A snowmobile , also known as a snowmachine , motor sled , motor sledge , skimobile , or snow scooter , is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow .
76-475: The USCC Racing Association (USCC) was a sponsor for cross country snowmobile racing in the United States from 2002 to 2012. Its races primarily took place in the midwest : Minnesota , Wisconsin , North Dakota and Michigan . The USCC was founded in 2002 by former ISOC professional snowmobile racer Pat Mach. The USCC hosted the famed International 500 (or commonly referred to as the " I-500 ") which
152-431: A Kevlar composite construction. Older snowmobiles could generally accommodate two people; however, most snowmobiles manufactured since the 1990s have been designed to only accommodate one person. Snowmobiles built with the ability to accommodate two people are referred to as "2-up" snowmobiles or "touring" models and make up an extremely small share of the market. Most snowmobiles do not have any enclosures, except for
228-429: A continuous track at the rear. Skis at the front provide directional control. The earliest snowmobiles were powered by readily available industrial four-stroke , air-cooled engines . These would quickly be replaced by lighter and more powerful two-stroke gasoline internal combustion engines and since the mid-2000s four-stroke engines had re-entered the market. The challenges of cross-country transportation in
304-437: A fuel-injection technology called "Cleanfire Injection" on their two-strokes. The industry is also working on a direct-injected "clean two strokes" that is better in terms of NO X emissions. Independent researchers, undergraduates and graduate students participate in contests to lessen the impact of emissions from snowmobiles. The Clean Snow Mobile Challenge is held yearly at Michigan Technological University regrouping
380-441: A snowmobile suit . Depending on jurisdiction, there may be penalties for driving outside permitted areas, without an approved helmet, without a driver's license, with an unregistered snowmobile, or while under the influence of alcohol or other substances. There may also be regulations regarding noise and wildlife. In some jurisdictions, a driver's license is required to operate a snowmobile. A specific snowmobile driver's license
456-679: A windshield . The first snowmobiles made do with as little as 5 horsepower (3.7 kW) engines, but engine sizes and efficiency have improved drastically. In the early 1990s, the biggest engines available (typically 600cc-800cc displacement range) produced around 115 hp (86 kW). As of 2022, several snowmobiles are available with engines sizes up to 1,200 cc, producing 150+ hp, as well as several models with up to 1,000 cc engines producing closer to 210 hp (160 kW). Recently, some models are turbo-charged , resulting in dramatic increase of engine horsepower. Snowmobiles are capable of moving across steep hillsides without sliding down-slope if
532-427: A 1.2L 3-cylinder four-stroke gasoline engine. The Sherpa and Superclass are designed as working snowmobiles for carrying supplies, pulling cargo sleds, pulling trail grooming implements, carrying several passengers, and negotiating deep snow. Engine and transmission combination are designed to deliver optimum power to pull or carry large loads while top-end speeds are kept below 52 mph (84 km/h), depending on
608-644: A comeback in the 1930s, with development occurring in several countries that would use them in World War II. The White Motor Company, which had designed armored cars for the United States Army and United States Marines , continued after the First World War to develop armored cars and added tracks for the M2 half-track car and M3 half-track . There were many civilian half-track experiments in
684-479: A cowl-cover, side-by-side seating, and a set of sled-runners fore and aft. While it did not have the tracks of a true snowmobile, its appearance was otherwise similar to the modern version and is one of the earliest examples of a personal motorized snow-vehicle. In 1915 Ray H. Muscott of Waters , Michigan, received the Canadian patent for his motor sleigh, or "traineau automobile", and on June 27, 1916, he received
