Flashback: The Snowmobile Performance Shops Of The 1990s

Back when many consumers were buying high-output triples, and frankly before the snowmobile manufacturers started building sleds that were (1) pretty well dialed in right of the box and (2) hard to modify due to complex fuel and electrical systems, the performance shops ruled the day.

That’s not to say, of course, that many of today’s speed shops don’t put out good products – they do, and real performance gains can still be found. But the products they build are typically more expensive because they require most complex development processes and often need accessories like Power Commander boxes to work at their best.

In the 1990s, however, there were dozens upon dozens of shops that we punching out pipes, commercializing clutch kits and bargaining on big bore kits, not to mention polishing ports.

For today’s Throwback Thursday, we went back 20 years to the Performance Shop Directory in the September issue our late, great sister publication, Snow Week magazine. It featured details on 69 performance shops – basically, any shop we could find that returned our survey. Yes, we know there were more shops doing business in that era, but this is the list that was available from that era from the people who filled out the forms. For this post, we listed the company name, the contact person that company listed when they filled out our survey and the town in which the business was located. None listed website addresses… huh?

Several of these shops are still in business; others were shut down for various reasons – including owners who left the snowmobile market and moved south, others who lost their businesses in complex divorces and at least one that morphed into another business for awhile before the owner did hard time in the lockup… Read through the list and bring back memories – if you have any memories you’d like to share, post them below or on our Facebook page.

 

Aaen Performance, Olav Aaen, Racine, Wisconsin

Aarrow Performance, Mike Wienandt, Shawano, Wisconsin

American Eagle Performance, George Boswell, Eagle River, Wisconsin

Anderson Chassis Service, Lynn Anderson, Lindstrom, Minnesota

Anoka-Ramsey Sport Center, John Novak, Anoka, Minnesota

Bender Racing, Tim Bender, Fannie Clark or Bruce Schrader, Colden, New York

Black Magic, Tim Berg, Thief River Falls, Minnesota

Bullet Inc, Fred Smith, Plymouth, Minnesota

Calden Engineering, Bill Calden, Jay, Maine

Carl’s Cycle Sales, Jack Struthers, Boise, Idaho

Chopper City Sports, Marv Jorgenson, Fridley, Minnesota

The Crank Shop, Larry Audette, Essex Junction, Vermont

Cutler’s Performance Center, Dale Cutler, Orem, Utah

Cycle Dyne, Joe DeSpirito, Clinton, New York

Cycle Works, Greg Woods or Mike Beaudin, Edmonton, Alberta

D&D Cycles, Dale or Dan Roes, Lowville, New York

Dale’s Performance Center, Rick Pfeilsticker , Long Lake, Minnesota

Decker Enterprises, Steve Decker, Marshfield, Wisconsin

DeLaughter Racing Products, Dave DeLaughter, St. Francis, Minnesota

Dey-Core Enterprises, Steve Dey, Stillwater, Minnesota

DG Performance Specialties, Bob Weber, Anaheim, California

Dimmerman Bros Forest Lake Arctic Cat, Jim Dimmerman, Forest Lake, Minnesota

Driver’s Pro Performance, Nolan Knochenmus, Little Canada, Minnesota

Dyno Port, Rich Daly, Union Springs, New York

Eagle Dyno, Jay Drake or Dean Schroeder, Mauston, Wisconsin

Erlandson Performance, Glenn or Diane Erlandson, Brainerd, Minnesota

FAST Inc, David or Gerard Karpik, Eveleth, Minnesota

First Choice Turbo, East Avon, New York

FMF Racing, Mike Garrett, Harbor City, California

Forest Lake Motor Sports, Forest Lake, Minnesota

Fox Racing Shox, Michael Daws, San Jose, California

Goodwin Performance, Greg or Jeff Goodwin, Zion, Illinois

Hauck Power Sports, Pat Hauck, Rice Lake, Wisconsin

High Altitude Engineering, Terry Kiraly, Taos, New Mexico

Hi-Performance Engineering, Glen Follett, Thief River Falls, Minnesota

Hooper Racing, John Hooper, Goshen, New Hampshire

Hot Seat Performance, Steve Houle or Darrell Olson, Forest Lake, Minnesota

HRP Motorsports Inc., Brad Hulings, Rockford, Michigan

Hy-Per-Star Performance, Dave Davis, Ephrata, Pennsylvania

HTG Racing, Rob Schooping, Grand Island, New York

HTS Enterprises, Bill Schiltz, Eagan, Minnesota

Image Enterprises, bob Kloiber, Eagle River, Wisconsin

Jaws Performance, Greg Balchin, Kars, Ontario

Kuyahoora Outdoor Center, Dennis Johnson, Poland, New york

M&E Performance/McClures Polaris, Kevin McClure, West Valley, New York

Micro Belmont Engineering, Jim or Audrey Joliffe, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Motorsports Plus, Jeff Fischer, Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota

Moto Tassinari, Steve Tassinari, Lebanon, New Hampshire

Mountain Tech Industries, John Hanson, Belgrade, Montana

M.S.C., Gene Forstner, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin

Nelson’s Speed Shop, Jack Nelson, Greenville, Michigan

Northern Power Sports, Bob Forsberg, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Norton Performance, Brec Norton, Essex, Vermont

Polar Performance, Stephan Payne, Perth, Ontario

Power Inc, David Gilbertson, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Precision Performance, Dave or Mike Cutler, Idaho Falls, Idaho

Pro-5, Burt Bassett, Roseau, Minnesota

Pro Line Chassis, John Wheelock, Rochester, Minnesota

Pro Tune, Paul Walsh or Joe Lindberg, Rosemount, Minnesota

PSI Performance, Bruce Kahlhammer, Wild Rose, Wisconsin

Race Logic, John Caldwell, Leroy, Michigan

Reichard’s Performance Center, Jeff Simon, Germantown, Wisconsin

R&S Motorsports, Steve Johnson, Shawano, Wisconsin

Larry Rugland Motorsports, Larry or Cathy Rugland, Menomonie, Wisconsin

Schroeder Performance, Brian Schroeder, Ingleside, Illinois

Speed & Sport, Jerry Ross, Ray, Michigan

Starting Line Products, Ron Dumant, Idaho Falls, Idaho

Summit Motor Sports Inc., Kevin Smith, Frisco, Colorado

Wahl Bros Racing, Dave Wahl, Greenbush, Minnesota