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The Gold Wing of ATV s
Some of you may have followed my troubled journey into ATV land. There is a new chapter, but first a brief re-cap.
The RTV 900 didn't work out well. It is a good work place hauler... maybe none better.... but it is not a true off-road machine. With my altitudes(5000-9000 feet) and soil conditions it was underpowered and prone to get stuck.
Next I fooled around with a used Suzuki Samurai (now up for sale) but I just plain don't fit in some vehicles and the off road ride left something to be desired with my 50 something back.
Trust me when I tell you that if you shop in the 3XL tall section and wear size 14 tenny-runners, the Samurai is not your vehicle.
People have offered lots of input and the advise has been appreciated, but I have had a concept of what I wanted.
Basically I am not thrilled with carburetors(due to high altitude problems), air cooled engines(extreme heat environment), harsh rides, bias ply tires, drum brakes, drive belts, free wheeling drive trains, marketing hype and questionable quality.
It looks like Honda solved my problem this year. I picked up a 2006 Rincon last Friday.
It has a(new for '06) 675cc fuel injected, liquid cooled, gasoline engine with electric starting. The ride is supreme with 4 wheel independent suspension, disc brakes all around and standard low pressure radial tires.
Believe it or not, it has a scaled-down, automotive-style, 3 speed automatic transmission complete with torque converter and oil cooler, plus it is set-up to use engine braking to help control downhill descents.
No drive belts here: you get a transfer case and drive shafts to front and rear wheels and limited slip axles on both ends. It has a 500 pound weight capacity on the machine and will tow 800 pounds on the rear hitch.
And need I add Honda quality?
Let the long term test begin.............
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The Gold Wing of ATV s
I got a "cab" for $49.95, it's called a helmet. And yes...it fits!
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The Gold Wing of ATV s
Actually the Rincon was $7600 before taxes at a dealer in Sonora, CA.
I didn't get too far with the Samurai project so other than a new bumper and remounting the seat it is pretty much stock.
Have you surfed the net to find all the stuff available for the Suzuki's? It is pretty amazing.
If you wanted to stick with a manual tranny you can have my Samurai cheap.... I will even deliver, but not today! I don't think there is a road open between us!
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The Gold Wing of ATV s
Yes.... Reno area.
If I put it in the paper I would start at $1500 knowing I would net $1400 or less after paying for the ad.
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The Gold Wing of ATV s
Randy, good to hear that you not only figured out what you needed but that you are happy with the purchase.
I am real pleased with my Rincon. Might have to play with the tires a bit though.
A guy on another web site put his Rincon on the Dyno and got 18 HP at the wheels. That is only 3 hp less than the gross engine numbers listed for the RTV.
I got it rigged up with a winch that swaps from front to back and a good trailer hitch to haul my firewood trailer.
Also put on a flip-up back rest so my wife can ride as passenger without feeling like she is going over the back side when we go uphill. Plenty of room on the seat and in the footrests for both of us and we are within the gross vehicle weight now that I have shed a few pounds.
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The Gold Wing of ATV s
Losing weight..... well there are a lot of things going on at once. I just can't treat my body the way I have in the past 30 years and have had to make some hard choices. I have been courting problems with my digestion, blood pressure, blood sugar and joints.
So I have been eating a lot less and pushing the plate away sooner, especially at dinner.
Then there is being sick with a weird liver thing for the last six months... but I wouldn't recommend that way. BTW, not to worry, I am on the mend now.
Anyway all-in-all 30 pounds has disappeared and the amazing thing is I can see were another 30 must come off.
Bottom line: I want to keep on living and enjoying my life and my wonderful wife as long as I can so making some radical decisions is pretty easy at this point.
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The Gold Wing of ATV s
It has other rewards..... sleeping all night and not waking up the entire house sounding like an out-of-tune chain saw comes to mind.
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The Gold Wing of ATV s
Yup... they threatened me with a CPAP too. Like you, I was a snorer even when I only weighed a hundred kilos.
I decided to try other methods first and finally discovered saline spray. It is amazing how well such a simple thing like that can be so effective.
Of course the weight loss helps a lot too.
When I look around I see very, very, few 60 year old fat guys. That says a lot right there. We gotta be flexible and change with the times.
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