760-662: A dispute between Linn and Lombard, led Linn to create the Linn Manufacturing Company, builder of the Linn tractor , for building and putting onto the market his own improved civilian half-track–style machines. Lombard attempted to follow but, for the most part, remained a pulling machine. Linn would later register "Haftrak" and "Catruk" as trademarks, the latter for a half-track meant to convert hydraulically from truck to crawler configuration. Tractors used to tow artillery and designs with front wheels and tracks at
836-589: A licence to produce them. This resulted in the Army Ordnance Department building a prototype in 1939. In September 1940 it went into production with the military M2 and M3 half-track versions. With the snow and ice of Canada in mind, Joseph-Armand Bombardier developed 7- and 12-passenger half-track autoneiges in the 1930s, starting what would become the Bombardier industrial conglomerate. The Bombardier vehicle had tracks for propulsion in
SECTION 10
#1732798833857912-597: A manufacturer of various on-snow implements that had been building dual-track snowmobiles since 1995. Alpina manufactures one basic dual-track snowmobile design. In 2002 the Sherpa was introduced and is the model name for the four-stroke machine. Prior to introducing the Sherpa, Alpina offered a two-stroke series designated the Superclass . The four-stroke Sherpa is currently the top machine in production. A new version of
988-402: A motor home/traction engine run by an underslung four-cylinder Brennan gasoline engine to travel the unimproved roads of the day, with wheels at the front and tracks at the rear: the first payload-carrying half-track. By 1909 this was replaced by a smaller machine with two wheels at the front and a single track behind, since rural wooden bridges presented problems. Stability issues, together with
1064-568: A number of cars from the personal car pool of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia to half-tracks in 1911. His system was named after him: the Kégresse track , which used a flexible belt rather than interlocking metal segments. He applied it to several vehicles in the imperial garage, including Rolls-Royce cars and Packard trucks. The Imperial Russian Army also fitted the system to a number of their Austin Armoured Cars . From 1916 onward, there
1140-522: A propeller-driven and running on skis, was built in 1909–1910 by Russian inventor Igor Sikorsky of helicopter fame. Aerosanis were used by the Soviet Red Army during the Winter War and World War II . There is some dispute over whether Aerosanis count as snowmobiles because they were not propelled by tracks. Adolphe Kégresse designed an original caterpillar tracks system, called
1216-523: A rubber-and-cotton track that wraps around the back wheels) was his first major invention. He started production of the B-7, an enclosed, seven-passenger snowmobile, in 1937, and introduced the B-12, a twelve-passenger model, in 1942. The B-7 had a V-8 flathead engine from Ford Motor Company . The B-12 had a flathead in line six-cylinder engine from Chrysler industrial, and 2,817 units were produced until 1951. It
1292-433: A similarly powered four-stroke. However, four-stroke powered snowmobiles have been gaining popularity steadily in the last fifteen or so years, with manufacturer Yamaha producing four-stroke snowmobiles only. The Whistler Blackcomb ski resort is testing Taiga's electric snowmobiles with lower noise, and similar vehicles exist. Early snowmobiles used simple rubber tracks, but modern snowmobiles' tracks are usually made of
1368-468: A snowmobile could easily cause extensive damage, injury, or death. One such cause of snowmobile accidents is loss of control from a loose grip. If the rider falls off, the loss of control can easily result in the snowmobile colliding with a nearby object, such as a rock or tree. Most snowmobiles are fitted with a cord connected to a kill switch, which would stop the snowmobile if the rider falls off; however, not all riders use this device every time they operate
1444-488: A snowmobile operator engages in the illegal practice of "rail riding", riding between railroad track rails over snow-covered sleepers . Inability to hear the sound of an oncoming train over the engine noise of a snowmobile makes this activity extremely dangerous. Collision with large animals such as moose and deer, which may venture onto a snowmobile trail, is another major cause of snowmobile accidents. Most often such encounters occur at night or in low-visibility conditions when
