Would like a post for everyone to do a review of their season, how was your kit and bike, things that need changed and how it worked. What are you doing for next year? Really interested in the mototrax guys final thoughts
End of season review thread
- Thread starter Grr
- Start date
D
dieselpower
Well-known member
Ran a yz450f bored out to 500, pc2, hi-comp head, stage 2 cams on a yeti 137 with almost every 2017 update (track, titanium, etc).
Ended up gearing up the front sprocket which made 2nd and 3rd much more exciting but lost too much on the bottom end.
Notes:
Still not enough power to turn a 137 track in the deep.
Runs too hot in the spring, too cold in the winter.
Yeti 137 is a good platform but the camso track is a massive step forward.
Next Year
Snow Checked 129SS, planning on 625 aluminum frame build build this summer
Ended up gearing up the front sprocket which made 2nd and 3rd much more exciting but lost too much on the bottom end.
Notes:
Still not enough power to turn a 137 track in the deep.
Runs too hot in the spring, too cold in the winter.
Yeti 137 is a good platform but the camso track is a massive step forward.
Next Year
Snow Checked 129SS, planning on 625 aluminum frame build build this summer
'14 Husky 450 FC, '16 TS LT. Big change this year was the PR2 ECU. Prior to that the bike was bumming me out--running poorly, popping, choking out, etc. The PR2 solved all of that. Pretty psyched. The kit is doing great--about 80 hours on it, and it's fine. I'll probably go ST next time because while the LT is an advantage 10 days a year, the loss of mobility is noticeable. I set up a Yeti for a buddy and it's cool, but every time we go out on the TS we ask, what else do people want these things to do? Arrow/Indian...
16YZ 450FX w/TS LT TSS.
Love this bike! Came off of a CR500 last year with the same kit. Loved that bike too but it got destroyed. Anyway, 91.6 hrs on the meter with 5 on dirt. Bike ran flawless all season. Not quite the power of the cr but real close. Im gonna go through the engine at the end of the season. Hopefully have over 100 hrs.--we've got lots of snow left.
I'll replace piston, rings, and whatever else is worn. Going to put new bearings in the TS kit and run it again next year (probably). Really intrigued by the 129 yeti ss with camso track but it's just not in the budget right now.
Only addition will be the pr2. Tried to buy it this year but it wasn't ready for the fx. Oy ya, and a bunch of cosmetic damage to fix��
Love this bike! Came off of a CR500 last year with the same kit. Loved that bike too but it got destroyed. Anyway, 91.6 hrs on the meter with 5 on dirt. Bike ran flawless all season. Not quite the power of the cr but real close. Im gonna go through the engine at the end of the season. Hopefully have over 100 hrs.--we've got lots of snow left.
I'll replace piston, rings, and whatever else is worn. Going to put new bearings in the TS kit and run it again next year (probably). Really intrigued by the 129 yeti ss with camso track but it's just not in the budget right now.
Only addition will be the pr2. Tried to buy it this year but it wasn't ready for the fx. Oy ya, and a bunch of cosmetic damage to fix��
Last edited:
I ran my 17' mototrax all year and in a good range of conditions. I rode quite a lot with a fellow who rides the 16' version too. I can say that the kit did well all things considered. There were a few issues, a few breakages, and I quite disagreed with how the factory dealt with some things, but in the end, the kit never left me stranded and it was a heck of a blast to ride. I'm not sold on the ski performance though, so I replaced it with a yeti ski which is far superior in powder, but isn't ideal in all conditions either. There may not be a perfect ski, but rather skis that work better and worse on different days. I feel the ski will be the main focus for manufacturers moving forward.
The update parts work well and make a noticeable improvement in ride quality and strength. So, get those if you have this kit.
For me, I would buy again simply because I feel like it was a good value and I'm not planning on selling. If I was planning on selling, well, I doubt I could at this point. But I've got many more seasons of use on this kit I think, and it looks to be able to handle it.
Here we are with the 16&17 kits and all those tracks are ours. Can't complain at all. Very fun!
The update parts work well and make a noticeable improvement in ride quality and strength. So, get those if you have this kit.
