What breaks when you hit a rock?

[mynameislance]

What happens when you guys hit a rock/stump? Other than it probably being hilarious to watch your buddy do it, what kind of damage is done to the bike? Does it trash your forks or does the ski bracket give out first?

Lets hear some stories from running into things and the outcomes both to the bike and you (please include which kit you have). Pictures/videos are always a plus too

 

[mynameislance]

No ones hit anything yet?

 

[Thunderhawk]

I've never owned one so this is second hand type info. Things bend and/or break. Last year at HawkFest, a guy hit a stump with an explorer kitted bike and bent the "rails" if that's what they are called. Sorry I can't be more helpful, I ride Hawks.

Keep googling and you will find damage stories on different sites.

 

[mountainhorse]

I only have first hand knowledge of the Timbersled Snow Bike...

It has a special geometry version of the Timbersled Mountain Tamer... nicknamed the Mini-Tamer at the shop.... and 121" rails

You would replace them or the hyfax just like you do on a sled... The hyfax is available at any Polaris Dealer and Timbersled stocks all the parts for this one.

Repairs are easy... The Timbersled design does not "snag" things like the other snow bikes.

Good luck

 

[funjunkie]

If you hit somthing hard enough with the ski you could bend the part that holds the ski to the forks havn't heard of anybody bending the forks yet. It's hard to hit somthing just right anough to bend anything because the ski and suspenson suck it up. It's not like a sled where it has parts hanging out there just waiting to snag on somthing. I think one of the greatest thing about the snow bike is that when you fall of on the hill and it just falls over and lies there.

 

[mynameislance]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I think one of the greatest thing about the snow bike is that when you fall of on the hill and it just falls over and lies there.

That's one of the huge benefits I'm seeing in these bikes. I'm hoping it's like riding motocross, "yes you can break little stuff in a decent wreck but it takes a huge wreck to do any serious damage".

 

[funjunkie]

It is like riding moto x but a little more easy and a lot more places to ride.

 

[SNOW JW]

I know Allen took a huge rock this spring said it was a wild ride. Anyways it did take out the front ski spindle and front ski was toast if I remember right was able to ride out and fix it pronto without much $$ if a normal Joe had to buy the parts. It did scratch the tunnel up and such but nothing you can do to stop this with a large rock hit and slide.

Same rock with a sled= Used Dragon for Parts or salvage OBO Or your looking at some serious $$ to fix.

 

[shaunone]

I hit a rock under the snow last feb. with my 2moto kit. Fork extension was bent approx 30 degrees. $100 dollar fix, but my wrist still hurts...

 

[off road rider]

I wasted an entire 2moto rails and sub assy on an covered rock.
It was a very hard hit.. Was able to keep going but everything needed replacement.

 

[Fastway]

I snagged a rock with the front ski....

On my snowbike last year, I was not going very fast, but caught it just right. It ripped the aluminum "fist" off of the bottom of my fork, totally bent and destroyed entire right fork. The left side lower fork tube was bent, so by the time all was said and done I was in to it over $1000! Needless to say, I stay away from bumps in the early season...
If you have a 2Moto, I would replace the plastic spacer between the bottom of the fork and the ski mount (on the right side) with an aluminum one. The plastic allows the right side to flex too much (acts like a spring), which makes the left side do most of the work where it bolts to the brake carrier. I actually built a clamp style mount for my right side that transfers the force into the steel part of the fork tube, similar to what the Timbersled uses.

 

[J&L Snowhawk]

rock explorer

I seem to be a rock magnet. last year in Utah riding a ktm 530 with explorer kit i hit a boulder under the snow. went head over heals into the snow. twisted the ski adapter some and totally trashed the track asm. The track was litterally off to the side of the bike. took about 10 min to fix with a complete track asm we had in the trailer. hauled the old one down the trail with a sled and returned with a new unit to install. what a ride.

 

[off road rider]

I seem to be a rock magnet. last year in Utah riding a ktm 530 with explorer kit i hit a boulder under the snow. went head over heals into the snow. twisted the ski adapter some and totally trashed the track asm. The track was litterally off to the side of the bike. took about 10 min to fix with a complete track asm we had in the trailer. hauled the old one down the trail with a sled and returned with a new unit to install. what a ride.

That was an amazing site , to see that thing bent up like a bad pretzel..
Ouch.. Good thing there where replacement parts available.

 

[teal_210]

I hit a bank a little too hard last weekend. Bent the ski spindle and the carbides on the ski of my mountain horse. New spindle is $300.00. However my fork tubes are pitted below then billet mounts that stabilize the spindle. I'm not sure if this was caused by hitting something or not. They have more of a pitted look than scratched. Anyone else had this problem with their mountain horse yet?

 

[off road rider]

I hit a bank a little too hard last weekend. Bent the ski spindle and the carbides on the ski of my mountain horse. New spindle is $300.00. However my fork tubes are pitted below then billet mounts that stabilize the spindle. I'm not sure if this was caused by hitting something or not. They have more of a pitted look than scratched. Anyone else had this problem with their mountain horse yet?

If you need a new front box section I have a new 2moto unit without the axle and ski.. might work for ya?? the price is certainly right..
Folded my Hawk ski last weekend as well.. but what a stellar weekend it was...Baker was incredible..

 

[teal_210]

Thanks for the offer, but I already ordered another one from timbersled. Thought about putting a 2 moto mount on it because its cheaper, but it seems like the ts puts the ski further forward which seems to make trail riding easier. I haven't had a chance to put them side by side to confirm this though.

Still pretty disapointed about my fork tubes though. I was told the the spindle would break before damaging the forks.

 

[SNOW JW]

Well I hit a stump and rock at the same time so hard it launched me over the bars 2 weekends ago. Got up picked the bike out of the snow thinking the forks were toast. Got lucky I did break the shift lever bolt so we used a bunjie cord to strap it back on and I was able to finish out the ride.

 

[Fastway]

Front Ski Spindles

I shared my experience with my 2Moto front spindle earlier in the thread. Now I have some experience with myTimbersled. I have wadded up my Timbersled spindle this year. I do not remember hitting anything big, but I am not the only one that has ridden it, so someone may have not disclosed this to me.
The front spindle was toast, so a new one was put on. There was no damage to the fork tubes where they clamp on. I wrapped my fork tubes with teflon tape to protect the tubes from chafing and pitting. I do not believe the teflon reduces the strength because the applied force is perpendicular to the fork tube.
I think that no matter what brand of kit you have on your bike, if you hit something hard enough, you are at risk of doing major damage to your forks. The design of the Timbersled front end is a good design that is pretty stout.
How much does a sled guy have to spend if He wipes out a set of a arms? Probably a considerable amount...I guess the trick is to stay away from anything that may bite you!