84 BR100 with grooming attachments

I've had this machine for two winters now. We've used it to put in groomed trails for a couple of sled dog races here in Colorado. When it's working, I'm pretty happy with it. When it isn't working, ugh.

It busts through untracked snow no problem, and the blade and compactor bar work decently enough. It is not easy to operate smoothly, but I get better every time I use it.

The factory hydraulics & attachments seem pretty rare - I'd love to hear from other people that have used one of these with the grooming attachments, and their experiences with them.

well i never used one but what a nice machine your the envy of all the dog mushers up here ....got a question when grooming with this machine how is it on fuel . also what drives the hydraulic pump is it a belt or?????? also does the compaction bar have a float position .. and finally how balanced is it with that big of a blade on the front ? pretty stable or like a rocking chair .. sorry for the pop quiz . thanks
Tim

Hi Tim
I sucks down the fuel, maybe two gallons an hour. I'm pretty sure the hydraulic pump is belt driven, mounted under the seat in the cab. Not exactly sure, I have not had to mess with it yet.

The C-bar does have a float position, and it pivots freely side-to-side behind the cat. It tracks OK behind the cat, as long as you are turning it smoothly. On major sidehills it will fall to the downhill side. The compactor is supposed to have adjustable down pressure in the float position. This is done by fiddling with a little knob on the C-Bar itself. Pretty sure mine does not work - I have not had any luck adjusting the downward force.

The blade is not as big as it looks in the photo. But with the relatively short tracks, I do get some porpoising action going down the trails. This can usually be controlled with good driving technique, or simply by slowing down. I helps to use the blade and C-Bar at the same time. adding some fore-aft stability, but I cannot always use both because I quickly loose power and steering ability. Best to just track-pack the trail, use the blade here and there where needed, and then go over it again with the blade up and the C-Bar down.

I'm not 100% but I was thinking the hydraulics were pretty much standard off the shelf parts.

hydraulic pump is driven off motor, pump under drivers seat is to pump diff fluid through cooler by rad, best speed for grooming is only around 8 to 10 mph when you start to go to fast you will get the rocking back and forth,
I found a drag was better with bombi br seemed to get rid of most of problems and you can groom at a faster speeds in right snow condition

brianf i thik your exactly right about the pump under the seat , iv seen them in pics on other threads and if that was the hydraulic pump there would not be any pumping going on unless the trans was turning . boneyard if you get a chance i would love to see some close up pics of the motor to see how the hydraulics are mounted . by the way do the wings open up on your blade or is it a strait U blade ? thanks
Tim

Thanks brianf, I was wondering if my rig had the differential oil cooler! I did overheat the brake bands once last winter, but so far it's been working well this year with fresh Caterpillar TDTO 30 wt fluid. Maybe I should have run the cat briefly to clear the old fluid out of the pump & cooler when changing the fluid?? Wondering how that is properly done.

I like the grooming compactor for the ability lift it up, turn around and groom in the other direction, or back down a connecting spur trail. We always have a short connector trail or two that we need to groom while going over the main trail. Can't easily do that with a drag. I think grooming over 10 mph is out of the question anyway with the 1.6 liter engine at 10,000 feet altitude. I can barely travel that fast with the implements up, on a downhill!

Tim- I would be happy to post some pics of the hydraulic set up next week, the cat is at a remote location right now. The U Blade wings are fixed, it's just a 6-way blade, although the curl is also adjustable, but it is done manually on a large threaded shaft with a turnbuckle.

here are some pictures of factory blade set up

nice pics brianf very handy for stealing ideas . are those machines both yours ,would love to see pics of the rest of the machine . can never have to many snocat pics to look at....
Tim

the 100+ was just a reference pic I used to build a couple of blade frames for my machines, the other pics are from a bombi with factory blade that I just sold to another member here

brianf when you say factory blade do you mean bombardier factory blade or a factory blade made by a different company? sorry bone yard were getting off the topic of your thread ...thanks

Tim

the bombi came with a optional front blade ordered from factory, they have a bolt on frame assembly that goes under machine follows diff bends and bolts up onto front bumper, works great I have never had break or even bend, on that note they are fairly rare to find on bombi, most only ordered hydraulics with rear outlets for drags, if you have bombi parts manual they have picture and even part numbers, but I am sure they no longer stock these, but you never know I have ordered parts and surprised when they are still available or they have more made.
be careful of home made blades I have seen some that had lower mounts welded onto diff housing without heavy plate, caused bent housings and broken welds on housing

hey boneyard i was reading on saftyone web site and it sounds like that set up was designed for some olimpic games , that might helpyou find info on grooming techniques . but if not and you are really hateing the machine let me take it off your hands i hate to see you un happy and stressed out ,, ill take it somewhere you ll never have to look at it again ,,,,,

tim

We operated a BR100+ for a number of years as an ATV trail groomer. Wished we'd had the tracksetter and the blade you have on that. We would probably still have it.We used a drag which we could steer (Ram Steer)the whole unit with and it worked great that way. I can only imagine the 1.6 in it,yuck, the 2.3 in ours worked good till you found a hill LOL. Think it was a 2.3 anyway. That's why the + on the BR. It went to a good home and looked fantastic when he was done with it.

WOW what a beautiful machine. I am starting with one in parts and pieces I found in a machine grave yard.. I need it for the Arctic Winter Games. We have a pull behind drag and I would love to have what you have. This is a beautiful set up. If anyone knows where I can get a complete bombi for grooming please let me know in the mean time I am searching for parts. LOTS of parts LOL.

Where are you located?

The machine in the first post is now for sale, located in Leadville Colorado. I will post it in the Snowcats for Sale section when I get a chance. Listed on High Rockies Craiglist right now.