Thanks,
I was having a blast on the flats, and scaring myself silly in the woods. I couldn't tell how wide of a capture area I had with the camera, i was doing donuts off screen that I couldn't get out of without drifting sideways for 10-20 feet. Really tore me up to pull the Tec off it after finally getting it going good. If i hadn't come across the mini shark, I would likely have just installed a steering rack with single bars and been done with her long ago. In the woods that was about half my normal speed through there--seat belts went along with the cage. It just happened that i got the carb fixed up and the pulley from mike installed the night before I planned to cut it up.
It literally was ice, while we only got 2 snows this year that didn't last, 75 percent of the days since december there's been about a 1-2 inch deep frost line that the top 1/2 to an inch thaws by 9 -10 am. as soon as the tires cut through that, it's thin wet top soil on top of frozen ground = mud ice.
That's also the reason for the nerf bars, a couple of the trail loops are off camber with a lot of small roots and vines crossing them. thin top soil on limestone bedrock. when it's wet, it's too easy to slide sideways off the trail and into the trees. I hung it up just off trail on the rear tires on trees a bunch of times. Getting too old to drag this thing backwards uphill to unhook it.
I have one 6 inch piece of tubing (a notching screw up of one of the little connector tubes between the front bars that tie to the front corner of the frame,) along with the hole saw cut-outs and 2 6-inches left out of 48 foot.
that are going to corner out the top of the front hoop. I'd actually like to run hoop-to-hoop on both sides and shoot one from the front hoop's cross bar to the back corner. Finishing the x on the back hoop is also on the list, but those are going to wait.
Overall, i'm pretty happy with how it came out. It's tacked right now with only the hoop bases fully welded and it's still really stiff. Got my reverse lever done, just need to put in the bracket for it and finish the a-arms. Work for the daytona 24 and 500 teams put my "B" list project (kingpins) on the back-burner, supposed to be done in the next day or two. waiting on a brake hose and the steering link from BMI, so i've got my fingers crossed.