Snowbikes!

[Gravy]

Who rides them?
After years of talking about it and bumping my budget up and up and up...
I FINALLY picked one up and I'm so excited!

It's a 2015 KX450f with a 2018 Timbersled raw kit. (The PO kept the Trio )
By reasonable reckoning it's got 55 hours. (the PO always rode with a friend who ran a hour gauge).

It's got a thermostat, temp gauge, LED headlight, heat wrapped header, and nefarious looking heated grips.

What else do I need?
Skip plate, big pegs, engine jacket, Rekluse, auxiliary gas tank (how big?) hand guards, hand mitts?

 

[ChestonScout]

Dood!!

I’m soo jelly!!

 

[Shawn]

SWEET!!! My son and I have been talking about these for a few years, I'll be looking for your follow up post after the RIDE!!

 

[stockblock]

Where do you typically ride?

I've been itching to get into snow biking since I've got a 450F sitting around collecting dust.

Whats a typical new vs used price range for a ski and track setup?

 

[Gravy]

I think you can buy a new Timbersled raw kit for $4000. A fit kit is about $150.

It goes up from there.

 

[SAMI]

I think an item such as this needs a battle ax mounted to it.

 

[Herzog]

That looks like a scary assault bike to me...

freakin rad!

 

[Jesser04]

5 bucks says it’s sold before the end of the week.

 

[Tonkaman]

I wouldn’t be caught dead on one without a turbo and NOS minimum

 

[rholbrook]

All my old sledding buddies now ride these and love them.

 

[Corban_White]

LOVED mine. Will get another one someday... My bike had a rekluse and I did not like it in the snow (but it was nice in the summer so I dealt with it in the winter). I wouldn't get one right away. Get some plastic pieces for those hand guards to cut the wind from your hands. I ran hand mitts but I didn't have heated grips. Definitely need an engine jacket, big pegs are nice but not required. I just ran the timbersled (mountain addiction) 3.3 gallon can on the tunnel. Also, without the TRIO you will probably need heaver fork springs and valving. Be prepared for miles of smiles and getting bummed out every summer...

 

[Gravy]

Alright I'll skip the Rekluse.
Why, may I ask, did you not like it in the snow?

This bike has SFF TAC air forks so I've got some decent reviews on running them at higher PSI and perhaps bumping the fork oil weight to slow the associated damping before I revalve them. Snow is a weird surface so I believe how everyone says traditional valving specs don't work.

I've got a stack of parts that just arrived today, so I'll update soon.

 

[Gravy]

I'm torn between buying a FRS/GMRS BCA-Link radio or just getting a 5/7watt Boafeng with a waterproof Rugged Radios hand held speaker/mic and programming it to talk with my friend's BCA-Links.
Will you Radio guys chime in?

FAQs - BC Link™ Radios

The most trusted name in backcountry safety.

www.backcountryaccess.com

On which frequencies do BC Link two-way radios work?
BC Link radio channels 1 through 7 are combined GMRS/FRS channels. Channels 8 through 14 are FRS channels. Channels 15 through 22 are GMRS channels. The FRS channels (8-14) transmit at 0.5 W, while all other channels transmit at 1 W (BC Links) and 2 W (BC Link 2.0) . While battery life is longer when using channels 8-14, the range of transmission is shorter.

BC Link Channel Frequencies (MHz)

• Channel 1 462.5625
  Channel 2 462.5875
  Channel 3 462.6125
  Channel 4 462.6375
  Channel 5 462.6625
  Channel 6 462.6875
• Channel 7 462.7125
  Channel 8 467.5625
  Channel 9 467.5875
  Channel 10 467.6125
  Channel 11 467.6375
  Channel 12 467.6625
• Channel 13 467.6875
  Channel 14 467.7125
  Channel 15 462.5500
  Channel 16 462.5750
  Channel 17 462.6000
  Channel 18 462.6250
• Channel 19 462.6500
  Channel 20 462.6750
  Channel 21 462.7000
  Channel 22 462.7250

Is it possible to program the BC Link Radios to work with VHF/UHF high frequency radios?
VHF radio frequency range does not include that of the frequencies programed on the BC Link. Meaning that, it is not possible to communicate from VHF radios to the BC Link and vice versa. While you cannot program the BC Link to frequencies outside the provided family ban GMRS/FRS frequencies to those available on a UHF radio, you can program a UHF radio to the GMRS/FRS frequencies utilized by the BC link to communicate. See the above frequencies (MHz) and corresponding channels on the BC Link.

 

[Jesser04]

I used a bca 2.0 last winter and it worked great.

 

[pELYgroso]

I rented one with my BIL and some of his buddies last winter and it was a riot! I'd love to have one!

 

[Jesser04]

If you don’t have a beacon shovel and probe those would be my first investments. Radios are cool but it’s not gonna save yours or someone else’s life. I’m a fan of carrying the shovel and probe on my back so I’m never separated from them in case I need them. Seems like every winter someone dies because they didn’t have beacons. I hate the government telling people what to do but it should be illegal to go in the backcountry without one.

 

[Gravy]

Let's keep things positive. I agree about a beacon, shovel and a probe (I'd add they are basically useless without education).

A radio WILL ABSOLUTELY save someones life. People who are lost and alone freeze to death. Mechanical issues happen and people get stuck too. Also, if you've taken any back country rescue classes you'll know that the probability of saving someone caught in a slide goes up exponentially with each additional person searching... (Thus radio).

 

[Jesser04]

I totally agree with the radio being great tool. I was just pointing out it’s down my list on stuff to buy. If money is not a problem I’d add a avy bag and collapsable saw. There was two instances last year where we were within .5 miles of someone who was stuck and needed help and we could barely communicate over the bca. Situations it was most useful for us was riding an area we weren’t familiar with we’d send the highest skilled rider to go ahead and radio back.

 

[Gravy]

That's why I'm talking about using a 7W UHF radio vs a BCA-link. That's 2.5 times more broadcasting power and 7X for receiving. (14X on FRS channels).
These are what we use for mapping and managing national level desert races that span over 100 miles of desert, mountains trees rocks and the like.
(We generally setup a repeater though).

Good idea on the saw. I like that Silky brand one.
I'll bet a kinetic snatch rope is a good idea too.
I'd love to put together a list of good minimal survival gear.

 

[johngottfredson]

I'll be following your progress with this. Went out for the first time on a snow bike last winter...sleds are dead to me now. For the kind of riding I like to do (trees and narrow trails, slow speed scenic stuff - just like in summer) the bike blows away snowmobiles. I might be swayed by my low hours behind a sled, but the comparison is like navigating a boat through the mountains vs...well, a dirt bike. And my snowmobile buddies disagree, but I've seen their acrobatic feats trying to ride sidehills or manuver in the trees and am not interested. I have a KTM 500 exc with recluse, ready to go, just waiting for my buddies to jump on board so I have a riding crew.