Snowmobile Product

Overview

A snowmobile is an over-snow vehicle that floats and drives on a single wide rubber track and steers with a pair of skis at the front. The track spreads the machine's weight over a large area so it stays on top of soft snow, and its molded lugs bite for traction where a wheel would simply spin. The rider straddles a [[seat-assembly|seat]], works a thumb Thumb Throttle on the Handlebar, and leans into corners much as on a motorcycle. Built for cold and for deep snow, the machine pairs a high-output two-stroke engine with an automatic belt drive so the rider never shifts gears. Recreational sleds favor light weight and quick handling; touring and utility versions add longer tracks, larger fuel tanks, and cargo capacity for backcountry travel.

How it works

The Gasoline Engine is a liquid-cooled two-cylinder two-stroke; a Radiator and Coolant Pump reject its heat, and a pair of [[spark-plug|spark plugs]] fire the cylinders. Power runs into the CVT Drive, where a [[snowmobile-primary-clutch|primary clutch]] squeezes a Drive Belt against a [[snowmobile-secondary-clutch|secondary clutch]] to vary ratio continuously with engine speed and load.

That torque turns the Track Drive, whose sprockets pull the rubber track around a [[snowmobile-slide-rail|slide-rail]] suspension riding on idler wheels and damped by shocks over [[coil-spring|coil springs]]. At the front, two [[snowmobile-front-suspension|ski struts]] carry steerable skis; the [[snowmobile-steering|handlebar linkage]] swings them through tie rods. A hydraulic [[snowmobile-brake|disc brake]] on the chaincase jackshaft slows the track. The [[snowmobile-electrical|electrical system]] runs CDI ignition, a [[lv-battery|battery]], lights, and an [[lcd-panel|instrument cluster]].