2Moto Snowbike kit on a crf450x

[skibum_1260]

Not sure if this is the best place for this but ill give it a go! Im a independent motorcycle shop owner in central Iowa and avid off road rider, this time of year I got a little bit bored so after doing a lot of research Ive decided to get set up with 2moto.com and start selling there 2moto snow bike kits, snowmobiles are fun but there just not the same as our 2 wheeled friends. I went with there kit as its the most versitle compared to the others, i have no experience with the others so have nothing bad or good to say about them but with the 2moto kit a big plus for us being in the midwest was you need to be able to stud the track(the explorer kit does not allow that) another big concern was how it did in the soft and deep stuff because when it does snow around here it always drifts and gets deep! That left the snoxcycle kit out as thats really only designed for on trail use.
So after a few conversations with Bill from 2moto I got a kit on the way for our 05 crf450x.

165lbs and 3 boxes worth of parts!

Installation only took about 4 hours total time, this is unpacking everything, and total installation time.

Ski is easy to mount using your factory axle, and some custom spacers.

Hardest thing for installing the track assembly is pulling the air box off( need the space for that shiny new ohlins shock!).

This is the most complete kit out there (includes swingarm and new shock) once the initial setup is done, I think it could be swapped out within 1-2 hours no problem by the average guy in his garage. Most of the time spent initially is just figuring out where everything goes and getting it set up for your bike. I did opt for a few extras for our midwestern style, the ice scratchers to keep the track lubbed and a set of the high performance carbides, they suggested those for the hard pack around here.
Havent had a chance to try it out yet but sat/and sun are looking good right now as will keep all of you posted! If anyone is interested in a demo ride let me know and we can set something up. Or if theres any others out there with snowbike experience lets hear it!

[Sasquatch]

[r00t4rd3d]

Thats awesome !

I would love to try a set up like that and see how they work.

[Flyin Phil]

Sweet! I've heard a lot of good things about those setups.

It looks to me like the front edge of the track would undercut deep soft snow, compared to if it had more of an upward sloping attack edge...but I've *heard* it's not a big issue.

I guess you'll just have to take one for the team and get out there for some and report back to us...

If I had a dedicated off-road/trailer bike, that'd be a tempting setup to pass the winter months for sure. I wonder how they do compared to a skidoo in the deep stuff.

[bobfab]

What is a ballpark cost for the kit. I spent some time trying to hunt down the MSRP last night but with little success.

[LukasM]

Sweet piece of kit for sure! Let us know how you like it.

Originally Posted by bobfab

What is a ballpark cost for the kit. I spent some time trying to hunt down the MSRP last night but with little success.

You need to work on your Google-fu my friend. This is the first link that comes up for me with "2moto kit cost", it says $4500:

http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/arc.../t-602760.html

[BikePilot]

That looks like serious fun!

[skibum_1260]

$4299 for Carb'd bikes, and 4499 for Fuel Injected Bikes, Yes its alot but as much R & D as they have in these things and as much stuff as you get with it including an ohlins shock! You do get alot for your money. I heard to many horror stories from guys breaking swingarms, shocks and forks with the other kits and as soon as you do that you just paid for this kit. Alot of guys say you can buy a nice sled for that much, yes you can, but this isnt a sled! Theres still places a sled will go that this wont and vice versa, this is still a bike and finally a way to ride all year around! There also suppose to be side hilling machines...well see!

Ill took it out last night for about 20 min, and its alot better then I was expecting, it actually feels like a dirt bike still, you can pitch the track out, it corners very hard, still snapy and feels light even with all that extra weight on it, and having ridden snowhawks in the past, this is 10 times better, ill get some real time on it this weekend and hopefully some pics as well and keep you posted.

[CodeMonkee]

It's nice to know they are still in business. Their website is almost dead - no replies to posts in the forum, no updating of their calendar. I did get a recent email from them though.

Once I get a new job I would like to try one out (that's a lot of money for a special purpose mod, so I just want to try it first).

Problem is, where the shock intrudes into the 'airbox' on other bikes is where my plastic subframe is. Someone told me that this dealer:

http://www.brewsterwest.com/SnowBikes.html

Had gotten around that problem. I assume that the solution is to replace the subframe with a more conventional subframe made from metal instead of a plastic box.

Until I get a job though I am not going to dig deeper into it. No sense in getting all into it until I can feel comfortable about committing the money to the kit and mods.

[bobfab]

Originally Posted by LukasM

You need to work on your Google-fu my friend. This is the first link that comes up for me with "2moto kit cost", it says $4500:

http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/arc.../t-602760.html

Yeah i tried to go thru the Mfg's site to dealers and find an actual place to order. Should have went right to google. Thx

[Cruiser]

That thing is intense,, would love to get one,, I need a new bike before,, wouldnt want to do that to my trusty sxc,, good excuse for a new 530!?

[skibum_1260]

I must say i was very impressed at how well this works! The learning curve is very short and after about 15 min I felt comfortable on it. We spent Sat at a local riding area, 2 tracks, 1-miles single track loop, about 1-2 feet of fresh powder snow.

It hooks up very well, once you get to about top 4th-5th gear on the soft snow it will struggle to keep the speed, but hard pack its not a problem. It pulls quit well on the lower gears considering the added weight. I believe the company says about 1mph of lose for every 10. The handling is rock solid and it will carve hard. I tried to get the handlebar to start touching the snow in a corner but the motor was dragging to much to get it down that far, but it would def. hold minus that fact!

Had to try the jumps...! A little bit hard to hit some of them since the snow drifted on most of the faces making the jumps very small but it still feels quit balanced in the air even though youve added about 100lbs of snow kit.

Lets see a sled go through there. Its hard to tell in the pick but the trails are very tight, Climbing hills are no problem and the best is probably side hilling as this thing will just stick to a line.


Sunday we wanted to put some miles on so went with some snowmobile buddies to the local river, put about 40 miles between there and some ditches. The river was a little tricky as it was about 6" of soft snow on frozen ice of course, the track does have 72 studs in it but once you get down to the ice it wants to slide pretty bad and you need to fight the bars to keep the ski from following other tracks. If you stayed on the hard pack it handles great.
All in all, i was very very happy with how well this works and how fun it is! It wont replace a snowmobile and if you wanting something to go out and put a ton of miles on with your sled friends this probably isnt for you but if your a hardcore two-wheeler and get cabin fever in the the winter months this might be what you need. If anyone in the midwest is interested in trying this out just let me know at the shop www.MyCycleTech.com and well set up a demo!

[wrk2surf]

Bring it on up here for a "Demo" in the epic Yosemite area Powder...

[cyborg]

Need one for my Aprilia RXV550, to go with the Sand Paddle tire...
2moto rig looks the best out there. What's the true weight of the kit?

[hilslamer]

Originally Posted by cyborg

Need one for my Aprilia RXV550, to go with the Sand Paddle tire...
2moto rig looks the best out there. What's the true weight of the kit?

Thay don't make one for an Aprilia; I asked. It might be possible to adapt one of the kits - many are based ont he same track/ski with adaptive hardware.

I want one of these so bad I can TASTE it rool - they make a kit for CR500's, so it would be pretty cheap do put together a dedicated 2moto bike...but just getting a kit for my 450EXC is tempting too...