Winter is right around the corner
. Some of the ski areas near where I live got a couple of inches of the white stuff at the top last week (since melted). What could be a more DT way to get ready for La Nina than a picking up a cross between a motorcycle and a snow machine off of Craigslist? Find this 2015 Husqvarna 450 Snow Bike for sale in Bozeman, MT for $12,000 via craigslist.
Timbersled of northern Idaho got its start making accessories for snowmobiles at the turn of the new century. After the founder rode a snow bike in 2008, he thought he could do better, and after a couple of years of prototyping he launched his first kit in 2010. In 2015, Timbersled was acquired by Polaris. The concept is pretty simple, a front ski replaces the front wheel of your dirt bike and the rear wheel is replaced by a track system. What more could there be?
The donor bike for this sled was a Husky 450 FC motocrosser. Equipped with a 449cc 4-stroke producing 60hp at 11,500 rpm routed thru a 5 speed with a hydralic clutch. On the right handlebar, you got a 3 position ignition map switch for traction, normal and performance maps. I wonder what all hell would break loose with the map on performance in deep pow?
The install of the kit is said to take about 3 hours to change over from wheels to tracks and isn't permanent, so you can covert it back to a motorcycle when the spring thaw happens.
See a better way to get lost in the frozen wilderness? email us here:
tips@dailyturismo.com
Gianni is Daily Turismo's Pacific Northwest correspondent.
Question I've had ever since I saw the somewhat similar (but smaller) Chrysler Sno Runner in the early '70s: What keeps these upright? You don't have the gyroscopic effect of a couple of wheels. Just gotta be squirrely...
ReplyDeleteHow do you stay upright without gyroscopic wheels attached? Not trying to be flip, but same principle really, you (as in you) have a lot more to do with balancing it than on a bicycle for exactly the reason you state.
ReplyDeleteThey sit a lot higher, too and you have to really learn to use your body and the bike's momentum. And yes, everyone will fall multiple times their first time on one.