Looking at Snow biking. I was Just wondering the Negative's to having a snowbike?

catmando

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The one guy that was riding with rhyse had a turbo in his, would have like to have him with us, the one with us was a stock husky


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tsiciliano

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Typically your downshifting on hills even without the rekluse experienced dirtbike rides just back off the throttle a split and bang a gear don't lose to much. Demo'd a 2013 yz450f in spring cond but have not taken the plunge. Need to demo in deep pow before I make that decision

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barefooter

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Lol. Been trying to get my bud out for a year on a bike. Finally got our schedules co-ordinated this last weekend. Set up rentals for him both days.

Thursday before we leave he trades a turbo sled for a bike. Needless to say - don't make deals at night! At least he got 3 boxes of parts!! LOL

I got him into some really sketchy terrain both days following drainages and we both made it out. If we had been on sleds I think we would still be cutting trees to try to get out.

I have sledded with Scott for I think 7 years. All he said all weekend was "this is the most fun ever". He is contemplating selling the rest of his sleds. :)

If you ride them like a sled - you will be disappointed. Ride where you don't see sled tracks and you will be smiling ear-to-ear.
 

barefooter

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Biggest downside. Picking the damn thing up off the ground when they are lying flat. It is almost easier to roll a sled.

I rode a 4 stroke this weekend and the higher center of gravity really makes a difference in the effort it takes to put one right side up. My 300 2 stroke feels 100lbs lighter.
 

+SLEDWRECKS+

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Barefooter, On your 300, have you had to add a carb heater and are you jetting as you go ?
How's the 300 do against the 4 stroke bikes ?
Yeti or TS ?
 

barefooter

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Barefooter, On your 300, have you had to add a carb heater and are you jetting as you go ?
How's the 300 do against the 4 stroke bikes ?
Yeti or TS ?
Sledwrecks:

I have the full deal. Avid carb heater with shutoff valve, thermostat, Smartcarb and airbox mod. I am horrible at jetting so I went with Smartcarb. Know some guys who have gone with Lectrons with good results. I had this carb on my old RM250 and it worked great.

Yeti ski with 120 ST skid. Next year I am going with the 120 Yeti skid - it is so light. The 300 feels like it is 75lbs lighter than a 4T, and the two guys I have talked to that went from the TS 120ST to the Yeti swear by it.

So mine is full on. SX ignition, pipe, clean up job on the port, red powervalve spring and Slavens head. I rode with a good-running 2013 KX450 and a 2015 SX450 this past weekend and mine was noticably stronger throughout. They had exhaust and aggressive maps. Different type of power though. I find the 300 personally way easier to ride hard and fast. I grew up racing 2T and never got on the 4T bandwagon. I found the KX450 and the SX450 were easier to ride if you weren't being aggressive because of the lower end torque. Gave you a little more time to pick lines, etc. But they definitely did not accelerate as fast. Once I got used to wringing the crap out of both of them - wasn't used to a 4T winding up to 12K RPM - I was able to ride them much faster, but not as easy as the 300. It also seems to quote a line "way more flickable". The rotating mass is lower in the frame and the 2T weighs about 25lbs lighter. Feels like 100lbs difference when you are lifting the KTM 450 from the flats.

My bud - who had not ridden a snowbike before preferred the 4T powerband. Said it made it easier to ride for him.

For full disclosure - I am also a pretty aggressive rider. Sleds or bikes. I have never been one to "see the country". I like finding a cool place to play, tear it up and then move on. Finding the stupidest lines and seeing if I can make them. And the bikes let me do that without having to get into the high alpine. We rode at Hunter's Range the one day, and we had to fuel up prior to getting to the first cabin. We just made the cabin at Owlshead. when it was time to head down for home. Fresh tracks the entire day! Sucks that they are not as sophisticated and reliable as sleds yet, but here is hoping!
 
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Phat Cat

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I rented a Husky 450 with a MH ST kit for a day. Rode Forester Creek. There was about 2 feet of fresh on a good base. Riding through the trees was a blast and could go some places alot easier than a sled. The battery was crap and had to pull start it a couple of times. I used to hill climb quite a bit on a dirt bike back in the day so it was quite easy to adapt to a snowbike. But then there are some places that the bike could not go, for instance the climb up to thunderwater lake. This was the first time I have been on a 4 stroke 450. I was expecting it to have more power. Ive been riding sleds in the mountains since about 96-97. Many have said that once you have riden a snowbike you will sell your sled and buy a snowbike. Nope wont do it. While it was fun, its not for me. Ill stick to riding sleds. My advice is to rent one with a buddy for a day and split the cost.
 

