Damn Horse threw me!

[RedRanger 1,468]

So my son and I got the new 702 running yesterday and took her out for a ride.  She's got a late model 5HP and funky pulley sizing.  Runs a bit faster than stock.

1st is like 2nd would normally be and 2nd like 3rd.  3rd kind of like an overdrive.  My son took her out first, looking back probably not the best idea.  He took her around the yard running her paces without much trouble.  Came back around and said, "she runs a bit fast".  I'm thinking cool, my turn.  I hop on and take off in first at low throttle.  Ok, good.  Stop and shift into 2nd.  Ride about 30 feet. ok enough of that.  Stop and shift into third and take off about 1/4 throttle.  She immediately rears up and takes off.  Here I am riding a wheelie across the driveway holding on for dear life.  I lean forward and hit the clutch and she calms down...lands on all four and I catch my breath.  I can hear my son laughing over the sound of the engine.  So now I'm off the paved driveway and in the grass.  Still in third and 1/4 throttle, I slowly let out the clutch and damn if she don't do it again.  This time, I can't save it.  I pull myself forward by the steering wheel and try to hit the brake, but it's too late.  As I pull myself forward, the steering wheel shaft pops out of the gear under the hood and the entire shaft and wheel slide up toward me.  The tractor stands on end and I slide off the back on my ass.  Luckily I was on the soft wet sod.  The tractor is in front of me standing on end still running.  Rear hitch stuck in the mud, tires spinning and digging holes in the yard.

 

What I learned from this....Make sure steering shafts are correctly fixed on new buys before riding.  Careful riding WH tractors with goofy pulley diameters.  Never allow your teenage kid to take the first ride on a new old tractor.  Wear a pillow strapped to your back next time.  

OH, and thank God for rear hitches or she would have been on top of me.

I'm not sure if it's the pulley sizing or the rear duals, but this thing is just dangerous.

 

Question for those of you with duals, do the duals make the tractor drive that much different?  Even in first, if not careful, this thing is a wheel stander.

I'm sure putting the heavy Kohler back on will help, but man!

 

 

[roadapples 6,981]

Glad you weren't  hurt, but I sure would love to see the video.

[RedRanger 1,468]

1 minute ago, roadapples said:

Glad you weren't  hurt, but I sure would love to see the video.

Me too!  Wish I could have seen it instead of experiencing it.  

 

I'm done trying to ride this bronco!  I think getting my Kohler on there and correcting the pulley sizes will help.

[Sparky-(Admin) 19,439]

You need to add weight up front if you want to keep the current pulley setup and still be able to use it.

Mike........

[AMC RULES 36,941]

 It's not the duallys, you just need a tombstone up front. 

Edited November 28, 2015 by AMC RULES

[Wishin4a416 2,185]

Glad you are Ok. Sounds like it could have been worse.

[Brian01 481]

Glad you or your boy wasn't hurt! 

that being said...

 

  

[stevasaurus 22,229]

Pretty scary...wheelie bars and a helmet sound like a better option.  You can bet that those duels aren't going to spin in the dirt, grass or driveway...just lift that front end off the ground.  While adding more weight to the front may help, make sure the weight is secure, or you may be catching that while you are on your back.    Other then all that...nice horse. 

[JPWH 5,295]

I just dodged that bullet yesterday. One of my nieces came for a couple of days with her 3 children. The 15 year old wanted to drive my raider but has never driven a clutch before. Guess what he did first thing. Yep, popped the clutch. I was ready for him.

He dug a little dirt but no incidents. He still rode for about an hour.

Glad to hear no serious injuries. Nice looking horse too.

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,022]

Hank 01 what is the box ? thing on the back of the tractor?

[953 nut 51,486]

Hank, love the home-brew box blade, and he even did a wheelie with the extra weight on the front!

[JPWH 5,295]

As 953 nut said. Home brew box blade. Easy way to move dirt and level at the same time. Works pretty good for carrying things too. The weight on the front is not enough especially when you pop the clutch. I will take care of that later this winter. 

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,022]

I know the problem with popping the  clutch. I was pushing huge pile of leaves off the front yard for 4 hours today. Used 1st gear for pushing the mounts with the snow blade about 100 yards and used 3rd gear for the return trip . Foot slip off clutch and I came close doing a wheelie. Scared the crap out of me. 

[rjg854 10,708]

Very nice looking stallion you got there sounds like it needs to be tamed though. Glad you're okay but I too would have loved to have seen that. 

[JERSEYHAWG / Glenn 4,487]

The best part of the story is you werent injured. Phewwww.

 

Glenn

[MalMac 1,328]

I feel your pain, few years back I was messing around on my 753 pulling a rear cultivator. I lowered it down, it just so happen that where I lowered it and it engaged the ground it caught a tree root. It stopped that tractor dead and it stood stright up. I slid right off the seat because I had no cushion on the seat pan. It was nice and slick gloss red. I land on the cultivator right on my butt. So there I am with a cultivator shoved up my backside and the tractor standing darn near stright up and doing a dance. I could not get off of that cultivator and the tractor bucking kept trying to go. Like to beat me to death. It all happen in are heart beat. Little tractors can rare up and flip just like big farm tractors.

Edited November 29, 2015 by MalMac

[Wheel-N-It 2,967]

Glad you did not get hurt! A serious front mounted weight is definetly in order for that tractor LOL

[RedRanger 1,468]

3 hours ago, MalMac said:

I feel your pain, few years back I was messing around on my 753 pulling a rear cultivator. I lowered it down, it just so happen that where I lowered it and it engaged the ground if caught s tree root. It stopped that tractor dead and it stood stright up. I slid right off the seat because I had no cushion on the seat pan. It was nice and slick gloss red. I land on the cultivator right on my butt. So there I am with a cultivator shoved up my backside and the tractor standing darn near stright up and doing a dance. I could not get off of that cultivator and the tractor bucking kept trying to go. Like to beat me to death. It all happen in are heart beat. Little tractors can rare up and flip just like big farm tractors.

