Snowbike pics II
Posted 11-05-2010 at 08:46 PM by rb550four
This is what the snowbike looks like today. It's not finished yet but, I'm hoping to be riding a Honda 550 four on the ice this December. The beginnings of this build is under my snowbike blog. I'd be interested to know what other riders think. I'm a big boy so if you hate it,I can take it but I'd like to know why ,perhaps I can make modifications that would improve this machine in some way,so don't be bashful.
This is the only ride that I could think of where I can go totally Gonzo and not be ticketed or fear other traffic , and this means I can ride in upstate N.Y. all year long!
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The past 2 weeks have been plenty cold the ice has been forming on Vly pond. I went down to Poor Boyz Motorsports today and picked up some warm snowmobile boots to battle the cold. The guys there are fixin to take out their 200 hp sled on the pond this Sunday and wondered if I might take that first ride on the snowbike then and see what it'll do, maybe do some troubleshooting , adjust this or that, eat some hotdogs ... have a good time . Well, I've been chompin at the bit, waiting to ride this machine ,and if the ice is up to snuff, we're goin ridin.Posted 12-15-2010 at 05:17 PM by rb550four 
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So, I realized that for a guy my age,from the Northeast, I don't know shit about snowmobiles. I've only been on one twice when I was a teen. So during my last visit to Poor Boyz , they showed me the track that they use for Ice drags. Holy shit! It had like ten 1 1/2" daggers in a row , and rows maybe 3 inches apart that went around the entire track. They can make their own snow cones out of what comes out the back! Anyways it seems that in the sledding world this kind of set up is what you want for ice. It offers a far superior grip, used not only for hooking up at the start, but for stability during the run. It seems that enough air gets under the track to lift a machine and with out studs it's a squirrelly ride. I understand the traction will be a good thing but, my balls ain't big enough yet. So I screwed 1/2" sheetmetal screws into all the lugs on my track in hopes of a decent hook up and better control. I can hardly wait until Sunday to take this machine out.
Posted 12-17-2010 at 01:50 PM by rb550four
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Yeah, it's Sunday. My family and I got an early start,and a couple of friends came to the house for snowbike's first ride. It fired hard at 17 degrees F, and left the garage under it's own power. A light coating of snow made it easy to get her to the pond. The ice is about 6 inches and I'm on it. Made a few passes to see how it acts, noticed the sound of the final drive bearing that I didn't replace and should have. Turns, staightlines,slides in a circle track fashion, in each gear, just to see how much strain the frame would take (checking welds) and nothing popped. Serious horseplay followed , skis snowplow allot more than I would like, speedo was at a comfortable 55 when I got the idea to try a 360 during a slide, no that's a feeling I never had on a 550 before. I learned allot of things that I can improve upon before the next run,but what I noticed most, was that I felt 30 years younger. Shot some film,gonna edit it so it's bearable and you tube it soon,I'll let you know where you can find it after it's sent.
Posted 12-19-2010 at 08:52 PM by rb550four
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I posted a couple of quick videos of snowbike on wristtwisters facebook page
Posted 12-20-2010 at 04:53 PM by rb550four
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You tube snowbike 550 , 3 out 4 videos come up
Posted 12-21-2010 at 05:25 PM by rb550four
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It's the day after Christmas, the ice is lookin good and we're looking to get a foot of snow. It's a good time for a ride so I go. a half hour into pissin off some ice fisherman, I'm noticing something not right, turns out I've smoked a third chain tentioner. Not enough slack I guess,just a tearin up those plastic rollers. I have steel rollers form something else laying around and will change that out after I smoke this new one.
The machine handles well in a line, sits high but ,hasn't turned over yet, not from a lack of trying. The rear end can get squirrelly in a hurry just by a hard weight shift but it has to be deliberate so it isn't like it's not predictable. I don't know what a snowmobile feels like so I can't gauge what I should expect out of this thing but I would like the front end to bite harder in the turns and I think that I should moved the track up further to get more weight on it, traction can be an issue on the start especially if there is no snow.Posted 12-26-2010 at 12:42 PM by rb550four
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This was an experiment that I've been wondering about for a while so now that I've tested it I have come to some conclusions. One- yes it's fun. Two- it's as expensive as a summer machine. Three- It's a hell of a thing to do to a classic machine.Four- no matter how much fun I'm having, it's still effin cold outside.Five - a cycle frame is not the best choice for weight distibution and handling. Final conclusion-A 4 wheeler frame would be a better place to start, it's more compact. A 2 cycle engine is easier to start, and less weight. And I think Polaris came up with this idea last year, haven't seen one yet but I'm looking.
All and all, it was something that I needed to do so I could find out for myself, the hard way ,of course. I'll run it for the rest of the season, probably dismantle it in the spring and finish another 550 for pavement.
It's been a fun build and thanks for reading along.Posted 12-26-2010 at 01:03 PM by rb550four
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It's the 4th of July 2011, and I haven't taken apart snowbike... guess I'll have to run it next year. There was a '72 500-4 sitting in the corner just asking to be a cafe racer ,had the time ,so now it is. But there was another one right next to it that wanted to be a cafe racer also...and there was all these GPZ 1000 parts around from the snowbike build.This one has a 2" extended swing arm from the Kaw. along with it's rear disc brake,double disc front brakes, 38 mm forks and mag wheels, the seat is from a 2000+ suzuki dz 250,because the gpz tank was longer than the honda tank. I'm pleased with both of them and will post pics next time. But right now I broke down 550 #4 because the red painted frame was a little more than ugly and it needs to look a little better and maybe go a little faster .I'm thinking two massive mikunis may help but don't know for sure
.Posted 07-04-2011 at 12:40 PM by rb550four
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number 4 now sports a black frame,orange tank,light ,side cover, and high lighted orange crankcase. Flat black jug and valve assembly.many of the steering parts are now semigloss black. I think three colors of black adds definition and looks cool. the pipes look like hell so I'll save up for a new set of headers , the flat blacks are not available till next month and that would look sweet, chromes are available now but I just think it'll add anything to the coolness,just another thing to polish. As for those big Mikunis, I recently purchased a 71 cb 450 double overhead cam with 11,000 miles,and I'm thinking this is where they should go.It's a solid machine and I 've been waiting for title before starting on it. Stock or bobber? what to do?!
Posted 07-18-2011 at 07:24 PM by rb550four