1520-447: A snowmobile. Swerving off of the path may result in rolling the snowmobile or crashing into an obstacle. In unfamiliar areas, riders may crash into suspended barbed wire or haywire fences at high speeds. Each year a number of serious or fatal accidents are caused by these factors. Each year, riders are killed by hitting other snowmobiles, automobiles, pedestrians, rocks, trees, or fences, or falling through thin ice. On average, 10 people
1596-435: A typical dirt bike and replaces the rear wheel with a single tread system similar to a snowmobile and the front wheel with a large ski. It is much smaller and nimbler than a snowmobile, and it has a tighter turning radius, which lets the rider go where many snowmobiles cannot. The first prototype of motorcycles with a rear tread date to the 1920s, with subsequent failed attempts to bring them to market. Many motorcycles made after
SECTION 20
#17327988338571672-464: A year have died in such crashes in Minnesota alone, with alcohol a contributing factor in many cases. In Saskatchewan , 16 out of 21 deaths in snowmobile collisions between 1996 and 2000 were caused by the effects of alcohol. Wrestler Lindsey Durlacher died in 2011 following surgery for a broken sternum he sustained in a snowmobile accident. Fatal collisions with trains can also occur when
1748-413: Is a great advantage over fully tracked vehicles, which require specialized training. Half-tracks thus facilitate moving personnel and equipment successfully across varying terrain. The main disadvantage is the increased maintenance to maintain track tension, and the reduced life span of tracks (up to 10,000 km) compared to tires (up to 80,000 km). The French engineer Adolphe Kégresse converted
1824-603: Is absolutely no visible path to follow. However, this type of trailblazing is dangerous as contact with buried rocks, logs, and frozen ground can cause extensive damage and injuries. Riders look for large open fields of fresh snow where they can carve . Some riders use extensively modified snowmobiles, customized with aftermarket accessories like handle-bar risers, handguards, custom/lightweight hoods, windshields, and seats, running board supports, studs , and numerous other modifications that increase power and maneuverability. Many of these customizations can now be purchased straight off
1900-488: Is by far the most publicized cross-country snowmobile race in the circuit and the lower 48 states of the United States . USCC had corporate sponsors for all the events, which included: Arctic Cat, Polaris, Yamaha, ArcticFX, Brothers Motorsports, Seven Clans Casino, FOX Racing Shox, FXR, Studboy among others. This article about a sports-related organization is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Snowmobile racing Their engines normally drive
1976-629: Is low. Snowmobiles designed to perform various work tasks have been available for many years with dual tracks from such manufacturers as Aktiv (Sweden), who made the Grizzly , Ockelbo (Sweden), who made the 8000, and Bombardier who made the Alpine and later the Alpine II. Currently, there are two manufacturers of dual-track snowmobiles; Russia's Buran and the Italian Alpina snowmobiles (under
2052-447: Is required in, for example, Norway and Sweden. In Finland, a snowmobile driver's license is not required if the driver already has another type of appropriate driver's license (for example car or tractor). The environmental impact of snowmobiles has been the subject of much debate. Governments have been reacting slowly to noise and air pollution , partly because of lobbying from manufacturers and snowmobilers. For instance, in 1999,
2128-703: Is the Swedish Larven , made by the Lenko Company of Östersund , from the 1960s until the end of the 1980s. It was a very small and basic design, with just an engine in the rear and a track. The driver sat on it and steered using skis on his feet. Most modern snowmobiles are powered by either a four- or two-stroke internal combustion engine , with the exception of the Taiga TS2. Historically, snowmobiles have always used two-stroke engines because of their reduced complexity, weight and cost, compared to
2204-448: The Kégresse track , while working for Tsar Nicholas II of Russia between 1906 and 1916. These used a flexible belt rather than interlocking metal segments and could be fitted to a conventional car or truck to turn it into a half-track , suitable for use over soft ground, including snow. Conventional front wheels and steering were used but the wheel could be fitted with skis as seen in the upper right image. He applied it to several cars in