 

That's exactly how it went too, minus the cultivator on my butt.  Happened real fast!

The first time I'm guessing the front was a foot off the ground.  Scary enough, especially on black top.  Second time in the grass when it stood straight up....All I could think was this is gonna hurt!  Luckily all I ended up with was a wet ass from all the rain we got this last week and a story my son will never let me live down.  Wish I'd gotten a picture of the tractor standing on its rear tires with the hitch tongue stuck in the ground, all 4 duals just digging away in third gear.  I was to concerned to get it back on all four.  I'm glad it didn't flip on the blacktop too.  Kohler and correct pulleys before I ride again.  I'll get this horse tamed!

8 hours ago, AMC RULES said:

 It's not the duallys, you just need a tombstone up front. 

Next go around, I'm getting a re-pop.  

[Tankman 3,515]

Glad all are fine. Learned years ago, front weights are a must when using tear implements.

[can whlvr 991]

glad you wernt hurt also,i too have been thrown off,once on my 308,pulling a large rock,it grabbed a root and over she came,the implement lift bar stabbed me in the chest and I got my leg torn up from the tire chains spinning,it was very scary,and once when I first got my 160 auto with the rear fender that lifts,the latch was broken and when I first got her the belt was very grabby,so when I hit the forward lever over I went,the tractor smashed into my truck and dented it pretty good,it happens so fast its unbelievable

[JP 141 79]

While we are sharing stories...lol...Over the T Giving weekend with family around...I was bragging on my C 141, Wife said something and all laughed...but I didn't hear it, once repeated she said "her" mower a 7sp Craftsman would out run my WH....OH HELL NO...this brought on a 5 lap race in the drive with obstacles to go around to complete the lap...I soon found she was a sleeper and had some speed with that thing, so on the downhill run on our paved drive I found I could kick it out of gear and let the gravity advance my position...lol...needless to say the hairpin curve at the bottom created an issue, Yep I had the Horse on 2 precarious legs for a moment, but powered her through...she would have won had I not cut her off into the flowerbed (lmao)...She may have speed, but my Wheel Horse has all the power...She says I cheated, I say I adapted and overcome my objective !!!!!

[953 nut 51,486]

One of my younger cousins also had a real appreciation for gravity. My uncle had purchased a JD (just cant say that) 110 with a cart and figured there wouldn't be any harm in letting his ten year old son take the other three children for a ride; after all the farm was on a private road. My cousin got a bit tired of putting around at two or three MPH so he drove to the top of the hill and pushed in the clutch; don't know how fast that thing went but he tells me the tires on the cart full of kids were bouncing off the ground. When he let out on the clutch to slow down the 110 and cart went into the ditch and dumped the whole bunch harmlessly into the hay field. My uncle knew then that this boy was going to be a handful, he was correct!

[TDF5G 2,051]

I've been on WHs all my life I reckon, starting out at home on Dad's tractors when I was a kid.  One time I coasted his '73 12 HP manual in nuetral, down the blacktop to make a turn on to our street when I was about 12-13.  It's probably about a 15 or 20 degree slope and at least 1000-1500 feet long.  I don't know how fast I was going but I went over on 2 wheels trying to make the corner and ended up in the neighbors yard completely out of control.  Never tried that again.  Dad woulda killed me if I'd wrecked his tractor.

 

Another time, my brother was mowing with same tractor and he had a broken forearm in a cast, he was about 11-12 I'd say.  He stopped with front wheels against a concrete retaining wall in the back yard and he was going to back up.  His foot slipped off the clutch before getting it out of gear and over he went,  about a 5' drop!  The tractor hit on its front wheels and went over on the hood/steering wheel and seat trapping him under it.  No one was home but Mom at the time.  She heard the crash and came running out, so did the next door neighbor and his son-in-law.  The smoke was rolling and the deck blades were spinning she said.  The three of them lifted it off of him and thank you, Lord he was not hurt, not a scratch.  First thing my brother said was, "Dad is gonna kill me for wrecking his tractor."    He was so small he didn't get hurt we figured.  The seat and steering wheel worked like roll bars I reckon. 

It bent both tie rods and crushed the steering wheel.  Dad replaced those and took the dents out of the hood with a wooden block and a ball peen hammer.  The front wheels were turned in opposite directions, I'll never forget the look of that! 

 

 

 

Edited November 30, 2015 by TDF5G

[ericj 1,576]

damn that was a wild ride, i did some dumb things on dad's 73 12 auto, but off a 5' drop that's a ride i wouldn't want to take for sure

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

eric j

[WNYPCRepair 1,875]

I have done many accidental wheelies on motorcycles, with me hanging on to the handlebars running behind trying to catch up. Once I did it over a speed bump, and the bike kept coming up until it was straight up and I was standing on the pegs, staring into the headlights, somehow playing with the throttle to keep it from going over, or slamming down. It was a Kawasaki 750 LTD, which had extended forks like a chopper, and I was afraid if it slammed down they would snap off. Went across 2 more speed bumps standing on end, and finally it slowly lowered down to the ground, and I stopped and waited to stop shaking. Can't believe I didn't get hurt

The closest I have come on a tractor was when I bought a Commando 8, my first experience with a tractor with the hinged rear fender. I saw this little switch on the shifter tunnel that said Caution, but everything else was worn off. I thought, I wonder what that does.... Let out the clutch, it did a little wheelie, the seat tipped back, but somehow I was able to pull myself back down with the steering wheel. Suddenly I understood exactly why that sticker said caution, and what the lever was for.