What bike do you have setup as a snowbike?

MotoTrax LLC · Feb 26, 2016

MotoTrax LLC said:
The 450FC is great. We run one as one of our shop bikes. That being said, we also run a 2016 YZ450F, a 15' 250FC, and a 15' 350FE. Of all of them the YZ definitely has more down low power so it arguably makes a better snow bike, but the Husky 450 holds it's own and can almost always catch up once you get moving.

Also for everyone's reference, The 250 does surprisingly well, mostly because it can rev so high, it just has a much more limited top speed, somewhere around 45mph on the trail I would guess. The wide ratio gear box of the 350FE is a little interesting. It rides really well and is a great go anywhere, do anything bike, but it definitely doesn't pull like the 450's and you will find yourself shifting a lot more trying to find just the right spot to maximize your power.

byeatts · Feb 27, 2016

MotoTrax LLC said:
The 450FC is great. We run one as one of our shop bikes. That being said, we also run a 2016 YZ450F, a 15' 250FC, and a 15' 350FE. Of all of them the YZ definitely has more down low power so it arguably makes a better snow bike, but the Husky 450 holds it's own and can almost always catch up once you get moving.

I can get the 15 FC 450 new for 7500. Is it suggested to pay the extra 1K for the 450 YZ FX? The Yz has back up kick start . ?

MotoTrax LLC · Feb 28, 2016

byeatts said:
I can get the 15 FC 450 new for 7500. Is it suggested to pay the extra 1K for the 450 YZ FX? The Yz has back up kick start . ?

It all really comes down to which brand you prefer to ride in the dirt. If you prefer the Yamaha, then the extra $1,000 will be well spent and you get the added benefit of the kick starter. If you prefer the KTM/Husky platform, then that will be a great option for you. They both make great snow bikes. If you're looking for a bike that you won't be switching back to dirt for whatever reason, then the FX will provide a slightly better snow experience. We are all Moto guys more than we are Snowmobilers, so we always pick our bikes based on summer track performance and keep them that way all year long so most of us run electric start only KTM's or Huskies with stock components. We ride almost every weekend and we have never had a problem with electric start only bikes. We have upgraded lithium batteries in couple of them which gives them slightly better starting power in the cold.

byeatts · Feb 28, 2016

MotoTrax LLC said:
It all really comes down to which brand you prefer to ride in the dirt. If you prefer the Yamaha, then the extra $1,000 will be well spent and you get the added benefit of the kick starter. If you prefer the KTM/Husky platform, then that will be a great option for you. They both make great snow bikes. If you're looking for a bike that you won't be switching back to dirt for whatever reason, then the FX will provide a slightly better snow experience. We are all Moto guys more than we are Snowmobilers, so we always pick our bikes based on summer track performance and keep them that way all year long so most of us run electric start only KTM's or Huskies with stock components. We ride almost every weekend and we have never had a problem with electric start only bikes. We have upgraded lithium batteries in couple of them which gives them slightly better starting power in the cold.

All my summer bikes are KTM, The only reason I stayed away from them was no kick starter, Hmm if that's not an issue perhaps I look at the sx 450 F, I can use the rims/chain/brakes elsewhere , The snow bike will not be used in dirt at all.Another option is the XCW 500, that does have a kick and light but not sure how it performs on the snow. Thanks for any thoughts

MotoTrax LLC · Feb 28, 2016

byeatts said:
Another option is the XCW 500, that does have a kick and light but not sure how it performs on the snow. Thanks for any thoughts

The XCW 500 seems to be one of the more popular bikes right now. We've had our units put on several of them this year. It also has the benefit of the kick start.

If you can use the dirt parts on your other bikes then that is a big plus because it will save a little money down the road. The power of the motocross bikes is a little better for a dedicated snow bike and the 5 speed transmission keeps you from shifting as much. The wide ratio 6 speed is great if you're a trail rider, but you shift a lot when climbing.

As for the "need" for a kick start, the only time we've had one of our bikes run out of starter juice was when we were at a demo and a guy took it out a long way and ran it out of gas, but didn't realize it and kept cranking. Fortunately we keep radios on our demo bikes so he called in and we ran an extra battery out to him.

byeatts · Feb 28, 2016

MotoTrax LLC said:
The XCW 500 seems to be one of the more popular bikes right now. We've had our units put on several of them this year. It also has the benefit of the kick start.

If you can use the dirt parts on your other bikes then that is a big plus because it will save a little money down the road. The power of the motocross bikes is a little better for a dedicated snow bike and the 5 speed transmission keeps you from shifting as much. The wide ratio 6 speed is great if you're a trail rider, but you shift a lot when climbing.

As for the "need" for a kick start, the only time we've had one of our bikes run out of starter juice was when we were at a demo and a guy took it out a long way and ran it out of gas, but didn't realize it and kept cranking. Fortunately we keep radios on our demo bikes so he called in and we ran an extra battery out to him.

This is all great info. My confusion is many say the best suggested bike is the YZ450 FX, however its a wide tranny as well from with I read ? I don't ride much trail just backcountry ,should I forget about the kick and go with a 450SXF and install a better batt.?

MotoTrax LLC · Feb 28, 2016

byeatts said:
This is all great info. My confusion is many say the best suggested bike is the YZ450 FX, however its a wide tranny as well from with I read ? I don't ride much trail just backcountry ,should I forget about the kick and go with a 450SXF and install a better batt.?

