In Raider’s second-to-last year making snowmobiles, the company found itself using up leftover parts for the 1974 model year. The base model Hawk came along in 1974, and they had no shocks on the skis, so this one must have been upgraded by a former owner. This 1974 Raider Hawk twin-track snowmobile can be found here on Facebook Marketplace in beautiful Tiny, Ontario, Canada, and the seller is asking $2,800 ($2,030 U.S. dollars). Here is the original listing, and thanks to Lothar… of the Hill People for the tip!
The base model Hawk also had no rear seat, which this one shows on top of the engine compartment, no gauges, no electric start, and no brake lights. Sadly, the seller is very short on photos, not even bothering to show the right side of this twin-track sled at all, let alone the rear of it, or any of the cockpit. Sigh. The black “windshield” is also unusual; that should be clear or with a slight tint.
We’ve seen quite a few Raider twin-track snowmobiles here on Barn Finds, and I know vintage snowmobiles aren’t for everyone. I’d venture a guess that we’ve seen slightly more Corvettes, Mustangs, and Camaros than vintage snowmobiles, though… The ski shocks are a nice upgrade, as is the roll bar that this model should have come with from the factory. But, as with seat belts in the 1950s, a roll bar may have given the appearance of an unsafe vehicle, and that isn’t good for marketing. The Hawk was only made in the last two years of Raider snowmobile production: 1974 and 1975.
The engine is a CCW (Canadian Curtiss-Wright) 339-cc twin with 28 horsepower, and despite the lack of other photos, a big round of applause to the seller for lifting up the rear engine cover to show us the power behind this twin-track sled. They say the engine is all original, but they’ve upgraded the factory plastic gas tank for an aluminum one. They don’t mention the other modifications, however. Would any of you pay $2,000 (U.S.) for a vintage snowmobile?
This machine is up in my neck of the woods Scotty. It is actually in Tiny Township, on the southern shores of Georgian Bay. My buddy’s family have owned a cottage up there for over 50 years. Many memories of high speed runs across the frozen lake.
Sleds ❄️ can be alot of fun Primo. 👍 Thx for the feature SG.
I pretty much lambaste everyone of these, had a friend with one, was on its side more than upright, but the truth is, they are a really neat machine. It’s almost the “anti-snowmobile”, with its radical design, you sit in it, not on it, 2 tracks, not 1, and that has several advantages. While not necessarily built for speed, a man named Bob Bracey raced a twin track Manta at Eagle River, the Daytona of snowmobiling, and whipped them all. I think the twin track is more stable, and heat from the motor could warm you some, With some kind of hoist, would make a dynamite towing rig for broken down sleds. High speed? Nah. no good, you want to go fast, get the Arctic Cat 700 Wildcat, and this can come tow you home when, not if, it breaks.
Seems the north is having one of “those” winters, by gar, that takes me back,,I think this could still be a lot of fun.
I’ve never seen a Manta. I heard a lot about them and they were supposed to have picked where the Raider left off in tech and performance. I always wanted one but the production time was very brief. I’ve never seen one up for sale here or anywhere for that matter.
Watch that cable strung across the road there…know many of friends that have been severely injured/ killed while riding here in the U.P…P.S. 90+ ” of snow here so far this winter..HEE HAW!!!
Somewhat related as far as cables,4 lives were lost here in AZ recently when a Helicopter hit a cable strung across a canyon and crashed.
Dang it Al, now I’m pining for my years up in da U.P. eh!!! Running the forest service roads out of St. Ignace to Trout Lake and beyond. Never crossed the ice bridge to Mackatraz, knew too many folks who lost their snow machines to pressure cracks or sudden open water from a wind shift. I miss Lehto’s pasties and smoked fish and jerky from Gustafson’s of Brevort.
That route to “Mac Island” was always marked with locals discarded Christmas trees..on both sides of the “trail”…..some years it wasen’t in the right spot.. not good..can’t remember when that trail wasen’t needed anymore…but its been more than a few years now…heck, we even drove our trucks out on alot of the bays on this side of the U.P. to ice fish…thats gone too…:<(
A large share of riding today is on marked trails and when possible groomed trails. The U.P. of Michigan is famous for great trail riding with hundreds of miles of trails that sometimes are groomed nightly or at least weekly. Very little snowmobiling in todays world is free lance unless you are on your own private property. Todays modern machines are so good and rarely ever break down. I don’t even carry spare spark plugs on my Rotax ETec powered Ski-doo’s. Todays clothing has kept up with the sleds as far as high tech and warm. No comparison comparing anything vintage to todays machines. I enjoy BOTH though a lot.
I recall when these were new thinking, wow, a sled you drive rather than ride. This one seems a little pedestrian.
I lived in northern NY in the 70’s and was a teenager when there were a dozen or more snowmobile brands. I helped a guy that rented “sleds” (thats what you called snowmobiles) on Lake Placid, and he let me build a sled from parts in his junkyard. Moto-Ski’s were popular as were Sno-Jets (pre Kawasaki), but I built a Moto-Jet because there were lots of spare parts. Before that was a 72 TNT that I bought for $20 without an engine. They broke down every weekend and I spent the week after school fixing them for that Friday and maybe a Saturday ride. My fingers still ache in the cold ’cause I froze them so many times. I did learn a lot about mechanics; what would hold together and what wouldn’t. Its a pretty high-dollar sport now.
I don’t know much about sleds, but these single seater Raiders are such a contradiction. The driver sits inside, while a passenger sits on top, which looks a lot more dangerous than a regular sled setup.
I’m sure that not too many people were passengers on these. At least this one has a grab bar for the passenger.