New Max II redesign?

[amphibious drew]

if they had the money a new one would be in the barn.

I've had many newer machines than I run. Even Matt has asked why I've sold some and kept my older units. I could certainly buy a brand new unit, but some of us actually prefer the satisfaction of having turned every nut and screw on the machine ourselves. There is always room for improvement, but no I don't need gps and Bluetooth on my aatv.

[john swenson]

i think it's more fun to do the mods ourselves, makes for a great variety of ideas and ingenuity and then we all have more of a '' grab bag '' to choose from to apply to our own machines. when i finish my ''highboy '' it will be fun sharing pictures and ideas for others to enjoy, just as others have done for all of us. cool ! john boy va.

[Rusty-Gunn]

U may have all the die hards "all wound up" by your interest in updateing the max...but make no mistake about it, every one of them has found something to complain about at one point. They obviously arnt interested in blue tooth type stuff, but an update is an update and if they had the money a new one would be in the barn.

This "update", as if it would improve it, would also break down. Improvemrnts in itself don't solve all problems. Besides, GPS, Bluetooth, etc. are not improvements, but additions. These don't need to come from the factory. Try the Pimp My Max show.

[rcn11thacr]

Obviously I should have stated this in a format that didn't ruffle feathers. I could care less about gps, I also agree that is an addition, not a necessity (at least for those of us that know how to still use a compass and read a map). When I think of upgrades I think of necessities like belts instead of chains (things that actually make it more user friendly). Those of us who like to tinker (myself included) will always find something we "have to" modify. That will never change. Some of us will always want "old school" and I like that too. Lord knows how much money Ive spent rebuilding old hot rods. That will not change. What will (and imho already has) is that new blood coming into the sport will want "certain" modifications to these machines, and we should too, if we expect to make these toys more main stream. How many of us don't want more of these machines to sell? Right. None of us. So to clarify my first post...some updates are "needed" if the manufacturer wants to sell more units. Tell me someone on this board wouldn't trade their left nut to not have to adjust chains twice a day? How much more fun would these toys be if that ONE thing was done? The reliability factor would tripple and I bet that many more units would sell. Take the one thing that scares most non mechanically inclined away from the dealerships. I wager chain maintenance is the largest deterent from more people buying these vehicles. We all agree these vehicles are awesome...but face it, chains suck. Some improvements do solve problems, does your back hurt after leaning over to adjust or fix a broken chain? Mine sure does. That would solve a back problem .

Just my two cents.

[wedge]

Well the newer one's do have #50 O/ring chain. And the use of a Good lube like White lightning from BG will keep them in Great shape ! All in All it comes down to Maitenence !
Now a Softer better riding seat ! Most all would agree on that !

[Rusty-Gunn]

I agree on a softer seat. Even a spring loaded seat might be nice. Chains? Use quality chains. Larger tires.

[rcn11thacr]

A new seat, seriously? That's something anyone can do at home in a few hours and chain maintaince isn't the issue. The amount of maintaining that a chain requires is the issue. If a belt system was designed there wouldn't be a need for the maintenance. All belt manufactures say a belt last "at least" 3 times longer. Wouldn't it be nice to have a Gates carbon drive set up on the max or something similar? Why would anyone choose to do more manual labor? Wouldn't you rather be riding?

[amphibious drew]

Hmmm, a belt driven Max. Sounds like we are going back to Max #1 here.

[Rusty-Gunn]

Look at all the aatvs over the years including "the big three". Chain drive. The first Max II used belts, but did not stay with belts. I figure its a fair guess to say at least one manufacturer would be selling a machine with belts and, as it was put, sell tripple the vehicles. But there are none. Might be something there about belts.

[jpswift1]

Hmmm, a belt driven Max. Sounds like we are going back to Max #1 here.

You got it, Drew. This was already done 45 years ago. There were other AATVs that were completely belt driven from the late 60's. Mud Puppy and Multimobile are ones that come to mind.

And by the way, about the, "go out and buy a brand new machine." I could easily go and do that, but instead I just have a bunch of motorcycles and 6 wheelers that I BUILT to be as good and/or better than new (I didn't just go out and buy them brand new). A bunch of my friends here on the site did the same thing and it seems to be working out pretty well for us.

[rcn11thacr]

I was unaware of a belt driven, factory built max. What type of belt was used? Regular V belt, or synchronous? Do we know why it failed? I'm interested to actually learn why. I'd like to know what I'm missing because I can't see why or how a modern cogged belt can fail in this application. Was there a real effort to make an effective sub floor that would stop crap from falling in the tub that could compromise the belt?

[james gerber]

the 45yo max design was belt driven with out a transmition (all v-belt driven) however a cog drive from axle to axle sounds
like a great idea. less vibration and wear for sure.

[rcn11thacr]

I totally agree, with today's modern belt and cogged sprocket technology this has a much better chance of succeeding now. Granted you would have to pull axles (assuming the factory frame does not change) to swap out a belt, and do away with regular roller bearings. But and imho this is a big one, a belt "could" last years before needing to be changed out. Look at the technology in the cogged sprockets and the self cleaning belts Gates uses in their "carbon drive" system. It cleans it self like a chain does, same strength or better in the same width as a chain, no adjustment needed since they don't stretch, lasts at least three times longer. I like to tinker just as much as the rest of us but I dispize fixing something over and over and over. I get accused of "overkill" when I make something but in doing so it rarely needs to be fixed, ever again. To me the definition of tinker isn't regarded as working on the same thing over and over, it's to get the chance to tinker with lots of things. Who can do that if ur constantly fixing the same darn thing?

[Rusty-Gunn]

I wonder if a kit could be made to retro fit current models? Gotta start this belt drive some where.

[wedge]