Page 15 of 26 FirstFirst 1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526 LastLast
Results 141 to 150 of 251

Thread: OMC’s 4-Rotor Wankel Racing Engine - The Real Story

  1. #141
    Team Member
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Metter, Ga.
    Posts
    130
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default jet ski

    Quote Originally Posted by Powerabout View Post
    Thanks guys, I think you got it.

    Lars
    I agree, I always asked why they didnt make Jet ski's as they will be big soon after seeing Kawasaki 440's start to turned up to our marina in Oz in the late 70's.
    Both Merc and OMC said there was no market and they will be banned soon?
    I think OMC felt the jet ski market world go the same way as the S/N market. They had already lost a ton of money in S/N and didn't want to repeat that. Remember in 1969 there were 113 manufacures of S/N's. By 1975 there was 3.

  2. #142
    Team Member
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Metter, Ga.
    Posts
    130
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default 6 HP outboard picture

    Name:  2725333100091848696S600x600Q85[1].jpg
Views: 2110
Size:  77.2 KB

  3. #143
    Sam Cullis Mark75H's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Annapolis, MD USA
    Posts
    1,795
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Rotary John View Post
    I think OMC felt the jet ski market world go the same way as the S/N market. They had already lost a ton of money in S/N and didn't want to repeat that. Remember in 1969 there were 113 manufacures of S/N's. By 1975 there was 3.
    Its also possible that they knew they could not compete on price if the imports were being subsidized and "dumped" into our market
    Since 1925, about 150 different racing outboards have been made.


  4. #144
    Team Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Singapore/Melbourne/Italy
    Posts
    780
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark75H View Post
    Its also possible that they knew they could not compete on price if the imports were being subsidized and "dumped" into our market
    I think they had that problem with all the products they were involved with.
    I wonder why Kawasaki dropped out?

  5. #145
    - Skoontz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Encinitas, California
    Posts
    581
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Powerabout View Post
    I think they had that problem with all the products they were involved with.
    I wonder why Kawasaki dropped out?
    The Yickifigions were entering the US market with everything from steel to cars to bikes and selling them dirt cheap to break the market. It made no sense that we could ship iron ore and taconite rigth past the steel cities we had on the great lakes, then to Japan to mill it, and ship back CHEAPER than we could do the whole job here.....Some blame the unions, but there was way they could have that much of a price drop without getting funny on price.....

    I also remember OMC to have a 6 wheel drive, cable steer ATV about 1968, and i think they went dead on theirs about 1971...
    Bill Schwab
    Dirty Deck Brewing
    Company

  6. #146
    Team Member Bill Gohr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Posts
    198
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default Ah yes

    Quote Originally Posted by Rotary John View Post
    I think OMC felt the jet ski market world go the same way as the S/N market. They had already lost a ton of money in S/N and didn't want to repeat that. Remember in 1969 there were 113 manufacures of S/N's. By 1975 there was 3.

    The ATV's, the trackster's there are still some runnig around here, I think Gary Johnson has one, across the street from me they cleared 20 acres to build a school, they found one out in the shrubs we pulled it out.

    As far as Jet Skis, OMC didn't get in the Jet skis, However, they were going to get into the personal watercraft market. We had prototype hulls and I built the two prototype engines, they were 56cubers laid on their face with BN carbs on them, they were gonna be marketed as the "Shockwave" this was like in 93',94', but they never made it to market

  7. #147
    Team Member
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Metter, Ga.
    Posts
    130
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default Atv

    Quote Originally Posted by Skoontz View Post
    The Yickifigions were entering the US market with everything from steel to cars to bikes and selling them dirt cheap to break the market. It made no sense that we could ship iron ore and taconite rigth past the steel cities we had on the great lakes, then to Japan to mill it, and ship back CHEAPER than we could do the whole job here.....Some blame the unions, but there was way they could have that much of a price drop without getting funny on price.....

