New 6x6 owner!! What kind and year is this? how do I tighten the chains?

[ryangude]

Hey Guys,
I have been wanting a 6x6 for a long time and finally got one!!! Unfortunately it is somewhat of a project, it has been sitting for a while. I have been researching for a while and came to conclusion that it is a Max II. I think. I have no clue the year or anything else, any information you guys could tell me would be really appreciated! I think it is also a 2 stroke, the motor says JLO Rockwell on the side thats all I know. What size engine is it? lastly the previous owner told me it had problems throwing the chains, after I examined them I realized they were very loose. I couldn't find a chain tightener on them ( as I saw in a youtube tutorial) how do I tighten them? Thanks for all the help guys!




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[amphibious drew]

If you look on the dash there should be a plate with a serial number. Call recreatives and give them the serial number and they will tell you the year. 1-800-255-2511

[racerone3]

on a machine that old (assuming the JLO is original), the SN will be located under the seat. Where the bulkhead in front of the battery comes up and bends forward, you should find the SN stamped on the right side. you will probably need to sand some paint to find it. It should be a 4 digit #

[Mike]

Welcome to the site! For adjusting the chains, check out this how-to article: How to adjust your chains

[LarryW]

Also if the salsbury clutch is original it is dated also. 2 digits by them selves is the year. The tag is near the bolt on the crank.

[ryangude]

Hey Guys, Thanks alot for the help!!!! I think the original plate on the dash has been ripped off. but I will go check all of those other places! I cant wait to get this thing running out see what it can do. also I read on here that a proper oil to fuel ratio is 20:1 is that correct or the best for it? thanks again for all of the support!

[racerone3]

looking back at the pics, I can tell by the shape of the lower tub that your machine is newer than '74. a machine of that vintage probably never had the dash plate.

20:1 was used back in the day with straight weight motor oil. with todays synthetic oils (I always used "golden spectro") 40:1 is a safe # and I've heard of people running a lot leaner than that with no ill effects.

[ryangude]

Thank guys for all the help!
Im still having problems adjusting the chains, they are very loose and rubbing on the driver side tub.
after watching the how to youtube video I see I don't have the easy click adjusters. Rather another smaller sprocket
which looks like it moves down to tighten the chain. On the driver side it is incredibly loose and the adjustment gear
seems to be bent or on an angle, rather it shoud stick out further to be inline with the other sprockets. Is this right? How can I adjust more chain as it appears the upper and lower chain will soon be rubbing. And what can I do th get the small sprocket adjuster to no lean so bad and keep the chain in line? Maybe I just need a new chain? Thanks guys

[Mike]

It sounds like you need to fix the adjusters first. Regardless of what type it is, it shouldn't be at an angle like that. You are right, it should be in line with the other sprockets.

[ryangude]

Still confused with the throwing chain problem

Hey guys this is still giving me a hard time, after more research i have been told my machine is around a 1970 to '74. So in order to tighten the front chains the adjustments are sprockets, like I was trying to explain the alignment is all out of wack. the adjusting sprocket is on an angle probably causing the chain to keep throwing. this doesn't make sense unless the front sprocket for the front wheel moved more toward the right as well as the back sprocket. so the adjuster sprocket, in the middle is still to far to the left. the guy that previosly owned it threw a couple washers between the sprocket and the open slot for adjustment at allows it to slide up and down. Is it possible to adjust the front wheel sprocket and the back sprocket (for the middle wheel) to bring it back in line with the adjuster sprocket or do I need to find a way to modify the aduster sprocket to extend out another inch or two to be inline with the rest. sorry if this is confusing but im kind of lost with this issue. Thanks for all the support!

[racerone3]

I have never seen a Max II with sprockets for the front adjusters, which has me wondering if someone has modified your machine over the years. could you get some pictures and post them up here so we can see what you have going on?

[liflod]

I think you need to loosen the locking collars on the axles so that you can align the sprockets with each other. The axles are only held in alignment by the laocking collars and they have been known and expected to allow the axle to shift when you hit something.

[Mike]

I merged your two threads after the guys above replied so they didn't see your other posts. With that in mind, before you go adjusting the placement of your axles, you need to fix the adjusters since, like racerone3 said, they don't sound like they are the stock adjusters. Fix those first and then adjust the position of your axles / sprockets if it is necessary. Otherwise, it sounds like you will be adjusting the placement of your axles to a tensioner that is not in the right location or at the right angle. If you will post some pictures of them someone could probably advise you further from there.

[ryangude]

Thanks again everyone, I will try and snap some pictures tonight to try and more clearly show this issue. I due believe it is all stock and not modified by a previous owner, first because of the quality, it looks like its all original and usually you can tell when someone did a modification like that on their own. Second I called up richardsrelics.com and talked to a man there as I had seen that he offered an new design to solve the problem, when I told him they were sprockets for adjusters he said thats right and he thought that was stock from 1970-1973, that was when they used a sprocket system as a tensionor. His new tensioner design would not work on that old of a machine. He also advised cutting torching and rewelding to make it right, which i really hate to do that. as i have looked closer at the issue it seems as though the part of the frame that the tensionor slides on is only bent in about 1/4-1/2", and the sprocket is out of line by about 1 1/2-2" so it makes me wonder if the sprockets on the axles have shifted inward over time or one of the previous owners did that if it is possible.....

[ryangude]

I took a few pics this is the only one that turned out somewhat ok. also the degree or angle the sprocket is leaning at is not that extreme becasue the previuos owner stacked some washers between the sprocket and slide rail to try and center it. I know that its just half ass and I want a reliable machine that will go anywhere with out worry