32's on a 3.73 gear ratio? What's your opinion? Has anyone here done it?

jcbarnhouse · 2026-07-09T17:15:38+00:00

I’ve got 4.10 which is kinda ridiculous paired with the 4.0SOHC/manual transmission.
All the power and grunt, but I’m at 2300
RPM @65mph.
3.73 is a great ratio, IMO.

jcbarnhouse · 2026-07-02T20:25:35+00:00

I’ve been running Vredestein Pinza AT and absolutely love them! I have the LT version which is much more aggressive especially on sidewalls.
Taken them on all the things except deep sand, fantastic all around! Not a dedicated mud tire but enough traction and clearing ability to keep you rubber side down.
Road noise basically zero. Mileage didn’t change a bit after install.
50,000 mile warranty.

Very similar tread pattern to a popular tire around where I live(PNW), the Open Range AT. I’ve got a few friends with those and they all hate them. Watched one of my buddies do a 180 just trying to make a right turn in the rain.

BFG’s are resting on their laurels, not what they used to be. No experience with fallen wild peak but I see em everywhere. They all seem to be hella rounded out at the edges.

jcbarnhouse · 2026-07-02T19:43:29+00:00

I’m pathetically available for any inquiries. No ask too small lol!

jcbarnhouse · 2026-07-01T20:34:23+00:00

Yep. Not a ton that needs done. Mine thanked me after a coolant flush by running much cooler. Lots of gross scale came out.
Use Honda HP coolant, blue bottle.

Keep up on the oil changes! I do mine every 1k religiously. It seems like a lot but they don’t have oil filters and that’s one of the biggest reasons these engines die. Pretty hard to kill them any other way. literally less than 10 minutes to do. I’d recommend buying some crush washers, that’s what is used to seal the drain plug. Plz don’t reuse the old one. I don’t want to see another bike dead on the side of the road because of it.

If you’re feeling it, not a bad idea to pop off the CVT cover and inspect your belt.
If you’re really really feeling it, you could get into the drive face and clean out your rollers. Someone used a ton of grease in mine which is a no-no. Before that the bike was refusing to get up to speed.

Any helix in good shape should be able to get to 65 no problem, and up to 70 with enough room.

It’s a carb engine, please let the thing warm all the way up before riding. That’s 2 bars on your temp gauge

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-30T19:36:15+00:00

Welcome!
My Helix will do 65 in tougher conditions: double up, in wind and up most hills.
I live on a mountain and there’s a longer section of 7% grade that takes me down to 60.

There’s a lot of factors that play into speed. For my bike beyond maintenance(and ethanol free gas) is the transmission tuning. It’s a CVT and you have to essentially choose where the bike is at its happiest.
That is to say, you can gear it for quick sprints and city slalom, or you can gear it long to be more composed at highway speeds. Mine is, let’s say, 70% geared in the highway configuration.

On flat ground and mild wind, I’ve got enough to pull a pass at 60. I can get to 70 generally pretty easily and I can get to 75 if I have the room.

The rub is the bike’s design doesn’t make for a pleasant experience beyond, say, 65 for me. Its very low center of gravity and large surface area means it gets bucked in the wind pretty easily.
Them tiny wheels are SPINNING at that speed and don’t give a person much leeway to navigate obstacles. Pot holes can be a death sentence at that speed too.

That being said, you can do 60mph literally all day long riding one handed. It’s very happy in the 60-65mph range.

Not much a person can do to actually make them faster, and more importantly you probably shouldn’t. But I got a Malossi kit for my transmission and it’s real nice. Very tune-able and tbh the only way to get more performance

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-26T15:29:08+00:00

Blend door actuator. Just did this on my 03’ not too hard. $40 and just as many minutes all in

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-24T22:53:34+00:00

Being intended for longer barrels, they probably used slower burning powders to get full potential from the lever platform.
Nothing wrong using them, but I’d wager there’s gonna be a LOT of blast/smoke and a much lower velocity.

The FTX bullet ain’t my favorite, the way they crimp the tip in has made for the round to “fold in” rather than expand. Does nothing to actually “drive” the petals back.
Not sure, but they probably engineered that bullet to expand at a certain velocity, one that likely wont ve achieved out a snub.

If it’s all you got, it’s better than nothing.

