As I sit here and log into Barn Finds this snowy morning to check the tips page, literally drinking coffee from my Raider Twin-Track coffee cup, what should pop up but this 1973 Raider 34TT twin-track snowmobile tip! This refurbished gem can be found listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Oneida, Wisconsin, and they’re asking $2,000. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Mr. Snowmobile: Lothar… of the Hill People for the tip!
Detroit native Bob Bracey worked his way up in the auto industry, working for all of the Big Three car makers at some point in his career. In 1969, he founded Leisure Vehicle, Inc. with the thought of making a more automotive-like snowmobile. One with better handling, a better ride, and a unique four-point (two tracks, two skies) stance. In 1970, the prototype was ready, and production started for 1971.
The Roamer, based on the original prototype, was the first version, but it proved unpopular. Next came the Raider, and most of the original bugs were worked out; the future looked bright for this young company producing what were at the time very unusual and cool snowmobiles. Mr. Bracey had worked at Kar-Kraft and was on the team for the Ford GT40 MK II, so he knew a thing or two about making cool vehicles. I’ve never ridden a Raider, or in a Raider snowmobile, but reviews of the day say they were stable and weren’t as tippy as some sources say they were. This one would have weighed 420 pounds with a F/R weight distribution of 40/60.
You sit in the Raider snowmobile, not on it. That freaks some people out as they think it’ll tip over, and then you’re done. The seller says this one has new seats, and they do look perfect. The passenger gets (or has to) ride on top of the engine cover, in case you were wondering where the other seat was. This sled also has brand new tracks, not an insignificant thing. Also, it has a new starter, new bushings and bearings, new drive sprockets and idler wheels, new fuel lines, new cables, a new 12v battery, new track guides and slides, along with new Raider flaps in the back. This snowmobile wasn’t restored to look like new, but it sure sounds like it’s ready to go, mechanically.
The engine in the 34TT should be a CCW (Canadian Curtiss Wright) 398-cc 32-horsepower twin-cylinder with electric start, along with “emergency” manual start. Power is sent through a 850 Salisbury torque-sensing “transmission” to the rear twin tracks. The seller doesn’t say how it runs, but I have to believe it works great, due to all of the new parts on it. You could take the cosmetics to the next level for show duty – not that it wouldn’t draw a crowd as is – or just ride it. Have any of you owned or ridden a Raider snowmobile?
We find the coolest stuff here on BF with you, Scotty, bringing some of most unusual single track and snow machines into the limelight. It appears this was another engineering feat that came to the surface but didn’t seem to take off like many of the others for whatever reasons.
My dad saw something like this here in the US some years after his TDY to Thule Air Base in the mid-50’s: he said a guy would’ve given 3 months pay (a very considerable sum at the time) to have one there!
FWIW, it’s now called Pituffik Space Base, located in Northwestern Greenland, near Baffin Bay, about 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle and 947 miles from the North Pole.
A rig like this would’ve been a phenomenal improvement over the issued WW2 Weasels they were constantly having to fix!
Bullseye 🎯 again Nevada…. 🎙Howard
No, no, Scotty, and whoever this “mystery Lothar” person is, should get the credit, and I thought I was “Mr. Snowmobile”,,,hmmph
Most have been here long enough to figure out who wrote about what by the banner headline. To understand, the eastern half of the country has seen a record amount of snow and cold, some reports say some trails in the UP (der hey) are impassible. Locals are overjoyed. A lot has been said about these, by me, mostly negative, again, by me, but truthfully, they do have a legitimate purpose, slogging through those impassible situations. Not unlike a bulldozer. My gripe, is the motor. I had a CCW 400 in my Scorpion and it never ran right. Turns out, and I see here, it needs a phenolic spacer between the carb and manifold that helped with vapor lock type symptoms. And to think they use these motors for ultralights!!! No thanks. For a utilitarian purposes, they are okay, but they tip rather easily, and an air box is needed as snow dust would choke this in a second,,,and btw, that video was taken on the 4th of July,, :)
Ha, an engine that stalls while in the air would be a worst-case scenario for sure. I never knew that about the CCW engines; I assumed they were as good as any others. The Raider was for sure best for groomed trails, and I bet some of the tippiness was due to not having them on solid ground. Says the guy (me) who’s never been on solid ground. Thanks for the info, Mr. Snowmobile Sr.