For me, I would buy again simply because I feel like it was a good value and I'm not planning on selling. If I was planning on selling, well, I doubt I could at this point. But I've got many more seasons of use on this kit I think, and it looks to be able to handle it.
Here we are with the 16&17 kits and all those tracks are ours. Can't complain at all. Very fun!
Last edited:
14 250sx 120 mototrax
Got my mototrax 120 enduro half way through the winter. 12 or so full day rides. Kit was awesome wore out a set of brake pads " think the foot brake was getting drug". 1 tooth bigger front sprocket and I was running with the 300's. I rode along side timbersleds, a custom build, camso's and a few other mototrax and mine never missed a beat. Got most of the updates and the kit is solid. Looking to try a timbersleds ski as I am not sold on the mototrax ski. Only real gripe would be how much I destroyed my plastics on the trees.
One happy snowbiker.
Got my mototrax 120 enduro half way through the winter. 12 or so full day rides. Kit was awesome wore out a set of brake pads " think the foot brake was getting drug". 1 tooth bigger front sprocket and I was running with the 300's. I rode along side timbersleds, a custom build, camso's and a few other mototrax and mine never missed a beat. Got most of the updates and the kit is solid. Looking to try a timbersleds ski as I am not sold on the mototrax ski. Only real gripe would be how much I destroyed my plastics on the trees.
One happy snowbiker.09 kx450f 2017 mototrax enduro 120. Got kit early in season rode beside a ts 120 all season. Had no problems going where he did. Got updates before anything broke. Rode much better after updates. Only complaint was ski switched to yeti mid season. Much better. Only missed 2 weekends since christmas, burning almost 5gal. Of gas each ride
CR500 1997 motor with electric start, Vforce 2 reeds with spacer, 39 PWK, N head, played with a Fatty and the Gnarly pipe, was on a Timbersled Raw kit. My Kit worked perfect and never had a problem. My bike ran great but the electric start still has some bugs to work out. The bike runs really hot in the spring but fine in the deep powder.
For next year I will be basically leaving that bike alone aside from the addition of a tunnel cooler and working the bugs out of the electric start.
I will be building another one for next year, this will be a CR500 powered bike in a 2008 KTM frame. The motor will have all the same mods as the other bike but will ride on a close ratio 1992 tranny and this one will be running a '16 TS LT kit.
For next year I will be basically leaving that bike alone aside from the addition of a tunnel cooler and working the bugs out of the electric start.
I will be building another one for next year, this will be a CR500 powered bike in a 2008 KTM frame. The motor will have all the same mods as the other bike but will ride on a close ratio 1992 tranny and this one will be running a '16 TS LT kit.
First year on a snowbike so lots of on-the-job training for this newbie.
2015 WR 450 with all recommended mods. Still down on power compared to full-on mx bikes, but since it is a 4 season bike for me I am still happy with my choice. Electric start worked every time and the wide ration transmission is not as big of a deal as some make it out to be.
Moto Trax Enduro 2017 model. Had one day go sideways due to derailment issues because the aluminum slider bushing wore out and the track tension air ram broke off. They stood behind everything that broke, and sent me the replacement parts before the next weekend including the billet axle stays for track tension. I also opted for the racer upgrade kit mid season which drastically changed the "feel" of the whole kit in my opinion. At this point, I am back to feeling confident in the design and durability of the kit. Satisfied with my return on investment.
The biggest limiting factor I see is the track. There is NO DOUBT that my 120 did NOT go as well as a TS 120 side by side. There is no denying that in the deep powder, the 2 inch paddle is outshined by its bigger brothers. So much so, in fact, the lack of power in my motor was never an issue. I would lose traction and spin out way before I needed extra ponies. I would love to see a deeper paddle as an option in the near future.
As far as the ski goes, I am happy with the overall performance. My initial issues were based an improper fit kit that put the ski pivot ahead of the axle by almost two inches. Once I was able to move the ski back, the trail and hard pack manners were on par with everyone else's ski. In the deepest powder, the Yeti ski is absolutely better - but the trade-off is that it is probably the worst one in the spring conditions. My main riding partner uses his TS ski for the first few rides, then switches to the Yeti for the powder season, then back to the TS for the set-up spring snow. Again, for what I paid for my kit - I am extremely satisfied.
