First Ride Thoughts. Couple Questions

[arctic cat 4 life]

I do not post often but figured I would write about my first experience on a snowbike if anyone is on the fence about one.

Im on a 2019 KTM450 with a 2019 ARO 120. First ride ever! Had about 6” in the parking lot and majority of it was a road ride. Left the parking lot and in the first 5 minutes I ran over a mudflap just barely covered in a dusting of snow. It stuck under my ski, I washed out and bit it pretty hard onto bare asphalt. I was pretty frustrated lifting the bike back up and dusting myself off. Hopped back on and kept on down the road.

As they say, these snowbikes are not fun on the road whatsoever. But I have ridden dirt bikes a long time and remembered to just stay loose and not fight it too much. I stuck to the edges of the roads and this helps A LOT. Makes it much easier.

As we got near the top we were still stuck to the roads. But we had a good 1.5’ - 2’ of heavy powder to play in on the edges. We stumbled upon a an untouched logging road and without hesitation started tearing it up (wish I had my gopro). This sealed the deal for me. I AM ADDICTED! I was fortunate enough to be in front and it was awesome. Wide open throttle carving left to right. Unfortunately the road came to an end. But! There was a small meadow with a short steep hill to get into it. This only made my smile grow, doing a short sidehill and turning up over the hill into the meadow. Its true what they say, you can go anywhere you want. I included a photo of that meadow so you can get an idea of the conditions. My bike is in the background behind the ski doo.

It was an absolute blast. To anyone thinking of jumping into it, do it! You will not regret it one bit.

Question #1
Vibration: Do any of you run the rubber isolation handlebar mounts? I was a little surprised by how much vibration I felt in the bars and the pegs. It felt “normal” but I was thinking maybe I should have expected more when your running the motor like that majority of the day.

Question #2
Chain tension: how often are you adjusting your chain after the first ride? Mine stretched quite a bit, think I adjusted 4 times throughout the day.

Any and all help is much appreciated. Cant wait for next weekend.

 

[cbc76am]

The chain isn't stretching, the plastic sliders are breaking in. That will stop after another ride. Consider trying to take a link out and bring it closer once that is all done grinding into place if you have enough slack. Even if you add a tooth to the sprocket. Tighter track to frame is really a big deal.

The xcgear mako 360 will handle the vibrations, but you should have that much on a 4 stroke to need that. You might have something out of balance.

 

[arctic cat 4 life]

The chain isn't stretching, the plastic sliders are breaking in. That will stop after another ride. Consider trying to take a link out and bring it closer once that is all done grinding into place if you have enough slack. Even if you add a tooth to the sprocket. Tighter track to frame is really a big deal.

The xcgear mako 360 will handle the vibrations, but you should have that much on a 4 stroke to need that. You might have something out of balance.

Oh no kidding. After my next ride I will try and take a link out. I had never heard that.

I re torqued most everything, and gave it a good once over today. Nothing was loose. Suppose I could check track alignment I think Timbersled has a video on how to do that. I noticed the vibration first off and then I think throughout the day I got used to it. Hopped on my buddies 2019 Ski Doo 600 (bone stock) and it was butter smooth. Then back on the snowbike and it was brought back to my attention.

 

[needpowder]

Glad you are loving it! The snow bikes do have a little bit more vibration When I hopped on my new kit this year I thought something was wrong. Now, a couple rides in with more snow and I don’t notice it at all. It’s also much worse on a hard groomer or if you are feeling the pavement under the snow.

 

[arctic cat 4 life]

Glad you are loving it! The snow bikes do have a little bit more vibration When I hopped on my new kit this year I thought something was wrong. Now, a couple rides in with more snow and I don’t notice it at all. It’s also much worse on a hard groomer or if you are feeling the pavement under the snow.

I really am. I am 100% satisfied with the investment. Dying to ride again. I was thinking the same thing. Remembering back to my ride when I was on hard pack is when I noticed it the most. But the second I would jump into the soft stuff on the side of the road I didnt notice it at all.

Oh! Question #3
SEAT: what are you guys running for a more comfortable seat? I did some searching and doesnt look like any recent threads after 2017. But from those threads it sounds like seat concepts or fisher? I was definitely sore after that much seat time on the road!

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

without any other mods, I would not take a link out of the chain, just adjust it. Your chain won't get loose enough to remove a link.

Unless you ride a KTM 450 dual sport riding, snow bike application does seem like it vibrates tooo much. Cruising in fresh snow all you feel is the shaking motor, when you are white knuckle'n triples vibration is not an issue.

You can spend $300-500 on a seat with the custom guys, I have a dirt bike butt after 70 years so the $99 ENDURO ENGINEERING seat feesl wonderful after the stock KTM. The snow bikes stock are tall anyway and a higher seat for someone less thatn 6'3" makes a tall ride.

5 years of modification threads on here to make your ride better, check them out.

 

[tek9tim]

Road riding isn’t bad if the asphalt isn’t just below the snow or if there isn’t an ice crust. Also tuning your suspension to get the right weight balance front to rear makes a big difference, and shimming the ski so the tip points up just a little also makes a big difference. Once you get it set up right, the shelled out roads with medium whoops are actually a blast to ride.

I don’t notice vibration being all that bad, but my other bikes are a 2015 TE300 and a 2000 XR650R, so I’m kind of used to more vibration.