2280-583: The United States Midwest suited the converted Ford Model Ts and other like vehicles, but they were not suitable for humid snow areas such as southern Quebec and New England . This led Joseph-Armand Bombardier from the small town of Valcourt , Quebec , to invent a different caterpillar track system suitable for all kinds of snow conditions. Bombardier had already made some "metal" tracked vehicles since 1928, but his new revolutionary track traction system (a toothed wheel covered in rubber, and
2356-533: The "REV" framework platform. Most two-stroke mountain snowmobiles have a top engine size of 800 cc, producing around 150 hp (110 kW), although some 1,000 cc factory machines have been produced. These may not be as popular as many 800 cc models outperform them because of weight and an increase of unneeded power. Cornices and other kinds of jumps are sought after for aerial maneuvers. Riders often search for non-tracked, virgin terrain and are known to "trailblaze" or "boondock" deep into remote territory where there
USCC Racing Association - Misplaced Pages Continue
2432-567: The 1920s and 1930s. The Citroën company sponsored several scientific expeditions crossing deserts in North Africa and Central Asia, using their autochenilles . After World War I, the US military wanted to develop a semi-tracked personnel carrier vehicle, so it looked at these civilian half-tracks. In the late 1920s the US Army purchased several Citroën-Kégresse vehicles for evaluation followed by
2508-420: The 1943-introduced Schwerer Wehrmachtschlepper , was meant to replace the 3-tonne and 5-tonne capacity models – only some 825 examples were built before the war's end. A common feature of virtually all German World War II half-tracks was the so-called Schachtellaufwerk overlapped/interleaved roadwheel arrangement with a "slack track" system possessing no return rollers under the return run of track, used from
2584-423: The 1957 Polaris Sno Traveler, and started selling it under the brand name Ski-Doo through his company Bombardier Inc. (now manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products ). Competitors copied and improved his design; in the 1970s there were over a hundred snowmobile manufacturers. From 1970 to 1973, two million machines were sold, peaking at 500,000 sold in 1971. Many of the snowmobile companies were small and
2660-488: The 1970s. However, these rules were not applied to snowmobiles. In 2015, following a decision in a lawsuit brought by Winter Wildlands Alliance against the Forest Service, the rules were extended to snowmobiles, referred to as an over-snow vehicle (OSV). National Forests with sufficient snow for winter recreation are now required to designate where OSVs are allowed to travel and where they are prohibited. In doing so,
2736-517: The 1990s can be fitted with kits that transform them into snow bikes. In 2017, Winter X Games XXI introduced the first snow bike event in the form of a SnowBikeCross race. The following year they introduced a Best Trick event. As a result of their inherent maneuverability, acceleration, and high-speed abilities, skill and physical strength are both required to operate a snowmobile. Snowmobile injuries and fatalities are high compared to those caused by on road motor vehicle traffic. Losing control of
2812-608: The Americans with their M2s and M3s . Half-tracks were widely used as mortar carriers , self-propelled anti-aircraft guns , self-propelled anti-tank guns , armored fighting vehicles and in other tasks. The Germans used a small 2 seater 1/2-ton class half-track "motorcycle", the Sd.Kfz. 2 (better known as the Kleines Kettenkraftrad HK 101 or Kettenkrad for short – Ketten meaning tracks, and krad being
2888-719: The Canadian government adopted the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 , but the set of rules governing pollution emissions for off-road vehicles was only released in January 2005. In another example of regulation, only four-stroke snowmobiles are allowed in Yellowstone National Park since a bylaw was recently passed to minimize CO 2 emissions and noise. In Yellowstone , snowmobiles account for 80% of total hydrocarbon emissions and 50% of carbon monoxide emissions in
2964-601: The European Alpina snowmobile. The second half of the 20th century saw the rise of recreational snowmobiling, whose riders are called snowmobilers , sledders , or slednecks . Recreational riding is known as snowcross/racing, trail riding, freestyle, boondocking, ditchbanging and grass drags. In the summertime snowmobilers can drag race on grass , asphalt strips, or even across water (as in snowmobile skipping ). Snowmobiles are sometimes modified to compete in long-distance off-road races. A patent (554.482) for
