Best Swimming Setup For Buffalo???

[jpswift1]

I could go for a few more sets of those 26x13x12 Vampire ASXs. They make my Hustler 980 swim like a fish, they offer superior traction, and they ride well too. Not to mention they look amazing. Here's a video:

[Noel Woods]

Thats one of my all-time most favorite amphib videos.

[cclingma]

Thats one of my all-time most favorite amphib videos.

Me too. If it were on VHS my tape would be worn out. If I thought there was any chance they'd swim close to that good on my 980 tall I'd cross my fingers and toes waiting for production and save my pennies.

[Model Citizen]

Swift, I hope that you were wearing a rubber jumpsuit, because when I saw you dive into that slush at about 58 seconds & the water splashed over the front end, I envisioned some major shrinkage going on. BRRRRR! Is she right????

Bridget

[jpswift1]

Thats one of my all-time most favorite amphib videos.

Me too. If it were on VHS my tape would be worn out. If I thought there was any chance they'd swim close to that good on my 980 tall I'd cross my fingers and toes waiting for production and save my pennies.

Thanks for the kind words guys! That makes all my hard work restoring/rebuilding it (and many, many miles of driving to pick it up) all worth it.

Swift, I hope that you were wearing a rubber jumpsuit, because when I saw you dive into that slush at about 58 seconds & the water splashed over the front end, I envisioned some major shrinkage going on. BRRRRR! Is she right????

Bridget

A rubber jumpsuit would have came in handy, Bridget......and yes you're absolutely right, I froze my *&^% off, hahahaha.

[ktcole]

My Buffalo swims okay. I've mounted a Delta toolbox in the dump bed, which is full of tools, etc. With two 200 lb men in the front, she doesn't have much freeboard. That's why I mounted two 500 gph bilge pumps in her. Lateral stability is a bit like a canoe, probably because my Delta box has changed the center of gravity. That's not a problem for me. I do have some axle extenders that I haven't tried yet. I suspect if I mounted my 21" tires that I use for my tracks on the outside, the Buffalo would become a wild water machine. Perhaps I'll play with that this summer.

[leoniru]

A brief update...... I finally got around to reinstalling the carburetor after complete disassembly and ultrasonic cleaning (the Kohler began to act-up and wouldn't idle). Also pulled and cleaned the fuel tank. This allowed me to back the dang thing out of the garage where I could have enough room to pull off the 21"x11"x8" factory rims with Goodyear Rawhide IIIs --- you know, the ones that I nearly swamped with during my initial water voyage ---and install the 25"x11.5"x9" Rawhide IIIs that I had a hell of a time mounting on Mudd-Ox rims. I also bolted-on 2" outboard extensions to widen the footprint. I found out that the machine already had outboard bearing cages on it, so together with the 2" outboard extensions it ended up that the new tires' outer sidewall is about even with the outer edge of the tub/upper body. Back to the pond after nearly forgetting to put plugs in the tub! (Made me wonder just how fast would one of these sink with the drain plugs out?) Anyway, a major difference in floatability, stability and swim speed. I can now say that it is an amphibious machine.
Oh.... and it rides a lot softer too.

leoniru

[Mike]

Thanks for the update. It sounds like you are ready to ride & swim now.

[jpswift1]

The 21x11.5x9 Rawhide III's are most likely the best riding AATV tire out there. Glad to hear everything is working out well for you now. I never would have guessed that the 2" hub spacers would have helped the swim speed, but that's excellent and great to know. Do you have some pics? I'd love to see it........I bet it has a very aggressive stance now.