This series commemorates my 50+ years of snowmobiling and the 20 snowmobiles my family and I had fun on during that time. In 1967, our family started snowmobiling in Syracuse, New York. Back then we would ride on Oneida Lake, or any field we could get permission to ride on. A special thanks to Mark & Glenn for helping me with this series.
These tractor-like machines were our 1st and 2nd sleds and both were purchased new. The first one was a 1967 “Model 500”. It sold for $969 in 1967, which is about $7,000 in 2020 money. Believe it or not, I still have the purchase receipt! It came with a 300cc Hirth 54R engine producing a belt-stretching 16 horsepower! Bolens was a division of FMC Corporation, which produced farm tractors. When my Mom first saw them she was not impressed, as they looked like “farm equipment” to her. This made sense because my Dad was a “farm equipment” engineer in his late teens and early 20's. He saw some design flaws in our first machine. He welded some reinforcement gussets to the handlebars where they mounted to the chassis, which he saw as a weak point. Then, he put a beefier chain and gears in the chain case after the original chain broke. He designed the New Process Gear transfer cases that were used on many different brands of 4wd trucks, so it was no big deal for him. We got rid of that sled the following year and upgraded to the 1968 “Model 502”. My Dad's decision to purchase it was based on the fact that most of the shortcomings he noted (and repaired) on the Model 500 were addressed. The Model 502 improvements included:
- Louvers in the the hood for improved cooling. (the previous model had overheating issues)
- A much thicker dash panel. (the previous model's dash would crack within weeks!)
- A handle bar support around the back of the seat. (better to tie a toboggan to)
- Heavier sheet metal and tubing throughout the chassis, hood and handlebars.
- A heavier built gearbox along with heavier drive sprockets and chain.
I have fond memories of my parents towing us kids around on a toboggan. There weren't any trail systems in our area, so we'd ride on Oneida Lake or just ask farmers if we could ride in their fields. They usually said OK and some times they would pull out their snowmobiles and ride with us! The long seat on this sled flipped up and there was a lot of storage area underneath. This allowed my parents plenty of space to bring hot cocoa, cheese & crackers and other goodies with us. This was also the first sled I drove by myself a few times at the tender age of 8 years old.
Congratulations to Bandit35757 on the FTF!