The Future of Snowbikes.........

Frostbite · Jan 17, 2014

I read most every one of them and I have to wonder why the snowmobile magazines continue to ignore and don't seem to be embracing this new and very exciting derivative of winter motorsports? Do they somehow consider it a threat to snowmobiling?

Couldn't it be argued that snowbiking is still a form of "snowmobiling (since one is using a motor to propel themselves over the snow). If so, why are there no articles or tests of snowbikes?

Is there a magazine I don't know of dedicated to snowbikes yet?

Have any of the dirtbike magazines reported on snowbikes?

I hate to even mention it but, with the popularity of snowbikes surpassing all expectations, I'm worried it won't be too long before the OEMs try to buy out these exceedingly successful and innovative smaller companies and bring snowbikes to the mainstream. I hope I am wrong......

Thoughts?

1dn5up · Jan 17, 2014

Magazines probaly have them already and dont want to spread the word so they have more powder to them selfs. Dont forget kids snowbikes suck make sure you tell all your friends

retired motoman · Jan 17, 2014

Frostbite said:
I read most every one of them and I have to wonder why the snowmobile magazines continue to ignore and don't seem to be embracing this new and very exciting derivative of winter motorsports? Do they somehow consider it a threat to snowmobiling?

Lane from Snowest told me that with one major snowbike manufacture, the advertising competition is not there and so neither is the big advertising dollars. The mags are "for profit" so most are trying to ignore the snowbike revolution.
Combined snowbike sales from all manufactures will be over 5% of the sled market in '15. They can't ignore that and neither can the big OEM's.

swedenturbo · Jan 17, 2014

I agree completely.
There is currently no competition in the snowbike market.
Just give it a couple of years and we'll probably have more snowbike kit manufacturers.

Frostbite · Jan 17, 2014

I agree Retired motoman, when the demand is high enough for a snowbike kit that you can't even find one during the late fall or winter, there has got to be a lot of demand. So, how much demand is really out there?

I would think more Motorsports dealer would at least dip a toe into this market and build a few complete bikes or sell the kits to augment their motocross bike sales.

Maybe, Timbersled could provide each dealer in the snow belt that sells over X number of motocross bikes per year the opportunity to buy a deeply discounted kit for their demo purposes only. The publicity and the sales that could generate would be well worth the effort?

wwillf01 · Jan 18, 2014

Ok there was this in sledheads.. It's a start

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

ImageUploadedByTapatalkHD1390085659.695299.jpg

Frostbite · Jan 18, 2014

You are right.... that's a start!

I just see this HUGE untapped market out there for snowbikes.

CATSLEDMAN1 · Jan 18, 2014

never again

if you made every snowmobiler ride a sno bike for a half hour, 90% of them would never ride one again. Only a dream for sum of us that have lived on bikes and sleds and always though some where there ought to be a blend of both.

the sno bikes are in their infancy as far as handling/ power/ tracks suspension......some days I'm jacked, some days just I'm disgusted. Same as the sleds were in 1979. Nobody out there in the steep and deep, just some of us believed and instisted that it was going to get better and we road the best junk the shrunk down industry offered.

Most had **** canned their fox tracks and Harley sleds and evinrudes and porky merc's and skiduuus, wheeled them out behind the shed and let them rust.......good idea but execution sucked....always broke perpetually stuck.

fur 20 years we had the outdoor all to ourselves on home built sleds, then about 20004 sum mountain sleds were build and every swinging duck went to the credit union and became a hill climbing hero. BECAUSE you could cough up some money for a sled and not have to walk home. WAM BAM cliff jumping side hill cutting, ride two days in a row and not have to wrench............wow.

2004 has not quite come along yet for the bikes. Still toooo crude, will get better I believe.

Frostbite · Jan 18, 2014

So what did the snowbike industry learn from Snowhawks and AD Bovin?

Did these machines make snowbikes better, or are the snowbike builders going to have to go through their own growing pains to find out what really works?

Hawkster · Jan 19, 2014

There's no denying that the snow bikes will evolve it wasn't to long ago that the majority was claiming you'd be an idiot to convert a bike bigger than a 250 .

As far as the Hawks go they won't die , they'll also evolve , they'll cater to a different style rider . It was never ment to be a true mountain machine from the get go the mountain version was just add ons . No different than trying to make a super bike into a motocross , a bit of an extreme example but the same out come .

The snow bikes can no longer make fun of the weight of a Hawk , it was inevitable bigger is better . I see the Hawk for it's faults and I've been watching you guys going threw the growing pains of the joys of a one ski and have just about been lynched trying to share what little knowledge I have but what's funny to me is that your following suit of what a ten year old machine already has . Price can no longer be an issue anymore either , if your gonna want a brand new turn key no hassle machine .
Here's my heavy hitter :jaw:

NEWDUCK · Jan 21, 2014

I think the dollar will collapse on itself before we ever see a production "one ski". All I hear is they're to hard to ride or not as fast as my turbo.