3040-494: The Forest Service must minimize 1) damage to soil, watershed, vegetation, and other forest resources; 2) harassment of wildlife and significant disruption of wildlife habitats; and 3) conflicts between motor vehicle use and existing or proposed recreational uses of National Forest System lands or neighboring Federal lands. Most snowmobiles are still powered by two-stroke engines, although Alpina and Yamaha have been using four-strokes since 2002 and 2003, respectively. However, in
3116-680: The Royal garage including Rolls-Royce cars and Packard trucks. Although this was not a snowmobile, it is an ancestor of the modern concept. In 1911 a 24-year-old, Harold J. Kalenze (pronounced Collins), patented the Vehicle Propeller in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. In 1914, O. M. Erickson and Art Olsen of the P.N. Bushnell company in Aberdeen , South Dakota, built an open two-seater "motor-bob" out of an Indian motorcycle modified with
USCC Racing Association - Misplaced Pages Continue
3192-608: The Sled-Propeller design, without a model, was submitted on Sept. 5, 1895 by inventors William J. Culman and William B. Follis of Brule, Wisconsin . The American Motor Sleigh was a short-lived novelty vehicle produced in Boston in 1905. Designed for travel on snow, it consisted of a sleigh body mounted on a framework that held an engine, a drive-shaft system, and runners. Although considered an interesting novelty, sales were low and production ceased in 1906. An Aerosledge,
3268-607: The Spicer 4-speed transmissions used by the other manufacturers; had IHC Model FOK-1370 front drive axles instead of the Timken front axles used by their competitors; used IHC Model RHT-1590 axles in the rear instead of the Timken axles used by their competitors; and were constructed with fully welded armor with rounded rear corners instead of the bolted armor with square corners used by the other three manufacturers. In August 1944, Allied forces liberated Paris . The first vehicle to enter
3344-696: The Springfield Works; and in 1945 they built 589 M5A1 and 1 M5A3 units at Springfield Works. The IHC half-tracks differed visibly from the White, Diamond T, and AutoCar units in several ways. The IHC units had flat front fenders instead of fenders with compound curves; used the International Red Diamond 450 engines instead of the Hercules 160AX engines used by the other manufacturers; used IHC Model 1856 4-speed transmissions instead of
3420-471: The Superclass has been released in 2017, with a lot of innovations and a new four-stroke engine. The Sherpa and Superclass series shared the same basic dual-track platform, twin 20 in × 156 in (510 mm × 3,960 mm) tracks with dual skis up front. Power for the Sherpa is supplied by a 1.6L in-line four-cylinder gasoline automotive engine. The new Superclass power is provided by
3496-474: The United States were killed. Avalanche safety education is critical for those accessing the backcountry. Risks can be reduced through education, proper training, appropriate gear, attention to published avalanche warnings and avoiding drinking alcohol. In some areas of Western U.S., organizations provide avalanche training, some of which is free. It is recommended that snowmobile riders wear a helmet and
3572-421: The animal could not be seen in time to prevent a collision. Also even when successful, a sudden maneuver to miss hitting the animal could still result in the operator losing control of the snowmobile. The next leading cause of injury and death is avalanches , which can result from the practice of highmarking , or driving a snowmobile as far up a hill as it can go. During the 2018–2019 season, 7 snowmobilers in
3648-520: The battlefield. In England, starting in 1905, David Roberts of Richard Hornsby & Sons had attempted to interest British military officials in a tracked vehicle, but failed. Holt bought the patents related to the "chain track" track-type tractor from Richard Hornsby & Sons in 1914 for £4,000. Unlike the Holt tractor, which had a steerable tiller wheel in front of the tracks, the Hornsby crawler
