Mid-Engine Max IV

[Mike]

Was that machine ever really Jennifer's?

Of course it was. Just like this new Avenger is hers too.

[George]

Was that machine ever really Jennifer's?

[Model Citizen]

The finished shroud came out great. Very Tasty!!!!

Bridget

[mudbug3]

I think, since you were forced into the "hand-me-down" machine, you deserve a nice shiney new set of Adair tracks for it.

Ditto that! Once you go Adair tracks you don't want tires again!

[thebuggyman1]

Now that I have officially taken over this Max IV, it was time to stop getting picked on at Busco for driving around with a pink engine cover. This didn't turn out great but it's good enough to get dirty.

I think, since you were forced into the "hand-me-down" machine, you deserve a nice shiney new set of Adair tracks for it.

[CBass]

It is good too see some flames instead of pink

[Mike]

Now that I have officially taken over this Max IV, it was time to stop getting picked on at Busco for driving around with a pink engine cover. This didn't turn out great but it's good enough to get dirty.

[techfx]

Very nice! It's a little odd, but cool to see that the site that shows so much ATV history, now has some history.

[Mike]

Wow, it's been two years since I last updated this thread, almost to the day. Since then, the Max has been a great machine. I have taken it over now as my own and I bought Jennifer an Avenger as her main ride. I just need to change that pink engine cover on this Max IV now.

It's time for our semi-annual trip to Busco and since I am usually up the night before getting ready, this time I thought I would start on the maintenance two weeks early. So, two weeks before we are supposed to ride, I began the normal fluid checks, greasing of the bearings, etc. As I was greasing the rear bearings, I noticed some play in the rear sprocket. The tube was turning on the axle even though the bolt was tight. I was bummed out because I knew this meant I would need to take the axles out and weld some washers on the sprocket tube. However, when I took the bolt out that holds the sprocket tube to the axle, I realized that there was more damage there than I initially thought. The hole in the sprocket tube AND the axle were elongated. Above that, the sprocket tube was actually "mushroomed" up and the two sprockets on the tube had been pulled closer together.

This larger motor, the low gearing and a somewhat unorthodoxed driving style were too much for the sprocket tubes. Both of the rear ones (where power is transferred from the transmission to the axles) were like this. So here I am, less than two weeks away from Busco and I need to come up with a plan. I didn't really want to go back with the same setup because it would most likely happen again. So, a phone call later and Whipper with Apache Gear came to the rescue. I decided to go with some splined alxes to eliminate this problem and to allow me to change the gear ratio more easily. For now, I'm just doing the rear axles but I will probably upgrade the other four over time as well.

I'm often amazed at this community and how much everyone helps each other out. I spoke to Whipper on Monday night and on Tuesday afternoon, two brand new axles were splined, welded to the hubs and on their way to my house. They arrived today and have already been painted and had the wheel studs installed. Whipper ordered my sprockets with the tooth counts that I wanted and those took three days to get flame hardened and shipped to him. The following day, they had been machined down and they were on their way to me. They will arrive on Wednesday.

In the meantime with the mushroomed sprocket tubes, it took an extra long time to get the axles out of the Max. In hindsight I should have just cut them down but I thought they would be good to have for spares in case one of my front ones was damaged on the trail. So I finally got everything out and cleaned tonight. I have new bearings and I am waiting on some new flanges to arrive along with the sprockets on Wednesday. Then I have two nights to get everything back together. It shouldn't be too bad but you never know what you are going to run into.

Anyway, I had to thank Whipper and Bridget for going out of their way to rush some axles to me. You guys rock. Here's a picture of them as they arrived. I hated to even paint them when they look like this.

[Mike]

tach pickup working now?

Yes, thanks for your help. I moved it to the other cylinder like you have yours but it still didn't work. Finally I played with the wire and had to insulate it some more from where it is touching the engine shroud. Super sensitive but now working! The only downside is the restrictive 8 foot lead.

I ran all of the power wires around the passenger side of the car but the tach is mounted next to the ignition switch so that one wire had to get routed on the driver's side of the car in order to make it. If the engine was in the original location I don't know if it would be long enough.

Thanks again!

Mike

[Roger S]

I think that machine is fitting, for the web master of a site like this.. err rather the web mistress. The mud is going to be fun

tach pickup working now?

[AndyL]

mike i was looking at your other vids on vimeo as well. are you into trains/live steam?

[Model Citizen]

Can't hear any clunking or rattleing & nothing fell off, so you get an A+, Mike. Jennifer must be really glad you know what you're doing. I always keep MY fingers crossed.

Bridget

[AndyL]

mike that is one amazing amphib! love that bandolero engine too...that thing is fast lol

[Mike]

Jennifer got to drive her max for the first time this weekend (even though it was mainly on asphalt) to see how everything works for her. There are a few adjustments needed here and there but overall it fits her well.

Here she is tearing up the neighborhood.


After her test we loaded up and headed to a pond nearby for a water test. I wanted to test it for leaks, see how it was balanced in the water and test the tires' swimming ability. It floated pretty level and didn't leak at all but the tires were a little tricky. Here's a video of my first drive in the water. It took me a few tries to figure out how to turn but I finally got the hang of it.

If you are going slow you can steer normaly but at anything over 1/4 throttle the car actually steers towards the side with the tires spinning. Very strange to get used to but essentially the tires seem to be pulling the six wheeler down in that direction making it steer that way. These older bodied Max IVs have lower tubs than the newer ones and I had to remold the body over all of the tires to get them to fit so perhaps that is why it acts differently than other Max IVs with the ASX tires that I've seen here on the site. I look funny when trying to turn the first time or two in the video because I'm leaning the opposite direction from the way it's turning.

Regardless, I like the tires a lot, they do swim about like the rawhide IIIs and we'll see how they do in the mud this coming weekend.