up? Ta-da, S.G. again! Since both of us hail from the North Pole, we both have fond memories of how to pass winter. Early on, it was ice skates and those “kamakazi” toboggans( no brakes or steering) and eventually, made our way to snowmobiles. While this contraption may look odd, there were actually several manufacturers that used this “pull type” snow machine, they remarkably did a good job. Pulling something through the deep snow works better than trying to push the machine and rider. That’s quite an upgrade from 134cc’s to 148( sarcasm) but as stated many times, it wasn’t about blistering through the woods at 100 mph, an extra horse or 2 made a difference and JLO was an okay motor. I know Scotty doesn’t have room for this, but if he did, I all but guarantee it would be his. Great find, as usual.
I always thought my knowledge of snowmobiles was reasonably good. That is to say that I knew that there were more than (5) manufacturers of them. But I have to give the guys east of me ALL the credit. Up until now the only snowmobile I knew with this configuration was the aforementioned Bolens Diablo-Rouge. Many thanks to Scotty for constantly turning over the stones to find machines like this; they all had their place in transporting people (and goods) across the snowpack. Some of the wealthier people could opt for a prop-driven snow machine. There were manufacturers that popped up even in the 30s. There were also a lot of home-built, canvas-covered machines that were powered by Model-T or Model-A engines. A mechanic I knew who hailed from the northern part of KS told me of a couple of machines that ran Ford V8-85s. Those were less apt to roll because they could set the engine down in the frame and run V-belts up to the prop shaft. And with my generation, it was the OMC Snow-Cruiser, or the Arctic Cat Panther, or the Scorpian Stinger, or the Skid-Doo…
Hi Geo, prop driven sleds were nothing new for the enterprising Yoopers. While on vacation in the UP( der hey), I stayed at a motel, and the hallway was lined with vintage pictures of the peninsulas past, mostly winter. Some of the contraptions invented to get around, since auto travel was snow bound, were of similar nature. Many simply resorted to sleighs with airplane motors affixed to the back, with no guards whatsoever.While Wisconsin and Minnesota have fought for years on who made the 1st sled, it was neither and the nod goes to Bombardier of Canada. Check out THESE brave souls,,,
http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/TRANSPORT/propsleigh/propsleigh.htm
Definitely, check out this link.
Thanks Howard.
Thanks for the link, Howard!
Amazing link! Thanks, Howard.
So how do you start this thing? Is it sort of like the Piper Cub, by hand flipping the prop? Once started which way do you walk, especially if it starts moving forward?
The TV Show “ICE PILOTS” had a episode with one of these lake / ice things.
Should be a great track day vehicle…
My now deceased Father in law a 55 year snowmobiler used to talk about these; slow, cold, terrible in deep snow and tiring to drive. But as a kid I had a dealer down the road who used to let us ride them in the field across from his shop. I remember going around and around with the sled hanging way out there laughing as hard as I possibly could. Good fun as a kid.
Our first snowmobile was a later Hus-Ski, with the 10.5 hp JLO, then we had a Diablo Rouge with the infamous Hirth 54R; 12 hp crank with a 16 hp jug, easy to blow up. We went to Ski-Doos in ’69.
This is a pretty neat unit! When I was growing up we had two snow planes (what my dad called them) one of them had a 65 Continental and the other had an 85 HP Lycoming. They were awesome machines. Way to much speed potential for a completely no brakes affair.
Like two days ago I saw an add in a magazine for a brand new modern machine of this type, the concept has been alive for a very long time and apparently still going!!
Ah yes … fond memories of the Husky, they where near impossible to get stuck. I learnt quickly what NOT to do with them … because of the wooden cleats, if you turned too quickly & too sharp you’d snap those like twigs =O
the family present one year was a huski 200. the thing got rid hard by us kids. We had to replace many wooden cleats but soon found out hockey stick wood was superior and away we went.
Yes crazy cool, but still no bids.
Enzo Ferrari said that was the most beautiful snowmobile ever built.
I grew up in the Michigan, U.P., and remember seeing some of these two piece contraptions, on the trails back in the 1970s with my dad while riding on back of our 1969 Moto-ski. They seemed old even in 70s. My dad used to say if they ever got stuck in the powder, it would be there until spring.
Auction update: this one didn’t get an opening bid, was relisted at $2,650, and ended again with no sale.
Hey guys I went to YouTube to check these machines out and they looked amazingly effective, looked like they went at least 20 to 25 mph handled deep snow really well looked like a pretty good amount of fun could be had I was impressed!