Even though there’s no snow on the ground where I am now – at least at the moment – having grown up in the upper Midwest in the 1960s and 70s, snowmobiles were something most people either had or wanted. The seller has this rare 1970 Ariens Arrow 400L snowmobile listed here on eBay in Collegeville, Pennslyvania, and I’m surprised that nobody has clicked on the opening bid price of $500 yet. Let’s check it out.
I’m surprised there wasn’t a Campbell’s Soup snowmobile in the ’60s and ’70s, it seemed like almost everyone was getting in on the absolute craze of offering machines to carry passengers across the snow and ice. A lot of them were rebadged brands and many famous existing manufacturers entered the burgeoning market. One of these companies was Ariens, a company known for lawn care equipment, which started out offering snowmobiles made by Skiroule out of Quebec, Canada in 1969. From that point until 1973, Ariens offered ten or so models of snowmobiles.
The Skiroule connection is hard to miss, at least from the front. Michael Ariens asked Skiroule to make snowmobiles for his company in their signature orange color rather than Skiroule green. Ariens started offering a US-made version in 1970 at their Wisconsin factory and there were six models in 1970, with the 400L being second from the top with only the 400LE (E = electric start) being higher in price.
The controls and gauges are nothing like you’d see on a new snowmobile, of course. These were simple days when not many companies were thinking outside the box and most offered the same layout and overall design, just with different colors, a different hood or cowl, different seat fabric, etc. The Arrow series offered both 15″ and 19″ track lengths and engines from 293-cc to 436-cc. This model has a 19″ track and a 399-cc engine.
This is a Kohler 399-cc twin-cylinder, which had 26 horsepower when new. The seller says that their father bought this sled brand new in 1970 for their mother for Christmas. Wow, $1,075 in 1970 is $8,528 today, that’s one heck of a present! They say that it has always been kept inside and hasn’t been used in 30 years, but I’m sure that any Barn Finds fan could have it running again in no time. Are there any vintage snowmobile fans out there?
Vintage snowmobile fan here. I live in upstate New York where vintage snowmobile shows and swap meets are plentiful in the fall. They say that at the height of the snowmobile craze in the late 1960’s-early 1970’s, there were 450 different snowmobile manufacturers. Then a few years of no snow in the mid 1970’s put most of them out of business. The manufacturers also made motorcycles, boats, boat motors, bowling pins, lawnmowers, cars, etc .. If anyone wants to see most of the makes in one place, the Top of the Lakes snowmobile Museum in Michigan has a display like no other.
Hi Tom, I believe that’s a bit much, as I read, there were 258 known manufacturers. I’d post a link, but that has gotten full of ads too. I forgot to mention, H-D made a decent sled that was a gussied up AMF Ski-Daddler with Italian motors, and very rare today.
Looks like the same color as my 70s era Ariens snow blower.
I can smell it from here, hear it as well.
Good times Paul 🍻 ❄️
I miss ripping around on a 440 Skandic
I remember they would mess up TVs and trails deliberately ran far away from houses.
This is just amazingly preserved. I wonder just how much “Dad” actually bought this present for “Mom” lol. Just kidding. So many of these were rode hard and put away wet. This was very well taken care of so many were left outside to battle it out with the elements when they became outdated. Its so nice it was kept inside and preserved. Hope it goes to a good home.
If you had electric start on your snowmobile back in 1970 you were the rich kid on the block.
You sure got that right. Fact is, most us that did that were well versed at reconnecting the pull start. Most carried a piece of rope to wind around the clutch to start it, not if, but when the recoil failed. Electric start was for the ladies, real men pulled their arms off.
I don’t know about you, but I miss this writers submissions. For some reason, the staff probably doesn’t print an nth of what he submits. What they do print, is always a treat. You won’t see this writers name on a Grand National Buick.
Can’t add much, except, him from Minnesota and me from Wis., we’ve always had this silent feud, who was more influential in the snowmobile biz, Minn. or Wis. We’ve determined, inconclusive. Wis. clearly led the way for years, John Deere( Horicon) and Mercury( Fond du lac) were the biggies, Ariens, not so much. There was Bolens and many smaller companies, even the 1 and only Honda snowmobile prototype, the White Fox, made in Greenfield, that never made it, but Minn. hails as the chief for still making sleds today.
This particular sled, said many times, was for a different time. It has poor steering, bogie wheel suspension, no brakes to speak of, but for putt-putting down a snow covered trail, mom, kids, even grandma, it was good old family fun, for under a grand TRAILER INCLUDED, and 15 mph was just right. The 399 Kohler had to be the most popular motor, but not without woe. It was not uncommon to have a compartment full of fouled plugs. Belts shredded without warning( a spare was paramount), but for all its shortcomings, I can honestly say, it was the most fun I had with my clothes on,,,,Thanks SG!
These old sleds are sort of like Model T’s. Fun and useful in their day, but not really practical anymore. Even if you did have electric start, the charging system was rudimentary and the battery was often dead as they are not easy to start cold. You will stink like gas from the carb in your lap, even on a short ride. And they went through belts pretty quickly. They were noisy, uncomfortable and slow.
