By Big Wolf on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Hello again everyone,

My sone and I took the Max IV-950T out back behind the house over the week end, and we finally gat a chance to take a couple of hundred digital photo's of the machine in action. I have not been out back for a while hoping that the real bad sticky clay up on the hills would dry up some. To our surprise we found all the trails and woods and storm water retention basin flooded. A lot of the water went down over the past couple of weeks, but we still had more than enough mud and water in the low areas to unleash the beast and let it feed for a while!

We captured some real good action shots that you may be interested to see. There is a good mix of little bit of every thing to see, including water shots, mud bogging, lots of hills climbing shots, some ditch work, and a plowed field. I got a little bit of air in a few shots, but nothing tremendous to speak of, getting air under the wheels is not my thing. The big kid was constantly yelling to me to get some big air jump shots old man, but I just ignored him most of the time!

For those that are interested we have uploaded all the photo's into the Comcast.net Snap Fish photo album server. You can locate the photo album via this link provided here, the photo album is named "The Spring Fling In Motown 2004".

You will be required to log in and create your own password to gain access to the Snap Fish photo album server. It is not a big deal and is well worth the time and inconvenience to check out the photo's.

Once you are in the photo album, just click on the first photo, and pick the slide show play function.

Let me know what you think of the photo shots!

http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=65111081736880855/l=25826923/cobrandOid=1000131

By Bud on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Great photos. That looks like one fun day. I really like your machine and all of the upgrades that you have built onto it.

Bud

P.S. I especially liked the "do rag", ala' Motown! :-)

By Louisiana mudbug on Unrecorded Date: Edit

( Big Wolf )

After I got home from work,,I got the chance to look through all of the pics you posted of your "bad to the bone" Max IV, and I will say this :

These are some of very best enlarged "close-up" pics of a Max IV in action I,ve seen so far.

Those were some really outstanding pics for sure! Keep em coming brother! The more mud pictures the better!

I say -----> let the Big Dog eat some mudd!

By Big Wolf on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Hey Guys,

Thanks for all the nice comments and E-mails!

I also added a couple more new photo albums for viewing, that shows us towing and hauling the fishing boat and utility trailer with the ATV, in preperation for the spring fishing season.

We went ahead and took the time to shoot some more digital photos of this stuff to share also!

Below is the new link to access the Comcast.net and Snap Fish photo album server. You still must log in and provide your own unique password to gain access to Snap Fish! Enjoy the new photos!

http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=976131081909504513/l=25942412/cobrandOid=1000131

By tropicjungleboy on Unrecorded Date: Edit

HEY BIG WOLF........nice photo.what kind of engine is fitted on the 950t????

By Big Wolf on Unrecorded Date: Edit

The 950T has that new FD750D 27 HP V-Twin Kawasaki Liquid Cooled Engine installed in it, with a 2 barrel Mikuni carburetor. It puts out 43 ft lbs of torque at 2400 rpm. The governor is factory set at 3600 rpm.

That engine has more than enough extra power for this machine. I barely crack open the throttle to climbs the hills out back. Man can this thing climb hills, does not matter if it's mud, snow, ice, or how many people you put in it!

The entire back compartment of the machine is all engine, it gives you the distinct feeling that you are strapping into an engine, if you know what I mean by that!

Even with all that engine setting up high, it still has a very good low center of gravity and weight distribution. It feels real good on the hills going up and down. The steepest inclines that I have tried it out on so far have been 45 to 60 degress, and it feels and performs very well! That good feeling may change at more severe angles, but I have not tried any thing worse yet. I will keep testing it as I find more severe stuff to climb a little bit at a time. I lean toward the cautious low risk side when riding, I do not wish to injure myself just to proove a point to any one!

By david berger (Davidrrrd) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

hi big wolf, ?are you shur about that 60*?
thats awfuly steep, prahaps you can find an angle finder and meshur it some time, i know my bubble burst when i meshured some of my old favorets,

By Big Wolf on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Hello David,

I have one of those magnetic base angle measuring gages that I use for bending pipe and checking angles with. I stuck it to one of the vertical pipes on my roll cage and used it to check the angles on several of the trails on the hills out back. Most all the inclines around my hills measure about 45 degress, even though the photographs don't really show that to be the case. There is a couple of washed out spots that get more severe. I climbed one spot and the needle on the gage was bouncng between 55 and 60 degress. And the other bad spot visually appears to go just about vertical in one spot, I have not tried that one yet. The wash outs seem to change through out the year with the weather changes.

