Skiroule Overview
Skiroule snowmobiles were manufactured by the Coleman (Camping supplies company) company in Quebec, Canada. They began making a snowmobile similar in form to the Ski-doo Olympique in 1966. In 1971 the company came up with a completely unique design for their snow machines in a time where they had to.
They shocked everybody with their RTX race machine in 1971 and the next year offered a very impressive and futuristic consumer RTX. The basic body style of the 1972 RTX would be used on all Skiroules there after.
After 1973 all the snowmobile companies struggled. On a bright note, Skiroule
had turned to Kohler engines after 1972 instead of Sachs. Kohler was constantly and relentlessly upgrading and developing their motors. At first they were no match for Sachs in the power department but eventually better motors were offered and were among the best in the industry. In 1976 the Kohler powered Laser 440 led the Skiroule charge. It had a modified version of the 72' chassis with a wider stance and front mounted Kohler K440 2AS engine.
The engine was the same as used in the Merc Trail Twister and Rupp Nitro 2 snowmobiles and it was no slouch. Skiroule was looking into building liquid cooled machines and even a completlely new chassis but the next year Coleman ceased snowmobile production after building a hand full of 77' models.
Times were tough and only the strongest survived.
Here is a picture of a 1972 RTX that my dad owned. It had a 440 Sachs fan cooled twin with high compression. It was well known for rapid accelleration
and being as fast as it looked. This was a very nice looking machine in 1972!
This my dad in Moncton, N.B in 1974. outside of his home with the neigbor, pictured with a 69' Olympique 335. The 335 was considered a premier trail sled in it's day. The RTX certainly must have been shocking when it came out!
According to dad and now many knowlegeable sled people, the RTX was the quickest fan cooled trail sled in 72' but he admitted it was no marathon winner. He replaced the top end in his twice! The way he put it 'in the quarter mile no one could touch it, in a half mile you r piston rings were flying out the exhaust'.
RTX DEX's Skiroules
Dex, reflects a new interest in classic sleds by people that are much younger than their sleds. He is 16 but don't let that fool you. He knows a ton about Skiroule and he isn't out to abuse the sleds either. He has amassed some nice machines including 2 purchased from a former Skiroule dealer that are in super shape.
1974 RTX 300
This is the first Skiroule that Dex Aquired. It is a 1974 RTX 300 twin. It is powered by a Kohler 291cc twin putting out a decent 24 HP. This machine was a pretty good deal that I kind ofhelped out with.
The seller was rather irate with both of us. He invited me to look at the machine and then kicked me off his property for 'driving through his yard'. The guy was drunk and I later found out he had a bad reputation. When Dex and his dad went to look at the machine, the owner's father was grouchy and ugly too but took the $100 and let the sled go.....to a better home!
The sled is complete but it has a few little rust outs in the belly. It has a bogey wheel suspension which was offered on RTX's in 74' as grass drag racing was becomming popular among some sledders.
1973 RTX 440
Here's an updated version of the 72' RTX that my dad had. For 73' Skiroule changed a few things around to get quieter noise levels and better ergonomics.
The 73' is very similar and used the same high tuned Sachs SA-2 440 C engine.
This one is in pretty good shape although the hood was painted black. Word is that the last guy who owned it was going to restore it and did alot of work to it but died. Dex bought the sled and now is working to get it set up as a good looking and working 'runner'.
1972 RTX 300 and 1974 RT
Dex found This pair of great originals from a former Skiroule dealer.
They were leftovers that were never sold until Dex got them. So he can actually could be called the original owner!
One is a 1972 RTX 300 in very nice original shape. It even has the skiroule cover included. It is going to be completley restored and made to look as close to new as possible.
The second one is in worse shape but worse is a relative term! Relative to the RTX that it sat beside for years it is in worse shape but this sled is still much better condition than the average old 29 year old snowmobile you'd find.
The RTX 300 Is powered by a Sachs SA300SS single that generates 25 stock HP. This high powered 1 lung mill along with a futuristic design made the sled more than a match for it's competition.
The 74' RT 300 is moved by a 19 HP Kohler K295-1 engine. It has bogey wheel suspension and no gauges but is otherwise similar to the 72' RTX.
