Went out today to clear some of the fallen trees that were on the trail so that a friend and i could ride tomorrow. Didnt have a problem with any of the trees but on the way back to the house (28 miles from home), i went through a swamp/marsh. I just did this same path the day before and didnt think anything of it. NO PROBLEM, i thought. The griz dove, climbed, sunk, swam....everything it was suppose too, till the end.

Right at the end of the deepest part of the marsh, i decided to climb the bike up on a large rock (about 4x8 ft) and stay out of the soup...with the wet tires, the bike just slid off the side and two wheels caught...OVER IT WENT. I have a fake right leg and the bike had it pinned under it. My right arm was straight...straight DOWN in the muck. The weight of the bike and the "depth" of the muck was just a lil to much for my liking. I was sink'n quick and starting to worry.

I was able to pull my leg off and get out from under the bike. This was the easiest part. Trying to get out/get to the bike with one leg and in the deep muck, was no fun. I finally got my leg back on and started working on getting the bike out before it disappeared. Dang, that is one heavy *** bike. There was NO WAY i was going to flip this thing back on its claws. I finally figured out how to get to the winch and ran the line "sideways" to a tree. Thank god, i got the 2500 warn with that niffty 6 ft remote! The handle bars were in the mud and there would have been no way for me to winch the bike out without that remote. Winch worked out good. Pulled the bike back onto its claws. It took a lil while to start the bike back up, but she did fire.

My leg is hanging off the "CLOTHS LINE" in the back yard, air drying. lol...I am SOOOOO happy that my wife is out of town for the weekend. I know that i she would sell the bike if she knew what i went through today. At least now i can tell her..... LATER, like after a couple months of riding, i will bring it up...hehe

Sorry mike that i had to cancel the trip tomarrow...neck is sore, body is worn, and my leg is still wet [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Maybe a ride this week...weekday? or if not, some other weekend.

Jonathan

 

As weird as it may sound you are kind of lucky to have a prostetic leg. By the sounds of your mishap if you didn't have a prostetic leg you would be getting one soon (crushing your leg) or even worse drowned.
How many miles do you have on your Grizzly? It seems like you are always coming on here telling about 20-40 mile rides.
Well recouperate and get back out one the trail!

 

damn funny, now that you are all right. my brother tried to wear his blaster one day, guess he thought that it looked like fun the time i fliped it on me. he had a change of heart when he tore the ligaments in his hand. griz is a nice atv, good choice

 

jonathan,
that is just a little too close for my blood. i am real happy to hear you'r o.k. did you take in any slime into the engine or belt drive? check the oil, and the diffs. my brother took in water into his diffs through the breather hoses. i got it all out, but it took quite some liquid changing, lol. that had to be scary as all he!! right at that moment. i get nervous when i bury it while others are there, lol
!!! glad your o.k., and really try to keep it on all 4, lmao!!! 4x8 ft rock?? by god man, how rough is the terrain where you drive?? lmao!


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The area that i was riding in is inbetween Big Bay and Champion. It was in the Wild Cat Cannion. One of the five hardest trails i have rode up here. I really wasnt "hot dog'n" at all. I new that i was going to be in trouble if i challanged anything major, that's why i went up on that rock. YES, there are some stone bluffs here. bigg'ns!

It was nice that i could take my leg off. If not, i dont think that i would have been able to get out from under the bike. Well maybe, just not the way i did...lol

I have over 1000 miles on the bike and i just bought them...in march/april? somewhere around there. I was going to take MMcGuire out on this trip today, but i can tell you...WoW, i am sore. This trip crosses 5 small rivers, some with homemade bridges, some are just WATER.. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] there is an area about 3 miles of really tech riding, up hill, all mud, deep holes (alot of them have small trails around the deep stuff, some dont). On the other area (the one i flipped in) there is only 1/2 mile of swamp with NO WAY around. It really is on of the best "round trips" that i have found. You get to see alot of different trail conditions and uses exactly one tank of gas. If you want, its just a 12-15 mile ride, and you can get food and gas for the trip back. That lil jog is right at the halfway for the round trip ride. If you read the post about the guy that went to Big Bay, then you saw SOME of the area that i go through.

I dont know if i took anything into the bike at all. Only the pass. side of the bike was under, along with the handle bars. I have a Tamarak box on the back that was somewhat holding the bike out of the muck. From an outside view, you could have seen the underbelly, driverside tires, and the bike was like at a 45 degree upside down. That make sense? lol

The bike is in champion. I let my bro-in-law borrow my trailer, so i didnt bring the bike home. Here is the really bad part....the mud that i was in, took a stiff brush and elbow grease just to get it off my skin. I can only imagine how long it will take to wash the bike off.

I will put it this way...i canceled riding today and there is no way that i am even leaving the house today. I am pucker'd out. I kinda feel like i was ran over by a grizly [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Ron, i will write you later to find out how to check the dif's. Nice thing is, i just put the new brakes on yesterday morning, and gave her a full greasing. I dont think that there will be any problem with grime in the "grease areas". I will re-grease, change oil, check dif's, check belt housing, brakes.... anything else?

One thing that i noticed was, the front brakes were flat. Must have got an air bubble in them when upside down. After pumping them for a while, they came back. Other than that....everything SEEMS ok. Like i said, i rode 40 so miles BACK to the house, without a hitch.

Jonathan

 

Northern edge may be right. If not, you might have needed a prosthetic leg now after having the quad fall on it. If you hadn't been killed that is.
At least you have a "leg up" on people when it comes to getting out of this situation.
I would have been scared to death. At least you're ok!

 

i need to make a correction....that last sentence...should read "20 or so miles" not 40. Sorry.

Ya know...if i did have a rt leg, i am sure that i would have been able to feel what was hanging it up under the quad. BUT your right, taking the leg off made it a whole-hell-of-alotta easier!

I think that i better STOP writing stories on here, or NO ONE's gonna want to ride with me....lol

Jonathan

 

No you can't stop. Your stories normally make me laugh pretty good, and I believe that is one of the best things to do. If I lived with in 1000 miles I would have to get a 4x4 just to go with you and get a first hand look for my self. It must be nice to be able to ride 1,000 miles in just a few months.

 

Thanks Ward...

My wife is always tell'n me i should write a book. I think i will just print off all the stories on here and publish it! (my own stories that is)...hehe

Ya ever seen a book with such bad grammer and spelling! I dont think an editor would like review'n my work...lol

Jonathan

 

jonathan,
he!! man, its your stories that are making me scramble to try to set a time for getting up there!!! lmao! i have only seen such trails and adventures in my dreams, not in reality! keep up the stories, and we'll let you know if there too much. so far, i really look foward to reading them! by the way, 1000 miles in just months? what, do you work on the thing, literally? lol.


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