I know so many people are up here are not bothering to change there tires!!! Stupid. Nope I am going to keep the Pathfinder, she has many payment free miles left in her. up here I can buy a lake camp for 30 grand, I would rather have another cabin( the one i have now sits in the Hainesville woods) than spend the money on a depreciating thing like an Explorer.

 

To whom it may concern...Elk hunting in 98 myself and three other buddys were hunting in the back country on some old logging roads the last day of the 98 season. We spotted about 30 head of elk across the valley from us. myself had filled my tag during archery, waited at the ATVs while i watched my friends hike down the skid trail to the canyon bottom along the edge of the timber and clearcutted section line. In about 20 minutes they were upon the elk. There was about 14" off snow and getting within the half hour of shooting time but was questionable for the snow coming down and was much darker than a clear evening wold be.
Any way they dropped 2 bulls across there and i thought its going to be late one tonight. I rode my sp500 down a winding skid trail, climbed the other side to get the highest bull down a drug it down to the other, which wasnt much fun in the dark, logs under the snow, and an elk trying to pass you. Anyway, once we got them to the bottom we figured we could half and drag or try going up the abonded logging road that was full of water drainage burms. we chained, bungeed,and strapped bothe bulls to the machine,my buds climbed onto the slippery front rack and took off up the road. A little throttle up on the down side of the burms and the aggressive pulling frony wheels pulling and about 30 minutes later we made it back to the other machines. We tied up one to a kodiak and after several attempts to get it pulling without the full locked front drives we had to hook back up to me. An hour later we climbed out of the drainage and made the windy 4 mile track back to the cabin. ( My coolant light did come on once on the way out,but it gave us time for a shnapps toast on that dark snowy night)

 

I am either the Super Hypocrite now, or either a big dumb ***! Got to thinking a while ago about things, and maybe I might should consider a Sportsman even still. Not right away, but maybe eventually when I can just pay cash and not worry about financing (which wouldn't be too long).

Basically, I took the tape measure to my AC today. Stock tires 26" back on it now (24.5" actual mounted diameter), and it had like 9" of clearance at the frame, 8" at the rear diff., and maybe 10 at the front. I didn't give a crap for this, but of course I never do. Add a little over an inch to it if the Claws are on. Still isn't impressive.

Basically, I got to thinking again. This quad is never going to get any faster. A highlifter performance kit will only add a little bit of barely noticeable acceleration. Number 2, I'm never going to have any real ground clearance, not even with a lift. The rear differential is always going to be low, and the drain bolt will continue to hit on rocks. Number 3, Nobody is ever going to come out with a locker kit to give me true 4wd.

It is just going to be solid and stable and reliable and thats about it. So I figured, that I had better make damn sure I want to keep it for a while before I buy new rims for the 27" tires ($220), a highlifter kit ($325), and any lights, lift kits, or other costly crap that I would regret paying for if I ended up trading it next year.

I still hate the auto tranny, but from the looks of it, all of the flagships from every manufacturer are going to have automatic transmissions. The hondas are all going to have drum brakes and crap differentials. Can I bear the Polaris automatic and the damn 2wd going downhill thing (I've made new topics for this already)?

Hell, its such a tough decision. I made that mistake of checking out that sportsman again, and that clearance is such an eye catching thing. Obviously the HO will be fast enough too, no need to wait on a 650 Kawa. That one looks so good, but seems as if it will have a standard swingarm, so why bother. Is sacrificing IRS or semi-IRS worth getting the linked 4wd, steel racks, and cool new disc brake system? Hard to say. I think I would value the rear end more myself.

This is a long post, and makes me look like a jackass for all of the fence crossing I have been doing, but if it aids in me making a right decision, then so be it. Thanks for all of you guys putting up with so much of my horse$hit for so long on this thing.

 

You need a Hummer.

 

Yeah, like I need a hole in my head. I'd buy a house first probably. Better way to spend $50K.