Cost of Winning: The Monster Mav Chronicles

[badassmav]

Some of the frame damage incurred at the 500. This was our sway bar housing. Notice how the impact wrapped the tube around the sway bar. Ouch! Notice the black vertical spreader tube that ties the sway bar housing tube to the tube above it. I just added that days before the race. Without it, the bottom pan would have mashed even harder into the bottom of the motor, possibly breaking the case(s). Now, the top tube which the rear motor mount welds to, moved up along with the bottom tube, keeping the motor safe from damaging impacts.

I am always a day late, and a dollar short in life. Got there just 1 minute late, and they closed. or, chose to go left when I should have gone right. How about this one 9 out of 10 times, no exaggeration, 9 out of 10 times when I go to plug in a polarized power cord, the fat prong is on the wrong side, and I have to turn it around.. It should be a 50/50 chance, right? It is always 60/40 at best for me. Usually 75/25 if I'm lucky. Not this time! Yay!! Less work, more beer!

 

[desertwheeler]

This subject has been the center of a malicious effort after last years Baja1000, and the Henderson 250 as well, to expose us as "disloyal " to General. I could sense by the verbage in your question, that that is not your goal. Thanks for that!

To clarify the discrepancy, General Tires is a title sponsor for Marc's Freestylemx.com Worldwide Tour, not the off-road campaign. Every vehicle we drive, including the chase and support vehicles for our desert racing campaign are outfitted with Generals. The logo on the skid plate of The Monster Mav is complimentary, as is running their brand. Although we ran the Grabber AT2's in the beginning, we switched brands before the 1000 for durability reasons. While the AT2 is a great light truck tire, it only is available with a 2 ply side wall, and is vulnerable to punctures in the harsh environment of desert racing.

To answer your question, they hold up awesome. With their 8 ply sidewalls, we can run them at 20 psi., where we had to run 30 in the Generals. We had over 1,200 race miles on the first set that we ran since the 1000, and had only 3 flat tires in 4 races. We finally installed new ones for the Baja 500, and ran all day without a flat, puncture, slow leak, deep gash....... well you get the idea!

Based on a meeting that Marc had with Continental at last years SEMA show, Generel Tire (Continental) is working on a specific UTV tire to fit our needs, and should be available soon. A positive sign of the growth of Utility Terrain Vehicles.

Ahh makes sense. It was more out of curiosity for me especially since I am running them too and they seem to be holding up great for me too. Love your mav it really is badass!

 

[mearsman]

I will be posting more pictures on Monday. I've got to bleed the brakes after I installed the new calipers. Getting the locating pin to fit just right as a pressed or interference fit took some patience.
But I just heated up the backing plate as you suggested to around 300* and used my bench vice and and pressed it in. It also helps to have a plethora of Taos and dies at your disposal to make this project happen. I couldn't have done it without your help Reid. Thanks again


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[mearsman]

Btw are you coming to the v2r race?


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[badassmav]

Yeah, I'm working like a dog for the next 6 weeks to insure that! I really don't know where we'll find the top speed to compete, but we'll just blow 'em away in the rough and hope it's worth a podium! Our car is heavier than any other top teams car out there. I'm sure of it. By 200 lbs. probably! Therein lies our problem. For every horse power our motor produces, , it has to carry 2.3 lbs. Compare that to about 1.8 - 1.9 lbs. for our competition! That means that we have only 75% of the power propelling our car that they do (based on a 1,800 lb. car).

 

[megadesertdiesel]

Yeah, I'm working like a dog for the next 6 weeks to insure that! I really don't know where we'll find the top speed to compete, but we'll just blow 'em away in the rough and hope it's worth a podium! Our car is heavier than any other top teams car out there. I'm sure of it. By 200 lbs. probably! Therein lies our problem. For every horse power our motor produces, , it has to carry 2.3 lbs. Compare that to about 1.8 - 1.9 lbs. for our competition! That means that we have only 75% of the power propelling our car that they do (based on a 1,800 lb. car).

is it because you built it too safe? or is it because the polaris frame is that much thinner and lighter? are you building a max for racing yet?

 

[badassmav]

is it because you built it too safe? or is it because the polaris frame is that much thinner and lighter? are you building a max for racing yet?

