I wasn't sure where to post this. Since it has to do with the last ride I was on, I decided on here.

On Sunday, I went riding with some of the usual suspects. Small group this time. 00 Suzuki QR500, 00 Polaris 325 Magnum, my 00 Grizzly, and my 11 year old son on a 99 Kawie Bayou 220. We didn't do anything to hardcore, due to the 220, and an inexperienced rider on the Polaris.

It had rained the day and night before. Part of the area we ride is in a low lying river bottom area. We discovered a swamp-like area that we had not seen before due to surrounding brush. We started across, with my son ahead of me. I told him if couldn't make it, I'd push or pull him out. About halfway across, the water was up to the his racks. The area has a lot of old downed trees and limbs. The Bayou 220 went over a small limb under the water, and it was just enough to make it rise up in the water. It was then I noticed he was having trouble making it through because the 4-wheeler was floating just a little. It actually became quite funny. The tires were spinning free. After a while it would move forward. My son turned it around more like a boat than a 4-wheeler. We were all laughing so hard we could barely drive our own machines!

I know some people think that 4-wheelers will float good enough to cross a lake due to the large tires. I had never seen this much flotation until then.

I was curious if this made sense, scientifically speaking. It appears that with 4 psi in the tires, there is just enough bouyancy in the tires to lift the 4-wheel slightly when the water is deep enough. My son is small for his age. The 4-wheeler and him together weight only about 470 pounds.

Has anyone seen or been on a 4-wheeler that floated like this in STILL water. Swift flowing water is a different story, unless you're talking swift moving DEEP water, now that could be interesting.

May not be the best post, but I'm home alone tonight, shows are reruns, and it's raining.

I didn't take the digital camera because it was so wet. I took some pictures when we got home. It is hard to tell from the picture that my Son't Bayou 220 is covered with a total layer of mud and grass.

http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/gapolley

Yammer_Hummer
2000 Grizzly, and a 99 Bayou 220 PWC?

 

Yammer_Hummer:
That's quite a story! I'm sorry I can't reply to it, but I do have a question for you. If I remember correctly, I think I read about you designing a new, higher winch mount for your Grizzly, and in the process, sealing the winch with silicone, or marine moly grease? I can't remember exactly how you did it, and was wondering if you would mind refreshing my memory.

I have ordered two Arctic Cat 500 4x4 Auto's, and will pick them up Saturday morning (3-25?), and would like to seal the winch properly before I hit any water with them, just as a precautionary measure. What did you use to seal it, and where exactly did you do it?

Thanks for the help!
Mike

 

cowboy,

That was me. You'll probably get input from others also. I used GOOP brand marine sealant. I got it at a local hardware store. I chose it because the label said it could be used to cover marine battery terminals. I figured this sounded perfect, it would seal the connection from water, and be safe for the electrical current. I used this for all of the electrical connections. It was a little messy. I put a glob on the terminal, then used my fingers to spread it over the entire connection. I had 5 weekdays to do this, so I put on 2 coats. For the winch itself, I used regular silicone sealant, as it wasn't as runny. I put a bead along all the housing seams (except for the free spool/engage ****), along the bottom where the plastic housing meets the metal plat underneath, and around the metal plates on either side of the roller. Even with a higher mount, I have had it totally under water, then right after sued it to pull another 4-wheeler out. It worked fine. I believe water still gets in around the engage ****, so all the work may not make that much of a difference. Some people can probably tell you thay have had unsealed winches that have worked fine for years.

http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/gapolley

Pictures of the mounting, but you can't see the sealant, what I used dries clear. Also some pictures I added tonight of riding place, 4-wheelers, blah, blah, blah.

Good Luck!

Yammer_Hummer

 

Yammer_Hummer:
Thanks for the info! I can't hardly wait till saturday when I get to pick up the machines, go for a ride! Nice pics too, looks like a fun place to ride out where you live. Just out of curiousity, did you use a digital camera, or a normal one, then scan it in? I don't know too much about this computer stuff, and was surprised at how clear they come through.

I'll probably only get a couple hours riding time saturday. I've got to pick up my boy around noon for the rest of the day, till 5:00, then maybe get to ride in the evening. Still fighting in court for visitation, so I only get to see him for 5 hours on the weekends every other weekend. One of those drunken rodeo nights gone bad, ya know. Live and learn I guess. Anyhow, won't get to put the new 'Cats to any real tests till May, when I finish school. We've got some land up in northern Washington, about a half hour south of the Canadian border. Had a logging company go in back in september and do some thinning, take some of the bad stuff out. So, we'll take the 'Cats up there to clean up the mess they made. Pulling fallen timber, cleaning the creeks out, stuff like that. Should prove to be a great time. Then, long about October it's Elk Season!

Well, if you haven't noticed, it's kind of a long night out this way as well. Just got done with 3 different exams, two quizzes, two labs and one surgery. Seriously debating skipping my last two classes tomorrow to head down and pick up the bikes early. Suppose I should get going. Have a good evening.

Mike

 

Cowboy,

The pictures were taken with a digital camera. It works great for still shots, but motion tends to blur. Also, pictures have to be about 2-3 seconds apart as the camera records what has been taken. I have scanned in regular photgraphs also and the results are the same or better, depending on film qualtiy and scanner resolution.

The great thing about the digital camera is pictures can be taken, then immmediately viewed. If it wasn't good, or not want you want, it can be deleted. The one I use can take 70 high res pictures on the little memory card. The photo software can turn a poorly lit picture into a viewable picture surprisingly well.

Two annoyances are the time it takes to unload the pictures from the camera to the computer, then time agian to upload to the Yahoo briefcase. The other is it really eats batteries, mostly during the upload process to the computer. This one has an optioanl AC adapter that my company didn't buy.

Yammer_Hummer

 

Yammer_Hummer:
Boy, that digital camera sounds pretty fancy. Kind of surprised though that your company would rather burn up the batteries than get the AC adapter to save money. Of course most companies really don't think too much about the smaller stuff like that though. I think I may stick with those little disposable jobs. They can take pretty nice pictures and if you happen to drop it in the mud, or run over it for some reason I'd only be out $5.00 or so, whatever they cost. I'm sure those digital ones aren't cheap!

Hey, do you happen to have one of those GPS deals? My dad asked if I would look into those, as he would like to get one. I don't really know anything about them, or what are the better quality ones. I think they would be pretty nice to have, especially for those times when you're god only knows how many miles out in the middle of no where, with no real landmarks, such as in heavy forest or cover. Who knows.

Well, time to shut down. I've got about 200 miles ahead of me, then it's time to pick up the Arctic Cat's! Hopefully be a fun weekend.

Take care.