I never have but the more videos I watch with my son the more we want to give it a go!

 

That looks so sweet.. I win the lottery I'm getting a new Yamaha 450 with a timbersled hook up..lol

 

I've ridden a Timbersled and Yeti with Husky 501 and Beta 480.
Lots of fun if you have the snow.

 

I'm not a dirt bike fan so this doesn't appeal to me at all. They look cool but that's about about all I think about them.

 

I'm a dirtbike guy.

My snowmobile buddys are relaxed, drink beer and eat pizza kind of guys. My dirtbike buddys are P90X, fruit, vegetable and lean protein kind of guys. I truly enjoy both sports and hanging with both crowds.

Riding a dirtbike is very hard (sometimes painful) and I see snowbikes being closer to this sport than sleds. I would like to ride one but I don't see me ever converting my KTM!

Just from my prospective, I really see the adrenaline rush of this sport at elevation and not much fun at sea-level.

 

Yes

 

I'm a dirtbike guy.

My snowmobile buddys are relaxed, drink beer and eat pizza kind of guys. My dirtbike buddys are P90X, fruit, vegetable and lean protein kind of guys. I truly enjoy both sports and hanging with both crowds.
Riding a dirtbike is very hard (sometimes painful) and I see snowbikes being closer to this sport than sleds. I would like to ride one but I don't see me ever converting my KTM!

Just from my prospective, I really see the adrenaline rush of this sport at elevation and not much fun at sea-level.

Lots of fun at sea level, just need the snow. Not much fun on hardpack but a blast if you have lots of pow pow! We have endless un maintained trail in my neck of the woods which make it great for a snow bike or a sled with a long enough track. Plenty of fun in the trees with my Gade without mountains here.

 

I'm actually running my race bike with studs right now as we got rain and everything is hard at the moment. No good for sledding but great for studded riding.

 

it's funny how they show the snowbikes coming down the mountains and the sleds climbing the mountains. Makes me think climbing they don't have enough power. just a thought.

 

While I haven't ridden one, I'm guessing it's not so much a lack of power for steep climbing in powder as it is not enough track surface. Kind of like the way a Pisten Bully with wide tracks can climb in powder far better than what a narrow tracked trail groomer like a Tucker can.

The snow bikes certainly work well carving thru the trees in deep pow on rolling side hills though.

 

While I think they are cool, after riding my 850 summit I don't see one in my future

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Range is an issue for the UP.

 

They were never really designed to have that kind of a continuous load on the engine. Motocross bikes never get ridden as hard as a snow bike would. Interested in seeing durability of the engine.

 

They were never really designed to have that kind of a continuous load on the engine. Motocross bikes never get ridden as hard as a snow bike would. Interested in seeing durability of the engine.

Singles don't like to be held wide open too long.

 

Range is an issue for the UP.

Don't need range. They are not legal for trail use in the U.P. They get about 90-100 miles depending on you ride them. Calumet has a place that rents the 450sx.

 

I highly doubt that snow bikes are legal to use on trail systems in any of the snow belt states... besides that, I don't think they would be much fun on a groomed trail (personally I don't think snowmobiles are much fun on groomed trails either, but that's just my opinion). Seems to me snow bikes are really intended for backcountry/mountain use, or organized competition.

 

Rode a timbersled and wasn't super impressed, but it was in low snow conditions. Couldn't lean it over like a bike it was more upright like a sled. The new kit from Camso looks cool though. I ride bikes 9 months a year and I enjoy the feeling/ride of a sled much more than a dirt bike in the snow. My .02

 

There is a guy that I saw today while I was riding out in the Burg in NH. He was riding with a back of dudes riding freerides and smuts. Not sure where they were headed but from what I saw he wasn't riding the trail at all and was bouncing back and forth from each side of the trail on both sides of the pow. Seems cool but I'll stick to a sled for snow

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Ive had lots of motocross bikes over the years but i cant seem to get interested. Must be the 60hp bike versus the 160hp sled i struggle with.

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you've obviously never ridden in the sand dunes! Riding in the sand taxes a motor way more than snow ever will!

and I'm sure that motor lasts a long time at glamis as well... Point proven. I've run paddle tires before.

 

Wanna ride one before I drop 6k to put one on my CR500.

 

Snowbikes (we call them slow bikes) are constantly evolving. The biggest issue for guys out West is loss of power at elevation. There are always ways to gain it back, (turbos, BB's) but it all comes at a cost.

I have ridden around 6 different set ups. My favorite was a 450KTM SX with a Timbersled LT. It was surprising how deep of a hole the LT could pull out of. I think everything I believed about snowbikes went out the window once I actually spent time on one. As the kits are generally geared down a lot there isn't a huge load on the gear box like one would think having the big track. You also do not need to be bouncing off the rev limiter all day either and the wear and tear on the motor would be likely less than that of a bike being ridden around the track in dusty conditions for 30 lap motos.

