said. “It is a full feature, go anywhere, and ride what’s in front of you kind of kit.” What separates this kit from the others is the custom-tuned freeriding version of the Moto Trax Premium FOX IFP shock system.
ponents come directly from manufacturers in the US, some from Canada. It’s also a smart, strategic business decision.”
Another smart and strategic business decision was revving up when they did. Moto Trax is not only zooming through virtually fresh powder with plenty of lane space between themselves and their three market competitors, they’re about to benefit from the ultimate exposure: TV. “For the last six years or so, there’s been one primary snow bike racing series on the West Coast. It’s called Flash Point. It has since grown into probably the largest series in North America. Randy’s been a participant, actually. It’s a five round national series and this year the first and final rounds were here in Idaho. The other rounds were held in Minnesota, Utah, and Montana. With more and more riders entering every year, it’s creating the need for more and more classes and races. There are plenty of YouTube videos of the past six years of racing and that’s really put the spotlight on us as an up-and-coming legitimate sport.” The spotlight is going to get a lot brighter on snow bikes in the New Year. According to Snowmobile.com, “ESPN has added snow bike racing to the upcoming X Games Aspen 2017, which takes place January 26-29.” In their second year, Moto Trax saw between one and two hundred orders a month during the winter. “When everything is said and done, we’ll be looking at approaching 1000 units this season,” Stevens projected. “Next season, considering trends in the industry, I could see it easily reaching multiples of thousands.” Moto Trax maintains a large dealership network across Canada and the US. “We’re in the 40s range now and we’re looking to break into the territory of 100 dealerships by next season.” “Our suspension puts us a step above the competition.”
In-house innovation has been a major factor of Gentry’s early success.
“Our suspension puts us a step above the competition. We use what’s called a rising rate suspen- sion, which uses a linkage like a dirt bike,” Stevens explained. “So when you’re doing big jumps or coming down a really whooped-out snowmo- bile trail, your suspension becomes firmer as it goes through its travel. That’s completely unlike anything on the market right now; everyone else uses modified snowmobile suspen- sion, which uses falling rate suspen- sion. Those collapse under their own weight. There are reasons this tech- nology is used with snowmobiles, but the design of snow bikes makes it obsolete, we feel.” “You’re going to get more ‘Moto’ out of the whole experience on one of our bikes.” “We’ve also designed a fully-pivot- ing skid,” he continued. “That means you’re free to move and lean as you go through corners. Now, rather than feeling like you have a four-by- eight piece of plywood behind you when you’re riding, you now have the ability to manoeuver as you would on your dirt bike.” Stevens feels that self-reliance is a character trait of many riders and something they look for in a brand. “That ‘Made in America’ label is important to us as a company and it’s important to our customers. It signals to people that as a company we have a higher standard of quality control because we can easily source every component. Most of our com-
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS • NOVEMBER 2016
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