Project Blaster

Several months ago I had made a post about "Project Blaster" and wanted to document the repair process. After my quads have been temporarily detained (in storage) I'm finally able to post before and after pictures of the repair process. Here's the story of the resurrection of the mighty 1991 Yamaha Blaster. It was originally purchased used by a friend of mine several years ago, I believe around 1999. He rode it for a couple of years until his brother blew the motor. So I rebuilt the engine with Vito's performance parts, gave it a tune up, and it was good to go again. Fast forward 3 months and his genius brother somehow managed to ruin it a second time. I didn't even bother to ask what happened, as I knew it could only lead to a stupid conversation. The poor Blaster was then parked in a barn and forgotten about, withering away to nothing until the Catastrophe Lads got a hold of it. It was 2011 when one summer's day I nonchalantly ask my buddy, "So... that Blaster you have... any plans of fixing it up and making a come back tour?"

"Nah, just gonna let it rot away in the pole barn."
"I'll buy it off you for $200."
"Sold."

And that was basically the entire transaction in a nutshell. I rounded up my truck and tow straps to make a trip to the pole barn to pull this poor quad out of moth balls. It was covered in bird crap and enough layers of dust and dirt that you'd think it was excavated from an Egyptian pyramid. I've definitely got my work cut out with this one, but the satisfaction of rescuing a forlorned and under-appreciated fourwheeler is the greatest joy ever. The first pic I have is when I got it back to my house for some cleaning and power washing. Mind you, I had already scraped most of the bird feces off this:

Yeah... the pictures just don't do it justice. It was nasty. I gathered up a list of things that I needed to get started and I was off and running. The list of repairs includes: new clutch, new brakes, new carburetor (sans TORS thank God), new K&N pod filter w/ outerwear, new ignition, removal of the leaky oil injection system, re-painted exhaust, cleaned out gummy gas tank, and a host of other cosmetic repairs. Fortunately, the engine and transmission were still intact so no need to take those apart. And even though the quad was covered in feces and grime, it wasn't weathered at all from the barn storage, so the plastic and seat were in excellent condition. And the feces didn't stain the seat somehow! That's Yamaha quality for you. After a few months worth of time and a few hundred dollars the Catastrophe Lads were able to get it up and running again. Next on the list: Project Banshee or Project Warrior depending on what we can get our hands on.

The finished product:

Shiny! That about wraps up the harrowing tale of rags to riches, Blaster style. Stay tuned for more pictures and projects!

Some Time to Think.

We've all been down one of these trails before. Woods zipping by in a flash, sun beaming down through the foliage, and there's nothing around but you, your quad, and your thoughts.

These are the kind of trails that facilitate random thought, focusing on something other than the riding situation. The trail retains the same straightaway for miles, no turns, no jumps, no whoops, no riding skill to concentrate on. What body english should I use here? How far back should I lean on this jump? Nope, my mind starts to wander and I'm sure everyone else's does too. Since I have no helmet walkie-talkies to talk to my riding partners I start thinking about all kinds of non-quad related things. In no particular order this is just an example of things that pop through my head:

• The next Simpsons episode
• I can't wait to play video games again
• Captain Morgan
• I wonder what that chick at the gas station looks like naked
• This trail is fast becoming boring. Let's see some action here

And then it all goes away in an instant because I start to not pay attention to my surroundings and the next thing I know I'm almost ass packing the rider in front of me because I didn't hit the brakes in time for the 90 degree turn that came out of nowhere. Oops. Oh well, it's all in the name of fun.

More Riding in Michigan.

40+ places to ride.

I've lived in Michigan my entire life, have ridden ATV's for over 15 years, and had no idea that even half of these sites existed. Thanks Dirtwheels for doing a piece on my state. My new goal is to hit up every one of these locations at least once. It's nice to see Michigan get some love once and awhile, instead of the usual doom and gloom from Detroit.

Road Legal in Michigan! For the Most Part.

I never thought I would see the day, but here we are in 2012 and OHV's have been legalized for on-road use (sort of). In a time where the public keeps getting more laws and restrictions to stop us from having fun, it's nice to see the government and EPA lighten up a bit. In Emmett county and Cheboygan county of northern lower Michigan, all non-highway, county roads have been opened up for OHV use. For those unfamiliar check the map below:

That's one step close to total road legality; we can finally stop being jealous of the motorcycle crew and their on-road adventures. The basic rules are: non-highway roads with a max speed limit of 45, an ORV sticker must be present, follow all basic turn signal gestures, you must be on the shoulder except when crossing, and no acting like a moron, ie, me back in highschool. The Catastrophe Lads made a trip up there to ride around with our newfound freedom, and here are just some of the places that main roads will take you to:

There are literally thousands of miles of trails to hit, that branch off the thousands of miles of roadways to ride on. For more information click here. We will be making a more in depth trip up there now that we know how far we can go. I hope I get my saddle bags in soon, this is going to be a long ride. Pics and vids as soon as we can.

We're Back!

After a ridiculous five year long hiatus, the Catastrophe Lads are back! (No, we didn't die in an ATV accident, we were just noobin'). And there's no better way to kick off the new year than with the 2012 Yamaha Raptor SE. One of these days we'll be rich enough to afford one, but until then all we can do is stare at the screen and drool. PayPal donations anyone?? Coming soon: Project fix up old rotten '91 Yamaha Blaster. Pics soon.

Polaris Revolver!

I know it's been awhile but here is the latest and greatest from Polaris. It's a street legal quad, Finally! Click the link to read all about it, hopefully it becomes a reality here in the United States.

Polaris Revolver

News

Updates will be coming soon, in the form of more pictures and movies. We've been busy lately, but we'll be able to catch back up soon. In addition, I might be making a trip to Silver Lake Sand Dunes on the weekend of August 18th. Hopefuly that trip pans out, as there will a lot of interesting new material to post for everyone to enjoy.

Udpated!

We now have our video section up and running. Check it out, there's some pretty cool stuff in there. More videos to come as we get time.