AmSnow.com is now SnoWest.com
In 1975 Arctic Cat decided to build a sleek, simple snowmobile just for the trails, the pilot build being dubbed a Trail Cat. Power came from a 10-horse Briggs & Stratton 4-cycle one-cylinder engine.
Only 229 were made, as the Trail Cat was part of a long-term test to see how this type of sled would go over with the public. Several dealers got one to test and give input on how the Trail Cat worked.
Simpler, fewer parts
Like today’s new ProCross and ProClimb chassis, Cat designed this to be simpler, with fewer parts than earlier models. However, it went to some extremes as there were no front or rear bumpers (often needed to get un-stuck), just rear pick-up holes manufactured into the rear of the aluminum tunnel. And the engine was set nice and low in the chassis to keep it well balanced, but working on the motor was tough because it was rather hard to get at.
The Trail Cat featured a small undercarriage made mainly of steel with aluminum swing arms and running steel on track clips with no slides. There also were steel springs with no shocks.
The track was special, and small, too. It used a 13-inch wide by 90-inch long segmented plastic design with 18 segments, each 5 inches long and held together by locking rods. Each segment featured an Arctic Cat logo molded into it.
If you were to use the track now on a vintage ride you’d better be careful not to break track segments as over the years they get very brittle. If you need a segment you’ll have to find a scrapped Trail Cat.
These small sleds used a jackshaft, but put the driven clutch inside the tunnel support. So to change the drive belt you must get the jackshaft loose and slide it toward the chaincase with the chaincase cover and sprockets off. There’s a nice disc brake right on the jackshaft too.
Power was the main issue with Trail Cat, which looked fast, but wasn’t. It came with a 100 mph speedometer, but I’m told top speed might have been all of 25 mph.
If Cat would have used a 292cc single cylinder Kawasaki that delivered about 20 horses the Trail Cat would have been a better sled. But it wasn’t built for speed, just playing on the trails. Still the Trail Cat came with a seat that held you firmly in place when “flying around corners” at 25 mph, with a good tail-wind. Some folks joked too that its windshield looked like it was off a motor scooter as it attached directly to the handlebars.
Always promoting
Arctic Cat’s founder Edgar Hetteen and his wife Hanna were always promoters. Each had Trail Cat’s with their names on the hoods and number 0 for Edgar and 00 for Hanna. They were always seen at big events like the Eagle River Derby riding around the track waving to the crowds.
One outing in 1975 stands out, and reflects on Edgar’s fun-loving and promotional nature. John Deere had entered a load of race sleds in the Winnipeg I-500 and had a film crew at the finish line on Lake Phalen near St. Paul, Minn., to film the winning Deere coming across the finish line.
Edgar, seeing this, hauled his Trail Cat up and around the corner at the lake’s north end before unloading his sled. At the finish line the film crew was told to start filming as a sled with high headlights came into view. They were sure it was a Deere.
The sled came closer and closer - very slowly. Seems the Deere folks got a little upset when it was only Edgar on his little Trail Cat.
Really, the Trail Cat was ahead of its time. Today it would be a ¾-size sled, just what we need now to interest younger riders in snowmobiling.