DAVID'S VINTAGE
SNOWMOBILE PAGE.
RESTORING THE
SPORT ONE PIECE AT A TIME.
PAGE
35,103B
1968 YAMAHA SL-350 SNOWMOBILE
WITH
THE 22 HP ENGINE.
ALSO
AVAILABLE WITH A
KIT
TO ADD 15 MORE HP.
THE
KIT COST $ 100.00
AFTER
TESTING IN THIS AREA IN NOVEMBER 1967,
THE
NEW PRODUCTION RUN OF
1968
YAMAHA SL-350 ( 22 HP
) SNOWMOBILES HAVE ARRIVED
AND ARE NOW
BEING
TESTED FOR QUALITY CONTROL AND PERFORMANCE.
THE
PURPOSE OF THESE
1968
YAMAHA SL-350 ( 22 HP
) SNOWMOBILES
WAS
TO CONTINUE TESTING OF THEIR NEW MODEL
NOW
WITH THE 22 HP MOTOR AND TEST IT
AGAINST
THE COMPETITION LIKE
SKI
DOO AND ARCTIC CAT.
OVER
THE YEARS, WITH THE INFO I WAS ABLE TO GATHER, I THOUGHT THAT YAMAHA HAD
2
PRODUCTION RUNS OF THEIR 1968 YAMAHA SL-350 SNOWMOBILE.
ACCORDING
TO THE INFO ON THE INTERNET.....
(
300 ) 1968 YAMAHA SL-350 SNOWMOBILES WERE PRODUCED.
270
SENT TO CANADA AND USA AND 30 HELD BACK IN JAPAN FOR TESTING.
WHAT
I READ IS THAT YAMAHA PRODUCED SOME 1968 YAMAHA SL-350 ( 20
HP ) PROTOTYPES FOR
TESTING
IN CANADA AND USA. THESE UNITS WERE TESTED IN NOVEMBER 1967.
AFTER
PIECING
TOGETHER NEWSPAPER ARTICLES AND ADS I HAVE
ON
MY SITE IN THE YAMAHA BROCHURE SECTION.....
THIS
IS WHAT I CAME UP WITH.
AFTER
EVALUATING AND MAKING ADJUSTMENTS OF THE PROTOTYPES IN
NOVEMBER
1967 IN THE USA, WORD WAS SENT BACK TO JAPAN TO START ANOTHER
PRODUCTION
RUN IN LATE DECEMBER 1967 OR EARLY JANUARY 1968.
THE
2ND PRODCUTION RUN OF 1968 YAMAHA SL-350 ( 22
HP ) SNOWMOBILES WERE
SENT
TO CANADA AND USA FOR CONTINUED TESTING BEFORE THEY
STARTED
PRODUCTION OF THE 1969 YAMAHA SL-351 SNOWMOBILE.
I DISCOVERED THAT THE
1968 YAMAHA SL-350 SNOWMOBILE.....
WERE OFFERED WITH 2
MOTORS.
A
20 HP ENGINE THAT I THINK WAS
FOR
THE 1ST PRODUCTION.
AND
A
22 HP ENGINE THAT I THINK WAS
FOR
THE 2ND PRODUCTION.
IT'S JUST MY
OPINION THAT THE NUMEROUS ARTICLES ON THE INTERNET ABOUT THE
1968 YAMAHA SL-350 SNOWMOBILE.....
ARE BEING COPIED ONE
AFTER ANOTHER AND RETOLD AS FACT.
I
AM NO EXPERT BUT AFTER DOING RESEARCH ON THIS MODEL, I FIND IT HARD
TO
BELIEVE THAT THERE WERE
ONLY 300 TOTAL 1968 YAMAHA SL-350 SNOWMOBILES
MADE AND
THE
TOTAL OF SLEDS THAT WERE DELIVERED TO THE USA AND CANADA WERE 270 UNITS.
THE OTHER 30 WERE KEPT
IN JAPAN.
IT
IS HARD TO GET THE TRUE HISTORY AFTER SO MANY YEARS HAVE GONE BY.
NOTE
!!
I
SEARCHED THE NEWSPAPERS ON MANY OCCASIONS.
THERE
ARE HUNDREDS OF ADS IN
THE FALL OF 1967 AND
EARLY
1968 LISTING 1968 YAMAHA SL-350 SNOWMOBILES
FOR SALE AT YAMAHA DEALERS.
SOME
DEALERS HAVE UP TO 5 OF THEM TO SELL.
SOME
ADS HAVE A 20 HP MOTOR
AND
SOME
ADS AND ARTICLES HAVE A 22 HP MOTOR.
IT
DOES NOT MAKE SENSE THAT ALL ACROSS THE USA AND CANADA THAT
THERE
WERE ONLY 270 - 1968 YAMAHA SLEDS.
DAVID
S.
