The first prototype modern snow bike kits started thrashing around in the mountains of Idaho around 2000, which was about the same time that Harris Huizenga took his first baby-steps in his hometown of Bismarck, North Dakota. Fast forward a dozen years and Harris took his first spin on a snow bike, mainly because his dad Jeremy starting selling them at his powersports dealership, Full Throttle Motorsports, in Bismarck. Midwest Timbersled rep, Matt Halseth took both of the Huizenga’s out snow bike riding and both were hooked.
Harris immediately started entering races and quickly adapted to the winter machines, mostly because he had already put in years of saddle time on motocross tracks in the summer and he knew how to ride. He quickly learned that it’s harder to jump snow bikes than dirt bikes because of the power and weight difference between the two. When he first started riding he was unsure of the machine dynamics, but now he has come to trust his snow bike and pushes it fearlessly in the turns and he knows that it won’t fall over if he pushes too far.
Snow bike racing is exploding on the scene, and guys like Harris are right in the middle of that explosion. The races are getting more common and the tempo and skill levels are increasing, and so too is Harris. He still looks forward to the annual family winter trip to West Yellowstone, but the race track is where he spends most of his time on a snow bike. He has an affinity for tracks with tighter 180 degree turns, lots of jumps, and great spectator viewing.
That is why he liked the recent race in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, which was round 4 of the 2017 NASBA Championship Snow Bike Series – the track had numerous tight corners, plenty of jumps, and a couple of rough, rhythm sections, much like a slightly defanged supercross course. Harris wound up winning the elite, A Main, beating both of his main rivals, Cody Thomsen and Colton Davis. Harris also took an impressive ninth in the recent Winter X Games Snow Bike Race in Aspen, Colorado, a position that he plans on improving on next year.
Harris doesn’t just have a mission on the track, he is also pushing hard off the track, encouraging dirt bike riders everywhere to get out and try this sport soon, and get out and start riding before everyone gets really, really fast.
There are half a dozen different snow bike kits out there, but Harris favors Timbersled, as this kit has really delivered for him. In his future he plans to go to X-Games again and pursue the growth of the sport in the upcoming NASBA Championship Snow Bike Series. Harris would like to race more, up to 12 times a year, and keep raising the bar on just how fast a snow bike racer can get.