My first real off road experience with my rebuilt scrambler

[flippy]

Just got back from Aue Grais michigan and 60 acres of deer country.Used my scrambler for the first time in untrailed dense deer country.3 of my 40 year old 3 lug flotation tires had all the dry rot leak air and go flat in the first 3 hours-thats my fault.The bolts I put in the sprockets held up but the nuts fell out on the center lh axle and the bolts fell out-I put the bolts in due to my scrambler having the early spring clutch setup-Thats my fault and I will pin the sprockets or tach weld the bolt heads so nuts are not needed.I took a 10 (5 miles each way) mile trip into town-driving the scrambler on the 90 degree day everything went fine-but 1 mile before making it back home a roll pin broke on the rh steering clutch hydraulics-luckily a no hunting sign was nearby and I was able to remove a nail from the tree and use that as a roll pin to get me back-that was a pain.-My one real problem was when I went over trees that might be 1" or 2" in diameter a couple times the tree would get pinned between the tire and the tub and the axle would just be slammed against the tree-the harbor freaight winch did its job everytime but this was a common thing to happen.All in all with 2 front flat tires and 2 bald rears and only the middle axle having new carlisle at101's I am happy.However I did spend a fair amount of time on a 2002 honda 2x4 red utilty four wheeler and it did everything the scrambler did with no problems-except the honda sure could not act as a small tank like I did.A suspension seat is an absolute must in the future.JFYI-All the people at the bonfire all drove newer honda's and treated me well and could not believe that the scrambler was a 1969.One guy said after driving it that he liked it and compared it to an amusement park ride.Thanks Again for all the help!

[flippy]

One more thing that I forgot to mention-Never ever follow guys with newer 4 wheelers that have reverse-I was the slowest member -this was at night time-I would follow the brand new freshly matted foilage only to come to a dead end where I could see that the honda's used reverse to backup and head in a path of least resistance well me not having reverse meant I had to soldier on in 5 feet and higher dried marsh and this is why I ended up climbing over trees and getting my axles stuck with maybe a 4 of even 5 inch diameter tree 15 feet tall bent down with me seeing the stars.Luckily The owner of the property understood and everyone looked at things differently not realizing I had no reverse.I for one do not like destroying trees etc but one thing for sure-with an angle Iron body band on a th scrambler I never once felt in danger of anything breaking and the body held up well.

[Mike]

Congratulations on your first real outing in the Scrambler. For crossing trees, it's best to go at a slight angle so that at least one tire is on the tree at all times. That will keep it from getting stuck between two tires.

[lewis]

Sounds like you had a good time. Lets see if the Honda's are around as long as you machine. Glad you machine performed well, maybe not flawless but being happy with it is worth a million. Fix those items listed and get back out there...Note: Reverse would be a nice option.

[foxspoiler]

nice job flippy, I use mine a lot with the grand kids and it works well. I converted to newer style wheels and tires. the only thing to remember is to drive and park so you can get out. no reverse.

Mike

[flippy]

Thanks for the positive feedback!-I was expecting some negative comments from the honda guys but they were quiet.Everyone was younger than me and the first thing I said was that this was an american machine that was almost as old as I was!-One guy did have an old honda 3 wheeler with no lights and I noticed that no one wanted to drive it after driving it one time-evryone said it was to dangerous but the owner drove that old honda like a pro.One big positive with a six wheeler is not having to stand up all the time.I have bad knees and I noticed that even with a full suspension that the quads have you still have to stand up all the time.Those guys all gut drunk-I stayed sober and before the night was over 3 guys rolled their quads and the next day 1 guy had a huge knot on his head.My internal thoughts as a rookie was the honda machines are great but sure seems like the owners dont do to well staying on them.

[Stonewall]

Sounds to me like you didn't exactly come into contact with the best group of 4 wheeler riders. I have been riding Honda 4 wheelers since I could turn the handlebars. You don't have to stand up all the time, but it does allow you to shift your weight to control it over rough surfaces better. I have flipped on once, but I was showing off ("Hey y'all, watch this!!"). From the little amount of experience I have had with my Hustler, I have seen that I has its advantages (flotation, amphibious capability, traction) as well as disadvantages (speed, suspension, ground clearance) when compared to a 4 wheeler. I'm also a fan of the old 3 wheelers, in fact, I added a new machine to my collection last week.

You mentioned that they called the 3 wheeler "too dangerous", this is exactly the mentality that got them banned in '87. It's not the 3 wheelers, but the riders' lack of skill and knowledge of how to use the machine that makes them, not the 3 wheeler, "too dangerous". Sorry, not trying to hijack your thread, just putting in my .02 about the comparison...

Anyway, sounds like you had a great time with your Scrambler! Looks like you'll have alot of fun with it once you work out all the kinks! Good luck!

[trevorakm1]

can't agree more about the skill of the rider on 3 wheelers. i had a yamaha 225 and never rolled it or crashed. it was much more capable in the snow than my 4 wheeler also. it could always go places the motorcycles couldn't. i wanted to get another when shopping for the 4 wheeler but thought parts were limited, little did i know. as much as i like my 4 wheeler it just doesn't do it for me like the 3 wheelers and nothing compared to my bigfoot.

trevor

[Stonewall]

The parts are out there for the 3 wheelers, you just have to look hard enough; kinda like some of these old 6 wheelers......

[LarryW]

Thats great flippy! Sounds like it was just a few minor issues. The bugs will all work out over time.

As for the 3 wheelers. They will go through amazing amount of stuff. Especially the little guys, us90,atc90, atc110 and the earlier atc125's. Not sure if they compare to 6x6 though. Comparing 6x6 to atv or atc is like pears to peaches in my opinion. Each has its own.

[flippy]

I did not ride the 3 wheeler and I liked it.It was a huge machine in my opinion but I was told that their was one bigger.Maybe a big red?-Funny thing is that the 3 wheeler owner was the only atv rider that didnt roll it.I remember when I was young seeing a 60 minutes story story about the 3 wheelers rolling and kids in my opinion to young to be driving them getting injured or killed.Much like the 60 minutes newstory on the roll over prone jeep cj5 which led jeep to stop making them even though the story was rigged with sandbages attached to one side of the jeep to make it flip.Funny how the truth always comes out in the end but usually its to late.

[lewis]

can't agree more about the skill of the rider on 3 wheelers. i had a yamaha 225 and never rolled it or crashed. it was much more capable in the snow than my 4 wheeler also. it could always go places the motorcycles couldn't. i wanted to get another when shopping for the 4 wheeler but thought parts were limited, little did i know. as much as i like my 4 wheeler it just doesn't do it for me like the 3 wheelers and nothing compared to my bigfoot.

trevor

Could not agree more, riding and understanding your machine (3 Wheelers) was imparitive. I can not count the time i have seen a you 3 wheeler guys have one crawl up his rear from putting his foot down. I really enjoyed running my Honda 200. Even bought a 3 wheeler for my children and later a 125M and a 4 wheel 70 Honda. Very good machines and that coming from me means a lot! Had i know that the 6 and 8 wheel machines existed i would have had one of them.

Riding with 3 and 4 whee machines is nothing like riding with a group of amphibious guys. I have done both and this group(6x6world) that gets together to ride our style machines are the best by far. This is my opinion.