Soon enough Spring fully arrived and so did a lot of rain all through April. Paths were probably going to be really flooded & soft today so I swapped back to my new Mud Lite XTR's and hit the trails.

April 14, 2021 Flooded trails Torbay ATV spring ride. We've had quite a lot of rain this week, coupled with spring snowmelt made for an interesting water logged trail ride!

At the end of April I took the front end apart for some much needed maintenance. I had to replace worn front wheel bearings but already knew it wouldn't be a straight forward repair.

The Quadrax disc brake kit I installed in 2009 is still holding up well and works great. Stopping power is way better, and require way less maintenance than the OEM drum brakes. The pads were replaced in 2015 and are wearing very well. I took this opportunity to thoroughly clean mud and bog from the brake callipers and slide pins.

Thanks to anti-seize and regular maintenance, everything came apart with no headaches or surprises.

Toasted bearing, old grease and water infiltration, not bad as they were installed in 2015.

The last time I replaced front bearings they were really easy to slide in. When the bike was new they had to be tapped in with a hammer & bearing driver, now they can be dropped right in. The fix is to replace the knuckle which is pretty expensive having to do both sides. I had one last trick to try, Permatex Sleeve Retainer.

First I popped out the seals on the new bearings and re-packed them with quality Lucas Heavy Duty grease. Both surfaces were made surgically clean and a coat of sleeve retainer applied to each part. The new bearings were dropped in place and excess sleeve retainer cleaned from the snap ring groove and seal indentations. The hubs were left for two days to make sure the product fully cured.

Next the snap ring was cleaned, coated in grease and reinstalled.

New seals were pressed in place on the inside and outside of each hub.

I always like to fill the void between the seal and bearing with grease, this leaves no place for water to gather if it gets past the seal.

Before reassembling the hub & brakes I had one ball joint to replace on the upper A-arm. I use two 3/4" drive sockets and a large heavy duty c-clamp as a ball joint press to install the part with the arm on the bike.

These wheel spacers are part of the Quadrax disc brake kit. I thoroughly cleaned them and applied anti-seize to the back side and to each wheel stud to prevent corrosion.

With the harder work done it was on to regular maintenance starting with an engine oil & filter change.

Upon inspection I found a tear in the vent line for the rear differential. The damaged section was cut out and the line reinstalled to prevent more water from getting into the rear diff.

Both differentials received fresh gear oil, quality Lucas full synthetic in 75w-90.

July 16, 2021 super dry Torbay ATV rip. Rain has been quite scarce this summer, many Salmon Rivers have been closed, and water levels in my hometown riding area certainly reflect that!

August 19, 2021 First ATV run with Janes on his brand new 2021 Honda Rubicon 520 Deluxe!

September - October 2021 Moose Hunting with Peter, Andrea & Roger. Moose hunting this year was a little different, the French's finished up very early in the season, and Peter had less than ideal availability during the early part of the season. We made a number of trips to the Southern Shore, but never had enough days in a row to make the hunt successful.

October 2, 2021 Post windstorm trail cleanup with the Top Handle Chainsaw.

November 9, 2021 Bay Roberts ATV run with Dad. Had an awesome run today out in Bay Roberts in the area of country road. Of course, no trip in the woods with Dad is without a boil-up!

December 19, 2021 Torbay winter freeze up rip. Trails are freezing up nicely here on the Avalon, is this a sign of a great winter to come?!

Cheers, MIKE