Motorcycle & Powersports News August 2010 : Page 13
shocks. One is an Ohlins shock that mounts to the mo-torcycle and moves with the swingarm. The other is a cus-tom unit on the track frame that dampens the front of the track. Riders adapt very quickly to the bike. Pro rider David Pingree rode one of the bikes at Mammoth, and he became visibly more confident within about 10 minutes, throwing the machine into corners with gusto and leaping off a hump on the ski hill to soar 40 feet down. He later explained that the track-equipped bikes jump well, but you cannot cor-rect much in the air. When I took a turn on the RadiX, I found it quite easy to ride. The front ski cuts and tracks tightly, and the bike feels natural and manoeu-vrable. The track soaks up horsepower, and the normally eyeball-flattening RMZ450 had ample but not awe-inspir-ing power. Turning requires you to lean the motorcycle and turn on the throttle, and it takes a bit to adjust to that. While the ski bites very well, you can’t turn the motorcycle with just the handlebars. King’s advice was to go out in the snow and lean it over until the handlebar dragged with the throttle on. I found an open meadow and leaned it over with the power on. After a few cuts, you quickly learn to trust that ski. It sticks far bet-ter than a wheel. Flick it over and gas it, and the bike will cut hard, tight and clean. Once you learn to turn, the real fun begins. You can snake the bike between the trees in a way that a snowmobiler can only dream about. The 2Moto bike transforms a snowy patch of woods into one giant piece of free-riding single-track. The 2Moto crew hosted Ground Zero, a motocross race in winter 2009, and motorcycleproductnews.com August 2010 15 another race in Oregon in 2010. In 2009, they brought in John Dowd, Mike Metzger and a number of other well-known professionals to race the bikes. Dowd, in particular, adapted well to the bike, and 2Moto held a 2010 race at Timberline Lodge, a major ski resort on Mt. Hood, Oregon. Off-road riders also adapt well to the RadiX machines. Former Paris-to-Dakar racer Casey McCoy was on hand at Mammoth for a ride, and we went with him through open slopes and did some bushwacking snaking through the woods. The ability to explore remote areas struck a chord with McCoy. “I’m not a moto-head. I like to be able to go places I ordi-narily don’t go, and this thing does that,” McCoy said. “I’d do this over snowmobiling any day.” McCoy has it right. The RadiX makes snowmobiling seem, well, boring. I’d rather ride a RadiX, even when it led me to the top of a snowy mountain-rimmed ridge near Cornice Bowl wondering how to get down the mountain. The only chance I had was to ride, so I pointed the big KTM to-wards the bottom of the slope and dropped the clutch. The bike gained speed control-lably. I leaned left and fed the engine a little throttle, and it rewarded me with a crisp cut that tossed up a six-foot-high wall of snow. I cut back right, digging in deep, and kept that rhythm rolling as I slalomed down the steep ski slope. At the bottom, I sat and grinned like an idiot for a few giddy minutes, then spun around and pointed the bike back up that hill to do it again. t 2Moto Info The RadiX retails for $4,299 and bolts to most popular off-road motorcycles (see a fitment chart on their website). 2Moto can build the RadiX and have it ready to ship in about a day, and fill orders in less than a week. “We expect rapid growth as we come out of this recession,” said Bill King. As 2Moto expands, the company is seeking new dealers as well as qualified potential investors. For more information visit www.2moto.com, or contact Bill King directly at bill@2moto.com or (208) 870-3708. t
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