Well like they say. Never too young to learn how to pack a bearing. Playing with grease is fun for a 7 year old.



Getting the undercarriage ready for the new bravo project. Gone through all the idler wheel bearings for starters.
Takotna putting that undercarriage part to good use finally.


My son's skis were pretty rusty. So until we get ski skins or make new skis we thought we would wire brush them with a grinding wheel brush and wax.
Delta is shown getting into it. Waxing the bottom of the skis.
The bravo project has been extremely rewarding if for no other reason than to give Garrity lessons on small engine mechanics, Very simple machine but he has taken off or worked with ever part of the machine except taking down a motor. But that is coming.
We have troubleshot electronics, fuel, carbs, clutches etc.


The high seat bravo is so working out great. Really changes the feel of the bravo for the better.

Packing bearings, ugh...I'll do that to my machine next summer, not really looking forward to it. Any tips on how to get the kids involved in this stuff? My first is 2 months old now, need to have the plans laid when the time comes.

Nice machine Onegunsmith. 2300 dollars is a steal for that nice 300f tundra. They go quick these days at $3800 or more. I only paid $3500 new for mine. I have two of the 300f tundras they aren't trouble free but once you figure out the bugs they are a great machine to trap with. Have you used it enough to figure out the weak links? I could give you some pointers if you need. The suspension on these beats the old tundras and bravos by a long shot. I put fox gas shocks on mine and can't believe the difference in ride but they cost a quarter of what the machine sold for.

For you guys talking about ducting heat places on the Bravo's, SCAT hose for aircraft would probably work good. You can get it at Stoddard's or any of the other Aircraft parts places in Anchorage. It comes in different sizes. I should rig up a duct on one of my Tundra's with some to warm up things behind the windshield or thaw out goggles.

Never to early to start. My theory is to involve them in everything you can at an age that they don't know any better than to think it is what we do in this household.
Put him in his little sit chair or whatever and have him with you as much as you can.
When my son was old enough to stand he stood beside me on a chair with his butter knife in hand skinning beaver with me.
When he was 8 he could clean skin a beaver just about as well as I could, a lot slower, but very well.


The same thing goes for a lot of your children's upbringing. Bring them up involved. It is worth it.
The biggest thing is to take the time to involve them. It will take you longer. But the memories are priceless.

So...involve them! Can't wait! Good season to you FT!

FT-Great job with the your lil ones. Cool to see ya getting them involved. Great Job. I like how your bravo Project is coming along. Got all of them involved in one way are another. Here is the bravo how i set it up so far.



I raised the windshield 6 inches, gun case mounted, added all the suspension wheels, mounted the axe on the left side of cowling, machette on upper right side of hood. Added the boat seat cushion, BTW that was great on the legs while sitting/riding but it froze solid as a rock lol. So i have 6inches of foam to add instead.
I want to mount a wire reel and snips next, but i have to find a different spot. I have to gather materials for the ducting up top or make the the slider like takotna. But the big thing to figure out is to get the skid plate made up and installed.
But i want to make my own cover up front that is faster then the factory slider. Otherwise running good so far this winter.

GREAT photos you guys....I sure would like to see my daughters packing bearings, let alone laying on the floor working on a under carriage !

Len you have done a great job with your children. God blesses you .

So...do you have to do any work with three helping you out ?

And...what are you ever going to do when they move out on thier own !

Cool Yukon. I like the gun case addition. You will really like the added 6 inches of foam for sure.
Something else my son did after seeing it on one of the bravos we acquired. He ran bolts through from the underside of the foot rests. Let them protrude out a half inch or so beyond the nut to create some traction. I like it too. The running boards can get slick.
We checked and the seat box is high enough we can get a mb 750 in an still close it. So lynx traps will be no problems.



Probably my biggest accomplishment in life has been the lifestyle I have brought up my kids in. They take for granted the life that most could only dream about.
Although early on it takes a a lot more effort to involve them in things that you could easily do faster yourself and with far less headaches but the satisfaction in it all is priceless.
Where they have all shined, without a doubt has been commercial halibut fishing. I set my boat up to originally to be a one man and a small boy operation. But they have all come up through the ranks of being on deck from a very early age.
This photo captures it well. The kids all started by handing hooks/ganions to an older sibling or me to bait.
Delta here at about age 2. Doing real work on a commercial fishing boat. The people at he local commercial fishing shop used to laugh at me when I was buying crew licenses for all my kids starting at an early age. Little did they know.



What will I do when they are grown? It is a worry for sure. My youngest is 7 so I have a while with her yet. Hopefully have grandkids to help train up when she leaves. I think Alaska is in their blood. Hopefully they wont move far.

Just got done putting skins and skags on mine/boys,man what a world of difference,with a little mod's and some four letter words the fit great,turns out they are not just slap on,and I have one ski bent.
But with the new skags it will turn hard enuf that is all most throws you out of the seat.Now I gotta get a peice of plastic over the whole in front,just gonna duck tape it for now.Cant wait to see how it floats in the really deep stuff.
FT thats great what you do with your kids,all i want to know is how you get a two year old to do something for more than 5 min without getting to distracted?
Great thread lots of info,I like the gun idea yukontrapper

Okie be very cautious about covering that hole for extended times. You will forget it and it will be covered when it shouldn't. I would make it easy on easy off. I would go so far as to cover in the powder and then stop and uncover. Just depends on temp. If your feeling your left foot get overly warm look out.
Just a piece of cardboard worked for me. crush it into place when closing the cowling. stop and tuck away upfront opening the vent back up.

It has not been without its moments.

Three of my kids could stand in the same place baiting or unbaiting hooks for hours on end. One can't do the same job for more than 5 min without a change.
Never a dull moment I tell you.



The only thing that would make it worse is to be without a camera.

