And now.... the review!
So after my brief ride in the field this morning, I brought the machine back in the shop, and proceeded to reassemble.. And I figgerred I might as well adjust the clutch, cuz the shifts have been getting a little sloppy lately, so I went ahead with that.... So after 1.5 hrs of f'n with it, it doesn't shift fer sh*t! Won't shift without releasing throttle at all, and when it does shift it's brutal.. I tried adjusting from 1/8 turn, all the way out to 1 full turn, with no change at all. P.M.O.!! Took it to the trails anyways. Can you say UN-BEE-LEEV-ABLE! I knew a locker in this machine would make a difference, but this is crazy different! I headed straight to the part of the trail with the tightest turns and went through there with no issues, in fact, if you blip the throttle a bit, I think it'll turn even tighter. This section is all 1st gear stuff- it's tight, pivoting off trees tight.. Yes the steering is heavier- kinda sorta... I wasn't 'palming' it, now that I think about it..It crawled over all the new deadfall from the big wind storm we had a couple weeks ago with no issues- I mention that, because I didn't switch the suspension to 'articulation' mode, and left the shocks at maximum ground clearance to more closely mimic the stock suspension- stiff. So after going through the tight stuff, I headed to the first real hill climb. This hill is pretty steep, but I don't have to drop the front end every time to climb it, sometimes it will make it, but spinning the whole way up. *I do all my traction tests in 1st gear doing my best to maintain traction, not just plant the throttle and let it dig holes, or 'charge up' in 2nd using momentum* So I just turned up the hill, and simply drove up.. I do mean 'simply' drove up. It's like the hill lost 10degs. of slope. Didn't spin AT ALL. Now I'm thinkin' 'that's pretty cool'! So off to the steeper stuff. The next two hills require dropping the front end every time, and one usually requires me to drive up a bit, then back down to get a straight shot- it's in a tight ravine that requires turning into the hill, so normally I can't make it with out the lining up thing. Well, I just turned into the hill, and again, just drove up the damn hill! It didn't spin. Hill #3- this is the one where I did the video demonstrating the difference it makes to traction by dropping the front end down to climb the hill. Drove straight up- no spin- shocks pumped up, tires pumped up...ridiculous, right? I sat at the top of that hill thinking, what the hell is Honda thinking, not putting a locking front diff in this machine?!? I headed for a downed tree that gets me every time- It's about 50/50 shot that I'll be winching- there's a nice stump about 25' away that has plenty of cable scars on it... Drove right over it... turned around and drove over it again....crazy! So I headed to the last hill. This one's a 'white knuckler' cuz there's a big tree at the bottom with exposed roots that makes it impossible to get over when going back up, so I normally have to go up on the opposite side of the tree and then make a slight turn to get back on the trail, and then climb- often takes me several tries, and it's possible to get sideways, and slide onto that tree, and then it's winch time... There's some swampy stuff at the bottom too, so getting turned around requires some careful planning to avoid getting stuck. So I go down the hill into the ravine, I purposely just made a circle in the swampy stuff, and figured 'what the hell, I'll try going over the roots'. (I spent a good half hour trying to get over those roots the first time I went down into that ravine, trying to avoid the scary maneuvering thing on the other side- it just wouldn't go over. ) I drove up onto the roots, it scrambled a bit, and just kept going.... straight up the hill. The spool just turned my most challenging, close to home trail, into a beginner ride..
Headed for the truck. Loaded er on the trailer- no ramps- don't need no stinkin ramps....
So, after that glowing review, what's the downside?
Please keep in mind, most of the 'glowing' parts are speaking to the difference locking the front diff on a P500 makes. The spool, is presently, the only means of doing that....Now the downside:
Having the front end locked all the time, is most assuredly putting more stress on the entire front end- unless you're in mush all the time.
No power steering- forget it- seriously, don't do it.
When backing up, the steering can get very heavy and pull the steering all the way to lock, and just about can't be moved till you go forward again.
If you are getting by, riding in 2wd most of the time- spool is not a good idea.
If you use a snow plow- I can't say it won't work, but wouldn't recommend, I'm not even going to try it.
So that's it boys and girls, if you don't mind losing some steering comfort, and you ride mostly challenging trails or slippery stuff, and you just want to lock the damn diff now, and you're the second most impatient person on earth, (I hold the title) the spool definitely works, it's inexpensive, and it's available.
I'm still going to swap in Torqmasters locker as soon as I can get one because I still ride pavement and hard-pack enough to want to (hopefully) take the stress off the front end, at least when in 2wd, and I want to support their efforts and investment too.
And finally: A BIG THANK-YOU, TO HONDASRULE! Your skill, your efforts, your investment, and your trust in me, are very much appreciated.
JWB
Now I have to figure out what the hell I did to my clutch...
