You don’t often think of vintage snowmobiles and backflips in the same sentence, but a rider named Chris from Thompson, Manitoba has changed that with his recent back flip on an old Yamaha Bravo. Chris showed off his riding prowess at freestyle rider Brett Turcotte's training compound in Clearwater, B.C.
Here’s a bit of background on the Bravo: “The Yamaha Bravo was a snowmobile manufactured by Yamaha Motor Company for 30 years. It was first launched in 1982 with a 249cc single cylinder two-stroke engine powering a 98 inch (length)x 15 inch (width) x .75 inch (paddle) track. In 1987 there came an option to replace the 98 inch long track with a 136 inch long track or with a 102 inch track. This track allowed the Bravo to float on the snow extremely well and appealed much to trappers and beginners on the sled. The short track versions of the Bravo would do around 70 km/h and the long track would do around 55 km/h. Later Yamaha swapped the 249cc engine for a 246cc engine but little else changed and almost all parts were interchangeable. In the late 1990s Yamaha removed both short track models from the market and only the 136 inch track was available. Yamaha Bravo was an extremely reliable sled and could go 20,000 or more km trouble free. The short tracked model of the Bravo weighed about 330 lbs and the long track version weighed just over 370 lbs. The Yamaha Bravo was particularly popular in remote villages in the Arctic, particularly Nunavut, as they are known to be tough and reliable, and require little maintenance.”
Who is Brett Turcotte? Here’s a profile based from his web profile: Snocross racer-turned backcountry mountain rider and freestyler, Brett Turcotte, became a professional athlete in 2008. Since then, he has dominated every sport he has driven himself into. His backcountry career has pushed his limits to throwing down bigger and better every year. He discovered the passion for his freestyle career from doing freestyle tricks in the backcountry for fun. He took them to a ramp and landing and it all came together to win him an X-Games bronze and silver on his Arctic Cat for the last two years in Aspen Colorado. In January 2017, Brett became the first person in history to flip a Kawasaki/Yeti Snow-bike in the backcountry.
Now the snowmobile lifer from Clearwater, British Columbia has his own freestyle training compound and says he's all in. The compound is located in Clearwater, British Columbia—you ride right from the lodge to the freestyle moto/sled compound or right into the amazing mountain alpine.
So, from Brett Turcotte's Clearwater training compound comes Chris's vintage Yamaha Bravo backflip! Here is a link to Chris's Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/beachcomber_46/?hl=en
