AmSnow.com is now SnoWest.com
It's difficult for me to consider a sled such as the 1977 Polaris TX-L 340 as a "vintage" snowmobile. Forgive me for not wanting to grow up, but it seems like just a few years ago that I was racing a '77 "L" in the four-day Winnipeg-to-St. Paul snowmobile race. I guess the TX-L, like myself, must fit what one Yukon sledder once told me, "You must have been quite a rider in your day!"
Certainly the TX-L was quite a snowmobile in its day!
From the outside the "L" looked like the free-air TX series you'd see Polaris star racers running at the major oval circuits. It had that boxy center section in the hood and Polaris' signature white paint with blue and red trim. But, don't let its similarities to the standard TX fool you; the TX-L was one revolutionary snowmobile in 1977.
There were three key ingredients to the "L" that year. Because the chassis was actually longer than the standard TX, the "L" was much more stable at speeds beyond 60 mph. Little and big bumps didn't upset the sled's balance like the short chassis TX. The "L" could almost fly over the intersecting driveways you'd encounter when running full throttle in a Minnesota roadside ditch.
Adding to that stability was the use of a rubber-cleated track. Long a staple in the Ski-Doo arsenal, rubber tracks were an evolutionary step for Polaris, which up to the "L" favored steel cleats holding rubberized bands in place.
But the biggest coup for the "L" and the reason it was called the "L" lay under the hood. Polaris and Fuji Heavy Industries collaborated on the creation of one of the finest snowmobile engines ever conceived.
The 333cc liquid-cooled twin evolved from the previous season's "liquid-cooled kit" available to Polaris TX racers. The '76 TX 340's engine could be fitted with water-jacket cylinders, heads, pistons, water pump and heat exchangers. For 1977 Polaris used the knowledge gained from the "kitted" 340s to make the new engine a production component of the TX-L. The 340cc TX-L engine was cooled by heat exchangers mounted under the running boards.
Early skepticism about the durability of these components quickly disappeared as the TX-L rapidly earned a strong -and deserved- reputation for quality and reliability when the "L" became a star on the cross-country racing circuit.
The 333cc engine was not the most powerful engine of its day. It was one of the most reliable and its roughly 55 horsepower output was ably controlled by superb Polaris drive and driven clutch components. In 1977 Polaris engineering was masterful at getting power to the track. In cross-country racing, the TX-L faced the much greater power of Scorpion's Bull Whip, but subdued it with greater powertrain efficiency and reliability. For long distance racers, the "L" was a first choice if you wanted to win.
The TX-L that I used in the Winnipeg-to-St. Paul endurance race in 1977 was put together on a shoestring budget in my one-car garage. While it ran strong and reliably for 500 miles, it was not able to keep up with the "factory" rides of the cross-country stars. I lacked the courage in the ditches to blindly hit approaches at 70-plus mph, but even when running head-to-head down long stretches of smooth country roads, it was obvious that an amateur's effort would never beat a factory-backed setup. As I ran full tilt pushing 85 mph, factory sled riders from Polaris and Arctic Cat would pull alongside; give a brief wave and blow on by.
But, still, for everyday riding, the TX-L, which would evolve into the first true "Indy" with Polaris independent front suspension, was a superior snowmobile. Its engine could equal or beat just about any 440cc sled of its day. The "L" was a snowmobile that had a near perfect blend of power, handling and stability to make it sure-footed for newcomers and an absolute delight for the skilled, aggressive rider.
Was the TX-L an all-time personal favorite? Absolutely! And at just less than $2,500 it was a bargain.