April 2014
Once again .. new month ..new page.. Welcome to Page 4.
After putting new seals and bearings in it seamed pointless to use the bad axle. So I had a new one made. Nothing was happening to the Bazoo while waiting for a new axle. And that took weeks. But it’s here now so it’s back to work , and get the Bazoo finished.
It’s a work of art.. That’s what we said.. Nicely made. and pricey too.. but good work is not free.. So I cleaned it and painted the outside end like the others.. And the assembly starts..
After I tidy up some wires and put some in a loom the motor can go in.. We are getting close to launch here.. Here’s what’s left to do for testing.. If the test run is good and there is no other issues… then I want too: But back to the “Git R Done” stage.
Getting there.. The motor fits perfectly.. as it should.
So much time before hand was spent on lining these things up.. it was a pleasure to have them just fit ! If the weather is bad tomorrow I should get everything ready for a test drive.. Sure nuf.. the weather gods were in favor of working on the Bazoo.. Everything is in place.. Boy are my tires in sad shape.. two of them will not hold air.. So they go in the middle where it won’t matter. It’s kind of a 4×4 now.. 🙂 Here it is back on it’s wheels after a bit more than three months. We wore the battery down tuning up the motor today.. and discovered that the kill / solenoid system I devised turns the spark off when you turn the key to “start”. not good. so that has to be figured out.. Also the belt we have is too small so the motor still turns it at an idle.. Makes it hard to change gears. I’m sure more stuff will show up after the test drive. Tomorrow.
Hooray it’s May 2014:
Never did get the test run.. The motor started to act up and would not stay running.. Then the weather got nice and yard stuff had to get done.. Anyway going to look into the why, thinking a fouled plug ?
Here’s the Video.. after a lot of fiddling around
Yes We changed the two spark plugs and still the motor would stall.. Figured it was a fuel thing.. so we rigged up the tank that someone had in the Bazoo.. just to see if the motor was starving for fuel.. and it ran great ! And that is why you are seeing the video.. The sun came out for a few hours.. and so did the Bazoo.. And boy does it go.. Still need to make some adjustments but she flies.. I’m going to abandon the front gas tank.. just like before I got it.. So I’m looking for a good replacement that will fit on the back of the seat..
May 24 2014:
Bazoo is just sitting there while other things get done.. So I thought I’d see if there was interest in a trade for a quad. Yes there is lots of interest.. But that also made me want to remedy some of the little things wrong.. Last night Dave & I fixed the kill circuit on the key switch.. so now the motor starts and shuts off with the key. I also totally removed all fuel lines to the front tank and configured them properly in the temporary tank . and the motor ran great.. better that ever ! Now I have the throttle response I was hoping for. That just showed The other little mod I did was with the drive belt.. I knew that the common belts these days are wider than the one that would have been on the Bazoo’s drive.. So I trimmed 1/4 ” off the spare belt I had.. and the drive works so much better. So I when for a little drive around the yard… even more fun when things work good.
The Bazoo is SOLD..
My Bazooo went off to a museum for amphibious ATV’s !