It's been ten years. Does it still run? I have the 503 DCDI in my experimental airplane. I need an alternator setup like yours. I keep burning out voltage regulators.
Hello and thank you for your inquiry. I sold this machine approximately five years ago, but I do know it’s still running fine and I have not had any voltage regulator problems with it and as far as I know, the new owner hasn’t either. And I do know he has run it quite a bit since he purchased it. I am wondering if perhaps you didn’t use the proper gear ratio to drive your alternator? I can visualize it burning regulators out if you are spinning it too fast. The two cycle engines spin much faster than the four stroke engines which these alternators were designed for. Thus you must gear them down somewhat to have the alternator spinning at a speed that it is meant to spin.
Thanks for checking yours and letting me know. Previous replies suggested it was a normal condition so I haven’t been concerned about it and have put over 14,000 miles on the bike since this video. It seems to drive and ride as well as it ever did so I’m just going to keep running it. It is interesting that yours does not make such a sound
@@2500vtg I think those shaft drive Hondas all had a sprag clutch in the final drive assembly-- it sounds like it could have been the unloaded flopping of the sprag assembly. Great bike. I just picked on up damaged and I'm trying to put it back together.
I removed the Polaris bumper and then mounted the John Deere bumper to the nose pan. I lined the back tips of the bumper up with the upper rear corners of the nose pan. I did not cut or modify the Deere bumper other than a few mounting tabs welded to the inside edge of it for mounting bolts. I will try to video the bumper mounting someday and post it here. Thanks for your comment!
It’s cool having a long term viewer. Thanks for your interest in my little creation. And yes, it can clip along pretty good in high range. I think well on excess of 30 mph. But I don’t like to run it at higher speeds for too long. Where are you located?
I still have it. I never took it out of the garage this winter as I was too busy with a new project. But I used it some last season and it still works great. If you search my other videos, there is one there that I did of it in March or April of 2023. I wasn’t pulling the drag in that video. I was just going for a bit of ride.
Thanks Bill! I’ll be riding it lots. I’m not one to keep sleds on a shelf. If I build it, I ride it. I take good care of it, but it’s no fun having it just to look at it.
I’m a new st1300 owner. I noticed your phone holder. Where did you get it and how is it working for you? I have a ram mount and I don’t really like it because of how low it is set.
Glad you enjoyed the videos. My first snowmobile was a 1976 JD 400 and I rode nothing but John Deere until 1989 having had a couple Trailfires, a Spitfire and a couple 80s era Liquifires during that time. I had to switch to Polaris in 1990 when I became a Polaris dealer. But my heart was really still with the old John Deeres. I developed a good deal of respect for the Polaris Fuji built twins during my 12 yr stint as a dealer. Guess that’s what led me to repowering some of my JDs with Polaris by mills. Plus I quite like having oil injection in longer rides.
Very cool. I grew up on a farm in Alberta and there was a John Deere and a Polaris dealer and we had Polaris until a Yamaha dealer opened up and we switched
The following items are also John Deere: front & rear bumpers, handlebars, grips, airbox, radiator, snow flap, dash panel, speedometer, tachometer temperature gauge, carburetors, taillight,fuel tank top cover and probably some other things which I’ve missed. Seat is custom built somewhat based on the style used on the 1976 John Deere Liquidator. Front nosecone is also custom built.
Love cyclones. My brother had a 440 cyclone. He blew it up and got a hold of a dual carb dual pipe 295s race motor that he put in it for a couple seasons, then he got the 440 rebuilt and put it back in with the twin pipes and carbs. That thing was a real screamer
Just stumbled upon your video - yes, it is one of the most beautiful and capable motorcycles ever made. I had almost an identical (and 4 more in the past!) one ~2 years ago. The only negative was it's dead weight that I couldn't handle any more as I am aging. I still miss it while I am trying to come to terms with a 2016 BMW R1200RS. Not sure if the rear end problem is sorted out for your ST1300. Enjoy the motorcycle!
I took a piece of 3/8” thick aluminum and trimmed it to fit atop the brake master cylinder but with some overhang at the front of it. Then I drilled a hole near the leading edge and installed a ram mount ball on it. I drilled the plate so that it mounts on top of the master cylinder cover and used longer bolts to secure it to the master cylinder. I still keep the original master cylinder lid in place. Also, I countersink the bolt heads into the aluminum piece so that they are nice and flush with the surface.
Right on! I have a 1982 Trailfire and a 78 Cyclone and ride them lots. As you say, great sleds they are. My Cyclone is slightly modified. I have a few RU-vid videos of it. if you feel like checking some of my other videos, you’ll find it.
Front suspension is the XC 10 with crc steering. Sled looks really fun! If you need sled parts, check out The Sled Parlor. He's a good friend of mine and runs a snowmobile and atv wrecking business. He's also very knowledgeable about older sleds. They ship all across Canada as well. Cheers from Alberta.
1978 John Deere Liquifire Polaris XC Hybrid Restomod 🤔?, I Was Gonna Say That I Don't Remember Those Old John Deere's Having The Front Independent Suspension On There🤔, But What A Nice Touch, And The Sled Looks Absolutely 💯% Mint 👍, Nice Work, Nice Sled 😲 👍 !
WOW When I was younger this was the sled I hoped JD would have made! Had a couple of Liquifire's, older 1976 340 and a 1980 440. Man, the 1980 sled was fast once we got the clutching right!
I had a 1981 Liquifire and mine was fast too once I got the clutching and jetting dialed in. I installed the TR800 clutch upgrade on mine and the improvement in performance and fuel economy was jncredible
It’s built on a 98 XC700 chassis. I wanted a chassis with the inboard mounted trailing arms as they are way less conspicuous compared to the arms that bolt on to the outside of the pan. Also, the 98 is still a wedge style and it needs to be a wedge model for the belly pan to match up with the curvature of the JD hood. But it could be built on any year of Indy Wedge if you don’t mind the trailing arms that bolt on outboard of the pan.
I’d accidentally given your previous comment a thumbs down. I’d meant to hit the thumbs up button but I guess my fingers are too big. Sorry about that. I have corrected my goof up now.
@@2500vtg no prob, I have the same problem. Ha! Interesting build you have there! Looks good, like it was factory built! Ol polari got all they could out of the front trailing arm suspension before they went to unequal length A arms. Not that it wasn't a good suspension as it definitely was. It's too bad Deere & Chaparral and some of those companies pulled out of the snowmobile business when they did. I heard Chaparral had some interesting stuff on their drawing boards! My brother and I were heavy into snowmobile racing in those days as Dad was a Polaris, Yamaha, Chaparral dealer.
