Thanks fellas for the info,
I know that more speed is the key to throwing snow farther but this is not the best of sidewalks. There are major cracks and diffrent things to get hung up on. Speed would really do some major damage. Like I said before I have only run into the problem on one snowfall. So i wouldn't use them all the time. Only when traction is a problem. Just so I have an idea how much damage we're talking about. Are they just little marks on the pavement or major holes that people are going to get upset with?

 

If it was my sidewalk, any damage would be unacceptable. I wouldn't take the chance. I've seen the damage spinning chains will do to pavement and concrete, its permanent. I'd add weight first and see how much that helps. Maybe you need to think about a v-plow if it's that deep.

 

I've been plowing snow since '94 with an atv. This is my third different plow on four different atv's. I've tried the Cycle Country, Moose and lastly the Warn plow. Everyone's plowing situation is different and requires different equipment. I need to scrape about 4800 sq.ft. of asphalt drive and parking areas as close to bare as I can with lots of areas against a fence and buildings that you can't plow against. With any angle plow this required many, many passes to get rid of the snow.

I put a pair of those plowsides on the 60" Warn plow and used a rubber from Moose on top. Boy, this really helps push it straight very nicely. I used to push off to one side but don't even have to angle plow any more. A real nice setup. You don't need or even want chains, they would do more damage than not. I would think about good tires though. Most of the stock tries are not great in snow.

I tried the Warn actuator rather than using a winch to raise and lower for the first time. It' works well, but it's a little slower than the winch. The Country is the lightest blade, the Moose the heaviest and the Warn is in between. Actually with all the stuff I've added It's about the same as the Moose now. If you want to add weight to the blade for certain contitions to keep the plow down on the surface it's relatively easy to do so although you do a lot more harm to the winch/actuator/suspension with the added weight. The moose unit was a beast to constantly lift up and down 50+ times every plowing session. The lift cable will wear out in due time.

One important thing you will definetly need is a way to beef up the front coil springs to prevent sag from the plow. This is also a factor when raising the blade with a winch or actuator since the atv wants to squat for the initial 2" before the actual raising of the blade occcurs. I'ts areal pain in the A$$. A set of front spring rubbers usually is a good cure for this. Yamaha does not make them for the Grizzly, but I have a set coming from Polaris like I used on my last SP500 . . . they should do the trick.

I have some photos of the plowsides setup at http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/jack_schultz2001/rlst

Best regards,
Trader Jack

Forgot, one last thing . . . God's gift to snow plowing . . . Moose Hot Grips, an absolute must, particularly when you get to be my age.

 

If you have a traction problem, chains will not help but will make it alot worse on dry pavement. Chains are great on the trail, but not on pavement, been there done that.

Add some weight over the rear wheels, sand bags or something similar.

When pushing snow up into a bank, raise the blade 2" off the ground, sit way back on the seat and hit the snow in 2nd gear (not real fast now or you'll break something!!). This will allow you to stack snow high, as the bike travels up the bank of snow creating a high pile.

As for hitting cracks and doing damage, you may have the trip springs too tight. At speed the blade should easily fold upon hitting a crack to absorb the impact while allowing you to still travel forward. They should be easier to trip the faster you go. If you don't have trip springs, sell your blade and buy one with them, or you will tear up your machine.

If your using your winch, be sure to keep a couple good quality cable clamps and wrench handy in case the cable breaks. I've had to repair mine once so far this year.

 

I know what you mean by repairing the cable. I used to break the winch cable at least twice a year. The Warn actuator does not seem to create that type of stress on the cable that the winch used to. The actuator is slightly slower that a winch, but it's smoother. Have you done anything to the front end to prevent the springs from compressing when raising the blade?

Trader Jack

 

Trader Jack,

Will all three plows take the same mount underneath?

 

Unfortunately, no. Although I do believe that some modifications could be made to accommodate using different plows with different mounts. The biggest difference I see is the distance between the base tube plow assembly where it mounts under the atv. they all mount about the same way, but the space between is different.

I'm sure I could modify one by cutting and welding, but I've never really tried that. If the distance is the same I would belive they would work fine, particularly with a winch or actuator lift. With a proprietary hand lift it might not work because the blade may be a bit more forward or back to accommodate the hand lifting mechanism.

 

I havent done anything to keep the suspension from dropping. Drops about 1.5 - 2", but doesnt really affect plowing, so I'm going to leave it for now. The extra ground clearance from 27" tires helps too.

 

I'm running 27" rubber also. I jsut hate how these progressive springs compress when you start to raise the blade. I just tried the Polaris sprig rubbers but they won't fit in the Grizz springs. I guess I'll have to fine some of those auto coil spring spacers and see if we can get them to work.