A friend and I went to Finger Lakes here in Missouri today. It has been a long time since we have rode and it sure felt good to get back in the saddle. My Scrambler 500 4x4 had a new 700 belt on it and it ran like never before. My friend rode his 400EX. It has rained for the past day or two and it was really muddy out there. The trails were awesome but the hills were just unbelievable. There was one we now call the Widowmaker. It was the worst hill I've ever been up and I've been riding for a long time. It is a bad hill and now it's worse with mud covering it. My friend hit it on his 400EX, he has Sur Trac tires on the back. I have to give him credit for having the guts to try but there was no way. It came to a stop at the only "good" part of the hill. I then helped him back it down the hill. Most of the way, the three of us just slid all the way down. He guides and I hold the front down. I jumped on my Scrambler and clicked in to four wheel drive. By the way, you can't get a run at this hill because there is a creek at the bottom. I hit the hill and gave it plenty of throttle. She lit up and had all four spinning like there was no tomorrow (and there almost wasn't). I made the two turns nessasary to make the top and crested the hill. Wish I had it on video.
Later at another hill, my friend tried once again and got stuck on the side. At that time, three other quad riders saw him up there and came running to his rescue. They had no idea we do this all the time. I was still at the bottom of the hill on my 4x4 just laughing. We helped him down the hill and he went again. The difficult part was near the top where you had to turn left, with your front wheels in the air. He went farther this time but ran off the side into some brush. He got off and moved his quad to another trail. I then hit it on my Scrambler but this time to fast. I missed the turn with the wheels in the air. My right handle bar hit a tree (moved my throttle just a bit) and then I hit a tree gently head-on. I got off and tried to move my quad to that other trail at just the point of tipping sideways. I had just reached the trail and the darn thing rolled over. I was standing beside it on the downhill side. I tried to stop it but it was way to heavy. Three of us picked it back up and I laughed at it. At this point, these riders we just met probably thought we were insane. I had to make another attempt because this was a 'makable' hill that had so far, whooped me. I hit it again, much slower this time and made the turn without much trouble. I think I have my friend almost convinced that he needs a 4x4!

It seems my stories always turn out really long. Hope you like it.

 

LOL Cool. Sounds like you had a lot of fun. Does that 700 belt in the Scrambler really make that big of a difference? Low end? Throttle response?

 

I really like the 700 belt. Throttle response is better and it wheelies real easy. It made my tranny a bit hard to shift because the secondary clutch is turning even at idle. The belt must be a bit wider or grip better. The thing I really liked about that is, it gives a light EBS while going down hill. I used to give it throttle to slow down (haha) but now I can just idle and it doesn't take off like it's in neutral.

After all that stuff that could have destroyed my machine, it looks like some unknown force has tore it up. The left front CV boot has a 1/2" long tear in it. **For those anti-grease zerk guys, I found that tear while greasing my machine** That tire even got a flat. I didn't run through much brush or anything. I don't know how long it was like that. Although this wasn't a big mud ride, I was in water and it could have been dirty for a while. Should I tear it apart to replace the boot and then see if it is still a good joint? I am unfamilar with the Polaris 4x4 hub. I have removed car CV shafts so I know what I'm doing there. I need to know if/how I get through the hub (past that big nut) and how to get the ball joint out. Can I bypass getting that joint out by disconnecting the top of the strut?

 

Where is Finger Lake in Missouri? In western ky we have lost a lot of riding areas that are being lease by "gun clubs", hunter's , etc. I am looking for other ride area's close to the Paducah and Henderson kentucky area. thanks for your info. Oh, i recently got a HPD heavy duty belt ( the Polaris belt shreaded in a race), it is alot better. Had improved engagement points -its wider and thicker and made of kevlar.
hunt

 

kyexplorer.finger lakes is about 7 miles due north of columbia,mo.its on the way to moberly and macon.dont have a map in front of me but i think it hwy 63 or 65.