Osceola is a quaint city of just more than 2,000 people and serves as a distant bedroom community for Minneapolis and St. The landscape was carved by this once vast river, leaving rolling hills and lush farmland in its wake. Croix River that separates Wisconsin from Minnesota. The plant is located within a mile of the twisting, scenic St. Western Polk County is a wonderful setting for this large facility. Previously, Western had been doing metal stamping and some fabricating for Polaris, so it was a vertical acquisition for the sled, watercraft and ATV manufacturer. Polaris expanded into Wisconsin in 1991, when the company purchased an existing facility from Western Industries. The move has proved very profitable, as dealers across the country report that the XC and RMK models with the American motors were the most asked for, talked about and purchased sleds in the Polaris line this past spring and summer. For 1998, the 700 twin was expanded to more models and a sleeved brother for the 600 class was introduced. With merely one year on the snow, Polaris’ engine project has already proven to be wildly successful. Polaris drivers used the mill and the XCR’s new front end to recapture cross-country snowmobile racing’s biggest crown, the ISOC GMC Ten Star 500, and to win points titles in the ultra-popular MRP World Series of Snocross. Although the variable exhaust valve system proved to be somewhat high maintenance, the strength of the motor was beyond question. Next came the 440cc twin found in the race special, the XCR 440. It offered so much brute force power, such snappy, low-end torque that everybody who tried it immediately fell in love with its broad power-band and responsiveness. The 700cc mill came first and it immediately became the rage in the mountain states. Could home-cookin’ compete?Įven the most optimistic visionaries, though, could not have predicted the success of Polaris’ line of U.S.-built, liquid-cooled twins. The snowmobile industry had grown to its modem era with powerplants wholly built in Japan and Austria. Nobody had built a snowmobile motor on this continent since the Mercury, Scorpion and OMC efforts of the early- to mid-1970s. Clearly the stage was set for the move.ĭespite the prolonged buildup, however, there still was great anticipation. Engineers were being added, new design equipment was being brought on line and the factory in Osceola, Wisconsin, was expanding. The rumors of Polaris building its own snowmobile engines had been hot and heavy for a couple years.

Polaris indy 440 liquid cooled