In the s, Allister and George Ingham invented the first single-track snowmobile in Canada. The s saw two notable forays into the snowmobile manufacturing industry: Arctic Cat and Yamaha, which remain two of the most popular brands to this day. Arctic Cat was founded by Edgard Hetten, a co-founder of Polaris. In , Polaris introduced a new clutch that made snowmobile racing much more feasible.
Arctic Cat also released its Kitty Cat snowmobile, which was the first model intended for use by children. Technological developments in the s included the Brutanza heat exchanger, which also enhanced the performance of snowmobiles and made the machines more racetrack-ready. By the s, the snowmobile market was largely dominated by Polaris, Yamaha, and Arctic Cat. Enthusiasts recognize the decade for its further enhancements to snowmobile suspensions that made the vehicles more capable of handling rough trails safely.
The big leap came when Polaris released its Polaris Indy TXL, which had independent front suspension and quickly built a reputation for performance.
The Yamaha Phazer was another notable introduction in the s. It was remarkably lightweight for its time, offering an unparalleled level of maneuverability. By the s, snowmobile sales had reached record levels, topping out at , in in the United States and 68, in Canada that same year. This decade saw the early iterations of electric snowmobiles but much was yet to come in this regard.
In the s, there was a big push towards producing more environmentally-friendly snowmobiles. This drive has continued through to the modern era with manufacturers like Ski-Doo still working to popularize electric snow vehicles. Another substantial change that emerged in the s was the introduction of four-stroke engine snowmobiles, which offer better fuel economy and are more efficient overall.
Many of the most reliable snowmobiles in existence were created during the s. In the s, a new class of snow vehicles — snow bikes — really took hold of the market. Snow bikes are part motorcycle, part snowmobile, offering a much slimmer form factor than snowmobiles. These vehicles are all about delivering a powerful, sporty riding experience — no doubt about it. During the s, the use of snowmobiles became widespread in Canada. Until that time, transportation over snow had been impossible except on skis , snowshoes or dogsled.
As Joseph-Armand Bombardier knew firsthand from living in the village of Valcourt, roads often closed due to snowfall. Rural residents were isolated in winter. Snow could put essential services such as medical care out of reach. With the mass production of the personal snowmobile, many rural and Northern Canadians became much more mobile and connected.
The vehicle also proved useful in farm work. In the Arctic, the snowmobile changed the hunting , herding and trapping patterns of the Inuit. The vehicle largely replaced the dogsled. The snowmobile also gave Canadians a new form of winter recreation. This encouraged winter tourism and the year-round use of cottages.
There are now more than snowmobile clubs in Canada and 3, worldwide. A small number of vehicles are used for racing. Most are used for leisure by those seeking excitement, enjoyment of the outdoors and socializing. Concerns about noise, ecological damage and safety have surrounded the snowmobile since the s boom. In that decade especially, the snowmobile was misused for vandalism, habitat destruction and chasing game animals.
By , all provinces had laws governing and restricting the use of snowmobiles. The provision of extensive trails , notably in Quebec , overcame many of the objections from riders. Conservationists across the country remain critical of pollution noise and emissions from snowmobiles and their impact on ecosystems. Hundreds of Canadians are hospitalized every year with injuries from snowmobiling accidents and dozens die.
A document that gives a person or organization the exclusive right to make, use or sell an invention for a specified number of years. The first working model of a construction, such as a snowmobile, from which other forms are developed. It was the invention of a gentleman by the name of Earl Eliason.
Eliason called it his motor toboggan, and that basically was what it was. The amazing part is that it was a front mounted, liquid cooled engine that used a jack shaft. All these are qualities that are credited to modern day snowmobiles. Eliason patented and manufactured his machine until when he sold out to F. Corporation in Canada.
As time past, a few machines came and went, including Bombardiers, air driven and half track series of the 30's, 40's and 50's. However it wasn't until that the modern day recreational snowmobile was born.
At this time Mr. Johnson made his design of a snowmobile during a weekend adventure, unknown to the other two partners. This became the very first Polaris, which David was quite proud of. However upon their return, the Hetteen brothers weren't real pleased with the expenditure of time and effort wasted on something unrelated to their manufacture of farm equipment.
They told David to get rid of it, which he did. He sold it, much to their amazement. As the winter progressed through, there were constant problems with the machine and Polaris felt obligated to service it because it was their manufacture. After several trips on snowshoes and literally backpacking the machine out, David convinced the Hetteen brothers to make a second machine for the purpose of pulling out the first one. Thus the early beginnings of the Polaris Sno Traveler.
Polaris built a few machines per year from to and then phased out of farm equipment and began manufacturing sleds. Campbell Garage and Marina Spring of click image for larger size This brings us to Millinocket, Maine and the purpose of a museum. Polaris decided in that they had to set up a dealer network. Bob Morrill of Yarmouth, Maine was chosen as the eastern distributor, at roughly the same time Ray Brandt of Boise, Idaho was set up as the western distributor.
In the fall of Mr. Morrill ventured north to Caribou to see Linwood Willard, who was selling chain saws; and to Millinocket to see Earlan B. Campbell, who was also selling chain saws along with boats and motors. It is believed that these two gentlemen were among the first five in the United States. They were the first two in Maine. Campbell had been a trapper, hunter, and bush pilot for years, so obviously, right off, he tried to do the same with the new invention that he had done with his snow shoes.
However the snowmobile wouldn't go half the time unless a trail was snowshoed first. Because of this, Mr.
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