Today I finished up mounting the new to me upgraded wheel and tire package for my bayou. They were 24" tires before, but these are 25's, on 12" aluminum rims while the old wheels were 11" which are not so easy to find replacements for. Plus I didn't like the white rims. Nice upgrade, I can't go bigger than 25's, which is fine. Old rear tire next to the new ones for reference So I immediately put it to use. I cut up a dead standing elm, dry as a bone. There's still a 10' or so trunk that I didn't get to, but I'm glad I didn't as I had a full load. There were some big rounds in there. All split up. There's a few splits of sugar maple that need to sit a year or so on the stacks. But all the elm is DRY. I'll mix it in with the rest of my stuff for this year. That's another 2/3 of a cord. I actually an burning 2 splits of the elm in with a piece of basswood in this pic. The house is nice and warm.
Nice tire upgrade! And fresh cut dry elm? That is always fun to do. I heated all winter 2 years ago on dead standing elm. And I wouldn't think twice about doing it again! It just works! And a lot less finicky than getting red oak (2.5 yrs dry) to take off!
Yes, I've got chains for the rear tires. They fit no issues on the old 24" tires, there is less clearance on the metal bracket that holds the footrests and rear fenders on, but I think the chains will still fit without modification. However, if I have to modify, I will. I'm proficient with the angle grinder. There's about 3/4" in between the metal bracket and the new tires in that spot. Yeah, it looks good, the runs match the dark badass look of this wood hauling beast. Next up is ditching the pinkish milk crate and making the front rack organizer from plywood. That will get painted black as well. It needs new led lights for inside the front bumper, I'll replace the regulator/rectifier since those are known to be a weak spot on these bayous. A plastic thumb throttle cover will be good too as this one is aluminum. With thin gloves on your thumb gets cold quickly. Heated grips would be a nice upgrade too. Yes, that was a good load. In high it couldn't do 3rd gear going up the big hill, but it gained speed in 2nd up the hill. It may only be a 300cc, but it's a workhorse.
I'll probably just mount the old rear tires with the chains on them when it gets to snow time. I'll try the chains on the upgrade tires and rims, but if it doesn't look kosher, I'll use the old rear wheels. Now where did I put that spray paint?
Nice amount of wood ya got there mister. The ground is missing something though.....how come there is no white stuff? Must be near your home, huh?
Theres about 5" on the ground as we speak. It's been that way since Sat. It starts to settle, evaporate and melt, then some more comes!
Yeah, we had an inch or so of snow on Saturday, I heard from my wife, as i was up north hunting/ working on my parents stuff from Friday night until Monday. Yeah, there a bit of snow in the northwoods now, 6" or so. What we had here on Saturday melted. We only got rain the last 2 days in ozaukee cty. We would've been dumped on with snow if it would've been a little colder.
Awesome upgrade Horkn! Will you still run in during the snowy months in the woods? In pa, when i had finished and wider trails, i ran 3 tires linked together to form a triangle, threw on some chains and drug them behind my quad to keep everything groomed. Worked great fyi
Sounds the same as our neck of the woods. Sweep the deck, a couple hours later, another inch.... everyday!
I run all winter. I cut most of my wood in winter since I hate bugs, and fall is too short with hunting and such. I like your idea about the groomer though. I use an ice fishing sled with a hitch. That seems to keep the trail packed down well when loaded with heavy high btu hardwoods. This was from last winter. This was a dead standing elm that was in my way, otherwise I try to only cut beech, hickory, ironwood or sugar maple in winter. you know make the most btu's out of each trip. But while I can simply hook up the trailer to the atv and access the wood from the farmer's field, I will. I need to add a tongue jack to the trailer. Right now I have to unload it, then reload it in order to get the trailer off the atv, and onto my car. It's an extra couple of steps, but I deal with it for now.
Now that you are in NH, you might need a snowmobile, or 3. Although a 4wd quad can go most anywhere. Didn't you buy a recon which is 2wd only recently? Chains might be a necessity to get around when there's a bit of snow on a 2wd.
No sleds for us just yet....... if a deal comes along, then maybe. Buying any used sleds would be a touring style. Anything other than that would've been beat to chit up here. Yea, Dawn's is a Honda recon....2wd and she really doesn't ride it much, but I need to put chains on it anyway. The mighty Grizzly is a beast, my everyday workhorse that will keep what little trails we have open.
