Okay guys thinking about next winter...wanting to build the best possible snowbike for my wife and daughter to play on. Looking for the lightest/most agile setup for riders that weigh 130lbs or less. I'm thinking either 250 2 stroke or 350 4 stroke. Also thinking either the RIOT S or ARO S because they work well and are a little shorter. Thoughts?
Daughter/wife ultimate bike build???
- Thread starter norsepeak
- Start date
We own both bikes.. the 350 is the easiest to ride and the yz250 is the lightest but needs an aggressive rider. My 13 year old has rode the yz since he was 11 and is currently about 130. The 350 has estart which is huge for a beginner.
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Here is a link with my son riding the yz... you can hear how hard you are running the yz... I find my wife will not run it like that because she thinks she will break something... things of course way steeper than it looks.
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According to the KTM website, there is less than 2 lbs difference between the 350sxf and 450sxf. I'd go with the 450, the weight difference is minimal and the added low-end power will make it much easier for a timid rider that doesn't want to rev it out.
I'd pair it with an ARO s. The low seat height is huge, and the ARO is a super stable and easy to ride platform.
I'd pair it with an ARO s. The low seat height is huge, and the ARO is a super stable and easy to ride platform.
We have a 450 also.... it feels the heaviest and does not freerev anywhere near the 350.. honestly its my sons last choice of our 3 bikes and my first choice... now the 450 with a 130 pound person would be zero maintenance.
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My 15yr old is dieing for a snowbike. He's moving up to a 125 this year and I was thinking of trying a 120 track. Should be really light and nimble in the trees for him. Seeing how well a buddy of mine does on his 250 with a 129 track I think it would have enough power to work fine at his weight.
Man at 15 I would put him on a 450 unless your looking for a bike to run year around... 120 track all day long.. my son runs the 129 ss and likes it better than my freeride.. but with my fat butt on the ss it likes to trench. So me at 230 on a modified 450sxf on a freeride and my son on a 2 stroke yz250 with the ss climb very equally..
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It will be his next dirt bike just moving up from a kx100. He was a late bloomer and is just in his growth spurt now. He rides a ton of dirt biking but the winter use will be much less as he is a big skier as well.
He is a fast aggressive rider, likes to ride a fair bit of mx as well and I don't want him to miss out on the joys of wringing out a 125.
I could maybe throw a kit on my Rm250 for him but that's my baby.
4 strokes aren't in the cards for me, I'm a 2 stroke diehard and my son is on the same page.
Then I would get a cheap 250 2 stroke and leave it as a snowbike... use the 125 on wheels... thats what we do.. 125 on the snow just won't do it. We dirtbike and race through the winter so we could not swap back and forth.
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Im running a 350 on a CMX and a friend has a 350 on an ARO S. They are good bikes but as stated above your not really gaining anything over a 450. less HP and way less torque. It is a little more agile than a 450 but not worth the power loss imo. We both only ride them because they are our summer bikes. A 250/300 2T would be a good option as long has it was E-start. Check out Super Hero Builds on here. He made a BB 250 and it turned out great. You gain a little weight savings but not a lot. They would require a slightly more aggressive rider though and more maintenance.
Far as kits the ARO S or Riot S would both be good options. They are 20 or so lbs heavier than a yeti but the low height and price I think would make up for that. Biggest thing will be not running a big gas tank or gas can and keeping storage to a minimum. My bike gained almost 50lbs with everything on it.
Far as kits the ARO S or Riot S would both be good options. They are 20 or so lbs heavier than a yeti but the low height and price I think would make up for that. Biggest thing will be not running a big gas tank or gas can and keeping storage to a minimum. My bike gained almost 50lbs with everything on it.
Unfortunately there are no 120 nimble kits on the market. All are tooo heavy. If on a budget, the suggestion to get an older yz or rm 250, pickup a used kit and lower the shocks will be tons of fun and after that throwing another 10k at the project won't get you anything more nimble. When I built a yz250 snobike I played with pipes and carbs and the most fun was the YZ with max grunt on the bottom for ease of riding and still pulled on top.
To me the fact is kids pick things up quick and if they want and love snowbiking they will make anything work and will learn incredibly fast. Touching really was never an issue after the first three rides... now same goes for the wife... if she is going just to go with the family then you have to make it as easy as possible...if she truly loves snowbiking and dirtbikes regularly then she should pick it up quick. To date my son still can't touch and leaves the icey parking lot without issue.... initially he would fall here and there but that does not happen anymore. I still think the easiest kit to learn on is the camso... when I had that kit in the arsenal newbies always wanted to ride that over the timbersled and yeti.... now the new lower timbersled I don't know.
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I started my 13 yo daughter on a XCF 250/Mtn. Horse 120 last year. She was a very novice dirt rider and the 250 worked for her in the mountians for about 4 rides, then she was needing more. This year she rides an SXF 450/ARO 120 and rips the hills/deep powder like she's been doing it for years. My wife rode the 250 for the first time last weekend and did well. Weight wise the 250, 350, 450, 500 are all very similar. IMO don't waste your time with anything less than 350. They will need to upgrade quickly. That being said, I have no experience with the 2 stroke snowbikes. The S models would be ideal! Good luck and have patience with them!!
Working on a ktm freeride 350 for the wife. Sorry for not having any better pictures. I hope it will be south off 100 kg when finiched. Rideheight about 87cm.
It is the cutest! ?
It is the cutest! ?
Thanks for the feedback guys. All have made some valid points. Thinking I'm going 450 and Aro S for the wife for next year. Daughter might able to yet another season out of her XR100, we'll see how much she grows this year...so far she's been growing like a weed!!!
More details on that monorail Tedesled haha
You may already know this but just in case you don't you can turn any ARO or Riot into an S for about $800. Timbersled makes a lowering kit so if you find a older new/used ARO or Riot for a good price its worth buying and saving a few $$$
Well...happened to fall into a smokin deal on a brand new 2018 Husky FX 450 today that I couldn't pass up, so I guess we're building a 450 for next season..lol
Thats a terrible bike!!! Id be glad to take it off your hands while you look for another...... Jk. Thats exactly the bike Im looking for