I do know what you mean about the visual appearance of angles versus actual! I can say this much; any thing that is steeper than about 50 or 55 degrees feels like you are going vertical in or on any atv!

Now also keep in mind these are small hills with short distances of inclination that I am riding on and trying out here, it's not like I am climbing a mountain side that rises many hundreds or yards high at 50 to 70 degree angles. For those that want to climb mountain sides and really step angles, you definately need lots of horse power and a long wheel base for the best performance and stability. You would need to be very cautious and carefull doing the really high and steep angle stuff, what may go up must come back down at some point in time! And hopefully you are on all wheels coming back down and not in a barrel roll!

One of these days I will get the boyz to try out the hills in the gravel pit over by one of my other properties. The neighbor is always digging gravel and the walls angles are always changing there from digging and wash out. Most of the inclines there are at least 55 degrees or more visually and the last 10 to 20 feet up around the upper rim goes vertical.

I would need to remove my current roll cage and put the factory cage back on for them to attempt that stuff though. That would help lower the center of gravity a little more. I really dont think they would make it up over the top. I have watched them try it and do it in the past on their dirt bikes. They make it up about 2 times out of 10, and when they do make it, it's because they jump the bike when they hit the vertical near the top, and they hang the front wheel on the upper lip, and then power their way over it! The rest of the attempts I watch the bike and rider barrel roll back down the hills.

You will never hear about or see me doing that risky stuff, I do not heal as well as I once did, and injuries seem to hurt a lot more these days!

I have been thinking about getting my self a bigger 6x6 or 8x8 machine like the Hydro Traxx or Avenger, and giving the boyz the Max 950T to hop it up to meet their needs.

Later fella's

By david berger (Davidrrrd) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

yah i know how pic's can flaten out terrain, but the trees do give clues to actual angles in some pic's, i wach for trees even in event videos to determin the type of terrain thats on the tube at the time

By Big Wolf on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Probably a better way to more acurately capture hill angles would be to position the camera man on the incline of the hill or directly at the base of the hill, and have him hold the camera positioned straight up and down and then you may capture and get a real good look at the hill inclination much more accurately on photograph and video.

I had my son stand way back away from the hills and take wide angle shots, just to try and capture more of what was going on rather than just close up views.

We are by no means professional photographers, we took some action photos to post and share with others interested to see them, and also share a little bit of our experiences.

Just what exactly are you trying to say here, that my hills are not at 45 degree inclines just by judging from trees in the back ground? If that is the case, you are more than welcome to come on over and verify it for your self. I think you need to know just a little bit more data to accurately judge inclination than just looking at trees in the back ground. That gives you only one point of reference, you also need to know the exact position and angle of the camera and camera man to make any form of best guess analysis. I am an engineer also, so if you wish to come on over some time, we can take some measurements and crunch some numbers together very quickly. I can put on a pot of fresh coffee also!

By Big Wolf on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Ok yesterday I went back out and pulled all the access covers and disassembled all of the seats in the Max IV-950T, and photographed the complete inside and outside of the machine. This should give everyone a real good look inside at the entire drive train and details and the entire Kawasaki engine from all possible angles. Every thing that you wanted to know about a Max IV-950T but was afraid to ask photos with captions!

Once again below is the new link to access and view all of the photo albums that I have uploaded and posted to date on the Comcast.net Snap Fish photo album server. I have to cut and paste the new link each time that a new album is added to the shared viewing list. It is a pain in the butt butt its the best method that I have at the moment to upload and share a large quantity of photos and albums.

As usual you must sign in and create your own unique user I.D. and private password to view the photo albums.

