Timbersled / Snotech Perspective

[DOM]

Prior to my first snowbike experience it seemed the majority of folks I talked to said things like they are terrible on the trails, you will want to trailer out of town to minimize any hard pack riding, they are very physically demanding...etc.

We rented two Husky 450's with a Snotech 137 and 129 and our experience couldn't have been more the opposite. We didn't set any speed records, but had no problem riding out of town to our favorite back country area (we had almost no offroad motorcycle experience prior; however have ridden sportbikes for many years). Once we dropped off trail I understood why guys love these things almost immediately after riding sleds in the same areas for 15ish years. After a day in the hills, I had a ball riding back into town on the trail and spent about 20 min screwing around on the old airstrip in West before turning it in because I hadn't got my fill.

Fast forward to current state... I have eyes on a few used bikes / timbersled setups locally as I would like to buy/build a snowbike for next season, but I keep hearing this "terrible on the trails, heavy front end type stuff. My only experience is with the Snowtech kit, but why does this keep coming up? For guys that have ridden both, are there any distinct differences between the awesome experience we had on the snowtech kits vs the typical timbersled setup?

Thanks!!

 

[fox128]

First snowbikes I rode were '15 timbersleds on wr450s, not set up well but had zero issues on the trail. Running 5th gear tapped in the first few hours. I've also been surprised about all the talk about different skis and setups are "horrible on trail". I'm sure some are better than others but if you can adapt I bet your be fine on anything

 

[skidooboy]

we heard all the same stuff. bought a 2012 wr450, and a 16 ts120 kit, set it up for the rider, NO ISSUES, trail or deep.

I think the majority of the "complainers" have a set up issue, or like to pick fly **** out of pepper. or wont spend the extra coin to do the required mods for the set up (stiffer springs, and fork re-valve) for snow biking.

ordered a new aro 120 le for the 2015 wr, cant wait for it to show up. Ski

 

[DOM]

Thanks for the responses guys.

It also seems to be fairly consistent that when you talk to guys that are really into the sport, they have nothing but positive things to say.

 

[Sheetmetalfab]

I picked up a 2014 ts st and it works just fine.
Its not fancy or cutting edge but it sure was cheap.

 

[AZ800]

I've got a '13 TS, so even more vintage, lol. I'm certain the only setup was done by whoever put it on the bike for the original owner. It does fine on the trails. Now, if the snows too thin and you're grabbing gravel with the ski it sucks, or if it's pure ice or bare pavement I'm like Bambi on ice, but if there's any loose snow to grab and decent cover it does fine.
And even better when the trails are miles of moguls, on a bike you can ride that outside foot of road, or just off, with smooth sailing while the sleds are on a rodeo ride. Or if you're lucky you can side hill through the trees and turn the trail ride into a technical ride mere feet from the road.

But for straight up trail riding all day or miles of wide open terrain, I'd take the sled over the bike.

 

[Mauws00]

Set up is key

My first experience was on a dealer demo. The trail ride was a slow third gear, darty, white knuckle ride. In the wet spring snow. I could go any where but I never saw the ski tip all day. Far to much ski pressure from the track.

Had my experience been better I would have purchased a TS. I bought a CMXBK and have made adjustments to the setup. Trails are top gear, railing the corners. I think all of the kits can be adjusted to handle very well.

 

[DOM]

My first experience was on a dealer demo. The trail ride was a slow third gear, darty, white knuckle ride. In the wet spring snow. I could go any where but I never saw the ski tip all day. Far to much ski pressure from the track.

Had my experience been better I would have purchased a TS. I bought a CMXBK and have made adjustments to the setup. Trails are top gear, railing the corners. I think all of the kits can be adjusted to handle very well.

With your ski tip comment are you implying that it pulls wheelies on a properly tuned setup (ie light front end)? The snowtech kits we rode definitely didn't lift the ski; however they were not hard to ride at all on either the perfect morning West Yellowstone trails or the mogled out ride home after a day in the back country.

Thanks to all for the perspectives.

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

Pretty much anything with a curved track works well on the trails. Older TS kits and other brands that ran flat tracks do OK but tended to "flop" from side to side and get kinda sketchy. More like snowboarding without being on an edge. TSS on timbersleds definately makes them more compliant as it helps with weight transfer. I have run a number of 16 TS kits on various bikes on trails and I can tell you there is nothing slow about it. 5th gear to the bar banging berms making sleds jealous. A lot of it is comfort too. I have rode dirt bikes since I was a little kid and sleds and snowbikes for the last 5 years. I have also taken people out with literally no snowbiking experience who are phenomenal dirtbikers and they are railing so hard in the first day. They will all work just fine, just cant be a pansy.

People also struggle to sidehill on axys chassis polaris sleds. People will struggle no matter how good of tools they are given. Im finding that is just how humans are.

 

[DOM]

Pretty much anything with a curved track works well on the trails. Older TS kits and other brands that ran flat tracks do OK but tended to "flop" from side to side and get kinda sketchy. More like snowboarding without being on an edge. TSS on timbersleds definately makes them more compliant as it helps with weight transfer. I have run a number of 16 TS kits on various bikes on trails and I can tell you there is nothing slow about it. 5th gear to the bar banging berms making sleds jealous. A lot of it is comfort too. I have rode dirt bikes since I was a little kid and sleds and snowbikes for the last 5 years. I have also taken people out with literally no snowbiking experience who are phenomenal dirtbikers and they are railing so hard in the first day. They will all work just fine, just cant be a pansy.

People also struggle to sidehill on axys chassis polaris sleds. People will struggle no matter how good of tools they are given. Im finding that is just how humans are.

Great points! To make a "old guy comment" to those that are struggling to sidehill a Axys, jump on a edge chassis rmk and lets ride

 

[Mauws00]

With your ski tip comment are you implying that it pulls wheelies on a properly tuned setup (ie light front end)? The snowtech kits we rode definitely didn't lift the ski; however they were not hard to ride at all on either the perfect morning West Yellowstone trails or the mogled out ride home after a day in the back country.

Thanks to all for the perspectives.

I would say proper set up is up to the rider, how you like it to handle, how you ride and your primary snow conditions. I myself prefer a light front end, especially in hard pack and trails. But it comes at a cost in other areas. Potential to loop out on hills, more speed to get on top the snow.

Concerning the buried ski tip comment. I feel the ski should float, not submarine, like my first ride.

 

[skidooboy]

mauws... thanks for giving me a negative feedback on my post, when you basically, said the same thing I did above. if it was an error, I would appreciate you fixing it to keep my good rep going. if not, i would like to know, why you would say the same thing, and give neg rep? Ski

 

[Mauws00]

Thank you skidooboy for calling me out. My fat thumb on my iPhone screen hit the wrong icon. Will change it as soon as I figure out how. No hard feelings.

 

[skidooboy]

no worries, figured it was something like that. it's good to bust each others balls once in a while. Ski