More Fascinating Sleds Found At The Waconia Ride In Event

Wandering around the grounds of the Waconia Ride-In event in Waconia, Minnesota — the “the world’s largest antique, vintage and classic snowmobile event” according to the event’s promotion — one can’t help but to be struck by the feeling of nostalgia.

The history of the sport of snowmobiling is so rich, especially from the mid 1960s until the end of the 1970s, that even the most avid collector will still see something at each of these shows that they have never seen before.

Yesterday we posted our first 10 photos from the 2018 Waconia event, which was held January 26-28. Here are more sleds that caught our eye during our Sunday visit.

 

 

Larson snowmobile
Like other boat and motor manufacturers, Larson dipped its toes in the frozen water of snowmobiling for a brief period — from 1966 to 1969.

 

Mercury snowmobile
The featured brand at Waconia this year was Mercury, and this is a restored version of the sled that launched the brand — a 1968 Mercury 150E.

 

Johnson Rampage
The Johnson Rampage model was available with one of two engines; this particular unit had OMC’s 437cc engine that made a claimed 32 hp.

 

Scorpion Whip
There were a lot of classic race machines on display at Waconia as well, including this beautiful Scorpion Whip.

 

Fox Trac
It wouldn’t be a Midwestern snowmobile without a Fox Trac. Made in Jainesville, Wisconsin, the brand began in the rear engine power-toboggan era and made it until 1972.

 

Ski-Daddler
Before the AMF company decided to use the Harley-Davidson name for its sled, it built Ski-Daddlers, like this great looking 1968 Sno-Scout that owner Mike Feathers paired with a matching cutter.

 

Sno-Pac Mavrik
This 1972 Mavrik mini sled from Sno-Pac is a rare find indeed… with its metal flake paint job, it’s owner thinks it’s the only restored one in existence.

 

Roll-O-Flex snowmobile
The Roll-O-Flex Wild One was a subject of one of David Wells’ Flashback articles in a 2015 issue of Snow Goer, so seeing a couple of them live and in person in Waconia was fun.

2 thoughts on “More Fascinating Sleds Found At The Waconia Ride In Event

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  • Avatar for Dwayne Couillard

    The photo of the 1968 Mercury 150E captioned claimed that it was a restored sled. That is my sled that I brought to Waconia that year. It really is not a restored sled. It is an original sled. Any parts that may have been replaced because of normal wear, are original Mercury replacement parts.

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