ATV's

[isawlogs]

 
   Jeff .. look for a good used bike , I would sugest a 4 wheel drive , one that the front end unlocks . That is if you plan on using this bike for any medium to long drives . That honda of mine is a good bike , but if I use it any for riding , it will tear my shoulder apart . My dad ownes an older Susuki 300 , its a smaller bike , but has the unlocking front end , independent front and rear suspention on it , It wont tow like those 15 or 20,000 $ machines ... but wit an arch I dont think theres anything on your property it wont haul out in logs .  And you should be able to get one for a couple of grand or less .

[solodan]

The best off road vehical is the the Tool Cat, by Bobcat.

              Reid

Yeah, these really are heavy duty, but cost alot of dough. I have friends that have one and I think they are far more usefull than the  smaller skidsteers. They take all the attachmrnts the skidsteers take, plus it seats two sidexside, and they also have fourwheel steering. It works real good around their resort, but for the steep and rough terrain they have quads. The toolcat just can't go where a quad will go, or where my Rhino will go. Their quads are faster than my Rhino, but with twice the weight and a longer wheel base, my Rhino does much better in the mud/water and on the very steep slopes. It gets much better traction, and can pull more weight because of this. If it was just for fun I would buy a motorcycle, if it is for work and fun on extremely rough terrain I would get a rhino, If I only needed a utility vehicle around the farm or golf course, I'd get the Tool Cat. If I had a bunch of money, I'd buy all of them. ;D

[JimBuis]

If protecting the environment is a key consideration, check out a Rokon. It is a motorcycle, but two wheel drive and the tires are small tractor tires. It will also go places none of the 4 wheelers or 6 wheelers can even come close to.  You can get a variety of atttachments for it. It commonly has a draw bar on it for towing.

Look at www.rokon.com, that is the company site. There is another site that offers a lot of information about them, but it is not affiliated in any way with the company:  www.rokonworld.com.

Jim

[Furby]

I got to see one of those Tool Cats in action several weeks back.
Pretty nice machine! 8)

Thinking if it was me though, I'd rather have two seperate machines rather then a combo Tool Cat, but that's just me.

[scsmith42]

Furby, I'm with you.  I looked at all of the various UTV's a few years ago, as well as the Toolcat.  At the end of the day, I felt that I'd be better off buying a 6x6 Polaris Ranger and a used skid steer with low hours - that way I'd have two machines for the same $.

The toolcat is pretty heavy, versus the Ranger is light, so I also ended up with more versatility with two versus one.

Scott

[Wood_Niche]

It's all in what you want to do with it.....
If your planning on a lot of work UTV would be the way to go.
So work and some play....look at a liquid cooled ATV.
I have a Yamaha Grizzly 600,  plenty of power, however she gets hot!!!!
I don't particularly care for the belt.....especially when you going down steep hills.
You have to stay on the throttle. 
I would look for a 4x4 with in and out 4wd.
All the time 4x4 wears you out when you ride, your always fighting.

Just my $.02

[Ironwood]

I just got out of the woods. SNOW up there! Spent the entire day putting my "new to me" diesel HPX thru it's paces. I hauled 30 loads like this up thru the muck and slop (photos were taken early in the day, by days end you could hardly tell the colors ). I had pushed my gaser HPX but never to this extent. Off angle, over rocks, debris, trees, stumps, you name it. The arch is homemade and has skidsteer tires on it (a must around here, loads of sharp sapling stumps and rocks) I transfered all the goodies (custom hitches, removeable racks, plow/ winch mounts , rims/ tires) to the new one. I am running Goodyear Runfalts, (once you run these every other tire looks like a joke) excellent tire and if'in I get a flat halfway through my day I just keep working. They are 12" x 27" for more ground clearance. The landowner was watching us all day he came out this afternoon and kinda said "that thing is a real horse" I will try to remember to get a picture of the truck with all the logs on it tomorrow.









Reid

[Burlkraft]

Nice lookin' setup Reid... ;) ;)

[Fla._Deadheader]

Must be some kinda special wood strapped on the "Horse", EH ???

[isawlogs]

 Jeff,
Here are a few pics of my ATV , I have it ready for work ,  ;) and always ready for play .
   Its a '86 Honda 350 4x4 , has canoe rack , serves as roll bar  :  trust me , very good to have . It has been tested and then some .
  Ya get a plastic box , put some tools in and around , roll bar acts as a hoe holder .. that for getting the spring runoff off da road ... Also it makes for a great .22 rest ,  ;D
Front rack I use for putting the saws on , I did take that half plastic saw case off and made me a wooden box that will hold the two saws and the gun butt in place .

  Have a two ton winch on da front, it could be a bit stronger , but it has a block , so it aint too bad , I have some prety neet tools in that box  ;D  Maybe take some pics tomorow . Some ya just might like to have .  :P

  It aint all that impresive , but I dont think it needs to be .

[Ironwood]

FDH,

The wood on the rack is knarly twisted cherry w/ the cambium half rotted off, AIN'T IT BEAUTIFUL. I always grab the stuff when I see it. I also found a 100 lb rock that looks like and anvil. Pretty neat.

ISAWLOGS,
What is the hose reel on the back for?
that roll /canoe bar looks serious. I need to build one for my "buggy" but it needs to modular and flipdown/ removeable. Big order, it will take some time. 

  Here are today's pictures. Much nicer day and we were in a really nice flat area w/ good access, just a TON of briars.








Reid

                             

[isawlogs]

  Reid ,

  That , well its a 100 feet of braided kevlar rope , I use it to pull wood with a pully and thingy that is on the rope to remove the rope from the pully with out me getting off the bike ... Its one of those things I was going to take a pick of today .. that and a few more little  helpers that reside in da box on da bike  ;D         but guess who forgot about that today . 

