Patent ID: 7617900

Claim:
A steering system for a snowmobile having a forward end and a rearward end and two skis rotatable between a straight orientation and a range of angled orientations to maintain and change, respectively, a driving direction of the snowmobile, the steering system comprising: a handle grippable by a user; and a shaft having a proximal end coupled to the handle and a distal end coupled to the skis to transfer rotational movement from the shaft to the skis; wherein the shaft comprises first and second sections angled with respect to one another in a plane, the first and second sections forming an interior angle facing generally upward and forward the first and second sections engaging one another by means of a position-dependent force transfer linkage oriented such that for small rotations from the straight orientation the force transfer linkage transfers a greater force to the skis than rotations between large angled orientations of the range of angled orientations.