3724-564: The biggest manufacturers were often attempts by motorcycle makers and outboard motor makers to branch off in a new market. Most of these companies went bankrupt or were acquired by larger companies during the 1973 oil crisis and succeeding recessions. Sales rebounded to 260,000 in 1997 but gradually decreased afterward, influenced by warmer winters and the use during all four seasons of small one- or two-person ATVs . Alpina Snowmobiles are manufactured in Vicenza , Italy , by Alpina s.r.l.,
3800-666: The city was an M3 named "España Cañí" and driven by Spanish soldiers fighting under the French tricolor. There followed several days of parades in late August. One parade of 25 August 1944 was down the Champs-Élysées , with Charles de Gaulle leading throngs of Parisians, and French soldiers driving IH half-tracks. Half-tracks were used extensively in World War II, especially by the Germans with their armored Demag -designed Sd.Kfz. 250s and Hanomag -designed Sd.Kfz. 251s ; and by
3876-576: The early wars of the Arab–Israeli conflict . Half-tracks continued in use by the Israeli Army where they were deemed to outperform fully tracked and fully wheeled vehicles for non-combat payload tasks such as carrying telecommunications equipment. As of March 2008, 600 half-tracks were still officially listed as on active duty. Many Second World War half-tracks were sold off to civilian users either as surplus stock or later due to obsolescence when
SECTION 50
#17327988338573952-474: The entries from universities from across United States and Canada. Some of the participants in recent years have been the École polytechnique de Montréal with a Quasiturbine engine and students from École de technologie supérieure of the UQAM with a less polluting two-stroke engine using E85 and direct injection. Half-track A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels at
4028-411: The first United States patent for a snow-vehicle using the now recognized format of rear track(s) and front skis. Many individuals later modified Ford Model Ts with the undercarriage replaced by tracks and skis following this design. They were popular for rural mail delivery for a time. The common name for these conversion of cars and small trucks was Snowflyers . Carl Eliason of Sayner developed
4104-401: The front for steering and continuous tracks at the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. The purpose of this combination is to produce a vehicle with the cross-country capabilities of a tank and the handling of a wheeled vehicle. The main advantage of half-tracks over wheeled vehicles is that the tracks reduce the pressure on any given area of the ground by spreading
4180-604: The hauling of logs in the northeastern US, with the Lombard Steam Log Hauler built by Alvin Lombard of Waterville, Maine , from 1899 to 1917. The vehicle resembled a railway steam locomotive, with sled steering (or wheels) in front and at the rear, crawlers driven by chains instead of the driving wheels of a locomotive. By 1907, dog and pony show operator H. H. Linn abandoned his gas-and-steam-powered four- and six-wheel-drive creations and had Lombard build
4256-716: The largest being the White Motor Company , the original designer, with a total of 15,414 accepted by the War Department. The other manufacturers, Autocar and Diamond T , built 12,168 and 12,421, respectively. These designs were produced under license in Canada, and were widely supplied under the Lend Lease program, with 5,000 supplied to the USSR alone. The fourth manufacturer of American-made half-tracks
4332-510: The last decade several manufacturers have been successful in designing less polluting motors, and putting most of them in production. Yamaha and Arctic-Cat were the first to mass-produce four-stroke models, which are significantly less polluting than the early two-stroke machines. Alpina offers only four-stroke EFI engines equipped with a catalytic converter and dual oxygen-probe. Bombardier's E-Tec two-stroke motors emit 85% less pollutants than previous carbureted two-strokes. Polaris has developed
4408-1019: The military abbreviation of the German word Kraftrad , the administrative German term for motorcycle), to pull small artillery guns, for ammunition haulage, general transport and as a ground towing vehicle for the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. Built by NSU Motorenwerke AG Neckarsulm and Stoewer Werke Stettin , a total of 8,345 vehicles were produced between 1940 and 1944. Other Wehrmacht models were: Larger German half-track tractors were used to tow anti-tank and field artillery pieces. The largest of these were also used by mechanical engineers to retrieve bogged down vehicles or perform repairs such as engine maintenance. Maultier half-tracks used to transport supplies to forward units were essentially civilian trucks which had had their rear axles replaced by Panzer I or Panzer II running gear. A replacement half-track design introduced later in World War II,
