Snowmobile bogie wheel assembly

Claim 1

In a snowmobile having a fore-and-aft extending channelshaped main frame with vertical side walls and laterally extending footrest portions extending outwardly from the lower edges of the side walls and an endless flexible drive track having a lower ground-engaging run and an upper return run within the channel-shaped main frame, the combination therewith of an improved bogie wheel assembly in the track suspension system comprising: a pair of bracket means respectively removably attached to the underside of the opposite footrest portions of the main frame and respectively including transversely aligned bores; a transverse shaft having its opposite ends journaled in the aligned bores and spanning the channel portion of the main frame between the upper and lower track runs, each bracket means including abutment means engageable with the shaft to limit the axial shifting thereof; a sleeve means around said shaft; a plurality of arm members rigidly attached to and extending radially from the sleeve means; a bogie wheel journaled on each arm member axially parallel to the shaft and engageable with the inner surface of the lower run of the track; and a pair of helically wound torsion springs coaxially mounted on the sleeve means and having their inner ends connected thereto, the outer ends of the torsion springs being respectively clamped to the undersides of the opposite footrests by the bracket means for biasing the wheels downwardly against the track and yieldable to permit downward movement of the main frame relative to the track.