To this date I have uploaded and posted the following photo albums for review;

"Spring Fling in Motown 2004"
"Towing The Boat Trailer"
"Towing The Utility Trailer"
"Inside The Max IV-950T"

Enjoy the newly added stuff!

http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=974161082140740665/l=26047760/cobrandOid=1000131

By david berger (Davidrrrd) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

nope i was actualy verifying them to a degree by saying look at trees for help figuring out pic's that come out flat, i lerned to look at them because i do event videos and have my own weird prespective on many shots (headband cam)so when i watch them i have found some times steap hills are only given away by the weird tree angles, heh heh
mybe your camera persone can get last minuet corrections by looking for trees in viewfinder, i have also tryed this becaus when standing on a side hill you loose prespective and sometims hold camera at an angle, also when action is above you or belowe you it is verry dificult to chouse the best way to hold a camera, i just figured id mention at this point if there was a referance handy a camera person could chouse to acent his photo twards correct up and down, this is not alwase posable though,
(maybe stick a buble meshure on camera?)
i got threw only 140 pics from your files but thats cause of my slow pathetic pc, i wish it would have worked on the slide show but it couldent, click and wait,click and wait. click and wait..ect....
but i did find instances that the trees in the pics gave more damention to them, and thats all i ment,
if you have them all on a cd and wish to send a copy then i think i can view them on another pc as slide show,
(my other pc will never be conected to internet as long as im alive and so far in debt)

By tropicjungleboy on Unrecorded Date: Edit

hey big wolf:

congratulation on your new adquisition........and hats off for your very detailed photo slides.........unfortunately for the 950t...on the long run the water cooled engine is not the best choice..........to many things to replace to keep it dependable ( water/cooland, water hoses, plastics end of radiator, termostato, ....) sure a kawasaki engine is very reliable...but for a season machine water cooled engine sucks!!!.....just remember that many 20 years or more old machines still performances because their air cooled engines!!!..........anyhow best wishes on enjoy you bouncing sesions!!

By BrettBBonner on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Big Wolf - how do you keep the chains and interior so clean? I'm a hunter too and it is always just nasty. Powerwashing doesn't help and all the stuff coming off the duck hunters waders just gets everywhere!!!

By Big Wolf on Unrecorded Date: Edit

You have a head band cam? Very cool, that must capture some really good action shots from the drivers perspective. That would be good item to have for hunting trips also.

E-Mail me your mailing address and I will send you a CD-ROM of all the photo albums that I have made and posted to date.

Viewing the slide shows is definately much nicer than individual photos. It's also nice that you can pause or go back or go forward to read captions even better.

I found your web site for the ride video stuff! Looks like some very interesting and good stuff to watch. Of the several tapes that you have listed, what ones do you highly recommend for the best action to see?

By david berger (Davidrrrd) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

yes im experementing with the headband cam and also with cameras mounted in pasengers prepective,
favorets seam to be mostly from pete cagels spring fling rides, many people liked the 2002 spring fling, it was before i had an editing pc but it came out good,
there was also a 2002 video from humphrey i called "cheif johns extreem mud run" this one i have just reviseted with the editing pc and resultes are verry good,
other than that id say the 2003 spring fling wich was the first threw the computer editing equipment, i beleave thoughs would be voted best by my video customers,
but there will be more!
i will defenatly e you my address for the album cd's, thanks!

By dt5428 on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Hey Brett maybe you could use a bildge pump and draw water out of the lake or marsh if it is not to dirty or carry some clean water with you and spray off the waders before they climb back into you rig.My Argo was used for duck hunting before I got it and the inside was a mess.Just a though maybe some type of nozzle attachment to the end of the hose.

Later,Dan

By Big Wolf on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Well I am not a stranger to engines and vehicle power train technology, I also work for the Ford Motor Company, and I install and work on most all of our largest manufacturing equipmentand systems and machinery world wide!

I look at it like I do my liquid cooled power stroke diesel or gas truck engine. They are designed for a specific purpose to get the job done, but you also have to take care of them.