Skiroule Overview
Skiroule snowmobiles were manufactured by the Coleman (Camping supplies company) company in Quebec, Canada. They began making a snowmobile similar in form to the Ski-doo Olympique in 1966. In 1971 the company came up with a completely unique design for their snow machines in a time where they had to. They shocked everybody with their RTX race machine in 1971 and the next year offered a very impressive and futuristic consumer RTX. The basic body style of the 1972 RTX would be used on all Skiroules there after.
After 1973 all the snowmobile companies struggled. On a bright note, Skiroule had turned to Kohler engines after 1972 instead of Sachs. Kohler was constantly and relentlessly upgrading and developing their motors. At first they were no match for Sachs in the power department but eventually better motors were offered and were among the best in the industry. In 1976 the Kohler powered Laser 440 led the Skiroule charge. It had a modified version of the 72' chassis with a wider stance and front mounted Kohler K440 2AS engine. The engine was the same as used in the Merc Trail Twister and Rupp Nitro 2 snowmobiles and it was no slouch. Skiroule was looking into building liquid cooled machines and even a completlely new chassis but the next year Coleman ceased snowmobile production after building a hand full of 77' models. Times were tough and only the strongest survived.
Here is a picture of a 1972 RTX that my dad owned. It had a 440 Sachs fan cooled twin with high compression. It was well known for rapid accelleration and being as fast as it looked. This was a very nice looking machine in 1972!
This my dad in Moncton, N.B in 1974. outside of his home with the neigbor, pictured with a 69' Olympique 335. The 335 was considered a premier trail sled in it's day. The RTX certainly must have been shocking when it came out!
According to dad and now many knowlegeable sled people, the RTX was the quickest fan cooled trail sled in 72' but he admitted it was no marathon winner. He replaced the top end in his twice! The way he put it 'in the quarter mile no one could touch it, in a half mile you r piston rings were flying out the exhaust'.
RTX DEX's Skiroules
Dex, reflects a new interest in classic sleds by people that are much younger than their sleds. He is 16 but don't let that fool you. He knows a ton about Skiroule and he isn't out to abuse the sleds either. He has amassed some nice machines including 2 purchased from a former Skiroule dealer that are in super shape.
1974 RTX 300
This is the first Skiroule that Dex Aquired. It is a 1974 RTX 300 twin. It is powered by a Kohler 291cc twin putting out a decent 24 HP. This machine was a pretty good deal that I kind ofhelped out with. The seller was rather irate with both of us. He invited me to look at the machine and then kicked me off his property for 'driving through his yard'. The guy was drunk and I later found out he had a bad reputation. When Dex and his dad went to look at the machine, the owner's father was grouchy and ugly too but took the $100 and let the sled go.....to a better home! The sled is complete but it has a few little rust outs in the belly. It has a bogey wheel suspension which was offered on RTX's in 74' as grass drag racing was becomming popular among some sledders.
1973 RTX 440
Here's an updated version of the 72' RTX that my dad had. For 73' Skiroule changed a few things around to get quieter noise levels and better ergonomics. The 73' is very similar and used the same high tuned Sachs SA-2 440 C engine. This one is in pretty good shape although the hood was painted black. Word is that the last guy who owned it was going to restore it and did alot of work to it but died. Dex bought the sled and now is working to get it set up as a good looking and working 'runner'.
1972 RTX 300 and 1974 RT
Dex found This pair of great originals from a former Skiroule dealer. They were leftovers that were never sold until Dex got them. So he can actually could be called the original owner!
One is a 1972 RTX 300 in very nice original shape. It even has the skiroule cover included. It is going to be completley restored and made to look as close to new as possible.
The second one is in worse shape but worse is a relative term! Relative to the RTX that it sat beside for years it is in worse shape but this sled is still much better condition than the average old 29 year old snowmobile you'd find.
The RTX 300 Is powered by a Sachs SA300SS single that generates 25 stock HP. This high powered 1 lung mill along with a futuristic design made the sled more than a match for it's competition.
The 74' RT 300 is moved by a 19 HP Kohler K295-1 engine. It has bogey wheel suspension and no gauges but is otherwise similar to the 72' RTX.