4484-509: The model. The large footprint of the dual tracks and dual skis allows the Sherpa and Superclass to "float" on top of deep snow and not sink in and get stuck. Taiga Motors in Montreal created the first commercially produced electric snowmobile. The Taiga TS2 can go from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3 seconds, with 250 N⋅m (180 lb⋅ft) of instant torque. The Taiga TS2 weighs 470 lb (210 kg). A snow bike takes
4560-630: The name Sherpa and Superclass ). Edgar and Allen Hetteen and David Johnson of Roseau , Minnesota, invented what we now know as the modern snowmobile in 1955–1956, but the early machines were heavy (1,000 lb or 450 kg) and slow (20 mph or 32 km/h). Their company, Hetteen Hoist & Derrick Co., became Polaris Industries which introduced their first commercial model, the Polaris Sno Traveler in 1957. In 1960, Joseph-Armand Bombardier introduced his own snowmobile using an open-cockpit one- or two-person form, similar to
4636-537: The patent to a Canadian subsidiary. In 1917, Virgil D. White set up to create a patent for his conversion kit that changed the Ford Model T into a "snowmobile". He also copyrighted the term "snowmobile". At the time, the conversion kit was expensive, costing about $ 395. Virgil White applied his patent in 1918 and created his own snowmobile. In 1922, his conversion kit was on the markets and available only through Ford dealerships. The relatively dry snow conditions of
SECTION 60
#17327988338574712-463: The prototype of the modern snowmobile in the 1920s when he mounted a two-cylinder motorcycle engine on a long sled, steered it with skis under the front, and propelled it with single, endless track. Eliason made 40 snowmobiles, patented in 1927. Upon receiving an order for 200 from Finland , he sold his patent to the FWD Company of Clintonville . They made 300 for military use, then transferred
4788-500: The rear and skis for steering in front. The skis could be replaced with wheels in the summer, but this was uncommon. The Red Army also experimented with half-tracks, such as the BA-30 , but found them expensive and unreliable. Although not a feature on American World War II vehicles, steering could be assisted by track braking, controlled by the steering wheel. In the US, 43,000 halftracks were produced by three primary manufacturers,
4864-683: The rear began to appear prior to the outbreak of war, often based on agricultural machines such as the Holt tractor . The basic half-track concept was originally showcased by the British during the war. With such tractors, the tactical use of heavier guns to supplement the light horse-drawn field guns became feasible. For example, in the British Army it allowed the heavy guns of the Royal Garrison Artillery to be used flexibly on
4940-453: The research center RISE, approximately 135,000 snowmobiles will be sold worldwide yearly. Snowmobiles are widely used in arctic territories for travel. However, the tiny Arctic population means a correspondingly small market. Most snowmobiles are sold for recreational purposes in places where snow cover is stable during winter. The number of snowmobiles in Europe and other parts of the world
5016-648: The rider transfers their weight towards the uphill side, a process called side-hilling . Higher-powered modern snowmobiles can achieve speeds over 150 mph (240 km/h). Drag racing snowmobiles can reach speeds over 200 mph (320 km/h). Mountain sleds permit access in remote areas with deep snow, which was nearly impossible a few decades ago. This is mainly due to alterations, enhancements, and additions of original trail model designs such as weight, weight distribution, track length, paddle depth, and power. Technology and design advances in mountain snowmobiles have improved since 2003 with Ski-Doo's introduction of
