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February's feature

Sno Vespa

The gist:

($25 snowmobile from the parts yard)
+
(1980 Vespa PX200)
=
(winter scooting fun)

sno vespa

This ol' beauty, a 70s-era (maybe 60s) Canadian machine with a German-built two-cylinder, two-stroke motor, came from the local parts yard for $25.

Without the motor, part of the CVT, or the fuel tank, the Vespa is positioned over the platform.

The stub shaft from the transmission will be an easy connection, by chain, to an adapted rear rim with its own sprocket.

BUT!

As you can see from the pictures, the center of mass would be really high. So, to do this right, I would have to increase stability by, say, spreading the skis apart (and changing the ackermann linkage, too, but splined steering shafts make that simple), and I think that's a little too much to squeeze in right now...

with the The Splinter (a three-wheeled commuter) and the amphibious electric waiting in the wings, this winter project will have to wait until *next* winter for completion!

AND ONE MORE THING.... it does seem, doesn't it, that since the adaptation to internal combustion has got some overhead, maybe... it... should... be... electric....

More next winter.

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