So I'm in the air of getting a bike to try out this snowbiking, being from Canada we havnt had a good snow fall for over 3 years, so buying a new sled is not an option for me, always wanted to get a bike. atleast I can ride it year round now. what kind of bikes do you suggest buying for a snowbike kit?, not wanting to buy brand new but around that 14-15 range. wanting efi,
First time snowbiker
- Thread starter lynx1993
- Start date
Really depends where you are located and where you will ride
its tricky situation. where do you live? what trails do you ride? age? skills?
id say a big ktm 450SXF or yz450F would be a great snowbike... but if youre riding tight single track all summer youre gonna hate life. and vice versa. if you want an easy summer riding, tame 2 stroke 250xc , itll make for a lame snowbike.
I think a lot of guys who make these snowbikes, keep them as permanent snowbikes.
I think one season as a snowbike, then converting to a dirtbike all summer.. would almost guarantee a rebuild needed next winter/snowbike season. maybe even in the middle of the trail. not cool. it really depends how much and hardcore you ride.
id say a big ktm 450SXF or yz450F would be a great snowbike... but if youre riding tight single track all summer youre gonna hate life. and vice versa. if you want an easy summer riding, tame 2 stroke 250xc , itll make for a lame snowbike.
I think a lot of guys who make these snowbikes, keep them as permanent snowbikes.
I think one season as a snowbike, then converting to a dirtbike all summer.. would almost guarantee a rebuild needed next winter/snowbike season. maybe even in the middle of the trail. not cool. it really depends how much and hardcore you ride.
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I live on a farm so there wouldn't be any trail riding, mostly field and in valleys.. do the bikes require rebuild after so many hours,
I live on a farm so there wouldn't be any trail riding, mostly field and in valleys.. do the bikes require rebuild after so many hours,
For your situation a camso kit and a yz450fx would be top choice for usefulness and cheap price.
The fx for electric start and a bit better gearing for open area
The fx for electric start and a bit better gearing for open area
I never even tried to go back and forth with the snowbike thing...it's a cool idea and I know some do but for me thats just not happening. We go on droughts sometimes for a few weeks in the winter or get rain instead of snow...I don't want to miss good conditions dirtbiking, and I don't want to miss good snow conditions either. If I was going to use my bike for both this is what I think I would do.
Buy either a KTM or the Yamaha...as stated electric start and FI must haves.
I would have an extra subframe with airbox ready to swap back and forth with whatever mods were necessary to get the airbox to work for snow...I think if you are Yamaha you can skip this step, not sure.
I would have an extra front brake master cylinder leave it hooked to the snow kit and my other one hooked to the swingarm shock setup.
I would either use an airpro set up or have an additional set of forks all sprung up for the snow bike.
If you had all the pieces separate to go back and forth you could swap in under 2 hours I think, that would be required for me, I'm pretty into my moto time, especially the chocolate cake, and I have become a junky for the snowbike...for me I just have to have both.
I also think the "you get 2 for the price of one" is a good sales tactic, but the price I see on used sleds looks like I could have a pretty decent sled and a pretty nice dirtbike for about the same price as a well set up snowbike. Don't get me wrong I love the snowbike and I am better on one than I will ever be on a snomobile but the more time I spend on a snowbike the more I am thinking I might want a sled too.
Better get back to work to pay for all this chit.
Buy either a KTM or the Yamaha...as stated electric start and FI must haves.
I would have an extra subframe with airbox ready to swap back and forth with whatever mods were necessary to get the airbox to work for snow...I think if you are Yamaha you can skip this step, not sure.
I would have an extra front brake master cylinder leave it hooked to the snow kit and my other one hooked to the swingarm shock setup.
I would either use an airpro set up or have an additional set of forks all sprung up for the snow bike.
If you had all the pieces separate to go back and forth you could swap in under 2 hours I think, that would be required for me, I'm pretty into my moto time, especially the chocolate cake, and I have become a junky for the snowbike...for me I just have to have both.
I also think the "you get 2 for the price of one" is a good sales tactic, but the price I see on used sleds looks like I could have a pretty decent sled and a pretty nice dirtbike for about the same price as a well set up snowbike. Don't get me wrong I love the snowbike and I am better on one than I will ever be on a snomobile but the more time I spend on a snowbike the more I am thinking I might want a sled too.
Better get back to work to pay for all this chit.
It took me 1 hour and 10 minutes to swap my yammi from my Snowtech kit back to wheels. That included changing countershaft sprocket and bleeding the front brake, and it was my first time doing it. Yamaha is so easy once you have everything set split the master link and don’t even have to adjust chain tension from snow to dirt.