I like the idea of the raised seat, next summer project i think. But i think i am going to shorten the seat and put a smaller box under. I was out in the field the other day and i am thinking about putting those small 1/4in ice screws on my track. I got stuck in a deep/steep banked creek and that sucked. I think the ice screw are the ticket for maximum traction. Well helped my dad get his lines all set up, so i am going to get my trail put in this saturday, i see the weather is going to be around +20, hoping not. i am all geared up and ready, i have 5 days off from work 8-13 of Dec. A buddy told me alot of wolf action upriver from where i plan on running my line so getting anxious. I made up 3 dozen wolf snares, jus have to add 9 wire. All the bait and equipment is ready. 50 sets are there have 30 more to add (marten). 12 wolverine conis/2 dzn snares. 24 cat traps. Jus gotta get out there :-)

FT- btw where can a guy buy the ganion cord by the rolls @. Thinking i should get some ordered so i can try it out. What is the breaking strenght of it. i used Paracord before but it sucked to untie...always end up cutting it. Thanks.

Yukon you can order it from the Gearshed or now called Redden Marine.
Order here or for an Alaska Supplier and probably faster delivery call the Homer store.
235-8612
I think it is the 60# you want. I will double check tommorow. I use it for a lot of things. It is great stuff to have around.

http://www.reddenmarine.com/marine-suppl...-1-lb-roll.html

Thanks come pay day i'll check it out, appreciate it.

Again great photos ! I have to agree with you...that without a camera your memories would only be in your head. As those kids grow up they certainly will be sharing them...and you too with thier friends. I liked the bucket one..but that kelp necklace is a winner too, and well...doing the dead man on a jib.....goofy times are ahead by all, everyone wins.

Sure is tuff finding a long track around here. I think you guys up there bought them all up ?

On a Call- i know i can't even find any parts ones here. One guy who traps up river has really cleaned it all up I sure want to find extra motors and such.

Yukon, I can find the short tracks and cheap, but I have no need for them. So, if you need parts let me know.

The nice thing about them is the short and long are very interchangeable on every thing but the undercarriage frame.

Yukon if your ever in a bind for parts let me know. I might be able to lend you something until you can find a replacement. Ebay has a lot bravo parts. I even got a muffler through doing a national search on Craigslist.

Here is something to seriously consider BRAVO owners and others for that matter.
I am as guilty as many on neglecting my drive shaft bearing. The one that resides in in the cupped metal bracket directly below the secondary clutch.
They really are not hard to service on a bravo and well With two failures in my past 35 years of snowmobiling, one on a bravo and one on an indy lite I would have thought I would have learned my lesson.
My son joined the club two nights ago. Fact is usually when they go, it is too late to prevent problems.
Beware and service folks. If you can't remember the last time you greased. Take a half hour and do it. Most machines have a zerk you can grease. Bravos you have to take it apart.
While it is fresh in my memory I will give you some tips.

When it goes out it has a habit of taking the metal cup with it.
Good one on the left. Bad one and what is left of the outside of the bearing on the right. My son said it was squealing. Yikes.
My fault for not servicing last year when we first got it running. Will go through all the bearings now.


Bad new is that one thing leads to another on these old machines.
The fact that the bearing when through a tragic end caused it to seize on the shaft.
What would have been a three bolt plate removal and the nut on the end of the shaft, allowing for easy removal of the bearing, is now a lot bigger job.
Removal of the undercarriage, Well loosening anyways. My son didn't hear that part so proceeded to remove the undercarriage. Results- Took the head off the front undercarriage bolt. Ouch.
Don't you just love those shafts that move on you. You get one side off and what you going to do to get the other end off. We drilled and failed with our attempt to easy out.

I hate those things. We ended up taking the other end off with a torch!

That is where it sits right now. Next take off the chain case so we can remove the drive shaft so we can get a puller on whats left of the bearing. Hmm maybe torch it as well. More lessons for Garrity and the piece of mind that we will know that all parts in between will be serviced prior to trapping. A good time to be finding things.
So a heads up
If you do it now. Rather than later the best way to go about it is to have a 27 mm socket to remove the nut on the end of the drive shaft. pretty hard to do with a wrench unless you take off the secondary clutch. Just saying it might be something you carry.
Cause the good part is that the bearing on the shaft is the same bearing on all the small bogi wheels. So if ever in a pinch you can rob one off a bogi wheel to replace in the field.

Now a tip on bearings. Wow.
Went to the local Yami shop. Figured better put in new rather than regrease an undercarriage bearing. Yami wanted $21 I was like yikes but bought it. He said he didn't thing that reflected the recent price increase. While I was in Napa later that day I thought I would ask. Figured it would be cheaper. $36 Holy crapola.
$3.95 at Denniskirk. Might have to stock up.
https://www.denniskirk.com/parts-unlimited/20x42x12mm-bearing.p1275.prd/1275.sku
There is two sizes. One sized for the smaller bogi and drive shaft and a slightly larger one for the rear idler wheels. This one fits the small bogi.
What a rip off to buy bearing locally.
Now here is the next thing that was an eyeopener.
I asked the guy if it was all packed and ready to go.
Yep he said.
I had heard before they don't pack them with anymore than a nominal amount and you should repack.
Sure enough. I removed the cover and this is what was there. More empty space than grease.
Lesson learned.


Oh ya the girls had fun with rachets in hand taking off the pull cord cover on the old supertrac. Thats another story.

We were going to town later that night and I called my younger one a squirrel. She reminded me she was a grease monkey.



So for what its worth. Grease those bearings now before its too late. Were working out the bugs so Jan 1 we can concentrate on LYNX.

Thanks for all the info FT!

Hey FT... thought all Bravos were single cyclinders ? 250 right ?


BTW...very well written post. You get the card of the day.