Air cooled versus liquid cooled engines, yes the air cooled engines require much less attention as compared to a liquid cooled engine. The liquid cooled Kawasaki may be a little more engine than I need, I will know more about that after I have had a chance to pound on it and run it hard up in the mountains ranges, and down low in the swamps, for a couple of weeks at a time on hunting trips. So far, I like what I see and how well it does perform for me! Realistically I do not expect any machine to last me 20 years, if it does that's fine, if it does not well that's just part of the game.

This Max IV machine is a real good piece of equipment, and it should take care of most of my usage requirements. It works excellent for day trips in and out of severe terrain and mud and hills and stuff, and you can carry all the gear and a couple of buddies along. Although I do plan to buy a larger capacity machine as well, to handle the heavier duty stuff that I need done. A larger machine would work better for multi day trips and hauling very heavy loads. The Max IV did a great job towing the heavy boat with no problem at all, but the rear hitch is actually not made to handle that much load. The Argo and Hydro Traxx machine do have a much more robust trailer hitch that is better suited for towing things that large and heavy.

If any type of machine will last me through a hard season of hunting, then it deserves my attention and some basic routine maintenance. It's a fair and even trade off, I expect and demand my gear and equipment to perform as it is designed to do, other wise it gets tossed over a cliff or in the garbage can! Non functional dead weight does me no good in the bush! I am very skilled at destroying expensive gear and equipment.

Hey Brett, I do not do very much duck hunting, so my clean up work may not be quite as bad as what you have to deal with. It does get real dirty inside after a couple of weeks of accumulation. For clean up, I usually shop vac it out real well, and hose it down inside and out, and then hand wipe it down, even the lower pan area, and then spray a fine coating of oil on all the exposed bare metal stuff. Including the normal chain and lube maintenance stuff!

Actually when I took the photos that I posted, I did not take the time to hand wipe out the lower body area very well, I noticed some debris and water still laying in the bottom and rear area, and some dust and water spots. It was getting late evening when I took them, so I wanted to get the pictures before I lost the day light. Normally I do try to keep the machine and lower body area clean and well maintained.

Over the next couple of years I should be able to take some real good digital photos, during trips and adventures to post and share with others. Oh and my continued charity work for the R.I. factory as well as what ever other brand that I do buy, will probably continue for a while any way. On thing that I can't complain about is having some good tax write offs!

When I have some more time available, I will post some more detailed photos of "How To Customize a Max IV", for those that would like to do their own work and change the look of their machines.

I have a bunch of out side work to get done this week end, so I have to go for now!

By dt5428 on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Hey Brett maybe you could use a bildge pump and draw water out of the lake or marsh if it is not to dirty or carry some clean water with you and spray off the waders before they climb back into you rig.My Argo was used for duck hunting before I got it and the inside was a mess.Just a though maybe some type of nozzle attachment to the end of the hose.

Later,Dan

By michigan maxster on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Does anyone know if or when the next Haspin ride is?

By Big Wolf on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Hey if we could get some other people, possibly even other Max and Argo dealers or new machine owners to take some detailed digital photos of other machines, I would have no problem with uploading them and posting photo album links on my cable and internet providers server.

I beleive this is the type of information that many people do want to see available on the internet.

Think about it and let me know!

By david berger (Davidrrrd) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

big wolf i have tryed to send you an e-mail via the link off post but your mail box is full, is there another mail box?

By Big Wolf on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Hello David,

That is very bizzar, I try to keep my e-mail in box cleaned out as well as possible. The wife and her friends continuously barage our e-mail with tons of chain letter stuff with attachment files, and that could be the problem.

You can also call me on my business cell phone, at (313) 220-9114. Just call and leave me your phone number, and then I can call you back to save you the cost of long distance phone charges. I want to order a couple of your video's any way.

By david berger (Davidrrrd) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

heh heh, well although i have now sucsessfuly sent big wolf 2 e-mails i just thought id do a thorow job and post why i had this dificulty,
big wolf it wasent your wifes falt, it was just an error in your profile for your e-mail address,
i have sean it happen before,
it would be nice if invaledly typed e-ddresses wer not exepted by the profile builder at the time they are created so people could find out then and correct them, unfortunatly they are acepted by the profile builder even if typed invaledly,
i think it is posable to edit it though so others can e-you directly from route 6x6 via the link
hope this helps

By Bill Aras (Blueknightnj) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I checked the rules, spelling does not count! LOL
My compliments to Big Wolf for the fantastic work he has done with his MAX IV. A true inspiration to me and my spare time. (what spare time)
Again nice Job.

