- published: 13 Dec 2015
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A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled, is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no specific road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including frozen lakes, or driven on paths or trails. Usually designed to accommodate two people, their use is much like a motorcycle and an all-terrain vehicle (ATVs) intended for winter use on snow-covered ground and frozen ponds and waterways. They have no enclosure except for a windshield and their engine normally drives a continuous track or tracks at the rear; skis at the front provide directional control.
Early snowmobiles used rubber tracks, but modern snowmobiles typically have tracks made of a Kevlar composite. Originally snowmobiles were typically powered by two-stroke gasoline/petrol internal combustion engines. Four-stroke engines are becoming more and more common in snowmobiles, primarily to address environmental complaints.