icefisherman

Went to check how the whities are doing after our last meeting on the ice....turns out they were in good shape and expecting me.

With great friend of mine and the kids we started about 6am...by 8 we had 3 in the box but stoped marking them and bite died down. Time to go in search mode...much easier to do with a boat than on foot let me tell you.

After numerous stops....some lost fish...many bumps...almost full tank of gas we got our full limit of 8 by 2pm....

Meegs did the catching. Depths were from 45 to 85 fow.

Lots of flies after 10am....

Here are few shots from the day:

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Thanks Brian...CB in Mississauga quoted me over $40 the other day...seems Kawasaki dealer is best price in Canada....short of buying it online from the US. Which I might end up doing.

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

The Kawasaki/Koyo ones are OEM quality made in Japan same as the original bearing Yamaha uses on the new bike.

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

haha no worries guys...

Brian, I did check CB but they were higher priced than the Kawasaki dealer.

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Am wondering why you would get Kawasaki parts for a Grizzly?

Same Koyo OEM bearing but Kawasaki one is half price (or less) than the Yamaha one.

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Over the weekend noticed some very small, limited play in each wheel when garbing it with both hands (6 and 12 o'clock position).
Wondering if it is wheel bearing that might need replacements. Bike is only 3400km ...is it normal to replace bearing so early?

I can hear no rumbling and no issues when turning...just small play when pushing/pulling with both hands on the wheel/tire. Also checked carefully and didn't see any play in tie rods or ball joints. They all seemed solid. The only small movement I can feel on my finger when touching the hub and the axle boot metal part at the same time while my wife is trying to move the wheel...i.e. does seem like possibly wheel bearing.

Kind of puzzled though....how will all 4 bearing go bad at the same time at so few kilometers?

Thought I should ask before going and buying new Kawasaki wheel bearings and do the replacement.
Is it normal to have a small play?

Do I replace all 4 bearings or do I keep driving AS IS and see if it gets more obvious problem before doing anything?

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

That's more like t Brian.

Now that you mastered the Meegs I have a feeling they'll become your go to weapon of choice over anything else ;-)

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Good report Brian.

Amazed at how you and another buddy of mine keep getting great results using the Williams spoon. I used to use it more regularly but got tired of is and only use it as a last option tool ;-) particularly in deep water. But it does work....

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Much tougher walking conditions after the snowy week. Already some slush under the snow....fishing was tougher...not many marked...and very gentle bite. Tried different depth and eventually Meegs got me limit of whities plus a nice BBQ size laker.

Lets see how ice will do in the next week or so and if there will be couple more ice trips.

Few shots:

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

That's awesome Emil. Looks like JP joined you. Must have been a fun day

Joey,

I think we'll be doing more fishing together with JP. Very nice stand-up guy for sure!

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Took the kids out with my new Grizzly. Wanted to try the new wheels and larger radial tires that I bought yesterday. Love this thing...long gone are the days of me walking 3 km one way and that many back in foot or more of snow to get to where I wanted to fish. Did more than my fare share crisscrossing Simcoe on foot often in very tough conditions. All those guys buzzing by me with their snowmobiles or ATV's while I was all sweaty and tired on my way back dragging sled behind and caring bucket of whities. Couple times was lucky and kind fellow fishermen gave me a ride but 99% was hard walk....Anyhow...enough of that....this thing runs like a champ...looks so sexy with the new wheels and tires. Managed to equip it the way I wanted for ice fishing. Easy to convert to hunting machine for the deer season. Only thing is this ice season is a mess, but at least managed to test it couple times. Kids love it as well for more reasons than one ha ha Best part - Even with the bigger tires it still fits in the back of my F150...nothing short of a miracle to all my more experienced ATV buddies....they still can believe it. Very very happy....should have bought it earlier

Anyhow, back to fishing....started where I ended yesterday...got few and missed few but bite was less aggressive. Expected with the heavy fishermen traffic everywhere. Had to move...got some more and the final was 6/10. All on Meegs in various depths. Played around a bit with the ATV chat with some great fishing buddies great day despite the strong wind in the afternoon. Smoker will be going overtime tomorrow...

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Gave another try to the whities today. Glad I did as it was best day so far this season.

From 7:30 till 10am final score was 12/15....Meegs knocked them down again.

Maybe at the very end of the not so great ice season we'll get few hot bite days.

Several shots for your viewing pleasure. Was so cold. The two that made it on the ice froze within 2 min. Had to release them inside the hole very quickly to help them get back to the deep.