Bill

By Motown's (Bigwolf) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Hey I did receive your e-mails! Ok I did correct the typo in my user profile aslo. Cock pit error on the key board is my only excuse at this point! It's still much easier to blame the wife for it though!

By david berger (Davidrrrd) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

bill dont forget petes spring fling is comeing up

By Motown's (Bigwolf) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Well I had Dan "dt5428" stop by the house today and check out the Big Dawg! He had a good opportunity to check out the Max IV 950T inside and out, and top to bottom. We also took it out back for a ride, so he could check out the performance, ride, handling and power first hand.

We have been talking via e-mail for a while now, and this was the first time that we met each other in person. Dan owns a real nice Argo Conquest machine loaded to the gills that he uses for hunting and out-of-doors stuff also.

I am glad that he finally got a chance to stop by and shoot the crap for a while. Maybe he will log on some time and share his thoughts and opinions about the Big Dawg with every one!

The Wings are playing again today, so I have to keep this one short. The wife makes me put on those rubber blade guards, so that I don't cut up her carpet in the living room. She also banned me from bringing my hockey stick into the house. She says that I cause too much damage in the house wearing the skates and swinging the hockey stick around. WHAT ELSE CAN I SAY, IT'S PLAYOFF TIME AT IT'S BEST!

By dt5428 on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Well I guess I have to respond.I have been reading postings from this website for about nine or ten months and have heard all the pros and cons between the Max and the Argo.I never really put much stock in what people type I am a gotta see it for yourself type of guy and today I can honestly say I seen it for myself.I spent the better part of the day with Big Wolf looking over his Max IV 950T all I can say is what a nice machine especially with the hop ups he has done.My father and I bought a used Argo 8x8 Conquest last year and have done several hop ups to our unit also.From what I have seen if you did a comparison side by side Max IV 950T verse the Argo Conquest 8X8 the Max wins hands down.As far as the hop ups go you can do that to any machine so lets throw them out the window.The Max rode much nicer although Big Wolf has 26 inch tires which make a big difference and we are talking 6 verses 8 wheels also I like 27 HP Kaw motor it has all the power you would ever need unlike the Argo with the 20 HP Kaw which leaves little to be desired but will get the job done.I also like the motor in the rear instead of the front for two reasons better weight distribution and much less noise and the motor is a lot more accessible although the tranny might be harder get to.There is a couple of things I do not like about the Max but could live with it or change them which would be the way the winch is mounted to the front and the rear hitch is setup and I also think the throttle cable could still use improvement and the belly pans reworked to keep more debris out of the chain and sprocket areas.Oh and one other thing I did like the chain adjusters better than the Argo much less noise.Don't get me wrong I am not going out and buying a Max because I got such a good deal on the Argo but if the pricing was about the same I would go with the Max and change the bad things to my liking.Now with the things I like better with the Argo.The first thing I like is extra room in the rear of the Argo.Also I think the stock Argo does look better than the stock Max and the automatic chain adjusters on the Argo are nice but other than that I can't see a whole lot that I can say I like better.Now I do have to mention that Big Wolf and myself would like to do a comparison between the Max IV 950T ,Avenger and the Hydrotrax and see where that takes us.We will compare the three sometime in the near future even if we have to go to the factories.I am in no way bashing anyone's machine and I may not be the most experienced driver but I can say if I was a first time buyer buying off of first experiences the Max wins.Well that is all for now so let the claws fly I am sure there will be many.Oh and one last thing if you are thinking about buying a Max make sure you talk to Big Wolf like he said he and I have be talking via email for sometime and this was the first time we have talked face to face and I can tell you he holds no punches is honest and a person of good morels.So if you are looking for an honest sales person to be up front and straight talking do yourself a favor and give him a call he will tell you the pros and cons with out the other crab and you might even get a couple of hunting stories out of Big old dead eye.LOL No offense given don't want my **** kicked.

