Area51 Project Foreman - 2015 Update:

 

May 16, 2015 Torbay ATV Rip with Andrea Bassan.

 

May 20, 2015 This summer I decided to finally fabricate a new custom bumper to replace my old dilapidated tube bumper.

 

To see the full story, check out the Rear Bumper article for more pics and details.

 

August 22, 2015 Goulds to Northern Pond Tangly ATV rip with Maffer. Lots of stucks and Maffer sunk his bike sideways! Quite a memorable run!

 

 

 

September 2015: After only 2 years, my EBay OEM Honda replacement muffler is suffering the same fate as the original. Baffles have let go and the muffler vibrates and blocks off the exhaust opening reducing power. After some research I found that MBRP has come out with a new line of utility series mufflers that are about half the cost of a factory Honda muffler.

 

 

 I picked up an exact fit 6000 series from Honda One and installed it with no troubles. It's a little louder than stock but not as loud as the muffler I gutted 4-5 years ago and has a nice deep tone. The kit fit the foreman perfectly using factory mounting locations and comes with a better clamp than was used with the OEM muffler. MBRP also eliminated the need for an exhaust gasket where the new pipe meets the existing head pipe.

 

September 30, 2015 solo Torbay ATV Rip. Bike sounds great with the new muffler, little louder than stock but manageable, plus no annoying rattles!

 


In October I tackled another minor item that came up this year, the stitching along the front of my seat let go. A quick fix with needle, thread & stapler and it's good as new.

 

 

October 12, 2015 Torbay ATV run with Maffer, Bassan and Coldwell.

 

 

Next up: I decided to tackle a repair to my leaking front differential and perform a full front end inspection.

 

 

The oil seal where the driveshaft enters the differential was leaking oil out/letting water in. I ordered an all balls front differential rebuild kit as it came with all the seals I needed and more. With the differential on the bench I unbolted the driveshaft coupler, popped out the old old seal, installed the replacement and the problem was solved. All of the bearings were in great shape so I didn't replace them, I did pop in two new side axel seals that were in the kit.

 

 

I also had to replace the same inner CV joint I replaced many years ago. The boot split in two and let in a ton of mud and sand which ruined the joint. A replacement Honda CV joint, boot and clamps was ordered and installed.

 

 

With the front end completely disassembled I did a thorough inspection and ended up replacing the last two original ball joints.  

 

 

I also replaced both front wheel bearings (mostly for reliability sake where it was all apart). I used ALL Balls Racing bearing kits, repacking the bearings myself.

 

 

This is my C-clamp & two sockets trick for pressing in new ball joints without removing the A-arm. It works very well and saves a lot of time with no risk of damaging the new ball joint.

 

 

Last on the parts list was a set of replacement brake pads for my Quadrax disc brake kit. This is the first set of pads I've had to replace on this kit, and its required no maintenance what so ever. The pads are available through Motovan at most dealers but they are an arctic cat sintered brake pad.

 

 

 

While the front end was disassembled I took the opportunity to paint up the frame, A-arms and even the CV axels to keep the bike looking good and rust free.

 

November 11, 2015 Trepassey Moose Hunt. Peter knocked his animal down in a tangly spot, I took Project Foreman down over a steep tundra covered hill, through the woods and out onto the bog. No more lifting and carrying by hand anymore! Ferried one half up to Bassan's bike, went back for the 2nd and we all headed out.

 

 

 

 

November 29, 2015 Torbay ATV run from the house.

 

 

December Later that Fall I began having trouble with the bike running poorly. I kept finding water in the gas and ended up removing the tank. I cleaned the carb and cleaned and flushed the tank into a clear container and found about a 1/4 cup of water in the gas. I suspect that this was 17 years of condensation and refilling in the rain/snow and it finally built up enough to cause grief. The bike has ran great ever since cleaning.

 

 

The last project for 2015 was resurrecting my old snowplow that I bought/rebuilt when I lived at home (2001-2002ish).

 

 

 

Our previous house in Mount Pearl had nowhere to push snow, but our new house has lots of space and a long driveway. The plow will never replace the convenience of my Honda snow blower, but it makes 5cm dustings and for cleaning up behind the snow blower a lot quicker.

 

 

A quick coat of paint, a new angle locking bolt, and new trip springs were all that was needed.

 

December 31, 2015 last Torbay ATV ride of the year!

Cheers, MIKE

 

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