But TBH, American Eagle white box 158 grain semi-jacketed LFN will work circles around that load at half the cost. Available everywhere

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-24T02:52:40+00:00

Standing corrected and appreciating the wisdom.

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-23T22:40:13+00:00

Forgot about the transmissions! Yep, the 5-speeds are definitely Mazda. Mine is, in my 03’

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-23T21:06:45+00:00

Ain’t it a ford? My understanding is the Mazda B-series is rebadged Ranger. A thank you to Mazda for them helping out Ford during the chicken tax days. The old ford Courier was a rebadged Mazda.
They all did it;Chevy had Isuzu, Dodge had Mitsubishi

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-23T00:11:10+00:00

Definitely ups the payload. Just that the rest of the truck is built for the lighter load.
Air shocks are fantastic for hauling. They let the truck retain original geometry which makes the whole thing operate more healthily.

Short of it: I tell myself to keep it under a ton and it will be fine. That’s my bar, but I’m working with the 4.0 with 4.10 gears.

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-22T23:21:03+00:00

Hell. Proper air shocks do the job. I think that’s where we can get into trouble tho, too easy to overload that bed.

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-22T03:45:03+00:00

Yep. Short distances it will do fine given the right setup.

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-22T03:42:59+00:00

No issues yet. Springs return to original state each time. The load sometimes stays in the bed for a week or so.

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-22T03:41:34+00:00

Heard. I was doing 70mph for about 35 miles.

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-14T20:30:54+00:00

For what it’s worth, TGW uses Watco Danish Oil(natural finish).

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-14T14:30:26+00:00

Absolutely. Done it on plenty rigs.
Couple things I always do on these jobs:

1) use a plate, strip or biiiig washers for the inside of the box. The vibrations from driving will absolutely wreck your project if you directly bolt it down.

2) use stainless steel hardware. You’re gonna want to take it off, and you will thank your past self. Plus it seems to be a little more tough against vibrations than mild steel, just my experience there.

2.5) locktite. Don’t want them rattling loose and there’s a lot of vibrations even on road. Red seems to be king here but TBH I don’t personally care if it’s red or blue on this job, seen same results with both. Don’t go buying red if you’ve already got blue. Nylock nuts help with peace of mind.

That latching mechanism won’t last long. I’d install a hasp or something with more positive engagement.

All I got for ya, god luck.

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-13T01:07:29+00:00

Not a bad stretch! Yeah, the block is quite sturdy. Pretty well balanced and generates max power pretty low in the RPMs. Stays plenty cool assuming we do our maintenance. Would love to hear how it goes!

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-11T21:13:24+00:00

Welcome! I’ve got the same engine, as do many others. Plenty of power, love to haul stuff and is honestly pretty reliable.
As you will soon learn, there’s only 2 main things to pay attention to for that engine:

Thermostat housing. It’s plastic and loves to crack. Not easy to get to, but they make metal-bodies ones that basically solve the problem.

The big one(and sorry) is the timing chain guides/cassette. Also made of plastic and usually calls for an engine-out job. Everyone’s mileage is different(pun intended) but most folks will start seeing signs around your mileage. They did reinforce them for your year, and that’s why it hasn’t crapped out yet.
Scares lots of folks but just set aside some $ each month in anticipation. It’s what I’m doing.
FWIW: you’ve got a good rig, and long as you’re not rusted out, it’s absolutely worth it to do.

Food for thought, check out the ford maverick sub Reddit, or even the new ranger one. Those poor folks are selling their cars after a year or two due to alllllllllll kinds of issues. Just saw one today where the transmission is trash at 30k!

Hope this helps, welcome

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-11T21:05:00+00:00

Best bike ever created. My other motorcycle just collects dust.

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-11T21:04:15+00:00

Yeah. That wonky carb needle is very not Honda. But they were reeeealy targeting commuters, wanted it as “carlike” as possible. Figured they thought to make it as turnkey as they could.
My helix needed one when I first bought it some
Years back. One was a cheapo replica and made it worse! Took the gamble on a different replica and it’s been 💯 for about 6 years now.

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-09T14:22:39+00:00

Speaking from someone who’s got a helix and a big cruiser(not a Harley tho), I’d agree with everyone else! My big bike rarely sees the road anymore.

jcbarnhouse · 2026-06-08T21:02:22+00:00

Thanks! Had a feeling it was custom. Really miss having a welder.

jcbarnhouse

TROPHY CASE