Another one thinking of taking the plunge...

[POLZIN]

A carb bike that’s a pain to start after a spill is a bad combination in a snowbike . I rented an 08 last season. And built a bike on a brand new 2016 yz 450 this year. EFI makes starting way less of a problem but no e start is still less than ideal. I put a rekluse 3.0exp clutch on after a few rides eliminating most of the stalls was huge ! Sure makes loading and low speed riding situations way less sketchy.

Assuming a newer bike isn’t an option the clutch is a must have on that bike. Thermostat of course. I ride stock forks with an Air Pro works fine for me.

 

[laneends]

The don't to do ratio is definitely giving me some food for thought... I like the sound of a cr500 snowbike, doing some research now... Would a conversion be doable on one of the old ones? There's a 1985 Cr 500 not far away on Craigslist for 1500 bucks... Probably needs freshening up, but I hear that's not too pricey. There's also a complete snowbike 2010 kx450 for 5900... I'm not in a rush, summers coming and all.

 

[Ben 500RR-S]

I had an 85CR500R, and a 1996 CR500R.

The 85 only cost me $900 back in 2000 and it is what got me to get the 1996. Unless the bike has been restored/rebuilt, you're talking about a bike over 30 years old and one common issue, like my bike had for which there was no real fix is the case the water pump lives in would corrode and there were no parts available to replace them with. The power was there, but even still, no matter which way I geared it, the bike was just short and once in top gear there was not much left to it and the bike had to be short shifted as the gearbox was close but this was all on dirt.

I will second the NO e-start. I think it is also a must with a snowbike. My BIL had started with a battery that would not take a charge and it didn't take long before he ordered a new battery as the spots one gets stuck in and the ability to easily kickstart the bike in the snow is not like it is on the dirt, there is deep snow, being off-camber, where kicking is next to impossible. There probably are many who have no e-start but it is a must for me.

 

[M5-]

The CR500 makes a wicked snowbike but they aren't for everybody. Parts are starting to show up in billet now so that's nice. My decompressed CR kicks super easy, easier than the YZ. The trick with riding a kicker is don't mess up and you wont need to kick it. The more you ride the better you will get so it becomes less and less of an issue having to kick. That said my first bike was Estart and I used it a lot.


M5

 

[boondocker97]

How are you burning so much fuel?? I’ll do 30-40km on 10 liters. Have done it a few times now

Also. How do you figure your oil is shot so soon? Me? I’ve done oil analyses of oil I’ve got two hard rides on... came back perfect.

Deep snow conditions will cause that much fuel use. Real deep snow day earlier this year had two friends on newer EFI bikes with us on sleds. They burned through their fuel tanks and the 3 gal cans they were carrying in 2-3 hours at WFO anytime the bikes were running. I burned 5 gallons in my sled in the same amount of time.

"Hard ride" is a subjective term and can vary widely from one person to another. Harder use will take the life out of the oil faster. You've obviously done your due diligence for checking your oil life under the conditions you ride in. Might not be the same for someone else. For example I had a KTM quad and dirt bike at the same time that had the same motor. I ride the quad at an expert level on a motocross track and wring the motor out pretty good for most of the lap. My dirt bike skills are not as good and I rode it on trails. The oil lasted a few hours longer in the bike since it wasn't being revved as hard and didn't have as much of a load on it. I never ran any analysis reports on it, but the transmissions would start getting notchy and not shifting smooth at a certain point. If the analysis said I still had 50% life in the oil at that point I would still be changing it as a missed shift can have high consequences at the wrong time. Some bikes do have problems in the cold with fuel or moisture diluting the oil if they are not set up properly.

 

[laneends]

Alright, I'm learning... Electric start is more than a luxury, got it. I guess maybe I need to save my pennies for a new 300. I'm thinking two stroke of my CRF isn't really a foot option. I like the fact that they are quieter and easy and cheap to rebuild. Biggest downside seems to be that they are carburated, but that seems like something I can deal with.

 

[Ben 500RR-S]

If I were you, I'd run what I have. Get a used kit that will fit and run it and have a blast.

I was lucky in that I bought my dream dual sport bike 02/22/2017 and then saw that Camso had a kit for under $5,000 that fit the bike and got it on this past December. I had the best winter of my life this past winter as the snowbike is as close to heaven that I can get in powersports. More fun than dirtbiking.

Just get a used kit, put it on your bike and go this upcoming winter.

The great guys on here put up with me all this past fall to help me learn what I would need, PST engine jacket, Outerwears filter skin, heated grips, fork protection-all of it. They were all spot-on and I had the time of my life. I even got myself a brand new enclosed v-nose tandem trailer for the snowbikes and the snowmobiles as my open tilt trailer was not cutting it. This time next winter, hopefully you'll have had the experience(s) I had this past year as they were all great. Not one breakdown or broken part, just ride, ride and ride some more.

 

[mrsnow]

06 Ktm

Riding 06 Ktm 450 carbed and the thing runs great not hard starting even when tipped over.
Jd jet kit— had to lean out their setting across the board not sure why but think I could still lean up on pilot and main. Ride 3500 to 8000 but mostly between 5000 7500 need to do a little more testing. Love EFI but carbs can be tweaked to function flawlessly. I will add until I got the jetting right It was hard starting at times
Eng cover. Seems to have eliminated the need for carb heater. Before that the carb would be totally iced over now stays completely clean and it also stoped snow build in my air box along with sealing cracks and holes in it. I used slip sheets off of pallets,for the cover, both sides
they work great u can heat them with a heat gun to form them
Electric grips corked work great. 120 w stator
Thermobob. A must, use rad covers in real cold thinking of going to 180 or190 stat again pieces of slip sheet between guards and rads can be adjusted if necessary however haven’t used all spring.

 

[AZ800]

How are you burning so much fuel?? I’ll do 30-40km on 10 liters. Have done it a few times now

Also. How do you figure your oil is shot so soon? Me? I’ve done oil analyses of oil I’ve got two hard rides on... came back perfect.

If you’re burning close to 3 gal in about 20miles Id estimate that’s about what I use if I’m on the trails following the kids around and don’t play around much in the deep snow. If you’re riding you bike hard you’ll use more than that, no question.
As far as oil goes, before the thermostat, it was overfueled and also milky if it was a powder day. After thermostat , not as much overfueling, except on good powder days where the engine doesn’t have a chance of getting hot (no jacket or rad covers on my bike).
But I don’t need an oil analysis to tell me there’s water and fuel in my oil. And I’ve never seen oil come out of a snowbike after a day of riding that looks anything like it went in. For the $5 in oil idk why I’d spend the money on an oil analyzed unless I was chasing down a problem.
Unfortunately for me though, I only spend about $20 a year in oil......lol
Make it $15 this year.