Planning, Plotting, And Scheming- Name TBA

that'll be me, stressing the 30A charge circuit to it's max... stay tuned lol... anyway, I can see how it'd actually work Doc, I think you are on the right track for sure

used all 6 mounting holes-nice, most people don't and ive heard a few horror stories, you hel me with my 700 questions and for that I thank you!

You're welcome anytime. I SWEAR I'll get that write-up done soon... LOL

ive been waiting for that writeup... lol

Been doing some thinking. I'm at an impasse.

I have been wanting to structure the rearend in such a way as to make it possible for me to add a tandem axle later on, if and when I can get the components without breaking the bank. On the surface, this is easy: axleshaft, bearings, couple sprockets... Done. However-

I'm REALLY digging the idea of rear suspension on this thang. I can pull it off easily enough, and I have a set of rear coilovers from a 1983 Honda Shadow 750 that oughta do the job right nicely.

Trouble is, if I fab up rear suspension, that will seriously complicate the possible addition of the second (powered) axle...

build the axles into a trailer style leaf setup? or have them on a pivot point between them that has suspension. i would think the second would be better as you could build a support for a pivot point like a triangle and have both sides with shocks built it. sort of like a tandem axle setup on large machinery. IE. a road grater has tandem axle built off a center pivot point to keep all 4 rear tires on the ground at the same time. only issue you would have is finding a way to support your tires?

I see what you're saying. I think it's called a walking beam. Dunno. It IS possible, and "where there's a will, there's a dead relative" (LOL. I can do it, I would just prefer to avoid unnecessary complication.

or this? one center live axle driving all 4 rear tires =. you would have to find a way to support the movement of the tires separately. but it would allow for all 4 tires to be independent. it would have to be set up with each tire having its own spindle and bearings. with its own sprocket attached to each wheel hub. pro. the brakes would still work all 4 tires from the main axle. cons it would be a lot of money and work

Yes- I did have some very similar thoughts. Trouble is, I'm trying to K.I.S.S. That's why I went through all the trouble to build the "tower of power" to stack the tranny on top of the RAGB. By doing so, I eliminated a jackshaft, and 2 chain runs! Simpler=less weight, less $, less to go wrong. What you don't have, you can't break.

k.i.s.s? and the walking beam style woluldnt be to bad. or whatever it is called. i dont know about how it would handle at high speed on rough terrain but i would imagine 10mph on rough terrain wouldnt be bad and would still be light for a tandem axle. would only require 1 shock per side. one drive axle. and just the steel beam to support your tires. i may or may not be thinking up a future setup for a build of my own. lol

K.I.S.S.= Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Part of the problem with the walking beam is that it offers NO damping going straight up and down. The other problem I have is that I can't foresee setting it up temporarily with only one axle and retrofitting the second, later. Seems an all-or-nothing thing.

Meanwhile, I'm wondering about front suspension, while eyeballing the rear coilovers from a 1988 Yamaha XV250 Virago I have...

keeping it extremely simple, despite it appearing complicated Doc, I like...

Made some more progress now that I'm beginning to feel better.

Last night, I whipped out and snapped up a basic CL find. 4 ATV rims with tires for $20. Rear tires are 25x10-12 on 12x8 rims, fronts are 25x8-12 on 12x6 rims. The rims are what I needed. The tires aren't so great, but I can swap them out later. The object was some cheap 12" rims.

Today, I scabbed on an old set of Honda front drum brake hubs and spindles I have had kicking around for several years. They will allow MULEII to have front brakes. I MAY only use them for parking, winching, and recovery, but it DOES help solve a problem MULE has. When winching a very heavy or stubborn load, the winch tends to pull MULE towards the load. This is partially due to crappy factory brakes, and partially due to no front brakes. No problem no more!

So- The fronts are on. The rears are in mockup. I needed to get this thing close to ride height before beginning work on suspension. I will be building a 2-pt rear with the coilovers from a 1983 Honda Shadow 750. I am very strongly considering building front suspension, too.
At it's current static height, the bottoms of the framerails are nearly 18" off the ground, and the top of the dash is just under 4' up! Track width has been increased a few inches, and I will likely be extending the wheelbase some, too.

thats gunna be a beastly thing.... nice doc

doc, this thing on going to be epic, i like it
nice find o the rims

Thanks fellas! Stop me if you've heard this before, but-

If I pull this off, I'll actually impress myself! LOL

I was just out trying to measure stuff. In the dark. I think I better give up for the night

love how you're not sitting over the tires, that will help keep it from flipping back as easy

Yes. That's because I have decided to extend the wheelbase some by locating the rear axle further rearward than it would have been originally. It will add stability and capacity. I THINK I'm going to locate it approximately where it is in the pic.

its a cool build

looks like something out of mad maxx lol

Looks like its going to be a mean tractor. Looks good.

Mean, it will be! Now, I just need the weather to cooperate some so I can continue on. I have decided to suspend this thing both front and rear, so I've complicated stuff a bit. After much thinking, I think I have the majority of it worked out. The rear will be a basic 2-link with coils. The front will be coil-sprung, too- but with a twist, literally. I have cooked up a system that will allow a decent amount of articulation in the front. Won't be rock-crawler worthy, but enough to handle the terrain decently.

At the same time, I have examined the frontend geometry, and have decided that zero caster is unacceptable for a machine that could see top speeds north of 40MPH. This ain't no racer, but I want to get where I'm going TODAY, and I don't want it to be a total hairball at speed.

This thing will be the Cadillac of the forum lol

Hmmm. I never seen a Cadillac off-road recovery and trailside assistance vehicle.

You know what I mean lol it'll be loaded with accessories

Well- when you pretty much completely lose 2 months of your life, you're forced to reschedule things. Dang. Time to mothball this project until spring. That's okay- more time to figure a few things out.

So- because I don't have enough indoor storage, I've pulled the engine and tranny out and put everything away for the winter.