A motorcycle which converts into a skidoo or snowmobile? Not as daft as it sounds, with parts of the UK possibly becoming snowbound before Christmas.

Canadian manufacturer Daymak has launched the Combat, which can swap its wheels for a snow-friendly track-and-ski chassis.

In motorcycle form, the Daymak Combat looks like a fat-tyred monkey bike. Designed more for off-road terrain than tarmac (it’s not actually road legal), it’s powered by a 5Kw electric motor which peaks at 19Kw (nearly 19bhp). The 4.8KWh battery is what you’d expect for a 125cc-equivalent bike, though Daymak claims a relatively modest 50-mile range, and the top speed is limited to 44mph.
Converting the Combat to snow use doesn’t look like a five-minute job, with the front wheel and forks being swapped for a different front end including a substantial looking mono ski. At the back, the rear wheel, final drive and swing arm are ditched in favour of a caterpillar track, probably driven direct from the mid-mounted motor.

Daymak’s president Aldo Baiocchi was as upbeat as you’d expect about his latest product, saying that, “The Combat ebike has been tested extensively in the Canadian wilderness over the last three years. Designed and tested by Steven Foster in Quebec, it can handle and fight any terrain or incline. You can ride all year long, snow or dirt!”

So how much will this dual-role motorcycle/snowmobile cost? Well it’s not cheap. The first batch of 100 Combats cost $13,995 (nearly £11,300), with deliveries in June (yes, early summer…) with series production bikes coming in at about $1000 extra at the end of the year.

Jim Freeman, Chair of the BMF, was duly intrigued: “As someone who’s done a fair few miles on ‘sleds’, as they generally call them in Maine, I’d bet that these are mostly going to be one thing or the other . That sounds like a lot of work, rebuilding half the bike/snowmobile, to bother switching. The price looks pretty challenging too, when you can buy a Polaris Indy Evo with the beginner friendly, ‘classic’ Liberty 550 2-cylinder fan cooled engine, with twin Mikunis, for 7,330 bucks MSRP or the ’22 model for 6,300 bucks. Other brands are available, of course, but I’ve only ever ridden Polaris. In fact, if you wanted a high spec electric off road bike, I’d bet you could get both for 13-14,000 bucks. Just a thought.”

Written by Peter Henshaw

Top image courtesy of Daymak