For many Canadians, the first snowfall (or even the threat of it … or even the first sight of frost!) is enough to pack up the motorcycle for the winter. But for other riders, the fun keeps going. Some people ride on sunny days when the pavement dries out, some add studs to their tires … and some add track kits!
From gear manufacturer Klim, a company that specializes in both motorcycle and snowmobile gear, we get the video above, showing just how far and how hard you can push a snowbike. If you think about it, these are actually the perfect vehicles for exploring Canada’s wilderness. All those lakes, bogs and muskegs that you can’t cross in the spring/summer/fall? They’re no problem at all when frozen and covered under snow. Just install a track kit and carry on!
Of course, dirt bikes don’t have the raw power of a full-sized snowmobile (note the struggle in some hillclimbs in the video above), but they do make up for it somewhat with their maneuverability in tight woods. And we have seen these track kits installed on street bikes with a lot more power than these off-road machines, but of course there’s a trade-off with weight then.
The YouTube: write-up for the video above is this: “We take some of KLIM’s top professional hard enduro riders, Max Gerston and Paul Bolton, and throw them in the deep end with KLIM Backcountry Team snowbiker Brock Buttars and KLIM Backcountry Team snowmobile legend Keith Curtis. How does the king of snowmobile hillclimbs fair on a snowbike? And how do dirt bike skills translate to snowbikes? Pretty well, as you’d assume, meaning we have nonstop fun for three days of backcountry shredding.” See Day 1 and Day 2 of this adventure session below:
