AbnormalWrench
Well-known member
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- 66
- Location
- Seattle, WA, USA
So I've been working on this for a few weeks. The ORV park that I do most of my woods riding is pretty big and when we have wind storms or snow storms, it can take a few weeks for downed trees to get cleared. I used to carry a small 6 inch electric saw, but that will only handle very small trees. I bought an electric chainsaw with an 18 inch bar to handle bigger trees, and at first I was planning on mounting it on the back of the bike. But I wasn't very happy how that worked out. I found there was a universal front mount that you could buy, but they were quite proud of it. So I decided to make a 3D print version of it, that fit the Stark Varg perfectly. This became a bigger project than I was expecting, but that his how these things usually go. I made it modular to simplify modifications needed, and good thing I went that route, because I have had to do a lot of modifications.
Long story short, I finished my first version this week, and I went for a ride today. I often ride on Fridays, and that is the day I want the chainsaw with me, because very few people are riding the trails on weekdays, so Friday is the most likely day for me to find downed trees - especially in the winter. And this week offered one small tree for me to test the setup. The chainsaw mount was designed to take very little effort to swap out with the headlight. It is just the one bolt and 4 velcro straps to install it. The chainsaw is held in place by 3 velcro straps. I keep the battery in a saddle bag. It takes seconds to unstrap it and plug in the battery.
The chainsaw weighs about 12 pounds. Normally, I found the Varg prefers my weight to be as forward as I can get it, but with the chainsaw, I'm shifting towards the rear. I don't plan on riding every day with the chainsaw, and of course, if I run into a downed tree, I can always go back for the chainsaw. My biggest issue is smacking my chest or face into the chainsaw, because it protrudes above the handlebars by quite a bit. I might make a foam piece for it later.
The chainsaw I'm using is a Harbor Freight Atlas 18 inch, 80v. I designed the mount so that it is easy to modify for different shapes. I haven't bought one yet, but I want a heavy duty hedger for doing trail maintenance. I haven't found a good battery powered option. And the gas powered ones are spendy.
I will post the files, if anyone is interested, after I finished a couple weeks of testing. I want to make sure It can handle a lot of abuse. My first day or riding, I broke 2 of the pieces. But thankfully I designed so much redundancy into it, I was able to finish the ride without worry. But I will update it assuming anyone is interested
Long story short, I finished my first version this week, and I went for a ride today. I often ride on Fridays, and that is the day I want the chainsaw with me, because very few people are riding the trails on weekdays, so Friday is the most likely day for me to find downed trees - especially in the winter. And this week offered one small tree for me to test the setup. The chainsaw mount was designed to take very little effort to swap out with the headlight. It is just the one bolt and 4 velcro straps to install it. The chainsaw is held in place by 3 velcro straps. I keep the battery in a saddle bag. It takes seconds to unstrap it and plug in the battery.
The chainsaw weighs about 12 pounds. Normally, I found the Varg prefers my weight to be as forward as I can get it, but with the chainsaw, I'm shifting towards the rear. I don't plan on riding every day with the chainsaw, and of course, if I run into a downed tree, I can always go back for the chainsaw. My biggest issue is smacking my chest or face into the chainsaw, because it protrudes above the handlebars by quite a bit. I might make a foam piece for it later.
The chainsaw I'm using is a Harbor Freight Atlas 18 inch, 80v. I designed the mount so that it is easy to modify for different shapes. I haven't bought one yet, but I want a heavy duty hedger for doing trail maintenance. I haven't found a good battery powered option. And the gas powered ones are spendy.
I will post the files, if anyone is interested, after I finished a couple weeks of testing. I want to make sure It can handle a lot of abuse. My first day or riding, I broke 2 of the pieces. But thankfully I designed so much redundancy into it, I was able to finish the ride without worry. But I will update it assuming anyone is interested
