Good or bad, and comments for twin-track Raider snowmobiles go both ways, it’s hard to argue with their uniqueness for traveling across the snow. This 1972 Raider 400 twin-track snowmobile is listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Pulaski, Wisconsin and they’re asking $1,800 or best offer. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Lothar… of the Hill People for the great tip! Stay warm, Lothar.
I hate to jinx it, but the recent half-inch of snow that we got in Minnesota has melted already and we’re down to bare grass again. Temperatures are in the mid-30s, this is a 180-degree change from when I grew up, and I don’t mean 180 temperature degrees, although it almost seems like it to have it this warm in December in a state that usually has two feet of snow on the ground by Thanksgiving. Or it did, back in the 60s and 70s when I was a kid roaming around on our ancient snowmobiles.
We never had anything as cool as a twin-track Raider back then but we knew about them. We had old Ski-Doos, Moto-Skis, and Arctic Cats and some of the Arctic Cats were so old they were white and red rather than black and purple with leopard pattern seats. Ours were usually rebuilt and the seats were covered by a single piece of heavy vinyl, done in our one-car unheated garage. I don’t want to get into a debate about people being tougher in those days, so I won’t say that they were… (how’s that for a leading thought?)
This is a great photo showing the cockpit of a Raider, a 1972 400 in this case. In 1972, Raider offered 290, 340, 400, and 440 engines and I’m very surprised to not see a tachometer on this one, I thought they were standard on the 400 models in 1972. The ’72 Raiders, like almost every updated vehicle today, were bigger, wider, and longer. Most snowmobiles relied on color but the Raider was instantly recognizable by shape, especially in profile. This example has NOS seats for both “driver” and passenger and a new windshield.
The engine is a 398-cc Canadian Curtiss-Wright (CCW) twin-cylinder with 30 horsepower. The seller says this one has new points and condensers, new fuel lines, a clean gas tank, and there are also new drivers for the eight-inch-wide tracks. They say the electric start works but it needs a new battery, and it isn’t a museum piece but appears to be a nice, very unique snowmobile. Let’s hear those twin-track Raider stories!
In some parts of Canada the snowmobile is the only way to get around in winter. Was a real game changer for alot of people.
My snowmobile experience is very limited. Usually stayed at the cabin because that’s where the cold beer 🍺, warm fire 🔥🪵, and the music was. Sleds and drinking don’t mix. Especially at nightime, but we’d see plenty of sleds at the bar always.
Rode a nice working/trail duty machine, a few times… Ski-Doo Skandic long track model.
Buddies usually liked used Yamahas back in the day. Reliable, like their motorcycles.
Now w Fuel Injection even turbos, and some serious suspension work, the big Alpine mountain sleds we see out here on the West Coast are something else. People launch them now lol. Huge air time. Really wild stuff.🤙
And Howard go!!
Thanks Howie, my views are pretty well known with these. I mean no disrespect to the author or the site, but Raiders get featured because they are so unusual. If the site is going to feature snowmobiles, there are so many much nicer sleds worth mentioning than the Raider. A couple that come to mind, Mercury Sno-Twisters, JD Liquifires, Arctic Cat King Kat, any of those God awfully fast 3 cylinder Polaris jobs, practically any SkiDoo or Yamaha. I’ve said before, someone buying this as their 1st sled will get a jaded view of the fun of snowmobiling. About all these are good for is maybe towing broken sleds in or drag a sled for firewood,, but poor in every other aspect. I had a CCW 400 in my Scorpion, had plenty of power, when it ran, that is.
Hey Scotty, being a fellow Minnesotan from the Iron Range, don’t forget Polaris. My cousin had a Bombadier Ski-Doo with either a wide track or double track, can’t remember which. I wasn’t interested in snowmobiles or if you’re in Alaska, snowmachines.
This is kind of a slick looking ride what with the rakish front end. Primitive by todays standards, I guess, but then again, I’ve not been around them much.
Hang in there, maybe some snow coming Thurs.
Good write up. BITD just having ANY snowmoble was wonderful as a young person. Mine was a Snowjet with a gas spitting Kehien carb that you adjusted on the fly as it roared between your knees as you slammed through the bumps. Suspension was crude to say the least.
Raiders had no suspension and also had you sitting on your butt, so there was no way to get out of the seat and let your legs act as the suspension. They were PUNISHING on your back to ride! And heavy. And slow.
Which I have repeated every time one comes up and I’m about to ignore any more Raider posts.
This one is priced about right for the market, but that isn’t saying much..
Im glad BF has the thumbs up button fixed!!!
.
Just curious, if one of the tracks on this Raider broke, does the thing just go around in circles?
Terrry,
You’ll have to ask Billy Preston! Lol!
I appreciate you doing the occasional snowmobile if its antique, vintage or possibly even Classics. But I enjoy that hobby, and probably almost as much as my love for the car hobby. Raiders are not really rare but they do stand out because they are quite different. They have a solid following and are people pleasing sleds in the shows. Here in Minnesota where I live at this time of the year we have 2-3-4 shows with in easy driving distance every weekend from now till late March. The shows are full of collector car loving guys and gals as there is tremendous crossover between the hobbys.
I always wanted a Raider just because, well my first love is sports cars and you don’t sit on top of a sports car, you sit in it. The Raider is aesthetically a beautiful sled. I could never afford one and by the time I could they were a thing of the past. A few years later another company manufactured one, I believe it was called a Marlin or some kind of fish. I never saw one in person and it was short lived. I had hoped it would catch on but it did not.
Just found the other two tracker, it was a Manta which was a bit more performance oriented, wider, lower and more power. Then there was the Trail Roamer which I never heard of until I searched this subject. The Manta appears to be used on compacted snow as the tracks are too short to provide floatation in powder..
Where i live in Alaska snowmachines are a way of life and I remember the first one I saw as a kid was a rear engine cat with a short track and a single ski.
Oh oh, someone grabbed this Raider, was it one of you?