Near Mint: 1970s Raider Twin-Track 34TT and 44TT
I’m not thinking about winter, but I’m always thinking about vintage snowmobiles, having grown up in this era and living in the country where we could ride to our heart’s content, at least until the machines flooded, got stuck, or otherwise quit and we’d have to figure out how to get them home again. I believe these are 1974 Raider Twin-Track models, and the seller has them listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Cambria, Wisconsin and the seller is asking $2,500 each. Here is the original listing. Thanks to Lothar… of the Hill People for the tip!
I think these are both 1974 models or possibly 1973 models that were carryovers and sold as 1974 models. Raider snowmobiles are unique in having twin tracks on the rear rather than a single wide track, and you sit down in these in a cockpit rather than swinging your leg over a seat and sitting on it as with most snowmobiles. These unique snowmobiles were only made for a handful of years, from 1971 through 1975, and the 44TT appears to have both a speedometer and tachometer. A speedometer would have been standard on the mid-level Eagle. There was also a base model Hawk and a top-trim Double Eagle.
A gentleman named Bob Bracey came up with the Raider concept and after designing and engineering prototypes, they were introduced to the flourishing snowmobile market in 1971. Two-track snowmobiles had been around for years, but they were more utilitarian, pragmatic work sleds, not recreational ones as with the Raider. Technically, there was a passenger “seat” (pad) on top of the flip-up engine cover, but there was room for only one down in the main seat.
The 34TT and 44TT both have CCW (Canadian Curtiss Wright) engines, with the 34TT being a 398-cc twin with 32 horsepower and the 44TT having a 436-cc twin with 40 horsepower. The seller says they both run great, they both have original covers, and they’re stored inside when they aren’t being used. If I had a trailer I’d probably be on my way to pick these things up. Are any of you into vintage snowmobiles? If so, what did you have or what do you have now?
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Comments
70s Snowmobiles from Wisconsin.. ❄️
Howard himself may have piloted one of these beauties 😲😃
Looks like its fixed. Thx Barnfinds. If ever a privacy breech happened, this would be the place for it. Good folks around here. 👍 🤝
Thank you for that quick fix.
Stan 🏁
Winter already? All I have to do is look outside. We are currently having a “snowy period” in the Rocky Mountains. Coming from the North Pole, who would have thought Colorado had winters? Just kidding, winters in the Badger lasted 11 months, the snow we have will be gone by the weekend.
The Raider was a poor rendition of a snowmobile and there’s a reason why these are still in good condition, they never ran, or were too scary for the operator when they did run. CCW is a good motor, I believe is the powerplant of choice for ultra lights( be a nice day in the Badger when I trust my life in the air to a snowmobile motor) but not the best for a snowmobile. I had a Scorpion with one. Never ran right.
I got into a bit of a tift on the last Raider post, someone called me out on what was called the “Manta” twin track, that cleaned up on everyone at Eagle River, the “NASCAR” races of snowmobiles. It was not the Ski-Doo as this person thought, and an even lesser known twin track, the Honda White Fox, also a Wisconsin creation, but never made it to production. The Manta, also a Bracey creation, was successful because it allowed him to run a different line than the single track racers. He was looked down on for that, not unlike Don Garlits rear engine dragster.
While I don’t care for the machine per se, this man had a vision. He didn’t like sitting in the open, like a traditional sled, and wanted a more sports car like feel. Trouble was, snowmobiling is not like riding down an interstate. Trail conditions warrant full movement, and these were on their sides a lot. Highly unstable.
I can say, I miss snowmobiling more than any activity. I realize the irony of that statement, living in the Rocky Mountains, probably some of the most pristine sledding one could ask for, yet, at $100/hr. rentals castrated to 20 mph and all sleds have avalanche poles, um, no thanks.
Some sleds I had or ridden include:
1970 Polaris Charger, 16hp JLO single, okay for 1st sled
1975 Scorpion Stinger 400 (CCW), was an awful sled
1977 Yamaha 340 Exciter, my favorite sled. put a lot of miles on that one. Never let me down
1976 Yamaha 440 Exciter, a friend gave it to me, very tired.
A 1980 Yamaha 440 SRX, another crazy fast sled, but being the 1st liquid cooled, it stranded me more than once.
1975 Evinrude Rotary, got for free with 50 miles. Never got it running.
Some sleds I rode include, a 3 cylinder Polaris, that GD thing should be outlawed. It’s the only sled I went 100 mph on,,briefly. Awful sled. Then a Ski-Doo SS 540(?), THAT was a cool sled. A 340 Ski-Doo long track, and an Arctic Cat 340 were good sleds too. I suppose with a background like that, it could make me a self proclaimed expert on the subject, so, what’s the best sled ever? Arctic Cat, no question. Thanks, SG for the memories.
That’s excellent info, Howard, thanks for the follow-up!
(hey, who’s this MN writer guy? I don’t know anyone like that)
Scotty, you really threw Howard a softball here – homerun!
Whutz? No Elan?
I’ve already commented on Raiders a couple of times. Not a good sled, even in its day. At least these are in good condition, but they aren’t practical so they will probably still sit alot.
Rotax are the engines of choice for Ultralights.
The Ski-Doo Elite was a much bigger snowmobile than a Raider, and VERY expensive when new. More like a golf car on tracks.
I too miss the physical ability to snowmobile, especially with the amazing offerings available these days. But it takes a lot of strength to ride one to its limits, and those days are gone.
The price listed is $2500.00 each, so not such a great deal as you thought.
