Patent ID: 8167073

Claim:
A suspension assembly for a snowmobile, the snowmobile having a chassis enclosing a drive system for rotatably driving a closed-loop track, the suspension assembly comprising: at least one elongated ground contact supporting rotational travel of the closed loop track; an elongated swing arm angled upwardly and forwardly in the closed-loop track, the swing arm extending between a front end portion that is pivotally coupled to the chassis and a rear end portion coupled to the at least one ground contact; a front resilient member angled upwardly and forwardly in the closed loop track and having an upper end pivotally coupled to the front end portion of the swing arm and a lower end pivotally coupled to the at least one ground contact, wherein the front resilient member biases against displacement between the front end portion of the swing arm and the at least one ground contact during suspension assembly travel; and a rear resilient member angled upwardly and forwardly in the closed loop track and having an upper end pivotally coupled to the chassis and a lower end pivotally coupled to the rear end portion of the swing arm, wherein the rear resilient member biases against displacement between the swing arm and the chassis during suspension assembly travel; wherein the assembly is arranged to maintain the closed loop track at a generally uniform tension during both vertical and horizontal travel of the closed-loop track during suspension system travel.