the husski

In 1958, a company called Hus-Ski, located in Pointe Claire, Quebec,
Canada, started testing a snow vehicle that consisted of a tractor with
a twin track which pulled a sled for the operator and passengers to sit
on. The operator steered the vehicle with handle bars that extended back from the tractor. On the handlebars were the brake and throttle lever. The starting rope, ignition key, choke and light switch were mounted on the dash board. Hus-Ski sleds were yellow and trimmed in black.

To ride this sled, you simply put your feet into the toe clips on the
wood skis of the ski-seater and you were off on an unusual ride. It may
be hard to believe, but the ride was very smooth because you were actually riding on the skis. The unit turned easily and it was not necessary to lean to control it.

Production of the first model started at the plant in 1962. The very
first unit was called the Sno-Traveler. It housed a West Bend Power Bee
two-cycle, 10 hp engine. It was a short-lived production run of one year. Hus-Ski streamlined this unit in 1963 and called it the Model 400.

In 1964, the Model 200 was enhanced and renamed the 200A and housed an
8.8 hp engine. The model 400 option was upgraded to a model 600 by adding a JLO 10.4 hp engine. The twin tracks were dropped in favor of a single wide apron track using a slide drive sprocket assembly. On the earlier Hus-Ski models a "down the center" drive method was used. The wood slide rails were exchanged for a system of staggered boggie wheels to support the wide track. The wide track caused the sleds to tip over, so later units were again fitted with twin tracks.

Hus-Ski started work on a new twin track model in 1964 called the 444
which used the larger JLO engine and the wood slides from the 200A model. The model 600 featured an air scoop which was built into the fiberglass hood and a rubber flap was used in place of the metal one which was used on earlier units. The steel hood of the model 444 also used the same air scoop and rubber flap.

Food Machinery Corporation (FMC) was looking for a snowmobile to add
to its summer line of lawn-care products produced by its subsidiary, Bolens Co. located in Port Washington, Wisconsin. In September of 1965, FMC bought HUS-SKI LTD.

In 1966, Bolens engineers designed an all new vehicle, called the 500,
which was powered by a Hirth 16 hp engine. It was painted red, white and black and was named the Diablo Rouge. The 444 was still available and was offered as a lower-powered option.

In 1967, the Diablo Rouge under went minor changes and received a new
number designation. The manual start version was the 502 and the electric start version was the 503. Refinements such as louvers on the top and sides of the hood and a ski safety rail running the full length on the inner edges of the skis were added.

Several accessories were produced for Hus-Ski and Bolens. Saddle bags,
clamps on the windshield, ski safety chains, non slip pads for the skis, a utility carrier and ski safety rails were a few of the options. The Diablo continued to be produced through 1969. In 1969, Bolens chose to produce a conventional sled called the Bolens Sprint 620 instead.