Snowmobile

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, 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 plugs fire the cylinders. Power runs into the CVT Drive, where a primary clutch squeezes a Drive Belt against a 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 slide-rail suspension riding on idler wheels and damped by shocks over coil springs. At the front, two ski struts carry steerable skis; the handlebar linkage swings them through tie rods. A hydraulic disc brake on the chaincase jackshaft slows the track. The electrical system runs CDI ignition, a battery, lights, and an instrument cluster.