Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 808 | Snowmobile VERMONT VAST News BRP FACTORY TOUR By Bob Stewart Building anticipation for the 2017 season, the Worcester Rangers traveled in early December to BRP’s Ski-Doo assembly factory in Valcourt, Quebec, Canada. It was a rewarding club outing! We were joined by fellow enthusiasts Star and Pat Poulin, Dave Ladd and Cindy Locke to tour Bombardier’s recently updated museum with modern interactive exhibits. For organizational and security reasons, BRP requires tours to make advance reservations and gather at the nearby snowmobile museum. The original garage, the birthplace of modern snowmobiling, has been meticulously preserved with an entertaining multi-media history of snowmobiling. Beautifully restored vintage sleds are displayed throughout the granite and glass halls. Seeing these older sleds, club members were overheard reminiscing about their first snowmobiles. Only a few blocks from the museum, BRP’s sprawling factory campus dominates the city. Museum staff provided tour participants with maps and parking instructions to reconvene at the factory tour entrance where the English-speaking guide greeted our group. Snowmobiles are only made from August to early December and we discovered that we were one of the last tours of the 2016 production cycle. After providing safety glasses and tour headphones, our guide explained that both Ski-Doos and Spyders are seasonally produced in the factory. As the tour began, we were immediately impressed with both the size and cleanliness of the factory. Satellite buildings provide pre-assembled components to the central assembly building with its never-stopping assembly line. Observing final assembly is done from a sturdy overlooking catwalk. Our group was able to watch the assembly line weave through the factory floor as engines, suspension, tunnel and track are added to each frame at the rate of one sled per minute. In an explosion proof structure, lube and gas are added prior to the technician’s start-up test. If successful, assembled sleds continue toward packaging and non-starting sleds are repaired immediately and retested. Skis, windshields and other non-assembled parts are placed in the carton along with the completed sled. As the hour-and-half factory tour is very popular, it is recommended to plan a visit when schools are in session. BRP’s website provides details about making the required reservation. Without exception, each club member enjoyed the outing culminating with a relaxing dinner in Newport, Vt. Dave Ladd, Pat and Star Poulin admire the beautifully restored vintage sleds in the Bombardier museum. J. A. Bombardier’s original garage is attached to BRP’s modern museum. Standing outside the BRP headquarters are, from left, Chad Whittemore, Pat Poulin, Dave Ladd, Bob Stewart, Star Poulin, Sandy Vitzthum, Bill Dodge, Roy Scott, Dick Temple, Ben Whitney and Chris Temple.