Probably had close to 300 miles of riding this season which is a decent amount since most of our riding areas start at the tailgate of the truck. Not much trail time around here.
Really looking forward to the next season as I feel like I learned a lot this year. Most of my "oh crap" moments were rider induced and not because of any shortcomings on my equipment. I hope you guys and gals had a great season. See you next year!!
2015 WR 450 with all recommended mods. Still down on power compared to full-on mx bikes, but since it is a 4 season bike for me I am still happy with my choice. Electric start worked every time and the wide ration transmission is not as big of a deal as some make it out to be.
Moto Trax Enduro 2017 model. Had one day go sideways due to derailment issues because the aluminum slider bushing wore out and the track tension air ram broke off. They stood behind everything that broke, and sent me the replacement parts before the next weekend including the billet axle stays for track tension. I also opted for the racer upgrade kit mid season which drastically changed the "feel" of the whole kit in my opinion. At this point, I am back to feeling confident in the design and durability of the kit. Satisfied with my return on investment.
The biggest limiting factor I see is the track. There is NO DOUBT that my 120 did NOT go as well as a TS 120 side by side. There is no denying that in the deep powder, the 2 inch paddle is outshined by its bigger brothers. So much so, in fact, the lack of power in my motor was never an issue. I would lose traction and spin out way before I needed extra ponies. I would love to see a deeper paddle as an option in the near future.
As far as the ski goes, I am happy with the overall performance. My initial issues were based an improper fit kit that put the ski pivot ahead of the axle by almost two inches. Once I was able to move the ski back, the trail and hard pack manners were on par with everyone else's ski. In the deepest powder, the Yeti ski is absolutely better - but the trade-off is that it is probably the worst one in the spring conditions. My main riding partner uses his TS ski for the first few rides, then switches to the Yeti for the powder season, then back to the TS for the set-up spring snow. Again, for what I paid for my kit - I am extremely satisfied.
Probably had close to 300 miles of riding this season which is a decent amount since most of our riding areas start at the tailgate of the truck. Not much trail time around here.
Really looking forward to the next season as I feel like I learned a lot this year. Most of my "oh crap" moments were rider induced and not because of any shortcomings on my equipment. I hope you guys and gals had a great season. See you next year!!
First year snowbiker. 2015 KTM 450 SXF Ryan Dungey with a 16.5 Yeti 129 kit. The kit was great with no problems. The ski works really well. My problems were with how the bike ran in the cold. I also purchased a PR2 ECU which cured the all of the problems, made better and more power in the low, mid and high range. It also made the bike use way less fuel which resulted in much cleaner oil. I ran it in the #3 map most of the time which sets the rev limiter at 11,700 RPM. i could pull hills in one or two higher gears after I installed it. My problems were with fork seals blowing using the AirPro setup (remedied when I put in stiffer springs), having a fuel filter plug up resulting in a tow out and nothing else. I love the Yeti 129 for the riding that I do. I didn't ride the new (18) TS but I heard really good things about it. I will see how it works next year and may pull the trigger on one. I wish that they made it in a 129 though. I don't really want a 137 or a 120. I think that the 129 is the best all around track length choice.
I forgot to add that the RSS shock on the Yeti kit is garbage. It is a bicycle shock. I hope that somebody comes up with an aftermarket shock that works for it or maybe Yeti will admit that it is worthless and come up with one. Maybe they will even replace the shocks on the kits that people spent high dollar prices on. That would be nice. if you are building the most expensive kit, it should have top quality components which it does except for that absurd shock.
C
capulin overdrive
Well-known member
Rider 1999 and ogcgraham, 3 and 5 posts... not buying it. post up some photos.
Also, season has 2 or 3 months leftfar from over
40 inch of fresh for CO this weekend, so yeah!
Other than being very happy with the PR 2 ECU, don't got much to report.
Built a 2 stroke this season, and love riding it, but being old and grumpy I wasn't overly thrilled with the extra work it took over a thumper.
And love the Yeti ski, can be grabby in wet snow, but so great in pow and on the trail.
