I flew to Boise along with a friend yesterday to try these units out. I missed the Stampede rides due to a scheduling error, and now I'm glad I did. 30-45 minutes is too short to give these a proper going-over. I spent 5 hours riding different bikes with the kit yesterday in a variety of conditions, from hardpack ice to powder. I even got to experience firsthand how they hold up to stump collisions!
Normally the 2Moto crew goes to a sno-park and hit the groomed trails up to a bowlish meadow. I wanted none of that. I told them I came to see it operate in deep powder, and they obliged. This would come back to haunt me (but not bad). We started riding up a logging road just out of Boise. For you Idaho guys, it's 8th St. Unfortunately pics are limited. I got zero action shots.
Great sight!
Me starting out. I was on the 505.
My buddy on the 525.
We started up the road. It was hardpack with ice. I started out absolutely fighting the bike. Turning on hardpack with a ski with twin carbides is not like a wheel. By the time I had gotten a half-mile my arms were sore and I had some good arm pump. I even bit it on the whooped out trail when I thought I was starting to get it and then I launched and washed out the ski. One of the guides (we had Brett and Gerald of 2Moto, both great guys) said that I turned the bars as soon as I cleared. I'm a heavy bar user on a bike so I had to watch this.
We started going again. Now I was timid as I didn't want to break the bike. That's not the way to ride these. Just like on dirt, the more you push it the better it gets. It took me awhile to get back in the groove. One of the things we had to learn was MORE POWER! These like to go a gear higher than you would think. I had to learn this throughout the day, especially in the deep stuff. We got the first good hill and found this out. While Brett and Gerald screamed up it, both of us rookies buried it. However, the great thing about these is it's SO easy to unstick them! If I had to dig out a sled the amount of times I dug out the bike yesterday, I would be still be up there dead of a heart attack. I have to stress this was NOT THE MACHINE! Operator error was the norm for the day for us. Gerald and Brett showed us both how these machines perform in conditions we were having trouble in.
We moved up top to the deep powder. Here was where the learning curve caught up to us. We were digging, but I wanted to see how these would handle the deep stuff. It's what I asked for. There was at least 3' of bottomless powder. I started well, but my timidness again caught up. Brett and Gerald were telling me to flog it, but my wrist was having a hard time with that. By the time I was getting the hang of it, I was tired from digging. Brett and Gerald had us stop and watch them. They TORE up the meadow! The great thing about the bike is the thumper power. You can blast up the hill with track speed or lug it out with torque. These things do perform in powder. The other thing is that the track is reversible. Rotate one way and it's hardpack, rotate the other for powder. Track change takes about 20 minutes. We were on the hardpack rotation with a powder ski. I would like to have tried one with the powder track as well. Still, on the hardpack side those two were screaming.
Now we got to the fun stuff! We motored on to a different area. This time we were through the trees and breaking trail, and this is what sold me. I was taking this bike in places I wouldn't dream of taking a sled. Narrow junctions right by treewells, down steep dropoffs that flatten right out to level. The ski just rides through the deep stuff like a dream! It absolutely SHINES sidehilling! We traversed a hill where I would be on the uphill side with both boots on the board and grabbing the strap. On the bike, I stuck my uphill leg out and just motored across. I couldn't believe it! It was pinned to the side of the hill.
We rode a little farther and came to a clearing with fresh powder. We opened it up oval-track style with deep carves at either end, just like an MX track. The feeling of doing this in the snow is far and away superior to riding a sled (for me at least). A couple of times I hit a deep ditch. Rather than panicking I just stood up and pinned it, just like my bike. Cleared it no problem. I was having a ball!
Then, I hit a stump. I couldn't have hit it any better if I aimed for it. Flat-side perpendicular shot at around 30 mph. I went over the bars and the bike did a complete front flip over the top of me and landed in front of me. Here I am pointing to it.
I popped right up. Snow is GREAT to land in! Had I done it in the dirt, I would have been in much more pain. Brett and Gerald came screaming over to make sure I was ok. When they saw I was fine, they were stoked! Not only was it cool to watch, the track performed as it was designed. I bent the side rails on the track, but these were designed to give before the swingarm and Ohlins shock did. They certainly did the job. We had to do some trail fixes to get the track rolling again (loosen the track, tweak the rails) but it made it back to the truck. Had I done this with a sled, I would have been far worse off. I think that impact would have easily ripped up skis, trailing arm, radius arm, belly pan, who knows what else. $600 minimum. Radix side rails - $75 each. A cheap guy might be able to even straighten them back out.
By this time it was getting late. We had to catch our flight back to Seattle so it was time to head back. We went down the road in flat light, so it was hard to read the contour. Still, I could stand and ride the bumps much better than a sled. Had I had good light, I was confident that after the day of riding I would have gone much faster. However, remember that hardpack I had so much trouble on? The ride down was 100% better. I had the hang of it! I found that countersteering let the carbide bite right in, and the bike just leaned into the turn. I could power out of the turns with the carbide guiding me out the whole way. HUGE difference! I was hooked.
Am I going to buy one? Absolutely. The feeling of riding this compared to a sled is light years apart. I'm faster, quicker to steer, and have much more fun. I can take it exploring places I wouldn't ever touch with a sled. I don't kill myself digging out when I do get it stuck. Sidehilling is a BLAST. Powder characteristics are as advertised, but there is a learning curve. If you invest time in riding it, it will return what is promised. A nice bonus... I don't smell like 2-stroke or have the Klotz headache at the end of the day. I would have been Mr. Popular on the flight back to Seattle if I had gone snowmobiling.
I think this experience was a lot like my CR500 when I first bought it. There were times yesterday I was pissed, but I knew that it would take time to master. This is the same way. I was ready to sell my CR the first day I had it. Over time, I figured out the little nuances and tricks to riding the big 500. Now, it's one of my favorite bikes ever and I'm sorry I ever sold it. The 2Moto kit is the same, at least in DEEP bottomless powder. It can be ridden, but takes practice. In less powder or spring snow, look out. You will tear it up out of the gate!
As far as abuse, RPM's doing this were no worse than woods ride. I would have absolutely zero worries about doing this on my own 470. I was rarely WFO, and being able to pick a gear gives me the ability to pick RPM, unlike a sled. In fact, being able to torque along really takes the wear out of it. Brett didn't give the whole story on the valves. When he said they were in spec, this was after 200 hours on the valvetrain without even checking the valves. The only reason they opened it was for a broken spring. ALL the valves were within spec. Husaberg builds a great bike and this only proves it (but we all knew that).
Here's the deal. If you like staying in one place all day long with a group and see how can highmark on a face, then this probably isn't for you. Wait a little while for the turbo Husa FE650 and try that! If, like me, you like getting off the beaten trail and boondocking, then this is absolutely the ticket. I'm buying one of these when I can get the $$ together. If anyone else wants to try one before buying, I highly recommend calling Brett Blaser at 2Moto and setting up a test ride. The crew there is top-notch, friendly, and extremely understanding and patient with snowbike newbies. They were digging us out just as much as we were digging ourselves out. Flights to Boise aren't that much if you book farther out, and you really need a day on these to appreciate just what they can do. Have fun, and thanks 2Moto!
Leave it anyway, these guys need the props for a good product.