A Word about Weight:
When the first guy who started the project for Marc began working on the cage, he just started adding tubing. Instead of removing the existing structure, and running only tubes where they were needed, he just kept everything in place and built over/around it. Probably gained 100 lbs. there. I'm glad we came in when we did. It was one of those you get what you pay for deals. Him and Marc had some kind of agreement that discounted the labor in exchange for advertising or something similar. That's all I know. Then, when my brother and I took over, we were in truck mode. "Overkill is the key to success" was the saying in building the trucks that we used to build. Add in 34 sperical bearings + 68 misalignment spacers + all the 1/2" dia. hardware to mount them, 8 boxed/tubular control arms, a spare clutch w/3 xtra belts and rear axle, a TT alternator w/2 extra belts, Fox 2.5" 16" and 14" stroke internal bypass truck shocks, dual batteries, 1/2" thick Factory UTV skid plates, 2 auxillary cooling fans and ducting for the clutch, an over sized radiator, 4 separate tool bags, a shovel, tow strap, spare tire & jack, 7 Hella lights/5 of which mount to an adjustable light bar, 2 steering stabilizeres, WELL, YOU GET THE PICTURE. We basically added almost 1/2 ton to the weight as the car was new, where most add 1/2 that much in their builds.! I can not comment as to the wall thickness or weight of the polaris chassis. Zero experience there (except handing out a few cans of whoopass this season!)

I do have a brand new Max frame that Can-am gave us as part of the sponsorship package for this year, and a brand new jig table that I designed and built that it is setting on. Averaging 80 hour weeks leaves me no time to do anything but focus on the race car prep and maintenance. The damage from baja is severe. We need 4 new axles (they are way past their service life, and all had cracks before starting the 500!)The lower sway bar housing needs to be completely cut out and replaced, 2 rear lower a arms need to be jigged up and built, 1 front lower a arm needs repair or replacement, the motor mount cross tube in the front needs straightening or replacing, the front drive shaft needs replacing (its longer, so it is custom as well), I need to build a new front bumper and bash plate mounts, replace the transmission which requires pulling the motor out of its mounts, and all the fun stuff that accompanies doing that. It will require a new 4 wheel alignment to confirm axle plunge and driveability. Then, reassemble and prep the car to race, which takes a long week at least. Oh, Fox is building us some one off custom shocks at all 4 corners that will require as many testing days as we can afford. We still need to get our clutch to work at top speeds w/out breaking belts.

So, the next guy who strolls into the shop and asks me, "Howzit going" better beware! I'm as busy as a cat on a tin roof! (I always wanted to use that saying)

 

[madviking]

If you are allowed to share, what belt brand/part number are you running?

 

[badassmav]

If you are allowed to share, what belt brand/part number are you running?

<table class="gv" id="GridView1" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" width="100%"><tbody><tr class="gvr"><td class="ReferenceNumber">
</td><td class="PartNumber" style="white-space:nowrap;">

Bone stock BRP #715900212 </td><td class="Description">
</td></tr></tbody></table>

 

[mearsman]

The gates carbon c12


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[crazywatson]

Those carbon belts are hard on clutches when they break and are hard to clean out imo.

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[mearsman]

This is my first one, it was good for the price but I haven't had it on that long


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[madviking]

I did some research on the Can Am belts. The triangle w/ 3 stars imprinted on them is exciting to see... that is the mark of the manufacturer, Mitsuboshi, not to be confused with Mitsubishi. Mitsuboshi builds the best belts on the planet (more on that in a second) However, that doesn't mean your 212 belt is the best Can Am offers. There is some speculation on one forum that Mavericks originally come equipped with a 364, and it may be better. Link to discussion.

http://www.commanderforums.org/foru...modifications/9410-new-maverick-belts-11.html

Back to Mitsuboshi. They have a variety of various patents concerning the manufacture of power transmission belts. They are OEM only for CVT belts in the states. I have seen OEM's go to them in the past when they could not keep belts on their machines.

Question, are you breaking in your belts?

A shorter belt, if available, may get you a higher top speed.

 

[badassmav]

I did some research on the Can Am belts. The triangle w/ 3 stars imprinted on them is exciting to see... that is the mark of the manufacturer, Mitsuboshi, not to be confused with Mitsubishi. Mitsuboshi builds the best belts on the planet (more on that in a second) However, that doesn't mean your 212 belt is the best Can Am offers. There is some speculation on one forum that Mavericks originally come equipped with a 364, and it may be better. Link to discussion.

http://www.commanderforums.org/foru...modifications/9410-new-maverick-belts-11.html

Back to Mitsuboshi. They have a variety of various patents concerning the manufacture of power transmission belts. They are OEM only for CVT belts in the states. I have seen OEM's go to them in the past when they could not keep belts on their machines.

