"After
seeing your latest addition to your site on the old Ski Doos
I just had to write about my experience with them.
In Feb 1969 my wife was getting sick of riding
double and getting her toes squashed by my heels as I attempted
to manouver my 69 Panther over the drifts. It was time to buy
a second sled, I don't recall why but I decided on a 1967 Super
Olympique 300cc, probably the price was right.
This sled was ridden for the remaining 2 months
of that season and there was a never ending list of problems.
I believe the sled had been raced previously and it moved along
quite well if you were able to find a smooth enough surface.
It seemed that everytime it was opened up something happened,
usually the belt would blow. While blowing the belt wasn't anything
new for the older sleds, this one had a habit of taking out
the ignition and lighting wires at the same time. So, after
removing the strands of belt from both clutches and replacing
yet another belt, you then had to do enough rewiring to get
you home and if it was after dark it took a little longer.
Replacing throttle cables and loosing suspension
boggies also kept you busy. Scarfs were a definite no no, as
it took no time at all before it was sucked into the carb and
you would come to a sudden stop and then you usually had to
contend with a flooded motor as well.
This sled had the headlite that flipped up when
you operated a lever on the dash, of course it never stayed
up in position and rather than holding the lever we usually
just followed someone else if one of the group still had a light
operating.
The dealer got the sled back the following November
( I really don't think he wanted to see it again ) and I got
a 2 year old used sled, a 1968 Panther 297 JLO, a great sled,
it had it's problems too ( as all the sleds of that time did
), broken cleats and brake and throttle cables, etc., but a
definite improvement in speed, ride and dependibility.
SkiDoo has made a lot of good sleds over the years,
but I was not impressed by that particular one. That was the
first and last SkiDoo I have owned. I am attaching a pic of
the sled with my daughter sitting on it, we were visiting the
in-laws at the time."
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