   The rollbar canoe rack , If you look at the pic , just above the winch , on the tubes going down , there is a bolt on each side .. take the bolts out , front and back are same , and you take the bar/rack off , front and back bumpers are used to attache it . These tubes are not all that thick .. aint no nascar roll cage here ... :D But sturdy enough to with stand the weight of the bike on impact with the ground during a roll over ... Its been tried ... : Not my fault did it again ...  : :
 

[isawlogs]

Reid ..

  Nice set-up , now I have one for you .. Can you get some close-ups and more info on that hoist ya got on tha pick-up ...  8)

[Ironwood]

ISAWLOGS,

The last two days logs, today furniture wood. I am DRAGGING. Tomorrow, milling all day. I can't wait for Monday so I can begin it all over again!!! I think I have put 25 hours on the Gator in 3 days. LOOONG days when you count prep and unloading time.








The crane is a 3200 # Venturo, electric over hydrualic. It would be the AutoCrane Equivalent of a 3205 (I think). The pictures are with one extension out, there is one more 6' extension still inside the upper part of the boom. I use use it ALL the time. Not just for wood/ logs but equipment, mechanical work etc... , I made a upper extension to set A/C unit and furnaces on 24' roofs (parapits can be high, the units are light). I need to make some outrigging points on the back of the bed. hopefully this summer I can pull the 5 ton Army bed off and do some customizing (no West Coast Choppers here, "chrome don't get you home")

            Reid

[IndyIan]

IMHO one of the best ATV's for the money for woodlot work is a suzuki kingquad, 2004 and older.  They're only 300cc but they've got a super low range and a manual front dif lock, they also weigh 600lbs just like the new ones(except polaris, they build really heavy atv's).  They've also got real gears for fool proof engine breaking.  The suspension has only 5" of travel so if you are going to do some trail riding with your buddies you'll be the last guy.  On the other hand the atv is lower so its less tippy and you'll get used to cutting your stumps low.
 
Unless your woodlot is fairly flat and dry I'd stay away from the gator and the other side by side seat machines, they are wider, get hung up more and you can't manhandle them around if your in a mess...
An arch is a necessity for bigger sticks, I've hauled 1400lb ones on the flatter trails at my place.

I imagine you can find a used 2000ish one pretty cheap compared to a new manco and it will be a lot better.
Ian

[Jeff]

Thanks everyone for your advice on this. I picked up my new ride in Munising Saturday. It belonged to an older gentleman that decided he wanted to upgrade to a rhino.  I'm plenty happy with that decision as I got an unbeatable deal on his old ride. A 2005 650 Honda Rincon.

Black in color
4X4
Automatic
4000# factory installed winch with remote
windshield
mirror
racks
box on back
custom hitch
heated handle bars
mudder tires
crome rims
built in GPS  and more!

I took a couple of pictures with my son on it before I left for my sisters and mothers day yesterday and today. I'm hoping it will be the perfect work horse and more.  8)

[sawguy21]

That Rincon is a sweet ride.  8)

[Mooseherder]

That is a bad ass machine right there. We have a friend that has a yeller one. :D
I think that 3 speed auto is a car transmission. ;D

[Dave Shepard]

I have a 2003 Rincon, you won't be dissappointed. Is it a 680cc EFI?


Dave

[Corley5]

Nice machine  8) 8) 8) 8)

[tomboysawyer]

Nice ride!

[Jeff]

We went into the honda dealer today to get an extra key made as we only got one. THe fellow that waited on us was the salesman that talked to us when we were kicking tires last month. I could tell he remembered us so I told him how we had found this via one of our forum members, that it belonged to one of his neighbors, what it included and then how much we paid for it. As soon as we told him his mouth dropped and the other guy as the counter turned around and told Tammy and I we should be ashamed of our selves for stealing the machine.

Ya gotta think we got a really good deal if ya get a reaction like that out of the local dealer.   We made him feel a bit better by buying a helmet and telling him once our funds recovered that we probably would be looking for a second machine. ;D

[scsmith42]

Jeff, that thing looks sweet! Nice score!!!

Scott

[Stump Jumper]

jeff whats the weight on that honda ?

[Jeff]

Jeff, since I didn't know, I looked it up and found all these specs along with the 600 lb weight. 

2005 FourTrax Rincon/ FourTrax Rincon GPSCAPE
Model: TRX650FGA (with GPS)

Engine Type: 649cc liquid-cooled OHV semi-dry-sump longitudinally mounted single-cylinder four-stroke

Bore and Stroke:   100.0mm x 82.6mm
Carburetion:   37mm CV
Ignition:   CD with electronic advance
Starter:   Electric with auxiliary recoil
Transmission:   Automatic with hydraulic torque converter, three forward gears, reverse, and electronic controls
Driveline:   Direct front and rear drive-shafts with torque-sensitive front differential
Front Suspension:   Independent double-wishbone; 6.9 inches travel
Rear Suspension:   Independent double-wishbone; 8.0 inches travel
Front Brakes:   Triple-sealed hydraulic drum
Rear Brakes:   Single hydraulic disc
Front Tires:   25 x 8-12 radial
Rear Tires:   25 x 10-12 radial
Length:   83.7 inches
Width:   46.1 inches
Height:   47.5 inches
Seat Height:   34.5 inches
Ground Clearance:   10.0 inches
Wheelbase:   50.8 inches
Turning Radius:   10.8 feet
Dry Weight:   600 pounds
Fuel Capacity:   4.5 gallons, including 1.0-gallon reserve
Color: Black