[Complete] Mr.Modified's Craftsman HE [2018 Build-Off Entry]

biggasmowers wrote:

So since most of the haspin machines seem to have locked front ends , is there more strain on the tranny and frame from not having some flex? On my LT 4000 the frame is fully two forced and the rear is solid axle with reinforcement,  and the front end is solid tube welded to the frame and I wonder if it's abusing the tranny more than normal.

Frame flex is terrible. Ideally you want only a small amount of axle pivot and decent frame bracing.

Yes agreed on the frame flex, but as my machine has very little to any frame flex from the major reinforcing I did I was just wondering if a solid front axle is harder on the tranny as there is no front axle moment so one tire could be taking all the force on the rear axle.

Well IMHO, I would leave it moving unless I was racing.  There isn't much of an advantage to it being locked solid, and the frame would probably flex to allow both tires to be on the ground. Even though you are locked and would not have the diff slipping, I don't see why both tires don't need to be on the ground because 2 tires is better than 1.

My reasoning on the front axle is that, I wanted to beef it up a bit, but I couldn't weld in bracing so easy if the pivot was still in place. To me I just see it being a lot more rugged welded solid vs being held in by the center pin only. And the way doug had it previously, the adjustment pins were all the way down holding it solid anyway, so I assumed he ran it this way before. The large front tires don't have a lot of room to clear things, not sure if they would have much room to pivot or not.

As far as it effecting frame flex, it might be an issue I don't know. I welded in light frame bracing along the bottom edge of the frame from the front axle to under the running boards. I see that as being the weakest area since there is no bodywork there to help keep it stiffened up. I also welded some areas together where the dash and running boards are for extra strength.

For traction I don't see it changing things all that much. I think with the rider, the rear end is heaviest and most often I would think it would be one of the front wheels off the ground.

Also it's a bit of an experiment. If it works horrible at haspin, then I could always do a front suspension later on or make changes. For this trip it just needs to hold up for about 3 days worth of riding. Looks like mostly my dad will be piloting this machine, so we'll see how it holds up.

Front bumper.


One turf tire modified, still need to finish the other one.



Black paint done, just have to paint the handlebars and front bumper.


Still need to hook up the charging wires from the lighting coil and throttle cable. Pretty much everything else is good to go.

Blue and black paint looks good! What colour are you painting the hood? Cutting the tyre looks good, what did you use?

Thanks. The hood is painted blue also, same color, with some big HE graphics painted on. I put some number 78 stickers on, same number as the baja sears had. The tire tread I cut by heating up a sharp scraper that I had and then carefully slicing off the knobs. It's a bit of a pain but not horrible. Just have to be careful not go go too deep by accident.

Just saw this, looking pretty good. On the cause of front pivots, all 5 of ours still pivot, just a limited amount. And front axles are heavy custom steel. If in a hurry, solid may work.

Thanks, turned out fairly decent I think for a couple weekends of messing around. I could brace it more to the frame than I did and really beef it up. But my dad will only be out there for about 3 days, so I figure see how it holds up this way for now. I can always weld it back together out there if something really breaks.

Looks good! Nice Progress!

Here's a poor quality quick video of the 1st start up of the Craftsman HE. It's pretty loud, I was hoping for quieter. But it runs perfect and should be good to go. Still a handful of small things to do but pretty much it's done for Haspin.

Craftsman HE Facebook video

Cool! At first glance it kinda looks like the whole exhaust is glowing orange from heat, haha. I'm really liking the blue too!

Thanks, think I finally got it all ready to go.
This morning started off with some boring tire grooving. Got the 2nd tire done and installed.


After some test running, the header got a bit toasty. The grill felt a bit too warm so I decided I should wrap it.


Header wrapped to keep under hood temps down and keep the grill paint from baking off. Looks cool too.


Think someone asked about the cruddy modern quick drain drain plug. Yeah eventually we plan on changing it to a normal plug but for now I'm leaving it be. I think it should be ok for now, but it's a strange deal and looks like it might leak somewhat.


Rear tires don't look too bad. As long as there's not serious but to go through, they should be better than factory turf's.

I wish I had the patience to cut turfs like that lol

Looks nice. I did the groove thing on my garden tractor this spring. It helped some.

Looks great mr.mod! Shoulda posted a picture of the cool hood graphic though, haha.

Oh? I feel I have missed something here?

The tires take awhile but not that bad really once you get doing it. And it helps if you keep the tool warmed up. Had it good and sharp and then I heat it up some with the propane torch before carefully slicing off the tread.

The hood paint I didn't want to show until it gets to haspin. Super top secret lol.

I also dropped the tire pressure to 5 psi on all four tires. At least give the solid front end a little cushion.

Being Ags, are the front tires kinda stiff? Or are they pretty forgiving with low air pressure? The 20" Carlisle Ags on the rear of my cousin's Jacobsen are pretty stiff, even at like 0 PSI, haha.

Those rear tyres look quite cool. That was me asking about the plastic oil drain haha, I don't think I would trust that to keep all the oil in, could snag on a branch or something and pull out.

You have to push in, twist about an 8th turn, then pull out a little bit. And with a hose on the end you don’t spill a drop

Nice job on the turfs!

Thanks double w cross ranch, I think they look pretty cool for turf tires.

My dad isn't a fan of the plastic drain plug thing either, and neither am I actually, but It's tucked in
semi good above the exhaust pipe. I think it should be ok as long as the exhaust heat doesn't get to it.
We'll see. I'll bring whatever pipe plugs I have laying around just in case. We've got a lot of stuff to do getting my jeep ready so we're a bit pressed for time.

And about the front tires, they have a little give with 5 psi but they are fairly stiff. Could probably run them flat if I wanted to. One has a tube and the other is tubeless for some reason. I think that's just how they were at the warehouse. Probably stopped making them one way or the other. Just got one of each.

The craftsman HE survived Haspin! It didn't see a whole lot of miles while it was there but it did some
trail riding and my dad and I both jumped over some logs and stuff with it. I think it's a bit stiff with
the solid front end but my dad didn't seem to mind it. Towards the end we had some starting issues
where the starter wouldn't turn it enough to start it. I'm thinking maybe a combination of valve adjustment
messing with the compression release and maybe the battery getting low from a possible charging issue.
But all in all it worked out well enough that we didn't have any major issues or broken parts. The clutch is jumpy
but that may improve as the belt wears in. More testing is needed for sure.

Pre Haspin pic of the Top Secret hood paint...


HE with the adventure edition and craftsmanquad exploring the river area


My dad piloted the HE for most of the running it did at Haspin although I tried it a few times.
It seemed to keep up with the crowd ok.


Back at base camp awaiting the next ride


Better view of everyone's camp setup in the background


Loaded up and on the way back from Haspin


The cut turfs worked out good enough for this run although we stayed out of any deep mud with it. The transaxle leaked from the axle shafts
but it held up well and shifted ok. Front end is definitely stiff although my dad said he didn't mind it. I thought it kicked the front end around a
lot and it didn't seem good for handling, but the thumb throttle and steering worked decent in my opinion. I found the clutch a little jumpy but
like I said earlier, that might get better once the belt wears in. I think the belt jumped off once, it could use more keepers by the transaxle
pulley to prevent that. A rear bumper would be nice and maybe some tool storage space. More testing and upgrades to come.

Sounds like lots of Fun ya had there. Maybe I can also join ya in 3-4 years

Hood paint looks very cool! Stands out pretty good too. Craftsman seems to have held up well during Haspin.