There I Was...

...with nothing but time on my hands. It was a bee-ute-tee-ful spring day. Our woods and yard were full of the sounds of courting birds. Our flower beds were showing off their spring colors. I decided to roll the yard. Awww yes. Brilliant idea. It was nice while it lasted.

I would need my Grizz to pull the roller. So after unhooking the battery tender, and with crossed fingers, I pushed the start button. It started!! Happy Dance. Floor board style. After the troubles I had last fall, the fact that she even started had me overcome with joy. Wi-Fee was happy too, because hopefully this meant no loud talking directed toward my quad. After letting my new best friend warm up a bit, it was time to back out of the garage. The shifter would move about 1/2" and then rock-solid-nothing. I was instantly about as mad as I have ever been. After several attempts to shift into gear and a few harsh criticism's, it was time to see what heck was wrong this time. Of course the quad was pinned in and couldn't be moved. It wasn't just enough that it wouldn't shift...(I'm sure this kind of stuff never happens to anyone else in QCR land) OK. So after fighting off the urge to grab my sledge hammer, I get the motor cycle jack out and lift the entire quad and roll it back. Took off the plastic to be able to see where the shift linkage was. Hummmmm. Looks to be a nubby under the hardware linkage at the transmission end. That is why it won't shift. Both the hand brake and the foot brake switches appear to be working properly and both make the "clickity" noise. The nubby must be stuck/corroded. After giving WD a chance to do it's magic, it was time for a punch and a (baby) hammer. This was going to take way more hands than I had. I bungie-corded the left brake lever so Wi-Fee would only have to hold the flashlight. Tap tap tap. Back it went. I didn't trust it to stay "in" so I left the plastic off. Oh, before I forget I would like to thank the wonderful lawyers for forcing equipement makers to install such devices.

Time to go pick up a roller. Got it back home and hooked up to the Grizz. I hadn't noticed the water fill plug until now. They normally are a boat plug of some type. Not this one. It looked like a shipping plug. Just something to cover the hole. The roller was brand new. Great. No way that will hold water. As soon as I tried to pry it out, it fell into the roller. My blood pressure had to be dangerously high at this point. I called the rental place. They didn't have any plugs but they did have another roller. Back to town I go. The other roller was smaller than the one Wi-Fee uses to roll out pie dough. I left with nothing, remaining nice and understanding on the outside with the inside part of me wanting to drive my truck right through their showroom. By this time it's 3:30. The day is shot and I accomplished nothing.

When I got home, Wi-Fee said a couple of neighbors wanted to go riding. It was a spot right near our house that two of us had not been to. Wow! Who knew? Fantastic riding. WV style woods and creeks along with some good climbs. We put in somewhere around 15 miles. Our "leader" took us a route that I assumed was OK only because of other (un-named) interest he has. Turns out that wasn't the case. Let this be a lesson to all the QCR children that read this. Ask questions before hand and never assume anything. I had planned to wash my Grizz before letting her back in our garage. As soon as I shut her off, I heard sirens and they were coming hot and heavy. I knew who they were looking for. So I hop back on the quad while telling Wi-Fee close the door~close the door! The three of us had agreed to meet at my house to have a couple Golden Nectors after we got home. Turns out my closest neighbor heard and did the exact same thing I had done. We had a pretty good laugh. All three of our wife's seemed proud to be married to such outlaws.

The moral of the story (yeah, I'm almost done) is this. Our quads can cause us a lot of grief. But they also bring us a lot of happiness. My day that started off so crappy ended up being a really good day. All thanks to my new best friend. And no visit from Mr. Law.

Ahhh Yes.... just another typical afternoon

Really enjoyed reading that story... it's a good one for sure.

You'd just never think such a small $25 dollar ATV part could cause so much grief...

Completely stopped us from unloading my bike off the trailer after a ride until I tore it
down and figured out how to give it some backyard "engineering bypass" love...
No trouble, no more...

You're "yard roller" exercise is just CLASSIC all the way around...

The evening ATV escapade sounds like you three had a great time

I tried rolling mine with atv just one time and trying to drive around at one speed was killing my thumb. I thought about turnng up the idle but instead I just go out the handy cub cadet to do it with. I enjoyed you version much more PP. Glad we dont have to start a new thread..... Bail donations for QCR outlaws

LOL!
Our yard roller that was left by the previous owner was probably made to be pulled by a small bulldozer.
I think by the time it was all said and done we figured the yard roller (filled with concrete with a homemade metal frame) probably weighs ~2700 pounds.
I think we know why they left it sitting out at the treeline when they moved.

yeah that came with the house.....and stays with the house

Oh PP...
BREAKING THE LAW!
Too funny. Glad you enjoyed that trail ride.
Sounds like you probably will never get to it again.

PP Breaking the Law!!! No way He would do that.

That story reminds me of my neighbor. About a month ago, we had been gone for the day. After we returned home, we saw on the caller ID that one of the neighbors had called. Joyce called him to see f he wanted something important. She started Laughing when she was listening to him. She handed the phone to me. He had called to tell us that if we heard gun shots in the woods he would be practiceing with his new hand gun. He hunts on our land all the time and has for years. He said he had got back to his house and walked in the door, when 2 deputys and a State Trooper pulled in his driveway. The conversation went something like this.
They wanted to know if that was his atv in the yard. He said it's my yard and my ATV. Was you shooting a gun over there in the woods??? Yes I was, he said. You know it's illegal to shoot within 500' of a residence??? yes I know that, I was more that 500' away. I hunt on that property all the time and have permission to be there when I want. They said a call came in about a guy on an atv shooting in the woods. Of course they were told who it was and where he lived. he said they were all laughing about it the whole time they were there. It is supected that it is was another neighbor who called them. He just happens to be the sheriff want-a-be and a co-worker of mine. That I think is a pain in the "BUTT".

Sounds like a busybody...that needs a hobby... like riding ATVs or target shooting.

giddyupgirl wrote:

Sounds like a busybody...that needs a hobby... like riding ATVs or target shooting.

Thats the problem with him and his wife, they want their nose's in everyone's business. He just happens to be our city's "Kangaroo" Court Judge. While she is the so called "City Clerk" and thinks she can tell everyone in town what they can and cannot do. Now he wants to be our county's next Sheriff. He thinks we don't have any law enforcement in the county. If 3 officers show up 2 doors away from him, I would say we have law enforcement.
He was a State Trooper for WV. for several years, from some of the stories I heard, he spent more time with other women, than with his wife. Maybe thats why he has been married 3 times. Then he shot the end of his finger off while "cleaning" his gun. And he wants to be the Sheriff?????

Good stuff there guys.

And there you were, PP the Grizz is trying to tell you it needs ridden a little more