There are additional costs, like having the suspension re sprung/valved for the added weight. Items like heated grips are not normally found on a bike as well as lights unless running a XC. Snowbikes seat height is higher than its stock seat height, so for short guys like me its a challenge on the trails to the alpine if you have to stop multiple times. Once in the pow its less of an issue.

These are not point and shoot machines. They do climb but not great but you can side hill anything. Really these are the ultimate boondocking ditch banger machines. You can ride any line you thought likely not possible on a sled. This still comes at a cost when you do get them stuck or laying down on their side they are still heavy to pick up. If its pointing down hill and open easy enough spin the track and they will be in a position to ride out.

Ultimately an actual production snowbike unit would be something I would consider in the future. I don't mean Cat's modified MX bike, but a true snow bike and not a SnowHawk either. But consider a 850 etec makes just over 160hp with decent torque, if you halved that to a 425cc Single Etec in the 65-75 hp range you would exceed any stock 450 thumper available today. A true snowbike built frame/chassis design made lighter and benefits like electronic reverse. There is a push to heavily tax European imported bikes into the US. If BRP came to market with a CanAm inspired Snowbike there could be enough of a market to build a few dozen a year and without the cost of buying a bike and conversion kit it may even be slightly cheaper. It would also have the designation of a "snow machine" opening them up to areas that do not allow non tracked vehicles.

 

Snowbikes (we call them slow bikes) are constantly evolving. The biggest issue for guys out West is loss of power at elevation. There are always ways to gain it back, (turbos, BB's) but it all comes at a cost.

I have ridden around 6 different set ups. My favorite was a 450KTM SX with a Timbersled LT. It was surprising how deep of a hole the LT could pull out of. I think everything I believed about snowbikes went out the window once I actually spent time on one. As the kits are generally geared down a lot there isn't a huge load on the gear box like one would think having the big track. You also do not need to be bouncing off the rev limiter all day either and the wear and tear on the motor would be likely less than that of a bike being ridden around the track in dusty conditions for 30 lap motos.

There are additional costs, like having the suspension re sprung/valved for the added weight. Items like heated grips are not normally found on a bike as well as lights unless running a XC. Snowbikes seat height is higher than its stock seat height, so for short guys like me its a challenge on the trails to the alpine if you have to stop multiple times. Once in the pow its less of an issue.

These are not point and shoot machines. They do climb but not great but you can side hill anything. Really these are the ultimate boondocking ditch banger machines. You can ride any line you thought likely not possible on a sled. This still comes at a cost when you do get them stuck or laying down on their side they are still heavy to pick up. If its pointing down hill and open easy enough spin the track and they will be in a position to ride out.

Ultimately an actual production snowbike unit would be something I would consider in the future. I don't mean Cat's modified MX bike, but a true snow bike and not a SnowHawk either. But consider a 850 etec makes just over 160hp with decent torque, if you halved that to a 425cc Single Etec in the 65-75 hp range you would exceed any stock 450 thumper available today. A true snowbike built frame/chassis design made lighter and benefits like electronic reverse. There is a push to heavily tax European imported bikes into the US. If BRP came to market with a CanAm inspired Snowbike there could be enough of a market to build a few dozen a year and without the cost of buying a bike and conversion kit it may even be slightly cheaper. It would also have the designation of a "snow machine" opening them up to areas that do not allow non tracked vehicles.

You mention the SnowHawk....it would seem like it would be far more capable than the current "Snow Bike " trend what with the CVT and much more Hp. I wonder why we haven't seen a comparison? No gears to change on the SnowHawk !

 

You mention the SnowHawk....it would seem like it would be far more capable than the current "Snow Bike " trend what with the CVT and much more Hp. I wonder why we haven't seen a comparison? No gears to change on the SnowHawk !

Have you ridden a Hawk?

There is still a decent following of guys riding them around and they love them. I have found them awkward and too heavy. With their twin you can't narrow it up and heavy overall.

The snowhawks are like the Honda Odyssey. They were just ahead of their time.

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Have you ridden a Hawk?

There is still a decent following of guys riding them around and they love them. I have found them awkward and too heavy. With their twin you can't narrow it up and heavy overall.

The snowhawks are like the Honda Odyssey. They were just ahead of their time.

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No I've never ridden one but see one locally that seems to go anywhere effortlessly. As you say, ahead of it's time I think. All I see from the sideline is the weaknesses in the dirt bike versions are not there in the older design SnowHawk. :shrug