Hawkster · Jan 22, 2014

Your right about the dollar , disposable is the new fad . Their still making them with choices of a 600, 800, 900, track length, tracks, suspensions, ES , hand warmers, 8 or 11 gallon tank etc . Top speed of a 600 is 80 and with clutching and gearing change it'll top 100 . The learning curve can be pain full and riding areas are a factor . That's why we have them , this is her ride with the old ski and she's now running the TS/S ski and has picked it up another notch .

tjsb1 · Jan 22, 2014

my 2 cents

Magazines are all about advertising dollars, look at who advertises in them and that's who's products are marketed.

When I started building snow bikes in 2004 I couldn't get a response from magazines or snowmobile parts manufactures. The snowhawks were a nitch market that was struggling due to poor trail handling, it scared a lot of "snowmobile" testers and I even read one article by a editor who test rode a hawk and broke his arm, not good for PR for a new product.

The early 2 moto's, as well as my kits, the SnoXcycles (not the Utah Company), were nicknamed "suicycles" because of the trail handling. We worked hard on the ski and made them a lot more trail friendly but still getting sledders on the bike wasn't happening, it seemed only the dirt bikers who were interested.

Alan has a great product in the Timbersled and he is doing it right, spreading his advertising dollars in both the snow and dirt magazines. They will have to eventually admit and embrace the bikes as it again is all about revenue.

NEWDUCK · Jan 23, 2014

Hawkster said:
Your right about the dollar , disposable is the new fad . Their still making them with choices of a 600, 800, 900, track length, tracks, suspensions, ES , hand warmers, 8 or 11 gallon tank etc . Top speed of a 600 is 80 and with clutching and gearing change it'll top 100 . The learning curve can be pain full and riding areas are a factor . That's why we have them , this is her ride with the old ski and she's now running the TS/S ski and has picked it up another notch .

Im jealous your getting ride time on a hawk :face-icon-small-coo. I just cut down a 16 wide to a 13 for a future hawk build. Lost 10lbs off the track. Tempted to do it to all my sleds :face-icon-small-ton. Ive looked at those new ones... at that price the hawk should ride itself down the trail to get to the good stuff. To spend 16000+ just to mod it to work in the mountains is stupid.

Hawkster · Jan 23, 2014

LOL , they aren't cheap , bump it to 17,000 with a long track and it's mountain bound , I guess it depends on how you look at it . Wonder what the price of a complete TS set up would be if they starting building turn key machines ? Than there's CMXX , granted their a fully blown version of a sled but it's no different than a bike kit or Hawk , specialized . There's so many ways of looking at it and keeping an open mind , how much do you want to spend and how long do you want to keep it around ?

I snow checked mine in 04 so in a way it's a pretty cheap machine and she exhausted two machines following it around before she picked one up ......... literally :face-icon-small-hap

The machine that does owe me is that frickn IQ A$$ault that Poo calls a back country mountain sled , my arse , it is now the freight sled .

I hope your build rocks .

dirtrebel · Jan 23, 2014

NEWDUCK said:
Im jealous your getting ride time on a hawk :face-icon-small-coo. I just cut down a 16 wide to a 13 for a future hawk build. Lost 10lbs off the track. Tempted to do it to all my sleds :face-icon-small-ton. Ive looked at those new ones... at that price the hawk should ride itself down the trail to get to the good stuff. To spend 16000+ just to mod it to work in the mountains is stupid.

I have a sweet 503f all set up for mountain riding 136hawk track, Polaris primary, with thundershift kit arctic cat secondary all that jazz. Hawk ski with tlkd powder adapter and twin axis lockout I don't really need to sell it but I have too much stuff, lol. And I'm not as much of a hoss as I used to be, it rides me! I'm in Bozeman mt and can deliver it at hawkfest if u (or anyone else) wanted it. No title, but perm MT sticker. it came from Washington and they don't title them there. $3500 not trying to hijack the thread but if anyone wants it more than me since I don't ride it that much I'd pass it on to someone who would enjoy it. its still not quite as good as a snowbike sorry but I want to b honest, but at a third or quarter the price a good performing machine.

Hawkster · Feb 1, 2014

Right off the bat , I'm not picking any bones . This is the direction I want to see the bike kits go . All three of these are running the Gen II and in these conditions even a lesser ski isn't a problem . People in the beginning use to say that you'd be in a world of hurt if you take your only ski out but what they didn't realize is that one ski doesn't hang out there to be ripped off .
http://youtu.be/clFxUGcTQgo

NEWDUCK · Feb 4, 2014

Hawkster said:
The machine that does owe me is that frickn IQ A$$ault that Poo calls a back country mountain sled , my arse , it is now the freight sled .

I hope your build rocks .

Freight sled.. oh yes 597lbs full of fuel ready to ride. Good thing the 12lbs of boost keeps her moving.

And as the build goes here she is. 151x 13.25x 2.3ish lug. Im not sure if its the future of "snowbikes" But its a start into the diy one skis. You might have seen that frame sitting at someone else shop....:face-icon-small-hap

mnsnowhawk · Feb 4, 2014

If you guys have not seen this build, you need to check it out. http://backcountryrebels.com/showthread.php?t=30436.

dirtrebel · Feb 4, 2014

oh no the cats outta the bag! its only been on there for 6 weeks and nobody from here has noticed?

The Future of Snowbikes.........

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Similar threads