Saturday, October 19, 2013

Thinking snow

Here I sit in sunny California and all I can think about is snow...

Lately I'd been considering selling my Wankel Panther but then I got an email from another enthusiast looking to make my primer mod and it got me thinking about that machine and how I've really hardly ever ridden it. Its done maybe 5 miles in the whole time I've had it. That makes me sad and makes me want to ride.
I've had 3 main problems with that sled in the time I've owned it:

#1. It was hard to start. This was actually an easy fix, my primer mod makes it start with just a couple pulls.

#2. It loses spark over the summer. This isn't something I've been able to prevent but its not that hard to fix. A shot of Deoxit and a swipe with clean paper and the points are clean again and stay clean for a whole season, unlike that stupid Polaris.

#3. Poor carburation. The Tillotson HL carb is crap. There are wicked flat spots in the power band and tuning makes it either not idle well hot or have poor takeoff power. The fix is a Mikuni conversion but considering its a machine I rarely ride I've never sprung for it.

#4. Rotten muffler. The muffler for the 303 is specific to that engine. Its just a can laying horizontally in front of the engine but unlike some of the other mufflers the one for the 303 has square corners like a coffee can. Most other mufflers have rounded corners like a propane canister which makes them not rust as bad on the inside. All the 303 mufflers I've ever found for sale were totally rotten so I finally made one out of a Cub Cadet tractor muffler. Its better than what I had but still not great. The biggest issue is that the can is narrower in diameter than stock so its hard to mount. Additionally I need to go back and open it up again so I can add more baffles as its still pretty loud.

Anyway I'm thinking when I'm back home I need to spend some time with the old buggy and see about getting it tuned up for winter. If I can make a satisfactory muffler maybe I'll be able to get myself to spring for a Mikuni conversion...