With 100% of our grass visible here in the upper Midwest, it’s the weirdest winter that I ever remember. That doesn’t mean I’m not interested in vintage snowmobiles despite our green yard and zero snow anywhere. Hopefully a few of you enjoy seeing these unusual old machines from the golden era of snowmobile production. This 1973 Raider 34TT is posted here on Facebook Marketplace in Plymouth, Wisconsin, an area that has forgotten more about snowmobiles than most states have ever known. The seller is asking $3,000, here is the original listing, and thanks to Lothar… of the Hill People for sending in this tip!
The concept for the twin-track Raider began in 1969 when Leisure Vehicles, Inc., owned by Bob Bracey, who was on the development team for the Ford GT, began work on this interesting sled. It was available to the public from 1971 until the end of the 1975 model year. It was a short run for a snowmobile at a time when the industry was hopping. Sadly, as for a lot of us in snow country this winter, there was hardly any snow during one of two of those years, along with new emissions and noise regulations, and that’s all it took for a lot of manufacturers to stop selling snowmobiles. It didn’t help that Bob Bracey left the company in 1975. We saw a similar Raider here on Barn Finds a few years ago, a 44TT with a bigger engine, but the example for sale here appears to be a gem compared to that rusty beast.
With a fiberglass body and tubular steel frame, the Raider and Roamer hit the market in 1971 and it had a decidedly sporty design compared to most of what was available. A rear-engine twin-track snowmobile that you sit down into rather than a front-engine single-track sled that you sit on? Crazy. Ski-Doo created the luxurious Elite with a similar layout but it had side-by-side seating for two people so it was much wider. Ski-Doo also made a twin-track Alpine, which was more of a working snowmobile than a recreational sled. You can see the somewhat claustrophobic cockpit of this Raider above and the seller doesn’t go overboard with photos, sadly. In 1973, the company’s best year, Raider offered two models: a 44TT and a 34TT as seen here. You guessed it, the 34TT had a smaller engine.
Here’s that rear engine, in this case for the 34TT, it should have been a CCW (Canadian Curtiss-Wright) 400-cc twin-cylinder with 32 horsepower. That engine size is a little odd since you would think it would have a 340-cc. The 44TT did come with a 440-cc. The seller gives hardly any information at all other than, “This snowmobile is in good running condition.” That’s very good news, as a lot of vintage snowmobiles have been sitting for years or even decades without use. The seller even has some information that goes with this Raider, that’s usually a good sign that they cared enough to save it. I would love to own this nice-looking example of one of the most unusual snowmobiles ever made for what seems like a very reasonable price. Have any of you owned a Raider?
Certainly no mistaking who wrote this up, I’m telling ya’, it’s a good thing this site has a guy like Scotty. He sure runs the gamut.
Discussed before, at great length, the Raider was the answer to the question nobody asked, except this Bracey fella. He had a vision, saying snowmobiles were designed all wrong. It, according to him, should be rear engined, and sit in, not on the machine. Well, let me tell you, sitting ON the machine gives a lot better control, these are a disaster. I had a friend with one, 1st, it rarely ran, and 2nd, when it did, it was unstable and down right dangerous. Good luck getting unstuck too. Just a poor design, however,,,it should be noted, Mr. Bracey went on to create another twin track sled, the Manta, and this guy cleaned up on everyone. Kind of the Kiekhaefer of snowmobiling. Like Kiekhaefer, it was short lived. Snowmobiling was changing fast, and IFS steering evened the score, and the Manta was out. While researching that, I was surprised to see Arctic Cat experimented with a twin track, that never made it.
Snowmobiling is a blast, global warming has put the kabosh on that( 52 in Int. Falls? New record, maybe Al Gore was on to something) I really do remember much snowier winters, but if you get this as an introduction to snowmobiling, you will be greatly disappointed with the sport. Snowmobiles today can go for 5 figures, and have gee-gaws never before seen. One need not go to that extreme, and plenty of nice sleds to be had. Tell you one thing, better have something ready for Spring, because you’ll actually hate to see the snow go away.
You’re way too kind, Howard, thanks much. I agree, these are just something unique and fun to bring to a vintage snowmobile show or ride around on well-groomed trails. I’d want to add a rollbar, I can’t believe they didn’t have one. It’s funny how some of the earliest tracked snowmobiles were rear engine-powered and then went away for a decade or so and then Raider came back thinking it was the way to go. I’ve always wondered why there wasn’t a “front-track-drive” snowmobile, with a track in the front under the weight of the engine. Maybe that would be harder to steer.
For those unfamiliar with snowmobiling, these would be okay if the trails were like an interstate, but many times, there are ruts, bumps, washouts, that require you to move around the sled, and these were tippy for that reason. The Manta later had a combination rollbar/headlight above the driver, as if these older ones flipped, you could be trapped upside down. I believe the Bolens Diablo , that I think you featured here once, had the motor/ tracks up front and pulled a rider,,, also with poor results.
Keep this thing on the hardpack or spend the rest of the trip digging it out. As for Gore, remember. He was predicting the next ice age, before jumping on the global warming hayride.
I lifetime ago was a snowmobile sales and service dealer. We sold Polaris and worked on everything. I serviced several Raiders and during test drives I never worried about flipping. There simply wasn’t the performance back then. The 440 had perhaps 45 HP and the sled was heavy with a ton of parasite drag from all the extra running gear. The drive train wasn’t efficient and with limited suspension the ride was really harsh, especially because you couldn’t get out of the seat for big bumps.
You basically just drove the thing, not much rider input, nor excitement.
This one is in nice condition, but with the 340 it would be gutless.
The weather is doing interesting things this year, but there were many years with little or no snow before we called it “climate”. Not that I’m disagreeing that something is changing because anyone can see that the extremes are greater.
I’ve always believed the weather is cyclical. I remember really nasty winters, around here, followed by 55° and rain the next year. Been going on since way before me, Al Gore, or anyone posting here. I never had a desire to invest in a sled, due to that very fact.
The Al Gore comment was purely in jest. Mother Nature has a way of repeating itself in cycles. Look at the west coast, no mention of wildfires now. We all cling to the story, “winters were worse when I was a kid, walked uphill in blizzards to school everyday”,,even though, it wasn’t that way at all. Fact is, I remember many winters, we never even got the sleds out. Keeping in mind, snowmobiles weren’t the gargantuan investment like today. For a couple hundred bucks, it could sit. The fun that is involved offsets the fact it may only be used once a year. These made a decent lake sled, but with the temps this year, I’d stay off most lakes. Shame, as ( frozen) lake riding is the most fun.
Same additional recollections were that it was very wet to drive. Snow came into the driver area and melted and you got soaked. It was only good on trails or lakes because you couldn’t lean it in powder and so it was a pig. When it got stuck there wasn’t much to grab and it was much harder than other sleds in its day to unstuck. I never knew why people bought these, A Polaris TX was a much better sled.
That said, it would be interesting if you were a collector and needed to show just how diverse offerings were back then.
Ask the folks in Anchorage about “lack” of snow this year. Gore flies around in jets not sledding in common man transportation like snowmobiles.
Unfortunately I owned a Raider !! It was nothing but problems and when the steering snapped off I was finished with it. I say STAY AWAY FROM IT !!!
Sounds like it was a death trap…. lol
Listing update: this one couldn’t have been all bad, someone grabbed it.