Winter Hawk riding!
 

Just found this today, I think I want one, BAD!!! Not a Honda Hawk by any means, but hell it shares the name. And I can get a real-hawk matching blue one. I could sure use it in Denver right about now...

Youtube of Snow Hawk

Snow Hawk Homepage

Very cool. Looks like fun leaning deep and throwing up that big roost and you don't even get muddy, huh.

Below: how fast you can go from hero to dumb ass!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRp3Roz6grk&NR=1

I test rode both the 600 and 800 cc versions of the Snow-Hawk and did test reports on them for our magazine. I also did an extensive technical write-up about it (9 pages long) about it. It is a real novel vehicle and a blast to ride. With 140 hp and weighing around 400 lbs, it gets the job done in the deep snow and is very, very capable in deep whoops, its ample suspension travel soaking up anything you can throw at it.

Mik, can you ride them for a long time or are they tiring? How do they stack up against a regular snow machine for trail carving? Did you get hit with the wind and snow yet, we got a foot north of the lake. Cheers

They requyire a period of adaptation as they are totally different from a normal sled. The are much more like riding a crosser. They can be ridden on trails (are legal on FCMQ trails in Quebec) but that is not really their forte. IN the deep powder, however, they are incredible as they can be banked faaaaaaaaaaar over. The are also great at hillclimbing as the ski packs the snow down for the track so there is no trenching. Also, a good rider can hand a snocross sled its ass in the big bumps. They require energy to ride well (they weigh about 400 lb dry and when full, weight over 450, much of that weight high up). The 800 is espcially wild, powered by a Rotax 800 HO twin which has grunt to spare.

I have about three hours total in the saddle and while I did ok, I was just at the beginning of a steep learning curve. I got to ride with the their test rider Kim and the guy is absolutely incredible to watch.

BTW, they are built in Levis, just South of Quebec city )other side of the St-Lawrence).

I have never been a fan of sleds, as they have just seemed like a quad without wheels to me.

But the snow hawk, that it too cool!

sleds are NOT quads without wheels (I don`t much care for Quads either, although a 450 crosser would be fun I think). They are a blast to ride!!!! As far as the Snow-Hawk, it is a lot of fun too but takes some getting used to (lots of power, fair amount of weight, and a high cg).

FWIW, I just finished doing a couple of write-ups (one a long technical overview, the other a riding impression, both for the sled magazine I work for) about a chap here in Quebec (Bessette) who converted a single-track stock sled into a twin-track unit. Now IT is an awful lot like a Quad without wheels