This is my Moto-ski which I bought from my dad. He had gotten this sled when he was only 13. This is a 1970 MS-18. It has a 493cc. Hirth engine. When my dad and grandpa had gotten this sled it was used for about one year. The previous owner had used it for about one year, and returned it to the dealer due to he had back problems and could no longer ride a snowmobile. It had 75 miles on it when my dad bought it. My dad then used if for a number of years, and in 1985, put it in a barn for storage. It was there where it was soon forgoten.
In my 8th grade year, when i was only 13 years old, I asked my dad to purchase a snowmobile. When he told me that he already had one, I didn't believe him. So we went to pull it out of storage in November of 1997. When I first laid eyes upon it, I was in a big doubt of ever seeing it run. My dad had told me when he put it in storage he remembers pouring oil in the cylinders, and he had the track blocked up. When I first saw it there, the fuel line had all rotted away, the seat had a big indent in it from a truck cap sitting on it, and the windshield was broken. We replaced the fuel line and started to awake this prehistoric giant. We started to work on it to try to get it to run. We couldn't get it to stay running, we could get it to pop, but couldn't get it to stay running.
It just so happened that the guy who owned the dealership where it was purchased still lived in the area, and still worked on them as kind of a side job. My dad gave him a call and he agreed to work on it. He rebuilt the carb, and replaced the primer. He had it running in no time. When I got it home, the snow couldn't come quick enough. I remember every spare time I had I spent it riding that machine. Even Christmas morning while my dad cleaned driveways.
The next year I bought my Trailfire, and I used that for trailriding, my dad used the Moto-Ski the one time he was able to go. It was the 1998-1999 snowmobile season. We were surprised how well that heavy machine was able to keep up to my Trailfire, and my friends Ski-Doo Safari. However that year had taken its toll on the Moto-ski. The front and rear track sprockets started falling apart, as did the rivets holding the track together. I am now doing a complete restoration on this piece of history. (E-bay was a great source of parts!)
