Tweet
brother in law found me this machine. been wanting a 6x6 for years and this one was right. 89 max atv. took in on trade at the dealership my brother in law works at. the day after they accepted it they went to fire it up and move it in the yard. it wouldn't start. so an apprentice mechanic took it apart then left it torn apart (he didn't last long there I'm told) they then fork lifted it into the back forty where it sat for "a few years" before i picked it up for 500.
brought it home and worked on it the next evening after work (what a fun day at work ahaha. all i could talk about was the max) anyways. got home and tore into the beastie. turns out the apprentice decided to cut every wire he could find.... oh boy what have i gotten myself into... ok well im no stranger to wiring as a mechanic myself. so rewired the whole thing. took the carb off and cleaned it to perfection. new lines. greased everything. was very happy to find nothing seized. little more tinkering and she fired up for me sunday afternoon. oh boy was i happy. apparently all my family in the house saw was me go flying by zig zagging down the driveway with a massive grin on my face. rolled around for about 30 minutes then went to park it as i don't want to start playing with it before i fix it up right. (now this is where things get perhaps a bit funny for you more knowledgeable folks) went and shifted it into reverse. gave it some throttle. and.... nothing???? oh crap what did i buy. so much googling sunday night. then worked the day today and more googling when i got home. went outside. checked all my linkages, look good. pulled the diamonds and checked out the shift pins, perfect. not misshapen at all. ok... what could it be... fluid check was done before starting... clutch was good. didnt think shaft was sheared or anything as i had forward drive. crap i was out of ideas so i phoned a dealership down in the states as i couldnt find any local (manitoba canada) and spoke to a brilliant man named buddy. he listened to me rant for a moment on all i had done and checked and then said quietly "are you aware you have to pull the brake levers back while in reverse for it to move?" ..........what?.... (its ok you can laugh at me. im laughing to) oh boy didnt i feel stupid. chatted with bud for a good while and he told me a few other things to watch for and maintenance ideas as im totally new to the 6x6 world. been playing with atvs for years and plenty of mud turned under my wheels.
But here i am today. with this awesome new toy to play with. an 89 max II with the tecumseh motor (thatll be replaced when it dies, but hey it runs now. so we see what its got) and i will now leave all my friends stuck in the mud behind me or sunk while i float. cant wait to get this thing out on some rides. Planning to do a nice paint job and some new lighting before it rolls out, perhaps some new rubber on the rims.
DSC_0545.jpgDSC_0549.jpgDSC_0548.jpg
more pics later when it gets new paint
brought it home and worked on it the next evening after work (what a fun day at work ahaha. all i could talk about was the max) anyways. got home and tore into the beastie. turns out the apprentice decided to cut every wire he could find.... oh boy what have i gotten myself into... ok well im no stranger to wiring as a mechanic myself. so rewired the whole thing. took the carb off and cleaned it to perfection. new lines. greased everything. was very happy to find nothing seized. little more tinkering and she fired up for me sunday afternoon. oh boy was i happy. apparently all my family in the house saw was me go flying by zig zagging down the driveway with a massive grin on my face. rolled around for about 30 minutes then went to park it as i don't want to start playing with it before i fix it up right. (now this is where things get perhaps a bit funny for you more knowledgeable folks) went and shifted it into reverse. gave it some throttle. and.... nothing???? oh crap what did i buy. so much googling sunday night. then worked the day today and more googling when i got home. went outside. checked all my linkages, look good. pulled the diamonds and checked out the shift pins, perfect. not misshapen at all. ok... what could it be... fluid check was done before starting... clutch was good. didnt think shaft was sheared or anything as i had forward drive. crap i was out of ideas so i phoned a dealership down in the states as i couldnt find any local (manitoba canada) and spoke to a brilliant man named buddy. he listened to me rant for a moment on all i had done and checked and then said quietly "are you aware you have to pull the brake levers back while in reverse for it to move?" ..........what?.... (its ok you can laugh at me. im laughing to) oh boy didnt i feel stupid. chatted with bud for a good while and he told me a few other things to watch for and maintenance ideas as im totally new to the 6x6 world. been playing with atvs for years and plenty of mud turned under my wheels.
But here i am today. with this awesome new toy to play with. an 89 max II with the tecumseh motor (thatll be replaced when it dies, but hey it runs now. so we see what its got) and i will now leave all my friends stuck in the mud behind me or sunk while i float. cant wait to get this thing out on some rides. Planning to do a nice paint job and some new lighting before it rolls out, perhaps some new rubber on the rims.
DSC_0545.jpgDSC_0549.jpgDSC_0548.jpg
more pics later when it gets new paint
Comment