4mcntrls

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If you like technical and not seeing Tracks all day, buy the snow bike! If you like riding wide open meadows and pulling big hills, stick with your sled. Like Barefooted said, if you ride them like you would ride your sled you will hate it. They open up a whole new world to explore.
 

moyiesledhead

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Rode mine for the first time last weekend. For the first 45 minutes I was ready to put it back on the truck and sell it. Then we found some snow. Yaaaaa......I'm keeping it. Haven't had that much fun in years! Fell over a lot, but I'll get better. I won't be selling my sled, but I'm keeping the bike too. The packed trail is like riding with 2 flat tires and a passenger, but it's just too much fun once you get to snow for me to give it up now. And a day on the bike hardly makes me sore at all compared to a day on my sled.
 
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catinthehat

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Rode mine for the first time last weekend. For the first 45 minutes I was ready to put it back on the truck and sell it. Then we found some snow. Yaaaaa......I'm keeping it. Haven't had that much fun in years! Fell over a lot, but I'll get better. I won't be selling my sled, but I'm keeping the bike too. The packed trail is like riding with 2 flat tires and a passenger, but it's just too much fun once you get to snow for me to give it up now. And a day on the bike hardly makes me sore at all compared to a day on my sled.
And it helps to ride with a young guy to keep picking it up for us. lol
 

jrusher

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There too much fun and usually you start riding fresh as soon as you starting heading up. Lil spring snow
 

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NoBrakes!

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We rented 6 Timbersled LT in Revy last weekend and destroyed untouched! Some of the group have summer bikes but anyone can ride them and have a blast. We had one 300 2stroke and 5 450s of various brands, a couple YZ, WR, XCW with the TSS shock seemed to soak up the bumps a lot better. We rode from 10 - 6 pm, and never saw a sled track and we only went 2KM past the cabin in the trees! We ran all the bikes out of fuel and jerry cans, even had to bring fuel back up the trail 6 km for the 300! Thanks again to Kurtis and Ben from Infinite Powersports and Sledrent.ca. Now the big choice is what to buy...
 

NoBrakes!

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a few pics
 

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flabbajabba

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We rented 6 Timbersled LT in Revy last weekend and destroyed untouched! Some of the group have summer bikes but anyone can ride them and have a blast. We had one 300 2stroke and 5 450s of various brands, a couple YZ, WR, XCW with the TSS shock seemed to soak up the bumps a lot better. We rode from 10 - 6 pm, and never saw a sled track and we only went 2KM past the cabin in the trees! We ran all the bikes out of fuel and jerry cans, even had to bring fuel back up the trail 6 km for the 300! Thanks again to Kurtis and Ben from Infinite Powersports and Sledrent.ca. Now the big choice is what to buy...

how was the two smoke compared to thumpers?
 

NoBrakes!

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The 300 Sherco kept up no problem, it went through more fuel than all the 450s though. The rider was one of the more experienced in the group and had a blast. Needed to carry more rpm/entry speed, and vibrated the bars a bit more. not sure if it had a smart carb but looked stock.
 

1901306708

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The 300 2 strokes are a hoot. i like them better than the 450's. Just need to sort out the carb which is not tough.

They do burn more fuel though. my 500 2 stroke burns less than the 300 or 450 as you can lug it right down when cruising.

I would go 120 if i bought another one. much more fun and keeps the revs up better. for an old guy, go with the longer track. can sit down and cruise anywhere.

I have all the Yeti gears if fellas want to borrow them to play around etc and figure out what they like
 

NoBrakes!

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we had a trip to McBride between xmas and new years last year, it was -26 in the parking lot in the AM. How do the bikes work in the cold? what's a necessity and what's a convenience for extras? to keep hands warm? seat warmer? thermostat? engine blanket?
 

1901306708

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beyond -15, no idea. i dont go if its that cold.

2 strokes like being cold. not sure on 4s. most guys run a thermostat on both. i dont run hand/seat warmer or a blanket
 
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