Question, are you breaking in your belts?

A shorter belt, if available, may get you a higher top speed.

I broke in a brand new belt for the IV 250 while testing at plaster city. I ran 3 cycles, each about 10 miles. Never drove over 40 mph, soft accelerations, did not stay at a constant speed, avoided the soft wash, and let it cool down 100% between sessions. Then, I replaced it so I could get my testing done. Put it back on the car prior to starting the IV 250, and it broke on the first lap. It seems loike a crap shoot when changing belts.

We always have an inventorty of 6-10 new belts, and I recently began inspecting each one thoroughly. There is definitely a quality inconsistency in the new 212's that we have. I order them from the BRP parts page. I just checked the P/N, and they all are 212's. I checked the belt that came off of our new Max (the robbed the motor from for the 500), and it indeed is a 364. Hmmm..............

 

[megadesertdiesel]

My maverick came with a 364 belt from new and i have a couple of the 364 belts i bought from Airdam right after i got my Maverick on late 2012. I also have two 212 belts i got from the dealer after numerous clutch recalls and blown belts with the stock clutching. They both look the same to me and blow with the stock clutches very easily when driven hard in the dunes.

Now with my STM/STM setup tunned by Airdam i have had zero issues on a 364 belt with a hard dune season and id10T behind the wheel that likes the skinny pedal.

Rumor was the 364 belt is what BRP was suppling to the racers and you had to be affiliated with CanAm's race team to get them. But later it came out that the two belts were the same and it was just an internal BRP assembly number for new units.

I would link the info from the mav specific forum but i hate those girly, namby pamby sissys who cant take being told exactly what they are and refuse to contribute to their chitty forum. As a matter of spite i might just go and delete all my contributions. Hmmm sounds like fun for a slow summer day. haha

 

[AReed]

Ah come on Mega, some of us miss your comments over there.

 

[badassmav]

The word is that Fox is going to custom make a set of 4 shocks for the Monster Mav. prior to V2R. That means just the right amount of shaft and body, and hopefully an easier installation procedure as well. The 14"stroke front shocks had a lot of extra shaft, and were difficult to install as a result. The compressed length of the 16" stroke rear shocks was too short, causing excessive bottoming, due to low pan clearance at bump, and consequently, the damage that I am repairing now.

They will also have external adjustability, and all of the latest bells and whistles that Fox has to offer. I spent the last 2 days re-evaluating my wheel travel parameters, and weighing the car as well in order to receive a shock that is close out of the box. I don't think I will have much time at the end to test.

The new set up will host 17 7/8" front, and 18" rear wheel travel, (down about 1" from the old set up) and allow 3" of ground clearance at full bump. Ride height will have 15" of ground clearance to the bottom of the pan. That set up is for V2R, but normally, the bump travel is abouit 1 1/4" more than what we will run at V2R.

Did you all notice the fatso weight of our car? The fact we are dominating the podiums this year says something about Marc, and his feel for driving a race car.

 

[AReed]

Is it a all new shock or something like the 3.0 internal bypass that XP 1K has modified to work for your lengths.

 

[Beach Leo]

Wow Thats quite a bit of weight

Did not think she was that Fat

Wish I knew a way to make her lighter

May-be a Anorexia Driver, Helium in Tires, Aluminum-Everything

She weighs about the same as my Saturn, but with less HP

Guess the frame weights the most?

 

[badassmav]

Is it a all new shock or something like the 3.0 internal bypass that XP 1K has modified to work for your lengths.

My understanding is that it will have feature(s) that are not yet available to the masses. More importantly though, is they will be one-off shocks with extended and compressed lengths custom made to accommodate my suspension, and will be internally bypassed with external adjustability. I need to stay with 2.5" body's for clearance reasons which is o.k due to the low motion ratio i designed into the suspension. Our current shocks NEVER faded or got too hot thanks to the low motion ratio, and proper alignment relative to the pivot axis of the a arm. (Unlike the stock Maverick rear shock mounts that put excessive lateral loading into the shafts due to how far forward the top mount is positioned.)