I took my pilot up to Rausch Creek this past weekend for two days of riding at our camp. It was lots of fun, it's like driving a Ferarri at a car show, everyone wanted stop and ask questions about It. I even got a guy in modified RZR S that wanted to drag race. We got a video of, it's really amusing. It was a short race, may 50 or 100 yards. By the end I was probably 5-10 lengths in front of him.
Here's my issue, we've committed to a permanent campsite up at Rausch Creek. Those who ride there know, it's basically rock crawling the whole time. It's not fit for this pilot. It's so insanely fast, it's uncontrollable on that terrain. Too much throttle combined with a decent sized rock and I'm standing up on end. It's also the riding style, completely in-congruent with Rausch Creek, it loves to be thrown into the corners and when I did have a corner like that it was pure magic. But more often than not corners are big rock pits and you have to crawl through them.
Long story short, I'm putting her up for sale. I may look for a stock pilot, would also consider a trade for one. I'm not planning on going anywhere, Pilots are in my blood. I can't image not having one for long.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the build (fully documented on this site under projects) Here is what I have
- 1989 Pilot with a Yamaha 500cc Twin approx. 2000 miles originally on it, rebuilt less than 150 miles ago. Stock
Engine puts approx 91hp. I believe we were able to maintain nearly, if not all, that HP.
- Full CVT used from the sled. Custom fabbed step down shaft with heavy duty bearing support.
- Custom Engine mounting brackets fabbed by master welder. Everything is bolt in, the Engine can easily be pulled out with bolts only. no damage was done to existing mounts so a stock Engine could be dropped back in if owner desires
- All electronics and otherwise have mounting tabs welded in. No zip ties or any other junk.
- All wiring was done with professionally trained mechanic. Everything works properly.
- Brakes were redone all the way around; new pads, new master cylinder, refurbished everything else
- Exhaust fabbed by owner of a Powersports Race shop, It's a modified version of the stock expansion chamber into a Titanium GSXR 600 exhaust. Some don't like the look (I love it), everyone likes the sound. Not too loud and obnoxious, quite throaty for a two stroke.
- Nearly new Mudlite tires all the way around
There are three things which I consider "bad" about it. The first is that it's a pull start. Not a big deal, it starts on the first pull but it'll bother some. There are options to fix this, either buy an aftermarket e start kit or swap the Engine with one having e start. The VMax sleds are all over the place for cheap. The 600's have the same Engine mounts, exhaust, carbs, etc. So if you really want to be crazy with the speed, bolt in a vmax 600 Engine with e start. The second is that the lights aren't wired. It's easy to do, just haven't yet. Third is lack of "showroom new look". My plan was to do this in two phases, first is the build, second is the powerdercoat, etc. After seeing quite a few pilots in my life I'd say this one is above average compared to others out there but it's not a showroom piece. I built it to ride it, not to show off in my garage.
To be clear, this isn't a "project pilot" it's ready to ride today. The items listed above are owner preference only.
To reproduce this with parts and labor I'd expect that it would cost over $10k As it is, I've got nearly that into it and I had LOTs of free labor from friends. I'd like to get $5500 but I'm open to offers. Will also trade plus or minus cash. I'll consider nearly anything of value. Please don't ask me what I'll trade for, I have no idea what you own, just shoot me an offer. PM me here.
I'll be listing it on Craigslist soon, just wanted to put it up here first.
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