- Joined
- Apr 13, 2003
- Messages
- 21,310
- Age
- 54
- Location
- Schofield, WI
- Website
- www.totallyamaha.com
- Country
- USA
- Snowmobile
- 2020 Sidewinder SRX
Kewl.
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2004
- Messages
- 7,693
- Location
- sudbury on
- Country
- Canada
- Snowmobile
- 2016 apex xtx
2011 apex xtx
2009 phaser rtx/x
1997 et410t/r
1988 vk 540
guy has one of those locally on a wr450f. his apex has trouble keeping up on the trails with him.
Rich Kay
TY 4 Stroke Guru
Saw one at the novi MI snow show and wonder how well it would really perform.... the video says it all!
Berg570
Pro
I would like to share my thoughts and experience with the snow bikes if I may. I will try to be brief. But fear it wont be 
I live and breathe dirt bikes. Its been my passion for over 30 years. My wife and I travel the western US riding in Utah, Colorado, California, Oregon, Idaho and of course our home state Washington. Husabergs and KTM's are my niche, with 250's, 500's, a 570 and a 690 gracing the garage. Yadda yadda yadda . . .
Living in the mountains, I had to play in the winter. Got into sledding a few years ago, blew up three different 2 stroke sleds. I was about finished with "unreliable" snowmobiles. Lets get a snow bike conversion . . (I eventually discovered the bullet proof, and mighty Apex)
So we go to McCall Idaho with some friends. Offered up are two snow bikes. 2012 Kawasaki 450, and an 08' Husaberg 650 with a TURBO no less.
18+ inches of new snow, -15 degrees.
I trade my 800R skidoo off for the KX.
Immediately I noticed you MUST pin it just to move the machine in any decent snow depth, and that its overall HP was down right pathetic compared to my sled. I mean, we are talking less than 60 HP moving 300lbs after a snow packed skid after all. I thought the bikes owner was just heartless and didn't care about his machine, but this was not the case. It felt like riding a road bike in sand. To maintain momentum I had to rev this poor machine, bouncing it off of the rev limiter, on a frozen lake and in the trees. I felt bad in a way.
After a spin we stop to discuss it. I was already bummed as I wanted to love this. Then the KX wont re start. This was due to the engine heat rising, melting the powder snow and re-freezing the throttle body actuation. This happened everytime we stopped for more than 5 minutes.
In between this issue was the air box filling with snow, and choking the motor out. You'd stop to clear out the snow and you guessed it, it wouldn't re-start due to the throttle body freezing.
I move to the Husaberg Turbo 650. It took ten minutes to get it to fire. The jetting was not conducive to the conditions I guessed? Nope . . the rising engine heat below the plastic fuel tank in sub zero temps caused condensation in the tank, and the bike owner forgot to add HEET fuel additive to his tank. KX owner remembered. Both bikes "popped" all afternoon due to essentially having water in their fuel.
Were the conditions too "extreme"?
IMO these machines were never engineered for this environment, and it showed. These single cylinder (4 stroke) motors were never designed to be at the rev limiter all day (aside from motocross racing ie rebuilds), not to be fender deep in snow, and certainly not to be covered in snow at sub zero temps. I left McCall disappointed to say the least.
Perhaps it was a fluke ride, but I will wait until our Japanese and Austrian friends build a specific machine for this, or at the very least the aftermarket industry addresses the issues that plagued my day on snow bikes.
Just food for thought.
I live and breathe dirt bikes. Its been my passion for over 30 years. My wife and I travel the western US riding in Utah, Colorado, California, Oregon, Idaho and of course our home state Washington. Husabergs and KTM's are my niche, with 250's, 500's, a 570 and a 690 gracing the garage. Yadda yadda yadda . . .
Living in the mountains, I had to play in the winter. Got into sledding a few years ago, blew up three different 2 stroke sleds. I was about finished with "unreliable" snowmobiles. Lets get a snow bike conversion . . (I eventually discovered the bullet proof, and mighty Apex)
So we go to McCall Idaho with some friends. Offered up are two snow bikes. 2012 Kawasaki 450, and an 08' Husaberg 650 with a TURBO no less.
18+ inches of new snow, -15 degrees.
I trade my 800R skidoo off for the KX.
Immediately I noticed you MUST pin it just to move the machine in any decent snow depth, and that its overall HP was down right pathetic compared to my sled. I mean, we are talking less than 60 HP moving 300lbs after a snow packed skid after all. I thought the bikes owner was just heartless and didn't care about his machine, but this was not the case. It felt like riding a road bike in sand. To maintain momentum I had to rev this poor machine, bouncing it off of the rev limiter, on a frozen lake and in the trees. I felt bad in a way.
After a spin we stop to discuss it. I was already bummed as I wanted to love this. Then the KX wont re start. This was due to the engine heat rising, melting the powder snow and re-freezing the throttle body actuation. This happened everytime we stopped for more than 5 minutes.
In between this issue was the air box filling with snow, and choking the motor out. You'd stop to clear out the snow and you guessed it, it wouldn't re-start due to the throttle body freezing.
I move to the Husaberg Turbo 650. It took ten minutes to get it to fire. The jetting was not conducive to the conditions I guessed? Nope . . the rising engine heat below the plastic fuel tank in sub zero temps caused condensation in the tank, and the bike owner forgot to add HEET fuel additive to his tank. KX owner remembered. Both bikes "popped" all afternoon due to essentially having water in their fuel.
Were the conditions too "extreme"?
IMO these machines were never engineered for this environment, and it showed. These single cylinder (4 stroke) motors were never designed to be at the rev limiter all day (aside from motocross racing ie rebuilds), not to be fender deep in snow, and certainly not to be covered in snow at sub zero temps. I left McCall disappointed to say the least.
Perhaps it was a fluke ride, but I will wait until our Japanese and Austrian friends build a specific machine for this, or at the very least the aftermarket industry addresses the issues that plagued my day on snow bikes.
Just food for thought.