So after my brief ride in the field this morning, I brought the machine back in the shop, and proceeded to reassemble.. And I figgerred I might as well adjust the clutch, cuz the shifts have been getting a little sloppy lately, so I went ahead with that.... So after 1.5 hrs of f'n with it, it doesn't shift fer sh*t! Won't shift without releasing throttle at all, and when it does shift it's brutal.. I tried adjusting from 1/8 turn, all the way out to 1 full turn, with no change at all. P.M.O.!! Took it to the trails anyways. Can you say UN-BEE-LEEV-ABLE! I knew a locker in this machine would make a difference, but this is crazy different! I headed straight to the part of the trail with the tightest turns and went through there with no issues, in fact, if you blip the throttle a bit, I think it'll turn even tighter. This section is all 1st gear stuff- it's tight, pivoting off trees tight.. Yes the steering is heavier- kinda sorta... I wasn't 'palming' it, now that I think about it..It crawled over all the new deadfall from the big wind storm we had a couple weeks ago with no issues- I mention that, because I didn't switch the suspension to 'articulation' mode, and left the shocks at maximum ground clearance to more closely mimic the stock suspension- stiff. So after going through the tight stuff, I headed to the first real hill climb. This hill is pretty steep, but I don't have to drop the front end every time to climb it, sometimes it will make it, but spinning the whole way up. *I do all my traction tests in 1st gear doing my best to maintain traction, not just plant the throttle and let it dig holes, or 'charge up' in 2nd using momentum* So I just turned up the hill, and simply drove up.. I do mean 'simply' drove up. It's like the hill lost 10degs. of slope. Didn't spin AT ALL. Now I'm thinkin' 'that's pretty cool'! So off to the steeper stuff. The next two hills require dropping the front end every time, and one usually requires me to drive up a bit, then back down to get a straight shot- it's in a tight ravine that requires turning into the hill, so normally I can't make it with out the lining up thing. Well, I just turned into the hill, and again, just drove up the damn hill! It didn't spin. Hill #3- this is the one where I did the video demonstrating the difference it makes to traction by dropping the front end down to climb the hill. Drove straight up- no spin- shocks pumped up, tires pumped up...ridiculous, right? I sat at the top of that hill thinking, what the hell is Honda thinking, not putting a locking front diff in this machine?!? I headed for a downed tree that gets me every time- It's about 50/50 shot that I'll be winching- there's a nice stump about 25' away that has plenty of cable scars on it... Drove right over it... turned around and drove over it again....crazy! So I headed to the last hill. This one's a 'white knuckler' cuz there's a big tree at the bottom with exposed roots that makes it impossible to get over when going back up, so I normally have to go up on the opposite side of the tree and then make a slight turn to get back on the trail, and then climb- often takes me several tries, and it's possible to get sideways, and slide onto that tree, and then it's winch time... There's some swampy stuff at the bottom too, so getting turned around requires some careful planning to avoid getting stuck. So I go down the hill into the ravine, I purposely just made a circle in the swampy stuff, and figured 'what the hell, I'll try going over the roots'. (I spent a good half hour trying to get over those roots the first time I went down into that ravine, trying to avoid the scary maneuvering thing on the other side- it just wouldn't go over. ) I drove up onto the roots, it scrambled a bit, and just kept going.... straight up the hill. The spool just turned my most challenging, close to home trail, into a beginner ride..
Headed for the truck. Loaded er on the trailer- no ramps- don't need no stinkin ramps....
So, after that glowing review, what's the downside?
Please keep in mind, most of the 'glowing' parts are speaking to the difference locking the front diff on a P500 makes. The spool, is presently, the only means of doing that....Now the downside:
Having the front end locked all the time, is most assuredly putting more stress on the entire front end- unless you're in mush all the time.
No power steering- forget it- seriously, don't do it.
When backing up, the steering can get very heavy and pull the steering all the way to lock, and just about can't be moved till you go forward again.
If you are getting by, riding in 2wd most of the time- spool is not a good idea.
If you use a snow plow- I can't say it won't work, but wouldn't recommend, I'm not even going to try it.
So that's it boys and girls, if you don't mind losing some steering comfort, and you ride mostly challenging trails or slippery stuff, and you just want to lock the damn diff now, and you're the second most impatient person on earth, (I hold the title) the spool definitely works, it's inexpensive, and it's available.
I'm still going to swap in Torqmasters locker as soon as I can get one because I still ride pavement and hard-pack enough to want to (hopefully) take the stress off the front end, at least when in 2wd, and I want to support their efforts and investment too.
And finally: A BIG THANK-YOU, TO HONDASRULE! Your skill, your efforts, your investment, and your trust in me, are very much appreciated.
JWB
Now I have to figure out what the hell I did to my clutch...
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