aka The Continuing Saga Of Ricky's Tractor
Thursday, 20 June 2007, at 4:43 a.m.
Got the trailer delivered.. finally!
[click any photo to enlarge]
Also swapped the Ford 5000 to my next door neighbor in exchange for this;
..plus professional services (licensed electrician/practical jack-of-all-trades) to be rendered at a later date.
I know.. I know. Never do deals like that with neighbors. Thing is, though, in the 2+ months I've known this kid (he's 32) I've really come to like and respect him, and trust him on his word. You should see his house! He bought an old house (1910) in Crenshaw, Mississippi, and dismantled it. He sprung for modern framing and roofing, erected in Longtown, then used the materials from the old house to build the new. The man's a true crafstman!
Lotsa work.. kinda daunting at times, even on my piddling project. But a helluva lot of fun, too!
Anyway, the bike is an '03 Honda FourTrax Foreman TRX500FA Rubicon. It's got 1,600 miles on it and, while it does have some minor (mostly cosmetic) flaws, it runs like a champ. The biggest challenge for me so far results from my long acquaintance with dirt bikes of the 2-wheel sort, and almost total lack of experience with 4-wheelers - I keep wanting to put a foot down in low-speed manuevers. And that, of course, is something you should never do on a 4-wheeler! Not unless you're looking for a broken leg, that is.. I'm gettin' used to it, though, and I think I'm gonna like this vehicle a lot!
Click here to DL the Factory Repair Manual for the TRX500FA in PDF format.
-Ricky