Later,Dan

By Motown's (Bigwolf) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Hey Dan very good write up! Actually I am better suited as a technical application specialists versus being a salesman! I suck as a salesman, and I really do not care to continue doing it. Real salesman have the gift of gab and the ability to spew the bull s@#t like no other! I will however, leave an open invitiation to any one that wants to stop buy and check out the Max IV-950T machine with me. I do not have a major problem doing charity work and showing poeple the Max stuff, and also discussing application needs. I have no interest or desire to trash other brand machines, I like them all!

At some point in time I plan to either change my web site over to an informational type site, or just shut it down completely. It really does not cost very much to keep it active though. If any one is interested in buying out my web site and company name or what ever, just let me know. If there are any dealers out there either Max, Argo, or what ever that want to launch their own web site, using our base template structure just let me know. We would be glad to help out any one that wants or needs some help in this area. Between myself and my oldest son who is a computer wiz kid in college, we can easily help you out or just do it for you. As for myself, I don't really care about making any money from it, but my son in college could always use an extra buck! I am sure you know how college kids live these days, they don't even have a pot to piss in yet!

As you well know every machine and or brand has its pro's and con's, and each unique type, size and weight class of machine will appeal to people differently. When you think of Max, Argo, and Hydro Traxx, each of these machines is designed and biult for different purposes. Both Max and Argo manufacture models that do cross over and have very similar capabilities. They both have very similar drive trains and include mostly brand name components, yet each is unique in its own way. Comparing a 6x6 to a 6x6 machine is fairly straight forward. Comparing a 6x6 to an 8x8 machine is a tough thing to do though. The 8x8 is made to carry and handle more weight, and will provide for more stability on severe inclines, and in water, and having larger tires should provide even more traction and weight distribution.

When thinking of Hydro Traxx, in my mind those machines are actually in a class of their own. If you got right down to it, you could chain up a dozen Max's and Argo's behind a Hydro Traxx, and drag them around like rag dolls with out even breaking a sweat! I like how Bubba sums it up in his own way, when he makes reference to working on the chain gang versus a hydrualic powered machine. That's like comparing an apple to a watermellon!

I do look forward to checking out and test driving the new Argo Avenger and the Hydro Traxx stuff. One or both of those machines will be a nice addition to the off road fleet!

When I designed and built the Big Dawg, I did it meet a specific purpose, and that purpose is to get me through some serious terrain in relative comfort and safety for hunting, fishing, exploring, and some occasional trail riding stuff! The factory euipped Max IV-950T was a ugly looking piece of equipment when I bought in its stock form. Changing its looks and making it a lot tougher machine was my top priority.

I am still not done customizing it yet. Although it carries and handles the current all steel roll cage and hard top very well, I still plan to design and build a much lighter weight all aluminum version, using a 6061-T6 high strength aluminum material. And of course I will also use as much aluminum diamond tread plate and stainless steel fasteners and hardware where ever possible. I may even have some of the aluminum powder coated.

I have found that my current steel roll cage is built quite a bit stonger than it really needs to be. When I first got the machine and completed the new cage and was learning to drive it, I nearly destroyed every thing around the house and yard. I hit my wifes van once and left a scuff mark trying to aviod my new F350, I hit her new camper twice and left a couple of scuff marks on that, and later while trying to avoid hitting her camper again, I hit a took out a couple of key support posts for the wood privacy fence, and knocked down the entire 40 foot section of wood fence. I did manage to buff out most of the skuff marks on the van and camper, but I could not hide the knocked down fence thing! I told her the high wind must have knocked it down! She did not buy that story, and asked me to quite driving the machine around the house and yard untill I learned how to drive it better! For a while she made the boyz drive it out back for me, and then I was permitted to take over the controls from that point.

My dirving skills have improved a lot since I first bought the Max IV. These are some awesome machines to drive. There is just no comparison between a 6x6 or an 8x8 versus a 4x4 quad machine at all! Our old Yamaha 4x4 quad has been retired and just sits and collects dust out at the farm, and that where it will stay for good now!

Later Guys!