A snowmobile? On Barn Finds?! Is the new guy out of his mind? Wait, he’s from Minnesota, that explains it. The last gasp of winter has a choke hold on us as we’re getting 2″-4″ of the s-word here today. It’s been a mild winter so I guess I can’t complain too much, but I’m ready for non-winter activities now. If you still have remnants of old man winter in your area, maybe you could use this 1972 Raider Twin Track snowmobile found here on eBay in Forest Lake, Minnesota? The bid is currently under $400 which is mind-bending for such an unusual snowmobile.
I’m not sure what’s going on with the garage door here, but this fairly rare snowmobile – or sled, or snowmachine, depending on where you’re from – looks like a winner. These things always draw a crowd at any vintage snowmobile show or event and this one even has a rollbar, not a bad idea when your legs are scrunched down inside of that fiberglass cab.
This is a one-seater, not a fancy, luxury machine like the Ski-Doo Elite was where you could bring a friend and ride in heated comfort, but these are still cool. I don’t know if I could fit my 6′-5″ lanky frame in there, though.
According to the seller, “the motor pulls over with good compression”, but, “the ignition is missing and might be a nut or bolt missing here and there..” There were four models in 1972 based on which engine was used; all of them being CCW twin-cylinder engines in either 290, 340, 400, or the king-of-the-hill, 44o configuration. The seller has “440cc?” listed so even he doesn’t know exactly which model this one is, but if it’s a 440 the current bid price is even more ridiculously low. Parts for the engine should be available and the rest of the sled could be restored over the summer so you can bring home a few trophies with it next winter. Are you up for a ride or are you a snowbird?
This is getting a bit far-fetched, at least in my opinion. I’m sure some people collect these — shoot, people collect everything — but my preference would be for BF to stick to cars and motorcycles….
What next — riding mowers? I’m sure people collect those, too. Race ’em, as well.
Hi Ray, well, I’m all for the unusual. Not to be gruff, but it doesn’t say ” Automotive” BF’s in the name, and anything and everything can ( and does) wind up in a barn, so I think this is justified. And FWIW, I recently attended some live “lawn mower” races, and it was a lot of fun to watch. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/2007_swifts_creek_lawnmower_races04_edit.jpg
Funny, I was just thinking how cool this was. I grew up in Wyoming (100 percent snow country) in the 1970’s, and I never, ever saw one of these. I would love to see/own this, but not a lot of use for it in GA. I guess I could use it on grass :-)
Hey- if it’s cool and runs on gasoline or alcohol, especially when it’s cold and frozen outside, who cares! I’m waiting another 2 hours before the heaters warm up my icebox of a garage so I can keep working on my build. I don’t mind looking out the office window at frozen snow while checking out a rare sled. (even if I do wish it was above freezing out there)
There’s a snowmobile junkyard off hwy 10 in Elk River that probably has parts for this.
I live 20 miles away from this sled. There cool but not amazingly rare here in MN. We have machines here in MN that people have never heard of.
if the item interests you write it up for BF. not knowing what is going to get posted next is part of the fun of coming to the site. have fun with it. also it is not to early to think about items for April 1st. a motorized cow has already been done !!!! as to snowmobiles i know they race them on grass as well as snow. as to this snowmobile i think i will keep looking. interesting find.
If it has an engine, or had an engine, it’s suitable material for BF IMO.
Bob
Again, no question who wrote this up. Scotty and I share a love for the unusual, and snowmobiles are right up there. Snowmobiles are a finicky subject. Some people, mostly southern types, you know who you are, couldn’t fathom the idea of screaming down a trail or frozen lake at speed in 0 degree weather, but I can truthfully say, snowmobiling is one the most fun things you can do with your clothes on. ( speaking of clothes, it’s all about preparation for the cold) Snowmobiles have come a long way since this model was introduced, some with more hp than my GMC Sonoma, which is plum silly in my book, and this type of sled is from a more simpler time, when just the outing was fun, and not have to go 100 mph. This particular sled was really a poor design. I had a friend that had one, and it didn’t do anything well. Steering was funky, twin tracks actually went over deep snow worse than a 1 track sled, and was very tippy ( contrary to what you would think of a twin track machine) The CCW ( Canadian Curtiss Wright) was a good motor( had one in a Scorpion sled) but no match for the Asian motors, found in most sleds today. I guess, for a show, this would be ok, but there’s better vintage sleds out there, and even I would pass on this. Word of caution. I’m running into trouble finding parts for older chainsaws, especially ignition parts, are non-existent ( even on EBAY), so there might be a reason the ignition is missing. Love the unusual, keep them coming.
We had one of these back in the 80’s. I thought it was cool but our kids hated it. Yes it was tippy but the worst part was when it got stuck (high centered). It didn’t really do anything well. Particulary hard to dsimount quickly when heading for a tree too. timbo
Well said Howard A.!
Nothing wrong with a vintage sled “barn find”. All the better as far as I’m concerned. You could post a tank (Sherman or Panzer even) I and other people will enjoy seeing it.
As you know, The Trail Roamer pictured here was Raider’s first sled offering in 72.
Small in size yes. I’m 6′ and couldn’t fit into one. The better offerings came in 73 – 75 with the redesigned Hawks, Eagles And the ultimate Double Eagle models. Cool concept and design but they weren’t the most practical. I have a 74 Dbl. Eagle myself. Would like to see a Suzuki fan cooled in it if I had my choice. Currently unrestored, but I plan to customize it in the near future. Love the sport! Like you said, “there’s nothing more fun than bombing down a trail through the back woods than on a snowmobile!” Those southerners should try it!
This one looks pretty sweet, but finding parts may be more time consuming than I care to spend, though the price at the moment is tempting. I’m also about 20 miles away, perhaps he’d trade for a pinball machine?
Schwab where are you located?
Brooklyn Park, so a bit south of Forest Lake.
Schwab I grew up in Brooklyn Park. Now I live in Coon Rapids.
Marv, is that you???? timbo
That’s funny, MH, I grew up in Coon Rapids and now live in Brooklyn Park.
run out of barn finds?
As long as the site doesn’t turn into “Finding Old Barns” lol haha, it’s all good, anything that has an engine or had one like the man said!
That is cool. There are plenty of crappy cars posted that I just skip over.
I bought one of these brand new in the early 70’s. Was closest thing to an open cockpit race car. Had snap in interior. It had the 400cc engine and there was no lack of power. The front skis would camber when turning. The steel cleat twin track rear was perfect to drive this like a dirt track racer. I fabricated a neat square tube rear bumper and had my name hand lettered on the body where your elbows are.
This would out handle and out maneuver the BEST Arctic Cat sleds. After a day of riding, I’d get out as fresh as a daisy. Those other riders were worn out from shifting their body from side to side all day.
Moved south and sold it before I left. COOLEST snow mobile ever made.
Slow, noisy, cramped, and only suitable for driving on groomed trails. Absolutely cannot drive out onto powder and very difficult to unstuck. That said, there were a lot of other 70’s sleds that you could say that about… A friend of mine commuted to the car (paved roads stopped several miles out) in one of these, said has wife preferred it because it has a place to put groceries and was warmer.
I built this one. I would like to buy it back. Any idea who has it now?
BTW – How does one post a photo? I’m not seeing the option anywhere…..