Hi Jay, I think it was you that called me out on the Manta being the SkiDoo. I didn’t mean anything cross about calling attention to that, and I remember reading about the Ski-Doo Elite, it was made from ’73 to ’82, but never saw one in the Nort’woods. Did see a couple Alpines, also twin track for utilitarian use. The fun part was, many sleds could be had for nothing, $100 bucks maybe, INCLUDED a trailer. There were so many, over 220 brands, and many, like here, were a gamble purchase in an attempt to do a family thing, and ended up in the corner, like here. To those that did brave the cold, it’s rumored to be the most fun you can have with your clothes on. Lots of clothes. No exposed skin took some doing. We always said the sleds ran faster after closing time,,,and there was some merit to that. Snowmobiles ran their best in cold weather, and closing time was about as cold as it got. Food too, once, we stumbled on a bar to warm up, and they had the most unbelievable smorgasbord. And gas too. Gas was at every lit bar sign, mostly in above ground barrels. All that is gone today.
Thanks, Jay E.! That’s a very important bit that I missed there, ugh.
Ask folks around here Howard they call the Arctic Cats … Artic Crap 💩 😲
I have limited experience, and no ownership, so can’t say.
The Bombardier Ski-Doos were popular when i worked in the woods. Skandic model.
Hi Stan, not sure where “here” is, but like it or not, Arctic Cat literally defined DEPENDABLE snowmobiling. While Minnesota isn’t really known for much, :0,,except a great BFs writer, he knows it, Minnesota literally pioneered snowmobiling, mostly out of necessity. They have 12 months of winter. I realize Ski-Doo, or Bombardier was technically the 1st, I believe, Arctic Cat, and to a lesser extent, Polaris, literally made them the snowmobile/ATV kings. Arctic Cat has earned the moniker as the “Cadillac” of sleds. A friend had a 700 Wildcat, that truly rode like a Cadillac.
I don’t want to downplay the Raider too much, it had it’s application. Lake riding, usually involves higher speeds, and a lot colder. Sitting in a cockpit, with engine heat, could have it’s pluses. Or twin tracks are good for slow going, deep snow, like getting firewood, or pull a disabled sled home, but to me, the fun was going fast on a twisty, freshly groomed trail, where these don’t do so well.
Oops, a bit more. While Minnesota had Arctic Cat and Polaris, it should be noted, Wisconsin was close behind. We had Mercurys, John Deere, Bolens, Evinrude/Johnson, Ariens, Gilson, and a bunch of others. The big difference, is none in Wisconsin are still being made.
West Coast BC Howard 🍁
Hi Stan, I bet your area will get a lot busier. I heard there’s a mass exodus from California due to last weeks results. My daughter did a movie in Vancouver and was impressed at how clean and orderly it was. She said she actually felt safe at night there, L.A. not so much.
I don’t know why but seeing these two sleds together looked
to me like Star Wars stormtroopers would be riding these in a
Star Wars movie. …..Haven’t had my coffee yet this
morning. ……😪😪🥱🥱
HA! Speederbikes( also jumpspeeders or hover bikes) were for many, the coolest part of the movie. Lucas wanted a “rocket powered scooter”, and ILM( Industrial Light and Magic) came up with the Speederbike. The models were filmed at 5mph, but sped up to look like 100. I don’t think they were made from anything we knew.
I learned sooo much today!
During the same era, Bombardier built a machine with some similar design features. It was called the “Elite”, it featured enclosed sides, rear engine and twin , but was a side-by-side. I had one for a few years in the 80s to get to my cabin on an unplowed road. It was very heavy, and tended to get stuck in big snow drifts. I sold it for $500 with the cabin.
Recently, I began thinking about buying another Elite to use on my local trails. Apparently they are now somewhat rare collectors items, with decent drivers starting at $5K, and minty ones, are twice that. Later versions are even more. I am sticking with my Arctic Cat.
Cam, we’ve seen a couple of them here on Barn Finds, thanks for mentioning the Elite. They are on a different level for sure.
https://barnfinds.com/elite-status-1973-ski-doo-elite/
https://barnfinds.com/side-by-side-snowmobile-1974-ski-doo-elite/
Scotty: Seeing the Elites on Barn Finds was what inspired me to consider buying one again..
Had a couple of these 40 years ago and they were a blast! Not fast, you fart and it would flip over but warm and always got looks! Remember that the chain would fall off if you went too fast!! Not fun to put back on!
The only snow mobile I ever drove was my uncle’s Raider. It was exciting and fast, feeling like I was in an Indy car, until I wound up on my side, in an ice puddle, in the middle of a cornfield, and had to walk back because I couldn’t get it started again! Still, great memories.
Cool concept but never really took off in the snowmobile world. Great vintage rider for someone.
I have a Sachs Wankel powered Alouette that is somewhat rare. They had a limited production run of 2 seasons. They figured out rotary engines weren’t the answer…….
I’m loading up my EM-50! We’re going into Wisconsin. – We zip in, we pick ’em up, we zip right out again. :) Iykyk
I would love to have a early John Deere Liquifire and Cyclone. We had JD 300 and a 400, good dependable machines. Our next door neighbors had two Liquifires and the family down the street had a Cyclone, a JDX4 (matte black) and two 400’s.
Hi Gary, the Liquifier was JDs 1st attempt at liquid cooled, and was riddled with problems. The heat exchangers in the tunnel weren’t adequate for cooling. They were fast buggers I never knew JD did away with the chain case with it’s direct drive. I always wondered why others didn’t do that? My SRX was also early LC, but had a radiator. It was the water pump that failed. John Deeres were made in 2nd hometown of Horicon. I believe the Gator is still made there. Mercurys were the sled to beat. Fact is, my Yamaha Exciter was an Asian knockoff of the Trail Twister. The Polaris Indy became the standard issue sled. I had friends with newer Ski-Doos that had a lot of motor problems. JD used Kohler motors, and the best in the business.