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Brian,

I just had two propane tanks inside my survival suit. Heater started and run all day like a champ. Kids loved it...didn't even know it was cold outside ;-)

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Good thing he didn't go head first LOL

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Had a late start today...about 9am...bite was very lite ....Meegs did greatagain but man did a miss lot of bites they were grabbing on the tube's skirt...had to work hard to get them on the hook and on the ice....anyhow fresh whities for dinner.

Was wayyy too windy too....anything unsecured...was gooooone with the wind ha ha

Shot from today:

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Hahaha Greg,

I've got 2 boats in the garage both ready to go with zero advance notice...wish this weather decides which way it is going...either freeze at leas 4"-5" of ice of wind blows it all out so I can launch one of the boats. Either way works for me.

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Thanks Greg.

With all this said I should be perfectly fine with buying 4 new radials 26x9xR12 front and 26x11xR12 ?

Only one size up from stock and still keeping the difference between front and rear.

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

The overall size doesnt matter,from stock the fronts are smaller and they should remain that way because of the gear ratios in the axles account for the fact that they turn faster. If you want bigger tires you should maintain the size differences between fronts and rears.

 

vance

Agree,

Hence I am planing to buy 26x9xR12 front and 26x11xR12 for back.

Instead of the current 25x8x12 front and 25x12x12 back (which are mismatched as already mentioned above and are likely not original tires). Original should have been 25x8x12 front and 25x10x12 back.

So size difference remains the same as original.

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

OK Guys,

I can understand how huge deviation in tire size from original could cause problems in 4x4 on hard surface.

But just about everyone (including tire dealers) tells you going one size up or down does not affect you negatively and is acceptable with no need to change anything else. Hence going from 25" to 26" tires should not be the same as going to say...30".

As I mentioned before I will not be putting thousands of km on "hard surfaces", barely any in fact.

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

 

This works great for aggressive tires and those with directional tread as most are designed to dig down through soft material to reach solid ground for traction. This is exactly what you don't want when riding in snow or sand. You need a tread design which propels you forwards rather than digging. The Big Horn 2.0's are awesome all around tires and propel more than dig.

 

 

Tires are by far the most important factor on an ATV. It's ludicrous to suggest certain tires don't give a huge advantage over others. There's a reason why some guys can rip around everywhere in deep snow without getting stuck while others sharing your opinion get stuck in every drift or slush pocket around.

 

 

Yep. But, this only works with tires that have directional tread and is a complete waste of time doing so with unidirectional tread.

 

 

My lord, please do not take anymore advice from whoever told you the smaller front tires are a mismatch as 95% of ATV's sold will have a narrower front tire. Why? The narrower front tires are easier for the machine to push through material which then creates a tire track for the wider rears to follow which makes it easier to get around. Narrower front tires are also much easier to steer and provide better handling.

 

However, some people will switch to skinny/skinny or wide/wide combinations rather than the standard skinny front/wide rear configuration.

 

skinny/skinny - mudders do this as it makes it easier for the tires to dig down to solid ground for traction

wide/wide - sand/powder snow as it provides better flotation

skinny front/wide rear - best overall performance

 

 

Stock tires are a joke and are best for those who ride paved trails

OK, so do you recommend changing my current tires with say:

Duro Power Grips Radials 26x9xR12 - front

and 26x11xR12 - rear ?

On original rims....

Considering the way I'll be using the ATV - i.e. mostly ice fishing and limited hunting.

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Adipose was in place on the right one.

The left one was missing one of the side fins.

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

 

 

LOL…you read my mind…I was about to ask if anyone could recommend a 2 up seat…THANKS….checking it out right now!

Simon,

just bought one myself for my 700 Grizzly.

Here is the link:

http://www.wesindustries.com/home/

Excellent quality, design and top notch customer service. Huge amount of room inside and very comfy to sit in. Even bought the spare 4.7L gas container that fits inside the seat.

Here are couple shots of mine:

You can do it online or call on the phone and speak to Luc Hamel - Sales & Marketing Manager.

Great guy. Tell him I send you....he'll go out of his way to assist you.

P.S. Don't tell your wife I told you, but now you also need to get fender protectors and fender flares.

Installed mine the other day... ;-)

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Thanks Bud.

Who knows what previous owner did with tires. I am left to clean up the mess now though ;-)

Yes Mudlites on back (likely not stock), and their size is what apparently is not matching with the stock Dunlops in front.

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Again not an expert but was told by number of people stock is 25x8-12 front and 25x10-12 rear

Mine are 25x8-12 front and 25x12-12 rear.

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman