bolens diablo rouge

Bolens' Diablo Rouge has to rank as one of the oddest snowmobiles of the mid-1960s. For those of you familiar with the old Gravely lawn tractor and its ride-along sulky, the Bolens Diablo Rouge would be an understandable concept. It, like the Gravely, consisted of a powered "engine" with a tow-along seat for the operator.

Fans of the Diablo Rouge were a loyal lot, as they believed the snow vehicle's 300cc, fan-cooled Hirth engine was capable of competing against the lighter weight Ski-Doo Olympiques of the time. In fact, the Bolens weighed in at 300 pounds versus the 265 pounds of the 1966 Super Olympique that had a top speed of nearly 50 miles per hour. The Bolens claimed top speed of 40 mph would have been competitive with Ski-Doo's 10.5 horsepower Olympique model.

The Diablo Rouge featured dual tracks on the power unit with 28 trailing arm suspended bogie wheels. The tow-along seat weighed 60 pounds unto itself and measured 43 inches in length. The skis featured a urethane coating over maple construction.
According to press materials of the time, the front-engined power unit had the singular advantage of front-end traction and an ability to turn within its own length.

Features on the Bolens worthy of note included the use of aluminum cleats on a track composed of nylon and rubber belting; dual headlights; and, family-style seating for three.

The Diablo Rouge was manufactured by FMC Corporation's Bolens Division in Port Washington, Wisconsin. You can find the occasional Diablo Rouge at swap meets. While you'll be able to obtain parts for the Hirth 300cc engine, the track, chassis and exterior parts will be scarce for all but the most adept vintage sled collector/scavenger. If you do collect a Diablo, you'll have a very odd piece of snowmobile history to
preserve.