$90k Canadian pesos.
258 pounds.
Spitfire 540 titanium.
- Thread starter Sheetmetalfab
- Start date
$90k Canadian pesos.
258 pounds.
Now we're talkin
I guess if I won $70million in lottomax I'd buy one.
Its like $1500 a lb in weight loss. That's a lot.
Its like $1500 a lb in weight loss. That's a lot.
If I won the $70 mil I'd buy 2 just in case one broke. LOL, that's a lot of coin for a snow bike but you do have to appreciate the work necessary to make it happen. You aren't going to build that in your garage.
M5
M5
Amazing build and it’s always inspiring to see some talented craftsmen go balls out on something. Throw the kitchen sink at it and see how far it’ll go!
The other side of me though says they spent all those resources and time building a lighter version of what we already have. A kit with custom Ti frame, carbon bits and lighter forks.
Several members here have built ground up purpose built bikes on a garage budget. Builds that in all likelihood perform in the same league as this 90K 540 beta.
I would love to see what the guys at airforce could build if they took the ground up, purpose Built approach.
The other side of me though says they spent all those resources and time building a lighter version of what we already have. A kit with custom Ti frame, carbon bits and lighter forks.
Several members here have built ground up purpose built bikes on a garage budget. Builds that in all likelihood perform in the same league as this 90K 540 beta.
I would love to see what the guys at airforce could build if they took the ground up, purpose Built approach.
And he is making them as fast as he can. Order yours a year ahead of time!
Hard to believe he could say $90k with a straight face. Gimme a break
I can totally appreciate the craftsmanship and it looks amazing but I don't get it, was the goal to keep the compromised conversion concept so you can ride a titanium bike in the summer? If it's dedicated snow bike there are many things I would have changed with a blank slate frame build but it's a little late now. The 2 easy things I'd recommend is move all the fuel to the back to get the weight off the front. You can easily rig a pump to suck right from the rear tank.The mono shock skid will feel real front heavy even if the bike is super light. I built a skid like that and didn't like it at all. You could possibly add a small mtb shock on the front of the skid that would only add a few pounds. If you do get a super light dual shock skid working consider selling just the skid? I'd be into that. How about a carbon fuel cell/ rear frame combo that will let you ditch the strut rod ,sub frame and some of the heavy stuff in the front of the tunnel? That's a real weight saver if you spread the forces out farther you can build the frame out of really light stuff. The whole conversion kit idea is at least a 20 pounds weight penalty. Fgauvin7 built his without carbon or ti and it was 217lbs but it was a 2 stroke with a smaller track. Those 3 inch paddles are heavy
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It's like what CMX did with sleds back in the late '90s and early 2000s: stick to the basic snowmobile design, but exotic and lighter. They were $25-30k when a new stock sled was 1/4-1/3 the price. They were able to sell them until the performance of stock sleds caught up. Also like a lot of $100k or less cars that will almost do what a $500k car will for 99% of people, but it still doesn't say Ferrari and won't quite beat it. Factory MX/SX bike worth $100k compared to a showroom model...etc.
They built the best traditional snow bike they could. Now they have a benchmark to build from, and in the meantime sell to help fund the next evolution if they want. Development requires revenue and at some point you have to stop and sell what you have developed to keep going.
They built the best traditional snow bike they could. Now they have a benchmark to build from, and in the meantime sell to help fund the next evolution if they want. Development requires revenue and at some point you have to stop and sell what you have developed to keep going.
I'd have to agree with the comments above. While it's easy to gag and joke about the price, I'm sure it cost an absolute fortune in time and parts development to get there. The conversion from $90K CDN to $USD at todays rate is $67k USD. Yep that's still a ton-o-money but I know guys with over $25K USD into their bikes so when you look at it that way it's not quite as obscene but yah, still pretty obscene. It's not for everyone but if you've got the dough why not.
The benefit for the average schmoe is going to be some cool parts that you can add to a regular build like his front fender for example, There may be a 3" track for Yetis etc etc. Motor parts are going to be there for sure. I used to be a freak about weight when I was building turbo sleds, now not so much so a Ti frame is pretty low on my wish list. My Yeti skid with the Elka 5's is pretty plush so it's good enough for me. What those guys are really good at though is making power and I can't see how there won't be a triclke down in that area.
M5
The benefit for the average schmoe is going to be some cool parts that you can add to a regular build like his front fender for example, There may be a 3" track for Yetis etc etc. Motor parts are going to be there for sure. I used to be a freak about weight when I was building turbo sleds, now not so much so a Ti frame is pretty low on my wish list. My Yeti skid with the Elka 5's is pretty plush so it's good enough for me. What those guys are really good at though is making power and I can't see how there won't be a triclke down in that area.
M5
What a build!
Would be cool to try a 3" track on a yeti.
That's the only part I can afford on that build
Would be cool to try a 3" track on a yeti.
That's the only part I can afford on that build
If somebody or some company doesn't tinker with the ultimate technology, then things develop pretty slow and then no trickle down affect to the consumers.We drive around in vehicles with lots of bells and whistles and most of that technology was long ago proven by multi million dollar one off race cars. I recall the day motorcycle journalist commented on the exotic water cooled road race two stroke million dollar racers and told us that kind of technology would never make it to the motocross track or the poor guy just wanting to ride a bike in the woods.
Anyone see one of these in the wild?
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