Hustler 980 BIGFOOT

[jpswift1]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the kind words. And Mike, the Hustlers did come with solid axles. The axles are 1 3/16" but on the inner part of them they are machined down to 1" so my inside bearings were the same as 71+ Attex inner bearings and they were pretty easy to locate when replacing, but finding 1 3/16" tripple sealed outter bearings wasnt very easy.

Heres a pic of the BIGFOOT in the daylight.

[hydromike]

That is one big mutha. Nice work Jeff. Can't wait to ride with it...

~m

[whipper-ag]

WOW! Looks great, a nice roll cage and your ready to go.

[jpswift1]

Thanks guys!

Whipper, do you have any ideas on what the cage should look like. I need some suggestions.

[jpswift1]

alright guys, here is some test footage of the Hustler Bigfoot in action.

[George]

Very cool Jeff. That thing looks like it'll creep over anything.

[Mike]

Jeff, you weren't kidding. That thing is geared low! Have you had it in the water yet?

[hydromike]

OOOoo! OOooo! I see my favorite hill in the background. Do the hill! Do the hill!

It barely sounded like it broke 2000 RPM. Very cool machine, but you really need to test its limits. Gas lines, baby.... Nice work getting it all together. Apparently, the town of Hamburg doesn't have a rule about going topless in public?

~m

[cjpjjones]

What's the Difference ?

What's the Difference between a Hustler and a 980 Bigfoot ? I have a Hustler, it has smaller non-factory tires. So how do you tell ?
Thanks

[jpswift1]

The difference between the Bigfoot and the standard Hustler is lower gearing, and a taller tub to fit 26" tires. Other than that there is not much else different.

[jpswift1]

I dont think I posted up about this problem, but I have been troubleshooting with Don and Hydromike over the past couple months. I had been having major issues with my carb on my BIGFOOT (Briggs I/C flat twin 694cc). The thing would not get fuel to the engine, even when the bowl was full of fuel. I rebuilt the carb and it still didnt work. We tried every possible fix, but no luck. I bought a brand new Briggs carb off ebay and it came today in the mail. I bolted it on and it ran like a dream! The new carb didnt have any adjustment screws except for an idle speed adjustment for some reason. Anyways, it worked great! I drove it through a couple inches of snow and through the frozen mud holes behind my house. I felt like one of those huge Coast Guard ice breaker ships plowing through the ice covered mud holes at about 3mph. I cant wait to take it in some deep snow and some deep mud since I never really pushed it to its limits yet. It is big, loud, and slow, but heck its not a Caddy, its a 6x6!
My BIGFOOT had been sitting since I last took it out and it died because of the carb issue. Luckily I had my friend driving my Max II and I was able to pull it home. (By the way, I couldnt believe how my Max II could pull that heavy BIGFOOT with my friend steering it, and me and another friend in my Max II going through deep mud and over small trees.) I think I might have to bring it on the next ride with all of the Ribit Riders in WNY here......I hear the Jeep trails in Gowanda will be seeing a large amount of amphibs in the very near future!

[Mike]

Jeff, it's good to hear that your Bigfoot is back in action again. I'm glad that carb worked out.

[Meinfield]

Congrats on getting the Hustler running again! Post a few pictures if you can.

[micmac]

Jeff,

Glad to hear about your 980. Seeing it drive reminds me of the 70's Foghat tune "SlowRide". When is the ride in Ny going to happen?

Mike

[jpswift1]

Thanks for all the kind words guys! I think that NY ride is coming up within the next couple months. John Schwab would probably know more about it.......he is somewhere here on the forums.
Here are the pictures of my BIGFOOT as promised. With that new carb, the machine is running great. Now its just time for all of the fine adjustments and tinkering.