While my story goes back many decades, it proves one thing -- that on-the-cheap engineering is not a new phenomenon. After literally destroying my 1976 Rupp Nitro 340 (liquid-cooled) snowmobile (what a great machine!), I bought a brand-spanking-new 1980 Kawasaki 340 (liquid-cooled) sled.
It was a real beauty, a racy-looking snowmobile with a bold design and plenty of oomph. When I floored the gas pedal, I could easily outrun just about any fan-cooled or natural-cooled machine available at the time. At high speeds, it was the best machine around.
The 1980 Kawasaki 340 snowmobile loves to run full out, but it refuses to walk.
The only problem with this otherwise splendid sled was that speeding was all it wanted to do. It wanted to run wide-open throttle all the time. It was designed to run pedal to the floor. If you wanted to race across a frozen lake or field at top speed, anywhere close to the limit, the machine performed wonderfully. But if you wanted to do some trail-riding with friends, perhaps a gentle ride with a passenger on board, forget about it!
When I first tried to ride the sled slowly, the coolant temperature gauge pegged into the red zone after about 1,000 feet of trail. Wow. I thought something had broken down. Just to test it, I took it back up to high speed. To my surprise, the sled performed great again. I took it back down to slow, and boom, it overheated. Every time I rode the sled slow and easy, it shot back into the red.
I contacted the Kawasaki dealership, but my complaints went unanswered. Even calls to the Kawasaki headquarters delivered no relief. I threatened legal action. Nothing, nothing, nothing. I just couldn't get their attention. So, with declining snowfall over the succeeding winter seasons, the easiest thing to do was to just sell it and put the loss behind me.
This entry was submitted by Kurt McQueen and edited by Rob Spiegel
Tell us your experiences with Monkey-designed products. Send to Rob Spiegel for Made by Monkeys.
Interesting that the machine could only runnat full speed without overheating, Of course, that is the only way that I have seen them run. Going slowly on twisty trails never did seem like what they were made for. I tried going slowly on a borrowed snowmobile once, and discovered that I was overheating the "torque converter " drive mechanism. That mechanism does seem to be optimized for drag racing and other full throttle activities. My solution of choice would be to install a motorcycle engine and transmission, with a manual clutch, so that the vehicle would be useful at other than full throttle.
Some of the very early snowmobiles actually did have 4-stroke engines that could pull a load of firewood, or passengers on a sled, at speeds of a fast walk. But along came market surveys and "product improvement" and now they all seem to have more like a "firing pin" arrangement instead of an actual throttle.
Of course, handling at lower speeds is sort of exciting, as well.
Snowmobiles and motorcycles were often sold by the local garage, lawn mower dealer, or avid hobbiest (been there!). The ability of those people to communicate with the manufacturer was limited. Most sold just enough machines to get one or two free ones for their own use and maybe make some winter money doing repairs. Outright warranty repairs for faulty manufacture could take months, if ever. Further, Kawasaki made outstanding 2-stroke engines but not necessarily good snowmachines, finding it difficult to translate successful motorcycle experience into snowmobiles. You can't guarantee your new purchase is well engineered or repairable, but if you buy from a reputable dealer your chances of a favorable outcome are greatly enhanced.
Please understand that the time frame I'm referring to was the early 1980s, FULLY 30 years ago, and so it is not relevant today. However, the PLAGIARISM issue IS very relevant, and I have voiced my concern about that w/ Rob Spiegal, editor of this forum. My original contribution dates back several months ago, as I previously stated to input my comment in commiseration w/ a fellow tech person who had entered a post regarding a problem w/ a vehicle he owned. I do not remember the exact details of that post.
It IS most disconcerting to me that the forums presented here are in the main submitted by accomplished technical people, engineers, technicians, scientists, etc., and not your typical "Dear Editor" comments one would expect to receive from an editorial submission in a newspaper which is more widely distributed. That someone would stoop so low to extract someone else's contribution to seek 30 seconds of fame, claiming an incident to be their own is absolutely unconscionable to me! It makes me wonder HOW many of these solicitations have been forged by others in the name of notoriety. PATHETIC! is all I can say.
