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Unique
Jet’s Stinger had one unique feature that really set it apart. It offered a belt adjustment that accommodated virtually all belts in an emergency. The chain case could be moved closer or farther away from the engine for different drive belt sizes.
The Stinger also came with a 15-inch wide Goodyear track with polyurethane drive sprockets. It had three sets of bogie wheel assemblies with torsion springs to make up the suspension. Suspension travel was about 3 to 4 inches.
On the 1970 model the seat came with a base and a backrest, in two pieces, but for 1971 Jet changed and made a one-piece seat for some models.
Hoods came coated in high-visibility glitter flake paint and Jet wasn’t afraid of using bright colors to attract customers. Stingers came in blaze orange, gold, green and in 1971 Jet added red to its scheme. But this caused Jet some trouble. When Jet made sleds in red flake and called them Stingers, Scorpion snowmobiles from Crosby, Minn., wrote Jet a letter telling the firm it had to quit using the Stinger name, a Scorpion trademark.
Jet’s reaction was to rename the last 50 “Stinger” sleds the firm made, calling them Sno-Bees. It appears that from 1970 to 1971 Jet made about 325 to 400 Stingers and Sno-Bee’s.
I was told that Jet had outside investors and was starting to be on shaky ground financially. Reportedly in 1971 the owners’ brother sold a truckload of sleds to a Colorado distributor, but was never paid for the load. This didn’t help Jet’s finances and by the end of 1971 the firm filed for bankruptcy and most of the outside investors lost it all.
I purchased the sled in the photo from a guy a year ago. He got it from a banker who repossessed the sled years ago and it remained in good condition. My Stinger is in original condition although I rebuilt the motor (a 28-horse German-made JLO 440cc.) It was a little rusty, but the cylinder and pistons were in decent shape.
I also have Scorpion Stingers in my collection, but I picked this up because it’s unique and a sled you don’t see around at shows very often. Best guess is that maybe 10-20 are still in existence.