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70’s Production Sleds Who was the Fastest?

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4.1K views 36 replies 21 participants last post by  Orange2  
#1 ·
I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s and I’m totally amazed at how many sled manufacturers we had. Last night I fell down a rabbit hole, searching the internet on the fastest production sled and most reliable brand.
Here’s what I was able to find out; Mercury Sno Twister were the fastest, Yamaha and Sno Jets were the most reliable and handle the best.
It’s now the off season, so I would love to hear everyone else’s opinions on this topic and provide any feedback or personal experiences with sleds you may have owned in the 70’s and 80’s . Thank you.
 
#4 ·
1976 Rupp nitro 440 was one of the fastest based on my experience.
 
#6 ·
I had the last year , which I think was 1981 440 Whip and yes I went through my fair share of windshields. It was fast but if memory serves me correctly a Polaris 340 txl was faster and any Arctic Cat El Tigre.
 
#8 ·
A lot depends on the years in question, the 9700's were fast until the 550 Kawi Interceptors came along. When I was a kid my neighbor went down to White Star Auction and came back with a 72 Blizzard 797. I got the chance to take it for a quick and I mean quick rip down the street in front of our houses. That sled was scary fast. Being 17 driving a sled with that much power made my little 12hp Elan seem as if I was walking. Asked him if I could got with him the next time that he went to the auction. Finally got the chance to go and came home with a 74 TNT F/A 400.
 
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#9 ·
In the late 70s it came down to 3 sleds. The Polaris Centurion, the Yamaha SRX and the Ski-Doo Blizzard 9500. Any one of those 3 could own the lake. The 500cc Arctic Cat el tigre 6000 came along in 1980. And it was also a contender. The Kawasaki Interceptor 550 was a one year wonder, 1982. Too bad, because it was wicked fast. The Invaders, JD Liquifiers, Nitro's, etc weren't in the same class as those previously mentioned sleds.
 
#11 ·
There is a lot to take into consideration when comparing sleds from those years. Manufacturing tolerances were not what they are today. Things like clutch alignment, chaincase alignment, porting, timing, pipe stamping all varied from one sled to the other as they came down the assembly line. The guys who knew what they were doing, would bring all these variables into spec. That’s why you might race a 440 Kawasaki and blow his doors off, then race another of the same model and get your butt handed to you.

Most sleds mentioned above were fast. The 1981 6000 ElTigre was advertised as the worlds fastest production sled.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Well, technically, the Yamaha SSR was also a ”production sled” from the point of view that they were all built with a VIN along a production line. But they were never available to the general public.

But the SRX 440 is indeed fast, even with today’s standards. That engine is something extra compared to other 440’s of the same era. Radical port timing, VM40’s bored out to 42 mm and 100 hp at 9300 rpm in the 1977 model…in a 152 kg chassis…

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#20 ·
My first sled was an enticer 250 not fast at all then I tried a friend’s dad sled. Same chassis ect but I think it was a liquid cooled ss 440 ( too young to remember) I think I hit around 80mph speedo and it started shaking so badly I don’t think the chassis could handle the power