The YZ450 FX is a great snow bike and it does have the wide ratio gear box, but if you're normally a KTM rider and you can use the parts elsewhere I would say stick with the brand you like and then go get an Anti Gravity 8 cell lithium starter battery, it has twice the juice as the stock lead acid battery and fits in the same battery slot. If you get a 450SXF you may also need an upgraded stator if you want to run a head light and grip warmers which I would recommend for back country riding.

We were on a test ride a little after Christmas this last year and were pushing the new kits really hard trying to do wear testing. We never did break anything, but we got the bike stuck in a bunch of elk brush (12' down in a snow cavity below the bushes) and buried it right at sundown with no head light on it. Once we realized that even if we got it out we wouldn't be able to ride back we hopped on the other bike we had and rode out with a hand held flashlight. Long story short, we got back to the stuck bike three days later to pull it out and despite being in below freezing temps for three days it cranked the engine until it fired up, no kick start needed.

byeatts · Feb 28, 2016

MotoTrax LLC said:
The YZ450 FX is a great snow bike and it does have the wide ratio gear box, but if you're normally a KTM rider and you can use the parts elsewhere I would say stick with the brand you like and then go get an Anti Gravity 8 cell lithium starter battery, it has twice the juice as the stock lead acid battery and fits in the same battery slot. If you get a 450SXF you may also need an upgraded stator if you want to run a head light and grip warmers which I would recommend for back country riding.

We were on a test ride a little after Christmas this last year and were pushing the new kits really hard trying to do wear testing. We never did break anything, but we got the bike stuck in a bunch of elk brush (12' down in a snow cavity below the bushes) and buried it right at sundown with no head light on it. Once we realized that even if we got it out we wouldn't be able to ride back we hopped on the other bike we had and rode out with a hand held flashlight. Long story short, we got back to the stuck bike three days later to pull it out and despite being in below freezing temps for three days it cranked the engine until it fired up, no kick start needed.

All great points and some I overlooked. So now I guess to stay with KTM the xcw 500 looks to be best option to get the stator,light,hand warmers, Im trying to get a crash course and buy the right bike the first time! It doesn't appear to have a link swing arm, hmm is that an issue for the Yeti.

MotoTrax LLC · Feb 28, 2016

byeatts said:
It doesn't appear to have a link swing arm, hmm is that an issue for the Yeti.

It shouldn't be. All of the kits, weather it be ours, the Yeti, or the Timbersled, All have similar mounting kits. You will have a set of engine spacers that center the kit with the existing swing arm axle, and then either a solid strut or a RRS/TSS. The linkage is normally attached to the swing arm, and does not play a role in mounting configuration.

jbrown15 · Mar 14, 2016

MotoTrax LLC said:
Also for everyone's reference, The 250 does surprisingly well, mostly because it can rev so high, it just has a much more limited top speed, somewhere around 45mph on the trail I would guess. The wide ratio gear box of the 350FE is a little interesting. It rides really well and is a great go anywhere, do anything bike, but it definitely doesn't pull like the 450's and you will find yourself shifting a lot more trying to find just the right spot to maximize your power.

I was thinking about putting a kit on my 2016 FC350 next year to try out snowbiking. I'm a little worried about it not being a 450 but the FC350 revs to the moon.

MotoTrax LLC · Mar 14, 2016

jbrown15 said:
I was thinking about putting a kit on my 2016 FC350 next year to try out snowbiking. I'm a little worried about it not being a 450 but the FC350 revs to the moon.

It will work just fine. Use the bike you've got. Out racer, Justin Homan, took 1st place in the B main class at West Yellowstone yesterday on a stock FE350 against a bunch of motocross 450's. It was a great experiment to show the value of good technique and riding ability.

Seekins · Mar 20, 2016

I rode my 16 450sxf yesterday with mototrax kit, amazing power. I think they are 60hp and only 227 lbs. I'm going to gear it up!

I got a 8 cell anti gravity battery, but maybe the factory edition bikes are different. It's about a inch too long! Had no issues at all but I did put anti gravity jump leads on the bike and packed the jump battery pack with me, never needed it

Jaynelson · Mar 21, 2016

If you are not riding MX in the summer...the 450xc-f with its larger fuel tank would be my choice for pure snowbike than the sx-f. More all out power than the 500xc-w + close ratio tranny. If you want the bike to ride woods with in the summer and aren't a super fast rider....then the 500 is the way to go.

byeatts · Mar 21, 2016

Seekins said:
I rode my 16 450sxf yesterday with mototrax kit, amazing power. I think they are 60hp and only 227 lbs. I'm going to gear it up!

I got a 8 cell anti gravity battery, but maybe the factory edition bikes are different. It's about a inch too long! Had no issues at all but I did put anti gravity jump leads on the bike and packed the jump battery pack with me, never needed it

If its the Factory edition they had on the scale at 221.7 lbs

Seekins · Mar 21, 2016

byeatts said:
If its the Factory edition they had on the scale at 221.7 lbs

Yup, that's the one. I knew it had a 7 in it.. Freaking thing rips thru the snow!

byeatts · Mar 23, 2016

Seekins said:
Yup, that's the one. I knew it had a 7 in it.. Freaking thing rips thru the snow!

120 or 137?

Seekins · Mar 23, 2016

120".

I can't see any reason to do 137 unless you were doing some kind of turbo'd climbing rig.
the foot print on the snow is pretty long with 120" compared to a sled with same length track.

lundracing · Jul 26, 2016

03 KX 500 with 137 TS

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

WanderUtah · Aug 13, 2016

Last season, KTM 500 with 137" TS

This season, husky 350 with 120" TS and a KTM 450 137" TS with turbo

Yooperwoods · Aug 14, 2016

2016 Beta 350RR and 120 ST

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