Finally, the snowmo that I owned was the INVADER 340, NOT the 440 version. In those years, KAWASAKI also had a companion model series, called the INVICTA, but these sleds featured a fan-cooled engine, NOT liquid-cooled. Also, the main reason I purchased the INVADER 340 was because the brochure specifically detailed it as a "family" fun machine, showing several photos of women (presumably, wives & / or girlfriends) and children operating it. And, when I discussed this aspect of this model w/ the salesperson, I explained that I would be using it MOSTLY for trail riding. Based on the answers AND the photos in the brochure, I purchased it. I still have the sales brochure....... I keep all of them (cars, motorcycles, etc.) as memorabilia.
The MOST disappointing aspect of this experience was that the KAWASAKI factory representatives would NOT address this issue at all.
I had to laugh when I saw your comment about not knowing who the person was that submitted your rant... The same thing happened to me after I left a story about Bosch Spark plugs in my Mercedes...
My story was edited and submitted with some other guys name... :-)
My name is Kelly Williams, and I approve this message
The sled in the picture is a Factory Kawasaki Sno-Pro ice oval racer, it has only 2 modes, idle and full throttle. I have owned and raced several different sleds from that era and each had their own problems. As for the Invader sleds, they had a radiator without a cooling fan which meant they had to be moving faster to get air flowing through the rad. These sleds were marketed as lake runners and not trail sleds. I have ridden a 440 Invader for 1 season and it is an excellent sled for it's intended purpose. To make it a trail sled you had to add a cooling fan. Some Arctic Cat sleds that used the Kawasaki engine had the same problem but, after the first or second year Arctic Cat added the cooling fan. Yamaha's SRX had the same setup but, had a cooling fan. As for snowmobile safety are you kidding me, what about motorcycles, ATV's, Jet Ski's, PWC's, or even boats. Safety is on the onus of the operator. As for the most dangerous snowmobile it has to be the factory Yamaha SSR. On a ice lake you could get 120 mph or more out of it, problem was this little sticker on the dash that read "Warnig operating this vehical at full throttle for longer than 6 seconds can result in injury or death to the operator", motor explosion.
I'm NOT sure how the concern for "safety" entered into this forum discussion about the KAWASAKI snowmobile, but for me, as the owner, it was never really an issue. My total disappointment w/ this vehicle was in the fact that I could not enjoy it to its fullest, since the engine would overheat while riding trails. And, I'm NOT talking about marginal snow or ambient temperature conditions. I'm talking about daytime temps that hovered in the low teens, with nighttime temps near 0ºF!! As I previously mentioned in other posts, this INVADER was a replacement for a RUPP NITRO 340, also liquid cooled. The RUPP featured an external rubrail/bumper of aluminum (extrusion). The center of this extrusion was hollow, and the outside was finned. Cooling liquid ran through it. The RUPP also had a tunnel radiator which recieved "splashed" snow from the revolving track. In the 1970s, liquid-cooled snowmobile engines were becoming more popular since they provided more power, and were more likely to run better under more diverse weather conditions. In all the years I had the RUPP, I never once had an overheating situation, whether it was during the peak of the winter season w/ ambient temperatures hovering only in the teens, or in March, when daytime temps were in the low 40s, and snowmobiling was limited to the evening / nighttime when the cover would refreeze. This WAS definitely a design deficiency w/ the KAWASAKI machine, and it turned out to be a very annoying and disappointing experience.
As an aside, I had several KAWASAKI motorcycles in those years, and never had any major design and/or handling issues w/ any of them. For the record, I've been riding motorcycles in the mid 1950s, so I've had considerable experience w/ them from several manufacturers, including BSA, TRIUMPH, NSU, HONDA & KAWASAKI.
I think when it comes to safety it's often buyer beware. However, more and more states are requiring licenses or lessons to operate snowmobiles or 4 wheelers. Often high speed sleds are better for river riding or trail riding in the northern states.