As stated get another front master and it would be even faster
As stated get another front master and it would be even faster
Bingo!!! I'm not a Yamaha guy but have a fair amount of seat time on my buddies setup like this in the summer and winter. I believe this is the best setup for those wishing to have a dual season setup. If I was switching back and forth I would go with the following.
-2016 yz450fx (some new hold overs still available)
- camso dts 129
- yeti intake for snow, stock for dirt
- run helmet light instead of light bar
- thermobob (leave on in the summer but just watch temps)
- rad guards
- bark busters
- temp meter
- seat concepts seat
- skid plate
- engine jacket
This will put you around that 14k CAD brand new mark and would be very efficient to switch back and forth. As stated we have a guy in our group with this exact package and it performs very well for the price tag. Some of us are almost 40k into our builds and there has not been a single time that we have been held up or limited riding with him. He might not pull the same lines or get to the destination the same way but always hangs right in there and has a big smile on his face and whole lot more jingle in his jeans at the end of the season.
This is a no brainer in my eyes.
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whats the camso kit like compared to a lower end timberkit?
Bike
WINTER USE SUMMER USE
YAMAHA FX 450 KTM XC 300
KTM SX 450. KTM XCF 350
KTM XCF 450. KTM XCF 450
KTM XCF 350. YAMAHA FX 450
KTM XC 300. KTM SX 450
So it definitely depends on what type of summer riding you want to do for this list, but if you want to eventually ride technically challenging single track the list stands. As far as kits go they are all good newer is generally better. But then again there may not be enough beer in Canada to settle this debate!
WINTER USE SUMMER USE
YAMAHA FX 450 KTM XC 300
KTM SX 450. KTM XCF 350
KTM XCF 450. KTM XCF 450
KTM XCF 350. YAMAHA FX 450
KTM XC 300. KTM SX 450
So it definitely depends on what type of summer riding you want to do for this list, but if you want to eventually ride technically challenging single track the list stands. As far as kits go they are all good newer is generally better. But then again there may not be enough beer in Canada to settle this debate!
From what I heard it’s probably going to be a ktm 450 or a yammy 450. How are the engines in the bikes? Do they require rebuild after so many
hours? I know my race sled I
would freshen the top end up every couple years with a new
pistons and rings...... I
wouldn’t be takin a bike to a track or nothing like that. Basically just rip around the
farm.
hours? I know my race sled I
would freshen the top end up every couple years with a new
pistons and rings...... I
wouldn’t be takin a bike to a track or nothing like that. Basically just rip around the
farm.
The Yz 450 f is a easy to live with bike , suspension is easy to soften up on the clickers for just fun riding -- Kickstart is a non issue wheels or track kit they start easy and here is the big one -- they are relatively easy to dum down by pulling Ignition timing and adding fuel for summer use, this will make it way more ridable for running around the farm. You need a Yamaha tuner so you can put in the winter map for the track kit and summer map for wheels.Keep the Filters clean and oil changed often--You probably have lots of 10-40 diesel oil
and it should be good for around 200 hrs before you need to do a top end
I build some very good soft maps to keep this brute ridable.
Just remember this is one powerful bike for use on wheels, the one I have on the snow bike was bought of a guy who was going to make it into a snow bike. Before he got there he took it out on wheels and promptly destroyed one knee. He Needs a full rebuild on his right knee and will be out for 2 Seasons.
Them 450s are wild rides on wheels. Use the power tuner and dum it down -- way down and it will still be silly powerful -- they demand respect -- unless you are a pro motocross rider
and it should be good for around 200 hrs before you need to do a top end I build some very good soft maps to keep this brute ridable.
Just remember this is one powerful bike for use on wheels, the one I have on the snow bike was bought of a guy who was going to make it into a snow bike. Before he got there he took it out on wheels and promptly destroyed one knee. He Needs a full rebuild on his right knee and will be out for 2 Seasons.
Them 450s are wild rides on wheels. Use the power tuner and dum it down -- way down and it will still be silly powerful -- they demand respect -- unless you are a pro motocross rider
I might go with the 2018 YZ450F and a Camso kit. Can get both for 14 000 , how are the Camso kits even? I plan to take it to the mountains, and ride around here in fields. Also what would I have to do to the bike to ride it in winter? How do they run in cold temps?
Plenty of info on here that answers all of those questions. The list that I gave for the fx would be applicable to the yz as well. Camso is great for pretty well everything other than smashing through woops and taking big hits and drops. It will take it and hold up but just doesnt soak it up like some of the other kits. That 18yz is gonna be a mean bike in the summer if just bootn around the farm and valleys. It will be the better snowbike hands down though.
