VOL. 53 ISSUE 9 MARCH 8, 2016 P87
developed Timbersled Deep
Snow Intake System that butts
up to the throttle body. Bikes
with batteries inside the airbox
require a bit more fiddling about
to create the space necessary to
fit the TSS.
Up front you retain the fork
but remove the front wheel and
brake setup to fit the ski.
SO… WHAT'S IT LIKE?!
In a word—awesome! I'll admit
I get to do some cool things in
this job, but riding a Timbersled
Husqvarna FC450 is hands-
down one of the best things I've
ever done on a motorcycle for
two reasons: One—the sheer
novelty of riding a motorcycle in
deep powder and, two—for the
places you can go.
It takes a bit of fine tuning in
the riding style to understand the
language of the Timbersled. Ini-
tially it feels like the bike doesn't
want to turn, because if you're
used to the speed at which a dirt
bike turns, a Timbersled will feel
like a truck in comparison. You
have to look where you want to
go, point the ski in that direc-
tion and trust it—which is actually
harder than it sounds—but the
more time you spend on it, the
more it feels like a dirt bike, albeit
one with a gigantic wheelbase.
That wheelbase is what makes
the turning initially slow but
ultimately ultra stable. Pick your
line, hold on and pin it. That's
how to get the most out of one
of these in wide-open fields.
It's best to find your own line
on a Timbersled rather than
follow someone else's. Rid-
ing through uncharted powder
allows the ski to track its own
line, if you follow your buddy's,
the ski can sometimes go off
course and once it does, much
like if you cross-rut on a moto-
cross track, you'll hit the ground.
But crashing in powder is much
nicer than crashing at Glen
Helen, even funny, almost!
In the tight stuff, what was
amazing was how the back-end
would flex and bend according
to the terrain I was riding. At one
point I rode across a 60° hill,
and the back end simply flexed
to the angle of the ground and
gave me all the traction I could
(Left) Our test bike
was fitted with
aftermarket lights
and hand guards.
(Below) The front
ski is a relatively
easy conversion.