However, to buy a sled that requires a certain amount of speed to keep it cool would be rather frustrating. In some cases the temperature might be 25-30 degrees and having to wait until it gets colder than that might be a little frustrating.
To be fair, snow mobiles are not the only vehicle with that issue. Don't know about snow mobiles, but try buying a motorcycle if you don't know what you are doing. Out of college, I got a XT250 dual sport that is freeway legal thinking is going to go on the freeway to the trails. No way in Los Angeles!!! Thinking that was too old, got a newer XT225. No way on the freeway. Engine was reving at >7000rpm!! Then got a DR350. That was better until a long trip. No way, the buzz gets to you. Finally realize you need at least a 600cc for freeway and 900cc for touring.
Realize there are many types of motorcycle out there, each one is very specific to doing one thing well. Some of them are so specific you can't even ride a 1,000 miles without an engine overhaul! Those information are never posted. You are suppose to "know".
Now that was before days of internet. If you do the same thing now, you are a fool for not doing even a google search that will tell you all you need to know in an hour.
First, I want t o clear the air on ONE major issue at hand. I do not know who KURT McQUEEN is. But, I can tell you that he has PLAGIARIZED this Comment from me! Furthermore, the photo of the snowmobile shown is NOT that of a 1980 KAWASAKI INVADER 340. I bought it brand-spanking new from a dealer of farm equipment in Riverhead, L.I. N.Y. in the early winter of 1980, and brought it to friend's farm in upstate NY immediately thereafter. It was a replacement for a RUPP NITRO 340, of which I bent the frame. The INVADER was a medium blue w/ black accenting, and featured a fold-down headlight. Finally, I still have the original sales literature brochure that KAWASAKI published back then.
I made this comment several months ago in response to another person's rant about a vehicle in which he was having a major operational problem. When I responded to that incident, I prefaced my remarks w/ the statement that even though it was "off topic" and dated (in the early 1980s), I still felt it was a prime example of the great disconnect between consumers & the manufacturers.
Answering some of your comments:
1) I agree. The TOTAL LACK of concern for me as a consumer was outstanding. I was tempted to write to the Ohio Atty Gen's office w/ a formal complaint. The original selling dealer was of no help either. I petitioned him several times, and he finally admitted that he could not get any satisfaction from the factory either.
2) Well, KAWASAKI is long since out of the snowmobile business, so I wouldn't concern myself w/ purchasing another one. Besides, living in FLA, we really don't get that much annual snowfall, so it might not be a wise decision.
3) I had friends who owned ARCTIC CATS. One of them was a 440 liq. cooled sled. It was a BEAST! Right out of the box!!!!! Besides, the INVADER was a 340, and it was a 2-person sled, considered to be an all around traveler. It was NOT specifically designed as a "go-fast-ONLY!" sled. The reason I titled my comments was because as it turned out, that's the ONLY way the engine temp. gauge would stay in the normal zone.... when it was basically close to flat out in spite of the fact that there was BOTH an upfront radiator AND an additional radiator in the tunnel which got snow splash from the spinning track. The problem was that the cooling system was NOT designed correctly from the outset, and that is why the factory refused to address the issue because they were well aware of the design deficiency. But, since it was NOT a safety issue, and laws were a lot more lax then, they were able to successfully ignore the pleas of dissatisfied customers.
4) The INVADER was NOT advertised as a "racing" sled. The brochure specifically shows families astride enjoying it. Furthermore, I KNEW I'd be traveling w/ companions, and the bulk of our trips was through the wooded trails, so I certainly would not have purchased this machine under those circumstances.
I hope this clarifies the situation. I have written Bob Spiegal in a separate e-mail with regard to the plagiarism. Let this be a lesson to all of you. Be VERY alert when posting items on these forums. It seems there are a number of totally immoral & unscrupulous persons who will stoop little for a few seconds of the limelight!!!!
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
7 