My FC450 came with a Factory Effex tall/cushy seat on it from the PO who had it set up for snow, and it’s been good enough for me, I won’t be swapping it out unless the foam breaks down. I’m only 6’0”, so the tall seat isn’t a requirement, but I’m glad it has the extra foam. I don’t have any trouble with it in the snow, it’s not as useful to be able to touch the ground anyhow. I have a Seat Concepts sport comfort on my TE300, and a full-on Seat Concepts dirt sofa tall/mega cushy seat on my XR650R, and I highly recommend the Seat Concepts. You’re sitting 98% of the time on a snowbike, it’s worth the investment in something better. To wrap it up and clear the conflicting recommendations, you don’t have to spend the money on the Seat Concepts to get a good seat, but even if you can find a spruce 2x4, it’ll be softer than the stock KTM/Husky seats.

 

[cbc76am]

without any other mods, I would not take a link out of the chain, just adjust it. Your chain won't get loose enough to remove a link.

Unless you ride a KTM 450 dual sport riding, snow bike application does seem like it vibrates tooo much. Cruising in fresh snow all you feel is the shaking motor, when you are white knuckle'n triples vibration is not an issue.

You can spend $300-500 on a seat with the custom guys, I have a dirt bike butt after 70 years so the $99 ENDURO ENGINEERING seat feesl wonderful after the stock KTM. The snow bikes stock are tall anyway and a higher seat for someone less thatn 6'3" makes a tall ride.

5 years of modification threads on here to make your ride better, check them out.

agree it won't make enough room to pull a link for now, but after a season the chin sliders will finally be worn enough to do so, and when you can move the skid up it's worth it's weight in gold to the performance. if you are half way back in the slots on the chain adjuster you will be losing the handling quickly.

 

[G-Force]

Was my maiden voyage yesterday as well. Found a lot of the same things as AC4L.. My bike is a new, holdover '18 KTM 450SX, with a TS Riot, so for all intents and purposes, quite similar. Same vibration, sketchy on the trails etc..
Bit of a learning curve after almost 40 years of sledding habits formed haha. That being said, as soon as there was any more than 5 or 6" of untouched snow, wow what a treat! just floated along, outstanding.

Don' reckon I'll get crazy on iso damping bars or such just yet, get a bunch of seat time first.. and that's a nice segue to your question about the seat.. I went with a Seat Concepts snow saddle in the X-tra Wide, and of all the things sore on my today, my butt is not among them,
so job well done SC !

 

[cbc76am]

My first snowbike ride in 2016 I thought I had made a mistake and was going to get a sled. Once the snow is deep and you loosen up and let the front end do its thing you'll love it. Setup will take a lot of trail and error and reading threads on here. Make time to explore the forums.

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

an often over looked comfort/handing mod, take 2-3" out of your forks, n i c e.... oh yeah so nice, the bikes we buy are cast off motocross bikes in one form or another made for a world so far from snow and your riding skills you have to make this things work for you, 12" of KTM or Yam fork travel stuck up in the air in front that you will never use is of zero minus zero value. A lower more agile better handling setup is a real prize. You won't be able to use the same strut lengths, but have I proven to myself and others over and over, tall pickups roll over, and tall snow bikes fall over. If tall bikes handled better, all road race bikes would have 60" seat heights.

 

[arctic cat 4 life]

Was my maiden voyage yesterday as well. Found a lot of the same things as AC4L.. My bike is a new, holdover '18 KTM 450SX, with a TS Riot, so for all intents and purposes, quite similar. Same vibration, sketchy on the trails etc..
Bit of a learning curve after almost 40 years of sledding habits formed haha. That being said, as soon as there was any more than 5 or 6" of untouched snow, wow what a treat! just floated along, outstanding.

Don' reckon I'll get crazy on iso damping bars or such just yet, get a bunch of seat time first.. and that's a nice segue to your question about the seat.. I went with a Seat Concepts snow saddle in the X-tra Wide, and of all the things sore on my today, my butt is not among them,
so job well done SC !

Great to hear you enjoyed it as well! I am ordering a Seat Concepts tonight.

After reading many threads about the factory batteries I was pleased to have no issues starting the bike. Transporting in an enclosed trailer helps id imagine. Also, riding in Western WA we dont see extremely cold temps. First start in the trailer coolant temp was 41 Fahrenheit and outside temp was 29 Fahrenheit no issues whatsoever. But running no engine jacket was a mistake. Road riding I was around 180-200 but the second I jumped into any powder it dropped quickly. I saw temps as low as 110 for extended periods. Ordering an engine jacket asap.

 

[cbc76am]

an often over looked comfort/handing mod, take 2-3" out of your forks, n i c e.... oh yeah so nice, the bikes we buy are cast off motocross bikes in one form or another made for a world so far from snow and your riding skills you have to make this things work for you, 12" of KTM or Yam fork travel stuck up in the air in front that you will never use is of zero minus zero value. A lower more agile better handling setup is a real prize. You won't be able to use the same strut lengths, but have I proven to myself and others over and over, tall pickups roll over, and tall snow bikes fall over. If tall bikes handled better, all road race bikes would have 60" seat heights.

Are dropping in the clamps or actually lowering the forks with top out spacers behind the mid valve?

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

I have dropped my KTM's by putting spacers in side the forks. I helped another KTM rider with tall bar risers and pulled back bar postition just slip his forks up in his triple clamps almost 2". We had to shorten his strut about 3/8 of and inch to get back to same ski load. He'll be playing with that I am sure the next couple of rides. Too much powder to really evaluate climbing and ski pressure trade off right now in W Mt.