Church Of MO – From Dirt To Snow
While this week’s Church of MO feature comes to you in the dead of summer, it’s never too early to think about what your riding plans will be come winter. For much of the country this means getting your precious bike prepped for three months (maybe longer!) in the garage while the snow piles up outside. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. Not if 2Moto Inc has anything to say about it. Its conversion kit to turn your average motocross bike into a snow-cross bike means, with this kit and some simple modifications, 2Moto is out to prove year-round riding is more than doable. The company is still around today, but our own Lucas Cooney featured the clever kit seven years ago. Here’s what he had to say.
From Dirt To Snow
As much as they hate to do it, dirt bike owners usually have to put away their rides when the snow begins to fall. A Nampa, Idaho company has decided that is not acceptable. After years of development, 2Moto Inc. has come up with a way to turn dirt rides into a snow ‘bikes.’
For US$4,249, riders can purchase a Radix kit that helps convert dirt bikes for snow riding by replacing the two wheels with a ski on the front and a rubberized snowmobile-like track on the back. The result, according to the company, is a lightweight, agile machine that can ‘climb like a scalded monkey up a tree.’
“We’ve been in development for 10 years, and the reason it has taken so long is we’ve gone through several generations of prototypes,” says Blaser. “Snow is such a variable substance–hard pack, ice, dry powder, heavy powder–we wanted something that was perfect, that handled and really exceeded our expectations. And that’s what we got.”
With the creation of a snow-bound vehicle, comparisons to snowmobiles were quick to follow.
We didn’t design the snow bikes to compete or really even compare with snowmobiles, it’s just the logical thing that everybody compares us to,” says Blaser.
Blaser says the snow bikes perform just as well as a snowmobile and can take riders places that traditional sleds can’t.
“It’s lighter, it’s quicker and you can go more places,” says Blaser. “You can get into anywhere. Wherever snow sticks you can go.”
Sacrificing speed is apparently not a concern with the snow bike.
Blaser says the snow bike is doing a good job of selling itself, and his customers are spreading the word.
“It’s the most addicting powersport thing I’ve ever witnessed,” says Blaser. “Anybody that touches it or hears about it, they want to buy one. Guys that ride them or have bought them, they are diehard, instant converts and they follow us everywhere.”
The company claims the Radix kit is fairly simple to install.
“The kit comes basically ready to install. We bolt on in two places, the main swingarm bolt and the upper shock bolt,” says Blaser. “Then you hook your brake line and your chain line. Basically the hardest thing is pulling the air box out of the way.”
Blaser says the kit takes about two hours to put together for any first-timer who can handle a wrench.
When asked if it was as complicated as assembling a new dresser from IKEA, Blaser balked.
“No, not that tough. I don’t even attempt those.”
The Rogue comes equipped with a 650cc, 4-stroke, four-valve OHC motor and chassis by Husaberg. It comes with the air box inside the frame so the buyer doesn’t have to remove or reinstall it. It also has a bit more travel in the rear end.
2Moto released the Radix in March and sold all units it produced. The company aims to make between 400 and 500 kits this season and hopes to expand production into the thousands next year.
Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.
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Let my demented mind think about it for a moment and concluded that a Service Honda CR500 with one of these kits would be the pinnacle of bad ass.