[JSlezak83]

Summer flew by and any progress on the tractor was pretty slow. The original tires were just too dry rotted, so I replaced them with 23x10.5-12 Kenda Turf Boss in the rear and Deestone 3.50-8 tri ribs in the front. I have Zack Kerber wheelie bars and weight box.

I finally made it to the last pull of the year yesterday. I pulled in the 1000lb Bone Stock class with a 3600rpm and 2.5mph limit. I weighed in at only 890lbs, so I wasn’t expecting to be very competitive. My draw bar is about 4.5” behind the axle center line and was 13” high. No load RPM was around 3550. The track was hard packed. First pull was only 65’. At about 25’ The front lifted a bit, so I think the tires finally bit. I leaned forward and it settled back down. Looking back, maybe I should have just let it ride, the wheelie bars never touched the ground. I never really tuned the carb, so after the pull I checked spark plug. It was sooty, so I leaned it out about 1/8th turn.

After all the other classes ran, the track was back bladed and even more hard packed. I dropped the tire pressure to 4.5psi and went 69’ this time. The front never lifted on this pull, and I only hit 1.5mph. Clearly I’m lacking traction. My carb adjustment got the plug looking just a little richer than tan. Another puller suggested that I should have increased the tire pressure for the harder surface, but that seemed counterintuitive to me.

I’m happy to have finally made it to a pull. I’ve got myself a starting point, but now I’ll have to wait 6 months until the next pull. Over the winter I’ve got to source more weight. I’ll get a mid weight rack, and something for the front. I also need to rebuild the steering box. I’ve got about 1/2 turn of play in either direction. Even with the front wheels on the ground, it was easier to just steer with body weight. The spindles are also sloppy, so I may see about sleeving the front axle.

I think for next season I will continue pulling in the 1000lb Bone Stock class. Once I get the weight dialed in I may see about a 13T pinion if my ground speed doesn’t pick up. When revving the motor, I’d notice a bit of smoke. During both pulls I didn’t notice any. In all the excitement, I definitely had some tunnel vision. Hopefully someone posts some pics to the clubs ******** page so I can see. I’ve thought about freshening the motor with new rings, a valve job and maybe a bowl blend in the ports, but I have plenty of power at this point with the stock K321. I need to focus on using the power I’ve got.

This has turned into a pretty long winded post. I can’t wait to get out again next year.