02/02/2026
I took these photos on February 2nd, 1983.
Here is the story as I knew, know and live it.
FEBRUARY 1st, 1983 ~ Howard Wheeler age 45
1981 Polaris Indy 500 w/605cc Buzz Rodseth Mod Engine.
On this evening 43 Years ago Howard was riding in
West Yellowstone Montana taking the last ride of his annual trip.
A drunk on an Yamaha SRX crashed into the left side of Howard's
sled going into a left hand turn, pushing Howard off of the trail and into a tree. The handlebars were turned to the left and the end of the left handlebar hit Howard in his sternum, crushing his heart.
He was killed instantly. The rider[s] that were with him wanted to leave his sled in Montana, they said it was "totaled".
That evening I had to stand up to these liars and insist they loaded the sled on Howard's 4 place trailer and drive his 1978 Chev Blazer home with is sled on it.
They broke off a large portion of the left side of the hood above the belt guard as shown in the photos that I took the day Howard's sled arrived home to his shop. It was the first question I asked, "why was this part of the hood broken off ?" They just looked at the concrete floor in Dad's shop. You could tell it was broke off, because of the white flexing of the fiberglass illustrated that the piece had been bent back and forth until broken off, it wasn't broke off just from the impact of being hit by another sled.
They should have tossed the hood in a dumpster in Montana, because this hood was full of evidence of a TWO SLED Crash.
The POLARIS had Yamaha black paint on the left side of the tunnel and hood, the foot rest on the tunnel had a carbide runner scratch the entire length and up onto the belt guard. Howard's left leg below the knee was broken do to impact from the Yamaha's right ski as it ran up the runner board during the crash & impact into the Polaris as they both went into the corner on the trail.
I was informed by the rider of the Yamaha's teenage son that the Yamaha SRX was at a Spokane Valley Dealership.
March of 1983 a friend of mine named John Caruso drove me to the Yamaha Shop and I took photos of the wrecked Yamaha SRX.
I was 15.5 and did not have my drivers license yet.
The owner/rider of the Yamaha SRX did not tell our family that his sled was wrecked too. . . .
I knew just by looking at Dad's Polaris that he was hit by a black Yamaha SRX. I had rode with this candy bar eating clown on the Yamaha for years prior to this night to know his lack of skill and reckless riding manner, most of all, to know when he was flat out lying.
Much later in 1990 I took the candy bar clown that killed Howard
to lunch. I was an NML Agent at this time. Always dressed in a black suit. For a seven year term I told the story of my father's death and the way I told it was quintessential to my success and the success of my clients. I was on fire ! I never wanted another family faced with this situation or any other form of death to suffer financially like my widowed mother did because of the death of the breadwinner of the household.
I picked him up at his family owned company and after the meal
I showed him photographs of his Yamaha SRX from 1983, wrecked with POLARIS Midnight Blue Paint all over the right side.
He turned red, then purple and his eyes began to leak.
He asked, "how did I get these photos?".
I told him, "I took them as soon as his sled arrived at the shop back in 1983." He tried to play the frustrated angry card like a fool.
I told him "save your crocodile tears, I have always known the truth, the same as Howard did the last seconds of his life on February 1st, 1983. You live this lie and you will live with it the rest of your life, the same as my Mother has and is now living with it as a widow,
as she will until she dies."
I got up from the table, went and paid for our lunch that day and went back to the table and told him to find his own ride back to the company that he ran now and inherited from his dad.
The last time I saw the candy bar clown was 2016 at a local snowmobile show. Again he turned red, then purple and got real uneasy and tried to make small talk. I told him "save your chatter and get lost". I was with my cousin Sam that day. Sam said, "who was that mess?" I said, that is the guy that killed your Uncle Howard in Yellowstone. He turned to me and said, "what a nut job".
This sled was rebuilt in 1983 and I brought it home from Keller's in September of 1983 after I got my drivers license.
I rode it until the Winter of 1985/1986 Season.
Against my wishes, it was sold by my sibling when I left Spokane for boot camp [NAVY Seabee] in 1986.
The next owner was killed on it and it was rebuilt again. Then the 3rd owner was killed on it too.
Much later in 2014 a friend of mine named Jerry Kienbaum located this sled because of the story. It was in McCall Idaho and we went and picked it up together. I met the family of the deceased rider, hugged his widow and her three sons and daughter and told this story and promised them it would not kill another.
We loaded it into the trailer that day like a casket with three of us on each side hanging our heads in silence .
I have the engine & clutch set up sitting on a rolling cart I made just for this engine. It now has a set of triple pipes. One day it will go into a fresh restored '81 Centurion leafer I have been piecing together. When I look at this engine I think, "this is the last thing Dad heard that night in the woods as he died slumpt over the top of his sled.
This is a special Buzz Rodseth RXL MOD engine that was machined at MOTORWORKS next to Ulrick's Transmission. Buzz was new to town back in 1981. He had most of the MERC's that were champion race sleds in a cage behind the shop. [I have a great detailed story about that on SnoProUSA's site.]
Buzz and I kept in touch over the years until he passed.
The rest of the sled was dismantled and methodically scrapped.
The Polaris INDY 500 with the big bore kit from the recreational vehicular homicide on the evening of February 1st, 1983 in West Yellowstone, Montana that was cursed by the lies of one man would not claim another life ever again.
#1 DON'T RIDE WITH DRUNK or HIGH RIDERS !
#2 WEAR CHEST PROTECTION !
