What snowmobile came with a rotary engine?
For the 1973 model year, that something became the industry’s first domestically produced Wankel rotary engine. Perfected in the late 1950s by Dr. Felix Wankel of West Germany’s NSU Motorenwerke, the rotary engine design was licensed to other companies for commercial development.
Do snowmobiles use rotary engines?
In addition to its use in automobiles, the lightweight, compact high-revving rotary engine seemed a natural fit for motorcycles, personal watercraft, snowmobiles, chainsaws and even home generator units.
Did Evinrude make a snowmobile?
Evinrude, as part of Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC), established itself as the “quiet” snowmobile and experimented with rotary sled engines. But OMC shut the door on $17 million in snowmobile sales and used it for other ventures to keep the $400 million corporation in boats and motors.
Who made snowmobile sno?
They quickly proved popular and grew to be one of the highest-selling lines of snowmobiles until the early 1970s, helping usher the then-new sport of snowmobiling into Canada and the United States….Sno-Jet.
| Product type | Snowmobile |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Sno-Jet (1965-1976) Kawasaki (after) |
| Country | Canada |
| Introduced | 1965 |
| Discontinued | 1980 |
Who made mercury snowmobiles?
Mercury snowmobiles were the brainchild of Carl Kiekhaefer, maker of the famous Mercury outboard motors. By the late-1960s, there were hundreds of snowmobile manufacturers. The industry was absolutely booming until a couple of years of low snowfall put a lot of them to rest, unfortunately.
Will BRP make outboards again?
Canadian company BRP has announced it will stop making the Evinrude outboard boat engines. BRP, in a statement on its website, said, that it has “re-oriented its marine business by focusing on the growth of its boat brands with new technology and innovative marine products.
Did Honda ever make a snowmobile?
Given Honda’s presence in the two-stroke world, and that they’ve made seemingly every form of transportation from jet airplanes to 50cc mopeds, it’s surprising they never got into snowmobiles. Well, actually, they did, with a single production run of between 300 and 500 White Foxes in 1973.
Why did Kawasaki stop making snowmobiles?
Kawasaki used the Sno-Jet name until 1977. It saw only limited success, and was unable to sustain its snowmobile business for much longer. With massive debt due to the market’s decline, Kawasaki ceased snowmobile production in 1982.
What kind of engine does a Johnson snowmobile have?
Johson made the JX snowmobile line and Evinrude made the Skimmer line of snowmobiles. They came with three different size engines. They came in 400cc, 440cc, and 650cc sizes. They were both twins and fan-cooled. The Johnson JX lineup came in a new color, orange and black. While Evinrude stayed with their original colors, blue and white.
What was the first rotary engine for snowmobiling?
At 528cc, the 35 hp OMC Wankel was the first rotary engine developed specifically for snowmobiling, the most powerful rotary to go into a snow sled at the time and the first production rotary to be built in North America. Yet it was essentially the same size and weight as the very popular but considerably less powerful Sachs 303 Wankel.
What was the horsepower of the Evinrude snowmobile in 1974?
The D471 was reworked to produce 45 hp without an increase in displacement for 1974, and the sled was improved cosmetically, but it made no difference. All Evinrude and Johnson snow machines were selling poorly, and 1976 was OMC’s last year in the snowmobile business.
What was the weight of a Johnson ski runner?
Owners of the Johnson Skee Horse could buy replaceable ski runners for this model. In the early 70’s, Johnson bought the Golden Ghost to the market. Weighing 560 pounds, it was on the heavier side of the market. Johnson claimed that they could make a snowmobile quieter than 73db.
When did the rotaries come out for snowmobiles?
While Cat, Alouette and Skiroule went with the “off the shelf” Sachs Wankel, OMC developed its own rotary engine, which appeared in 1973 in the livery of its Johnson and Evinrude snowmobile brands. What made engineers want to try the rotary engine for snowmobiles was its very simplicity, which made for a compact and light design.
Are there any rotary powered Evinrude snowmobiles?
As for the American-produced OMC rotary used in the Johnson and Evinrude brands, they too disappeared. Most two-up OMC models like the rotary-powered ones suffered from “bigness.”
The D471 was reworked to produce 45 hp without an increase in displacement for 1974, and the sled was improved cosmetically, but it made no difference. All Evinrude and Johnson snow machines were selling poorly, and 1976 was OMC’s last year in the snowmobile business.
What was the first rotary engine in a snow sled?
During the winter of 1970-71, the company decided to try the Wankel in sleds and began work on the project D471 rotary. At 528cc, the 35 hp OMC Wankel was the first rotary engine developed specifically for snowmobiling, the most powerful rotary to go into a snow sled at the time and the first production rotary to be built in North America.