The 1973 TX was modeled after the 1972 TX Starfire racer. Polaris called its engine, which was made in Japan by Fugi Engine Works, the Super Star … or Star for short.
The Fugi engine, made to Polaris specifications, had a 55.6 mm stroke by 62mm bore which made a very smooth three-cylinder running engine. The exhaust design in front of the belly pan was three-into-one, which was an industry first.
Although skeptics said it wouldn't work, Polaris proved them wrong and the engine worked great. Polaris was the first to use Mikuni slide carburetors. Polaris used VM30SS Mikuni carburetors on the TX 500 which made a very smooth and powerful 50 hp and was a 6500 rpm engine. A round chrome air cleaner, which was very unique and cool-looking, came on the Mikuni carburetors. Nowadays these carbs are extremely hard to come by.
The TX 500 only needed one engine fuel pump to supply the three carburetors. It was mounted on the tunnel. The fuel was supplied with the use of a five-gallon chrome tank that had a gas cap fuel gauge and was installed right in front of the driver. Polaris also chromed the skis to give the TX 500 that super shiny look.
Polaris made its own CDI ignition, designed to fire three times per cylinder per revolution so you could change your spark plug wires from one cylinder to the other cylinder and still keep the engine running. One great engineering innovation was to use a labyrinth seal on the crankshaft between the cylinders so you never had to replace them.
The TX 500 featured the well-known Polaris Torque-O- Matic drive system which was the industry's best drive system at that time. This drive system made up for lower hp that Polaris had at this time and allowed the engine to be very competitive in racing. A great thing for its time was Hydraulic Disc Brakes. Back then brakes were not the best until Polaris came out with these, which really worked well.
The TX 500 was made with a rear stamped steel Type II Slide Suspension. It was a great improvement over the fiberglass rail suspension. Polaris also designed a great fiberglass hood that tipped to the right for easy access to the engine and drive train. A wire rod was used to hold the right front of the hood down, but if needed you could slide the cleverly designed wire rod to release the entire hood. The hood came with one air vent in the front and one on the top of the hood to get warm air out to improve the engine cooling process. On top of the hood and in between the vents was a strategically placed red, white and blue TX decal. The TX 500 came in red, white and blue colors.
A nice short blue windshield came standard to give the TX 500 that fast, cool look. The rear side lifting handles were chromed for easy lifting when moving the sled. The approximate weight was around 332 pounds. It had an aluminum tunnel and other lightweight components.
The black seat featured a cleverly designed taper and glove box for spare parts or clothes in the rear. The TX 500 was very easy starting with little effort on the pull rope.
The Polaris TX 500 had a sound all its own. People could hear its mellow sound coming from a long way away.
If you ever get the chance to ride one, give it a whirl. You will see first-hand why this sled was a legend in its own time.