snowbike vs snowhawk?

[mxracer299]

I've been riding snowbikes for 5 years now and I have been thinking about getting a 600 or 800 snowhawk for something different. Who has experience with both and what are the pros/cons of a snowhawk vs a snowbike? It looks to me like they need the ski, track and ergonomics addressed to work right but I haven't ridden one so I really don't know.

 

[Norma Stitz]

I dunno either but I bought a 503 snowhawk to play with so I have something for friends and also a backup in case my snowbike goes down. For me the big plus was cost, as I'm only into the hawk for about 2300$ with upgrades and rebuilt engine, vs 10k$+ for a snowbike.

 

[Hawkster]

It's a completely different animal , bikes you man handle these you don't . The more you fight it the sooner you'll walk away .

 

[off road rider]

Snowhawk rider for many years, still own one but I prefer the bikes.
I find the bike much easier to ride. The hawks a chore, Until you learn how to really ride it,the power is nice. They need mods IMO to make them work correctly and change the rider Ergo's, both easy to do.
If you ride open areas the hawk shines with its ability to slide and pull donuts etc, an absolute blast! Rides somewhat like a jetski.
Its a love/ hate relationship for me. Love the power, the sliding etc, hate moving that heavy biotch around and working on it.
The bikes are much more nimble, rule in the trees and are easy to move around ..
the answer... have both!

The future of our sport is a blend of the two.. similar to what Les Blocker is doing..

 

[mxracer299]

Thanks for the info guys. I think I'll stick with my plan of building an E-start cr500 snowbike to replace my 450 and maybe pick up a hawk to tinker with.

 

[AZ800]

mullet vs whatever hair style is in vogue now

 

[idahoskiguy]

Great in the "Right Conditions"

Bought a SnowHawk 600 HO when they first came out and also acquired a used 503 air-cooled so I could take friends out. In the right conditions the Hawks are great! Deep powder, trees, boon docking they beat a sled all day long. As has been pointed out they are heavy, can not be man handled, must be ridden with finesse and are hard to move about. Sold them two years ago to a guy from BC who could ride from his backdoor into the "right conditions" and not have to ride much trail. Riding on the trail is not where the Hawks shine and we always seemed to be riding some trail to get to the "right conditions".

 

[roo]

Hawks in big mountain, open areas are like going to the dunes on a cr 500 on steroids.

On the flip side in the tight trees its like trying to ride the tightest pacific n.w. trails on a xr 650. It can be done and done well its just a ton of work! The best hawk rider i have ever known is 170#s its not all about brute force.

A well set up hawk is key.
Bad setups are just plain ill handling pigs