1992 CR500. Probably put over 80 hours or more on the motor this season. Bike didn't miss a beat. It'll get new reeds and a top end this summer plus whatever else I might find. Only issue was typical CR500 vibration things. These bike like to self destruct. It destroyed my GPS and I can't keep lights on it, the LEDs just break apart. I lost an engine mount bolt completely one day and cracked my pipe. Welded it up then go again. The 1992 steel frame is a full up chopper. Chopper forks with Yeti ski really climb up on top of the dry pow but the setup sucks balls in the spring. Hopefully the new YZ with a short track will be a better spring bike. I'm not sure I can bring myself to sell the 500, the YZ going to have to really win me over before that happens.
I rode an FX with a Camso for a few hours last season. Its a very easy relaxing ride compared to the 500 but it won't climb with the 500. We called it the Duramax because it tractors along like a diesel. The Camso kit is going to need some more work before I pull the trigger on one of those.
Side note my buddy who is trying for 100 days this season has put a bunch of time on the new 18 TS. Says its a really nice kit but its fricken expensive here in Canada.
M5
I rode an FX with a Camso for a few hours last season. Its a very easy relaxing ride compared to the 500 but it won't climb with the 500. We called it the Duramax because it tractors along like a diesel. The Camso kit is going to need some more work before I pull the trigger on one of those.
Side note my buddy who is trying for 100 days this season has put a bunch of time on the new 18 TS. Says its a really nice kit but its fricken expensive here in Canada.
M5
Last edited:
M5
my 500 the light stayed intact all season other than me bending the mount once from a little over the bars get off....mine is a Baja designs but our sponser for Baja stuff just bought me a set of Task Racing helmet lights and the are where it is at, they go where I look not where the handlebars are pointed and it's awesome. They last about 4 hours with both lights lit on high and I have 4 battery packs so thats pretty close to a full night of running. I had no vibration issues other than one bolt off y brake caliper loosened up and I tightened it. I crack pipes from time to time on all my 500's.
my 500 the light stayed intact all season other than me bending the mount once from a little over the bars get off....mine is a Baja designs but our sponser for Baja stuff just bought me a set of Task Racing helmet lights and the are where it is at, they go where I look not where the handlebars are pointed and it's awesome. They last about 4 hours with both lights lit on high and I have 4 battery packs so thats pretty close to a full night of running. I had no vibration issues other than one bolt off y brake caliper loosened up and I tightened it. I crack pipes from time to time on all my 500's.
I have a helmet light as well, that's all I'm going to use. I've given up on any thoughts of running anything electrical on the 500. The lighting coil is a joke so basically I've decided why bother.
M5
M5
always something
this last winter was a new bike new kit year for me so lots of mods to get back to a relaxed ride with no stopping to try and make changes.
what I found was:
ktm 500 xcw was rock solid, start in any weather, snow tractor
1st year on 2.5" ts short track 2014 kit all good
re valving my shocks twice for more compression and rebound was a big help
sorted out my ski handling by mid Feb big big step
added a full on older cat heat exchanger with left radiator gone, huge improvement in the late season hot weather corn snow and I am looking forward to a more even temp running bike in the early season fluff
geared up twice, all better
enduro engineering seat was well spent money
higher bars with further back seating was a big comfort upgrade and handling up grade
rode every weekend Dec through mid april sometimes more, good snow overall, short on sunny days in Jan/Feb.........lots of fun
this last winter was a new bike new kit year for me so lots of mods to get back to a relaxed ride with no stopping to try and make changes.
what I found was:
ktm 500 xcw was rock solid, start in any weather, snow tractor
1st year on 2.5" ts short track 2014 kit all good
re valving my shocks twice for more compression and rebound was a big help
sorted out my ski handling by mid Feb big big step
added a full on older cat heat exchanger with left radiator gone, huge improvement in the late season hot weather corn snow and I am looking forward to a more even temp running bike in the early season fluff
geared up twice, all better
enduro engineering seat was well spent money
higher bars with further back seating was a big comfort upgrade and handling up grade
rode every weekend Dec through mid april sometimes more, good snow overall, short on sunny days in Jan/Feb.........lots of fun