I’m not sure if a 10 or 12 year old would even want to ride one today. That said, back in the day, if you had one it was a ticket to fun in the snow. For me, they were the seed of a lifetime of snowmobiling, (although 400lb, $10K sleds have killed that).
Perhaps someone will buy it out of nostalgia and keep it clean and running. Certainly the condition looks good, price is right and maintenance is simple.
$10k for a new snowmobile now? Not so much. My last factory-made, non-custom sled cost $80k. It was a CMX, the Lamborghini of snowmobiles. Google it if you like to read about amazing snowmobiles (kevlar, titanium, carbon fiber, turbos, superchargers, super light, long track, very deep lugs, belt drive, long travel suspension, computer diagnosis and monitoring system, pull start with battery-less capacitor electric start, etc.)
I actually understated current prices. Here is the Polaris line up.
PRO RMK Slash. Starting at $16,099 US MSRP.
RMK Khaos Slash. Starting at $15,499 US MSRP.
PRO RMK. Starting at $14,699 US MSRP.
RMK Khaos. Starting at $16,499 US MSRP.
SKS 146. Starting at $13,599 US MSRP.
RMK EVO. Starting at $8,199 US MSRP.
I miss riding on VAST trails in Vermont at midnight! Had an H.O. Skidoo 03 and Arcticat ZR600 1998.
These like all sleds from that era weighted about 2000lbs, :)
I had two snowmobiles back when I was twelve years old until I turned sixteen.my dad bought me a second hand rupp 375 one banger it was pretty fast for it back then it would notoriously faul up the plugs and a sob to start.my dad got rid of that one lol.my Grandpa bought a brand new chapperal 250 a one banger engine that had a loud exhaust on it everybody could always hear me around lol.I rolled it over and injured my right hip I was out of gym class for most of that year in high school the next year I was riding on my friends arctic cat panther we both ended up rolling that one over I injured my right hip again I was out of gym class again my gym teacher was frustrated with me lol after that no more snowmobiles years later another friend of mine had a Yamaha enticer we did wheel stands with both of us on it he let me drive it I couldn’t even see the speed o meter it was so fast to this day no more snowmobiles lol!
Thanks to all who responded, this, to me, is the fun part of Barn Finds. Very few can offer any info on Lambos and CJ Mustangs, but this stuff was universal to many that dealt with winter. Back in the 70s, snowmobiling was huge. Clubs sprang up for weekend outings, the “Tucker Trail Cat” changed everything, and not all for the better. Years ago, trails were “groomed” with archaic drags, homemade pulled by a Skidoo Alpine, and was good enough,,for 15 mph. Then the Tucker came by, and suddenly, these trails were like sidewalks, and naturally speed increased to dangerous levels. I myself have had numerous “close calls” by some yahoo going 50 mph the other way. The fastest snowmobile I dared to operate, was one of those 3 cylinder Polaris jobs. I’m sorry, but 100 mph is pure foolishness on these, and upon hitting that speed, I quickly backed out of it. It has led to laws limiting speed on trails, I believe, 30, lakes 50, and wardens have radar, so they mean business.
Like anything, new sleds are these electrical wonders with gee-gaws Elon Musk would be proud of, that cost 5 figures, and I feel, have turned the sport from a family deal to me, me, me. So typical of today.
Well the near five figure sleds are for a specific use, like comparing mountain bicycles to road bicycles. In the Colorado back woods where the CMX is used, the snow base is 20 feet and the powder is another 8 feet deep. The snow cornices over your head are so big that they drop snow boulders the size of school buses. Deep lugs, lots of power, and a foot of suspension travel are the only things keeping you alive. The people that are not prepared out there either have to leave their stuck sled until spring or die in conditions that their sled cant handle.
Hi again, Tom, I don’t mean to single you out, I love talking sleds. A USED 2023 SkiDoo Trail sled will set you back almost $13grand. Heck, the shipping is more than what we spent for sleds. Some of the specialty sleds you mention can cost almost $25grand. I live in the Rockies and planned a snowmobile rental deal with my kids. At almost $300 EACH, for a 4 hour ride, seemed a bit much. The “rentals” are tour guided, all long track, and castrated to 22mph, and all sleds have avalanche poles. No thanks. I can honestly say, I see very little private folks on sleds, skiing is the big draw, and the 2 clearly don’t mix.
https://www.wintersrec.com/product/2023-ski-doo-backcountry-600r-e-tec-snowmobile-black/
I know as much about snow mobiles as I do about brain surgery. I rode one once when I was very young and had a freakin’ blast. One of the best winter memories, and I despise cold weather. I would buy this and bring it south and use it for decoration during the holidays. I enjoy reading the comments on folks adventures long ago with all types of mechanical contraptions. Many of us had some amazing times with various things. I know like my Busa that some of these new snowmobiles are insanely quick. I know 180+ on asphalt is amazing and certifiable but 90 + in snow to me is sheer insanity, BUT WE LOVE IT! my one shoulder, not so much…lol
I’m surprised that there wasn’t even one bid of $500 for this great-looking vintage sled. What I wouldn’t have done to have a 26-hp snowmobile as a kid, ours were always 8 or 10-hp.
my neighbor had 2 Ariens sleds and they were a greyish creme color