GOT RISERS?

time tracks

‘71Ski-Doo X4R

A YELLOW BEAST IS RESURRECTED!

You find vintage sleds in the craziest of places. Any avid vintage collector knows that part of the excitement around collecting is ‘the hunt’. Finding a sled, you remember from your youth behind a barn, scouring in someone’s basement to see a sled that’s been lost to time, or working, precious family heirloom sleds that have been handed down through the ages. This is all part of being a vintage enthusiast.

The Collector The crème-de-la-crème

Paul Robinson is not your typical vintage collector. He is a Ski-Doo magnet of sorts. His collection holds some extremely rare sleds, including the one-of-one, 1971 double-eagle with two 797cc triple motors and triple pipes. He lives in Texas but has been all over North America, adding incredible SkiDoo sleds to his unbelievable collection. We met him at his booth at the Toronto Snowmobile Show, and with one look at his bright yellow Ski-Doo shirt, Ski-Doo sportcoat, Ski-Doo custom pins and incredible display, you knew this guy was serious about his Ski-Doo’s… even if his southern locale is a bit out of the way.

Mr. Robinson (no connection to the kids-show, or the basketball player) is as straight up as a flag-pole. He makes his connections honestly, but has a determination not seen in many collectors. When he finds what he wants, he asks a price and either shakes hands on the deal, or thanks the person for their time. There is no negotiation, and that’s the way he works. Honest, straight up, friendly and to-the-point. He is also willing to put in the time and sniff out some of the best examples of Ski-Doo history, aside from the museum in Valcourt.

The most draw-dropping, showstopping, and most rare machine in this collection is by far the 1971 Ski-Doo X4R. We were able to talk with Paul and get the full story on this machine. It started life as a straight-line speed machine, back when all the OEM’s were in full-force trying to build the fastest, and often most wild and interesting sleds in the history of snowmobiling.

This twin-track (cleated) has a total of four 3-cylinder 2-stroke 797cc free-air motors, all with chromed out, custom triple-pipes. Up-front is an example of one of the earlier double A-arm front suspensions and polished up to perfection. This is not just a sled that doesn’t run though. Paul actually fired it up at the big vintage event in Waconia, MN a few years ago… much to the delight of the massive crowd. It was overheard that a few naysayers were quickly silenced by the skull-rattling sound of all these massive motors firing at one time.

The pilot of this machine sits in an open-air cockpit with pedals for the gas and brake. I would liken it to an old-school open-wheel Formula F1 seating arrangement, but much, much cooler (both literally and figuratively). The steering wheel and the downforce wind spoiler on the rear confirms this, and it truly seems to be half snow-machine and half fighter jet. Massive cool air intakes on either side also add to the jet-like appeal of the sled. Roll-bar and a streamlined fiberglass hood-piece that slopes aggressively to a squared off front are truly unique.

The backstory

The X-4R started as a prototype racer, and was driven by Lucien Lamoureux. He was a famous Ski-Doo racer, driving modified sleds including the L-P2, and racing at places like Eagle River, with other Ski-Doo legends like Yvon Duhamel. Racing was big business in 1970-1971, and Ski-Doo’s race budget that season was $1.3 million US. It had a short life on the snow, and was eventually shuffled to the back of a warehouse at Ski-Doo’s plant in Valcourt, Quebec. Eventually Bombardier needed the space and was going to get rid of the machine. The original racer was given the opportunity to have the machine. Through the course of time and owners, the sled ended up being stored in a boathouse in Quebec.

Paul was able to track down the owner through trade-shows and other connections. He knew it existed, and he knew this was something that deserved to be shown to the public. After the sale, it was fully restored, as well as three additional engines for the machine.

Currently the X-4R is on a 50th Anniversary World tour. The sled has been shown in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario, Quebec, and other places so far. Over 30,000 lucky sledheads were able to view it at the Toronto show alone! Paul also has plans to show the sled across the pond at several European locations. Trust us when we say that this is one machine that will blow you away if you ever get a chance to see it.

It was a long road for this piece of sled-history, but now it lives on for vintage enthusiasts to see at numerous events around the U.S. and Canada each year.

PAUL WAS ABLE TO TRACK DOWN THE OWNER THROUGH TRADE-SHOWS AND OTHER CONNECTIONS.

snap decision

CODY SCHUSTER

CURVE INDUSTRIES

Curve Industries was started in 2008, founded by Nicholas Pryputniewicz and Sean Stumvoll, both RIT graduates themselves. As engineers with a passion for powersports, they began designing Curve’s current XS ski model while still in school. After graduating, they continued developing the product, acquiring patents and finally shipping the first set of XS skis in January of 2008. Since then, Curve’s product line has expanded, adding distribution, and bringing manufacturing in house just two years ago.

Cody began working for Curve Industries as an intern in 2014, during his junior year of college. He was attending the Rochester Institute of Technology, studying graphic design. While attending school, he joined the RIT Clean Snowmobile Team, a team composed of engineers tasked with taking a production snowmobile and making it more environmentally friendly, while still being a fun and enjoyable machine to ride. On the team, Cody started in public relations, marketing the team on campus, recruiting new team members, handling their sponsors, and later became the team manager and managed all aspects of the team’s operation. This was all very important as this is how he got his foot in the door at Curve Industries which was a sponsor of the Team. Cody was was in search of an internship to complete his undergrad and the fit was perfect. Since graduating college in 2016, Curve Industries offered Cody a full time position and he has been there four years now.

Cody’s title is Marketing/Creative Director at Curve Industries, and like so many companies, you wear many hats. As the title suggests, he looks after all of Curve’s marketing, social media, and website management. However, that’s only a part of what he does. His other hats include inside sales rep, maintaining a great relationship with our distributors and dealers, as well as direct sales. Cody works very closely with our sponsored athletes, supporting them and making sure they get what they need, when they need it. We like to compare Cody to that “big” Swiss Army knife that you only dreamed of having when you were a kid.

Above all, Cody is a team player and understands the business well beyond his years. During our interview with Cody for the FAB 5, he said commented, “I look forward to seeing the company grow, and I’m excited to see where Curve Industries can go!”

So we asked Cody - Race One; Collect One; Wreck One; Ride One; Sell One; and GO!

RACE ONE

2004 Ski-Doo MXZ X 440

The sled that changed the sport of snocross. I have never raced snocross, but from talking to the many people I know that raced during that era, this sled was so ahead of its time, you felt like you were cheating.

COLLECT ONE

1974 Ski-Doo TNT 340

I’ve never been one for old iron, I guess I’m “too young”, lol. However, I have always wanted a ‘74 TNT; it’s the first snowmobile I can remember my family having when growing up, so it’s more of a sentimental thing.

WRECK ONE

1987 Yamaha Inviter

And yes, as a fun fact I do own one, but man are they ugly… it’s just fun to bang bars with your buddies on their old junk sleds. And if I wreck it, who cares?

RIDE ONE

Ski-Doo Backcountry 850

My favorite sled that I’ve ever ridden. Here on the east coast, I enjoy riding the trails and occasionally like to get off trail as well… it’s the best of both worlds.

SELL ONE

Yamaha Sidewinder

It’d be fun to smoke my buddies on the lake for a while, but I’d probably get sick of that pretty quick. Yamaha is known for their reliability and they hold their value very well, so I wouldn’t lose too much.