Studebaker Avanti not included… although what a great backdrop for this pair of 1981 Chrysler Sno Runners. The seller, the owner of a fantastic, must-see motorcycle museum in Connecticut, has this pair of Sno Runners listed here on eBay in Vernon-Rockville, Connecticut. The current bid price is $2,025 for both and the reserve isn’t met yet. They have a $7,495 buy-it-now price listed.
First things first, and this is not a paid advertisement for the New England Motorcycle Museum, but if you haven’t been there it’s worth a visit. I stopped there a few years ago before it was open, just as Mr. Ken Kaplan and his team were in the process of restoring the beautiful, historic mill building that is now the museum. They were just outstanding, such nice folks. I knew about them from their Kaplan Cycles motorcycle sales. They gave me a tour and it was easy to tell that they were diehard motorcycle aficionados and experts. I have to get back there again this summer to see it filled with motorcycles. These guys are the real deal.
Back to this pair of Sno Runners. We’ve seen quite a few of these unusual snow machines, snowmobiles (?) snow motorcycles… over the last few years and they have really taken off in value over the last couple of years. Big shocker, eh? What hasn’t? Heck, the custom wooden roller stands that come with each Sno Runner probably have $500 worth of wood in them in 2022 dollars. I’m exaggerating, of course, but those stands are great. I have a Sno Runner with no stand and I need to make something like that.
Chrysler takes a lot of sucker punches for the Sno Runner as if it was the single cause that forced them into bankruptcy in the late-1970s. That’s ridiculous. We all know that it was the Air Runner, their hovercraft. I’m kidding, but to blame the bankruptcy of a multi-billion-dollar global corporation on a smoking two-stroke snow vehicle with a plastic ski and 4″-wide track is crazy. Both of these Sno Runners were sold on BaT (Bring a Trailer) back in December and they aren’t perfect cosmetically, but the Kaplan team went through them and made them both usable, as seen in this YouTube video. Now that’s perfect snow for the Sno Runner.
The engines are Chrysler’s 134 cc Power Bee. It’s basically the same two-stroke engine that was used in a lot of the early Rokon 2×2 motorcycles and elsewhere. Both of these Sno Runners work but need some fine-tuning to be perfect From what I gather from the listing, they are selling them for the owner so I’m guessing that they can’t do any more work on them than what is authorized. I just started mine the other day and it ran like a watch, a very smoky, loud watch. They’re cool machines, have any of you ridden a Sno Runner, or owned one?
What could go wrong with having a chain saw under your @ss?
Drove one 40 years ago that a friend had just bought. I was well aware of them as Chrysler heavily promoted them in the customer magazine, Spectator. (That came to your mailbox after buying a new car from them). I was not impressed at all. Not enough power except for a cleared path. Tippy. Noisy, and the two cycle engine made them smelly.
Until the last decade, pretty much all personal snow machines were 2-cycle.
Anyone else notice how all of those that are
for sale always seem to be in unused condition?
How fast can we ship 4 million to the Ukraine? What? It was Chryslers original intention to equip our military with these. Not sure what the snafu was?( cough)
Good point, Howard! They are fairly light and come apart, they could probably be parachuted down to the ground but you’re not sneaking up on anyone with a Sno Runner, they’re super loud.
Forget those, I want the Avanti and the Hawk!
Must be time to sell mine :-(
$3,000 now but reserve still not met.
To hell with the Sno Runners, I want the Avanti!
$7495!!!!!!!!!!! Almost fell to the floor on this one!
Worked at a Chrysler Marine dealer for many years before the turn of the century, we had a couple of these and beat the hell out of them. Lots of fun!
sold these back in the day,no happy customers,useless.
Useless as a vehicle, you mean? As an investment, definitely not useless.
if you would have bought gold it would be a much better investment
Amen. Or $700 worth of almost any stock.
Have one, Ton of Fun…
With these prices it must be time to sell…
Yes, I have 4 Snow Runner, aka,Snow Rabbits. Great machines till the kids wanted a snow machine that would keep up to the crowd. Thanks for showing stuff from yesterday, my period of life. The Snow Runners are in the barn and were totally hybernated before put away. Some day they will be on Barn Finds along with my 2 Honda 600’s. I’m a horder for the good memories. My wife say’s do it now, I say maybe!