    I also remember OMC to have a 6 wheel drive, cable steer ATV about 1968, and i think they went dead on theirs about 1971...
    The vehicle had 2 S/N tracks, not 6 wheels. It also had a very sloped front end ala a tank so it could climb over obstacles. It was made by Cushman, an OMC company at the time. They got out of that business due to a law suit where a doctor going down hill decided to throw it in reverse and the whole vehicle and doctor went *** over tea kettle, killing said doctor. His wife sued and won a ton of money for bad design and failure to warn ??? An interesting side bite; Ralph Evinrude got one of the first units and took it to his Fl home. He took it out in the front yard and had a ball spinning cookies etc. The result was a new sod job for his front lawn. Francis Langford, his wife, was incensed and the vehicle went back to Cushman.

  8. #148
    - Skoontz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Encinitas, California
    Posts
    581
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Rotary John View Post
    The vehicle had 2 S/N tracks, not 6 wheels. It also had a very sloped front end ala a tank so it could climb over obstacles. It was made by Cushman, an OMC company at the time. They got out of that business due to a law suit where a doctor going down hill decided to throw it in reverse and the whole vehicle and doctor went *** over tea kettle, killing said doctor. His wife sued and won a ton of money for bad design and failure to warn ??? An interesting side bite; Ralph Evinrude got one of the first units and took it to his Fl home. He took it out in the front yard and had a ball spinning cookies etc. The result was a new sod job for his front lawn. Francis Langford, his wife, was incensed and the vehicle went back to Cushman.
    That's funnier than hell John! I thought they had 6 wheels like our Sidwinders and my Max did, but you would know best. I thought the cable steer kind of sucked too. Many of those things like the Terra Tiger would flip going down hill if you did stupid stuff with them....

    Oh well, end of an era....
    Bill Schwab
    Dirty Deck Brewing
    Company

  9. #149
    Team Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Singapore/Melbourne/Italy
    Posts
    780
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Gohr View Post
    The ATV's, the trackster's there are still some runnig around here, I think Gary Johnson has one, across the street from me they cleared 20 acres to build a school, they found one out in the shrubs we pulled it out.

    As far as Jet Skis, OMC didn't get in the Jet skis, However, they were going to get into the personal watercraft market. We had prototype hulls and I built the two prototype engines, they were 56cubers laid on their face with BN carbs on them, they were gonna be marketed as the "Shockwave" this was like in 93',94', but they never made it to market
    I'd love to see a photo of that.
    Whats are the issues when mounting carbs off centerline of the cylinder and which side should it be?

  10. #150
    Team Member
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Metter, Ga.
    Posts
    130
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default Confused

    Quote Originally Posted by Master Oil Racing Team View Post
    Yesterday I bought some storage boxes for magazines to organize them so I can find what I'm looking for easier. While going through 1972 through 1975 issues, I kept having to stop and read. You cannot imagine how interesting it was to read about Ron Hill, Jimbo McConnell, Billy Seebold, John Schubert, Jerry Simison, Bob Hering, Jerry Waldman, Lee Sutter, and on and on. I need to organize them so I can find stuff easier in the future. In my searching I discovered that Powerboat did indeed cover the Red Adair North American Championships. It was Western Editor Rod Flint who wrote the articles and took the pictures. I wish I would have introduced myself. I was in awe of his work back then.
    Wayne:
    I keep looking at the picture of Barry Woods above and I can't figure it out. To my knowledge, the first time Barry drove a rotary was at Provo, Aug '73. The other pictures and story seem to be from Galvaston. It would appear to me, the picture and story don't match. I distintly remember Woods at Provo, as he lead the race until he broke. When he got out of the boat after being towed in, his comment to Jack Leek was "what a ride!"
    John

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 6 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 6 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. 2008 Blue Water Resort and Casino 300 Enduro Rules
    By Ron Hill in forum Outboard Racing History
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 01-20-2009, 01:53 PM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •