Less Popular 6x6s vs the Big Two

[dzg]

Ill take ya up on that...id love to get togther and go riding once i get my own machine....

[thebuggyman1]

The buggyman let me come ride and drive his maxs yesterday....i want a 6 wheeler more then ever now....it was litrally the most motorized fun ive ever had.

Glad to have you over Dustin. Come back any time.

[dzg]

I really got the bug now....

The buggyman let me come ride and drive his maxs yesterday....i want a 6 wheeler more then ever now....it was litrally the most motorized fun ive ever had.

[North Country Tough]

Thanks racerone3 Iam no stranger to the older rigs,see my introduction post and my Argo Avenger is a fantastic piece and is as reliable as a D 9,my wanting a Attex is a second chilhood thing I wanted one back in the day but it never happened and now as I have crawled out from under my rock see how there is a strong following of these donut tired rigs and rallys which we intend fully on getting too next year,we live close to the Buffalo border and about 4 hours from Detroit so trips to PA,Ohio,NY are relativity close I would like to put together something sporty,busting stuff and fixing has been my life and my thoughts on a Attex redoo is to see about using Argo axles I do have a close friend with a machine shop that has followed me in to stupid endeavors before,the last and only time I was involved in any rally was in the early eightys I think and Argo had put it on in Pushlinch area Ontario it was great and I had a two stroke Argo 6.Since that time my time spent with Argo,s has been utilitarian doing its job haulin deer,moose,gear,and my butt to fishing back lakes far beyond the reach of the 4 wheeler crowd.My wife shares my interests and wants to come out and see a rally and that there are a lot of other people that like these weird machines( I guess to assure herself that she is not living with a one of a kind 6 and 8 wheeler moron)all joking aside we look forward to a meet and greet,I should have known better that on the U.S side you guys would still be obsessing over these machines and racing around.Well got to get the machine serviced up and the trailer ready heading north first part of November its Deer season.NCT

[racerone3]

I've been out of town for a few days, so I'm a little late to the dance on this one. I've owned Argo, Max, Attex, and Hustler machines as well as many others. My current trail machines are a Hustler 980 Bigfoot, an ABS bodied Attex Wild Wolf, and an ABS bodied Attex 8x8. My Wife runs a newer Max II. They all drive a little differently, and all Do something better than the next one.

anyone who has ridden with me knows that I'm not easy on machines, and my ABS bodies have held up very well. My wife managed to rip a 9 inch gash in the bottom of her Max (poly). Either material is quite strong, but ABS is much more easily repaired. My preference is an ABS body with a poly skid plate. My point to this rambling, Don't rule out an Attex just because it isn't a POLY body.

All 3 of my Attex machines (the 2 referenced above and my racer) all started out as 2 stroke machines, and have been converted to 4 strokes. It is a relatively easy swap, and the engines are the one part of the machines I hardly ever need to work on.

Hydro Mike has 25" tires squeezed under an Attex with similar modifications to what a Max II requires to run them. A hustler 950 will fit 25's no problem and a 980 can easily fit 27's.

Axles are a major weakness on a lot of the older machines. Attex used 1" axles and I tend to bend/ break a lot of them.(Amphicat and some others used smaller than that) Also with the small axles, come smaller bearings, and I've noticed that the Attex eats outer bearings at about twice the rate that the Hustler or Max does (Same brand of bearing in the same riding conditions) Both of my attex trail machines are getting upgraded to splined 1 1/4" axles /bearings this winter. I believe once that's done, the machines will be incredibly reliable.

A huge advantage to rebuilding an older machine is that you will know every inch of it. You also have the opportunity to modify and upgrade it as you see fit. Another advantage is cost. If you take your time to research (ask a lot of the people on this site where they get parts) you can find great deals on most of the stuff you will need for a rebuild. My wife's max is a '97... I picked it up needing bearings and chain for 2k. With all the repairs and upgrading the engine to a 35hp monster I still have less than 3k in the machine. We have 5 machines in the fleet and have less coin in all 5 than the cost of a new Max II.

I personally would stick to an Argo, OR a T-20 based machine, although I know of a few members who have made very capable and reliable machines from other brands.

[North Country Tough]

But basically all used the same frame and axles when it comes to the poly body ?Were there a lot of transmission gear ratio differences or was it done at the axles,and the mention of recreative industry's buying the patent and the rights to the transmission that makes sense eliminate the competition in a dwindling market.I once went to the recreative factory in Buffalo I believe it was and checked the max out before a new Argo buy in the eighty's tried one out, steered great and went real good for a four stroke what I didn't like was not enough cargo area and the hollow axles but other than that it was a nice unit but the Argo 8 wheeler fit the bill better for what I needed which was a heavy cargo mover,but that transmission always struck me as the answer it must be locked up large in patent rights.Iam thankful for the Attex one O one and will research it and start a search for the one I want.Thanks guys NCT

[jpswift1]

.

FYI, The Superchief, Tomahawk, and Li'l Truck are the models that had poly bodies.

And don't forget the not so common Attex 250 Spirit with the G250B Chaparral sinlge.

[George]

They only came with single cylinder 4-strokes.