5092-622: The showroom floor on stock models. Trail snowmobiles improved in the past 15 years as well (many of them borrowed from endeavors to produce winning mountain sleds). Heavy "muscle sleds" can produce speeds in excess of 100 mph (160 km/h) due to powerful engines (up to 1,200 cc stock, and custom engines exceeding 1,200 cc), short tracks, and good traction on groomed trails. Sno-cross oriented snowmobiles often have an engine size cap of 440 or 600 cc, but lighter machines with redesigned stances, formats, and weight control have produced extremely fast and quickly accelerating race sleds. According to
5168-683: The small Kettenkrad to the nine-tonne capacity Sd.Kfz. 9 vehicle, and most famously used on Henschel's Tiger I and MAN's Panther main battle tanks. Half-tracks were extensively used after World War II until the late 1960s, mostly in form of surplus World War II vehicles. Half-tracks saw combat in the French colonial empire in the First Indochina War and the Algerian War ; in the Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts ; and
5244-508: The vehicle was steered via a steering wheel and cables linked to two small skis on outriggers either side of the vehicle. In the mid-1950s, a United States firm built a "snowmobile the arctic area of Alaska that had the drive train reversed of today's snowmobiles with two front wheels—the larger one behind the smaller one—with tires driving an endless loop track". Little is known about this "snowmobile" meant to haul cargo and trade goods to isolated settlements. An odd version of snowmobile
5320-415: The vehicle's weight over a larger area, which gives it greater mobility over soft terrain like mud and snow, while they do not require the complex steering mechanisms of fully tracked vehicles, relying instead on their front wheels to direct the vehicle, augmented in some cases by track braking controlled by the steering wheel. It is not difficult for someone who can drive a car to drive a half-track, which
5396-548: The winter led to the invention of an all-terrain vehicle specifically designed for travel across deep snow where other vehicles foundered. As of 2003 , the snowmobile market has been shared between the four large North American makers ( Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP), Arctic Cat , Yamaha , and Polaris ) and some specialized makers like the Quebec-based AD Boivin, manufacturer of the Snow Hawk and
5472-516: The winter. This is just less than 2% and 1% respectively of the overall annual pollution within the park. Snowmobiles are only allowed to be ridden on the unplowed roads used in the summer, and riding off the roads is prohibited. This accounts for less than 1% (0.002%) of the park area. In 2005 the US Forest Service published a Travel Management Rule for off-highway vehicles, strengthening the implementation of Executive Orders issued in
5548-667: Was a Russian project by the Putilov Plant to produce military half-tracks (the Austin-Putilov model), along the same lines, using trucks and French track parts. After the Russian Revolution and the establishment of the Soviet Union , Kégresse returned to his native France, where the system was used on Citroën cars between 1921 and 1937 for off-road and military vehicles. The concept originated with
5624-450: Was steered by controlling power to each track. When World War I broke out, with the problem of trench warfare and the difficulty of transporting supplies to the front, the pulling power of crawling-type tractors drew the attention of the military. With tanks coming onto the scene, however, the combination of tracks and wheels seemed impractical when fully tracked or six-wheel, four-wheel drive vehicles were available. The half-track saw
5700-573: Was the International Motor Truck Corporation division of International Harvester . IH built approximately 12,853 half-tracks, which were shipped to Europe for use by British and French troops. In 1942, they produced 152 M5 units and 5 M14 units at the Springfield Works; in 1943 they produced 2,026 M9 units, 1,407 M0A1 units, 4,473 M5 units, 1,600 M14 units, and 400 M17 units, all at the Springfield Works; in 1944 they produced 1,100 M5A1 units and 1,100 M17 units also at
5776-523: Was used in many applications, such as ambulances, Canada Post vehicles, winter "school buses", forestry machines, and even army vehicles in World War II . Bombardier had always dreamed of a smaller version, more like the size of a motor scooter . In 1951 Fritz Riemerschmid devised what he called a snow scooter. The machine had a track mounted beneath a snowboard like base, on top of which were an enclosed engine with motorcycle like seat and fuel tank.
#856143