초록 ▼

A snowmobile having asymmetrical, high floatation skis. The snowmobile includes left and right steerable skis carried by a front suspension system that in turn is mounted to the snowmobile's chassis. Each ski has a downwardly extending longitudinal keel, and inner and outer floatation portions exten

A snowmobile having asymmetrical, high floatation skis. The snowmobile includes left and right steerable skis carried by a front suspension system that in turn is mounted to the snowmobile's chassis. Each ski has a downwardly extending longitudinal keel, and inner and outer floatation portions extending laterally from the keel. The inner floatation portion of each ski is wider than the outer floatation portion of such ski, making the ski asymmetrical with respect to the keel and giving the ski greater floatation without increasing the overall width of the snowmobile. Preferably the front suspension system includes left and right generally downwardly and forwardly extending spindles, each spindle carrying at its lower end the corresponding ski. The spindles define the steering axes for their respective skis. Preferably the steering axis of the spindle passes through the keel. The angle of the spindles in combination with the asymmetrical skis causes the ski on the inside of a turn to lose floatation in comparison to the outer ski, thus causing the snowmobile to lean into the turn.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A snowmobile comprising:a chassis; a straddle-type seat mounted to the chassis; a pair of handlebars carried by the chassis adjacent to the seat; an endless track carried by a rear suspension system mounted to the chassis; a front suspension system mounted to the chassis and including left and ri

1. A snowmobile comprising:a chassis; a straddle-type seat mounted to the chassis; a pair of handlebars carried by the chassis adjacent to the seat; an endless track carried by a rear suspension system mounted to the chassis; a front suspension system mounted to the chassis and including left and right generally downwardly and forwardly extending spindles, each spindle having a lower end; and left and right steerable skis carried by the front suspension system, the skis being steerably connected to the handlebars, each ski having a longitudinal length more than twice as long as its width, a downwardly extending longitudinal keel, and inner and outer floatation portions extending laterally of the keel, the floatation portions elevated higher than a bottom surface of the keel, the inner floatation portion of each ski being at least one-half inch wider than the outer floatation portion of such ski along at least one-third of the ski's length, the left and right skis carried, respectively, at the lower ends of the left and right spindles such that the left ski inner floatation portion is adjacent to the right ski inner floatation portion.