I used a motor-mount from the Superchief (or a G50B engine) to mount a Vanguard inside my Li'l Truck. The mount is flat, roomy, and easy to drill. It will also fit on the frame of the Chief, Thunderchief, Superchief, Tomahawk, and Li'l Truck without having to modify the frame.

FYI, The Superchief, Tomahawk, and Li'l Truck are the models that had poly bodies.

[amphibious drew]

I think 76 is when poly came around. the 4-stroke poly bodies were the tamahawk and little truck. however, the little truck was available in 2stroke.

[North Country Tough]

Thanks for the advice a poly body yea thats a must what year did they start with that,and what year did they start 4 strokes?

[George]

HI NCT,

From all the stories I've heard, Attex went out of Business because Recreative Industries (Max) and the people who built the Hustler bought the rights and tooling to produce the T-20 from Borg-Warner. I've heard that they were still willing to sell the T-20 to their competition but at such a high price that the competition could no longer remain competitive.

Anyway, I once had a conversation with Richard Clark. He told me that the only machines he would rebuild to resell were Argo, Max, Attex and Hustler. He was of the opinion that they were the only ones worth rebuilding.

[mustangwagz]

about as exciting as a washing machine.

i use the same reference for my ole lady..lol.

Howdy NTC, as for a recommendation, i will leave you with this. When you find your attex, id suggest getting one with a poly body and a 4 stoke motor. If it DOESNT have the 4 stroke, no sweat my friend, Swap it! Get a motor, and a drive clutch, and then enjoy your build. As long as its got the t20 trans, you cant go wrong. Simple working and maintaining Transmissions. i just did a swap in mine, and now i love the machine. I ride it more than my sidebyside. My woman is damn lucky i hadnt trried out a 6wheeler, before i bought the mule...otherwise...there wouldn't be a mule. lol

Biggest thing to remember, (and im sure it aint no surprise or info you dont alreayd know) Have fun with whatever you buy/build. Cuz if you dont, whats the sense in building/buying it? lol

[North Country Tough]

Well not knowing enough about the machine I would be looking for a two stroke for sure I had a mid seventys Argo with a factory Kohler 440 2ams I believe was still a Kohler that was Canadian built in Mississauga Ontario it was a blast,but it had its issues that plagued it with 1 inch axles and a factory adapter wheel spool that would accept either the proverbial donut rimless tire or the rimmed Runamuks with a three bolt rim,and the Argo transmission has always been a compromise although sturdy and dependable the use of a planetary style differential has been the biggest let down,no positive all wheel drive without judicious lever play and the fact that you are driving the one side of the trans two times faster when you lock up one set of wheels,as I understand the trans that Attex used had none of these issues.So for me I would like to have a Attex that was the best two stroke best body and trans available(me and lot of other guys) I will be asking a lot of questions and researching,why did Attex close its doors and why from what I remember they were the most popular on the U.S side,in the latter part of the seventy's a guy from Cleveland that fished up in northern Ontario where our camp is brought a Attex up and that was the last time I checked one out I really liked the machine and always wanted one but we had no dealers close,now Iam certainly in a better position to buy one and still enjoy it,my Avenger is a great machine and a much needed asset at camp but about as exciting as a washing machine.

[hydromike]

back in the day I thought that the Attex was the coolest and with the recent to me internet and finding this site (I lived under a rock) Iam starting to look for the Attex of my dreams

Hey NCT,

What IS the Attex of your dreams? It's surprising how many of them have been popping up all over the northeast U.S., lately. ABS and Poly bodied machines both seem to be in relative abundance compared with what was offered 10 years ago. The online classifieds and this message board seems to draw a lot of the cool old stuff out into the open. You can always post a wanted ad here on the Site with what you're looking for. The "specs" of them were basically the same from 1971ish through the mid 1980s when Attex closed shop. Basically the same frame, same transmission and drive setup, with few changes to the bodies and engine options. There are hundreds of pictures in the photo gallery showing what's what.....

[North Country Tough]

Are some of the less popular brands of 6x6's, like the attexs and things as capable as the big two? (argo and max)? I was looking at the attexs and things seem to be cheaper on average, but i havent seen one in action....

Having owned a number of machines in my life this is my experience,back in the seventy's the six wheeler craze took off and like snowmobiles of that era there were a ton of manufacturers some good some bad but all unique,back then with so many different choices there was a lot of cool factor and living in Canada the choices were not as good as on the U.S side,the internet was a couple of decades or so off so checking out all that was offered relied on magazines like popular mechanics and the outdoors magazines,that all said the latest offering from the company's still building are impressive you can load them to the limits and beat them and they stand up well.Drawbacks they are heavy and slow and expensive, but ultra dependable and parts are easy to get if you have a specific need such as drawing heavy loads into a camp or using it for a bush pickup truck /tractor work horse nothing better.If you want a fun mud mobile the older machines were a hoot, quick ,nibble ,and light weight and some rather sporty looking not what you normally see out on the trail,myself back in the day I thought that the Attex was the coolest and with the recent to me internet and finding this site (I lived under a rock) Iam starting to look for the Attex of my dreams which will take some research to find out all the specs on them and hopefully find a ground up resto for sale,who says you cant live in the past.Cheers