maybe we need to take safety to the next step.

[ryf]

I know we preach safety first, but I want everyone to wrap their mind around what we are talking about in terms of why they need to take the time and money to do it right.

I love riding my ATGC, the saturday before last I flipped it, I was going at a healthy clip (20-30), but the rollbar did its job and kept the vehicle from landing on top of me. I walked away unscathed and more importantly worried about you guys as my ATGC is 4 ft wide and 7 feet long at the tires, and theres not a offroad mower out there that has a lower CG.

I think considering a single tube of 1" or bigger pipe (or 1 1/4" round tube) as an acceptable part of the safety equation is a good idea. the only idea is that it will keep the weight of the mower off you like ROPS on larger tractors, its not a 12 point cage, but if it keeps a few people from getting a broken neck/back or just plain dead, I'm ok with the idea.

I think the idea needs to be considered, and in some classes that are going faster, maybe strongly encouraged. I know chris and I and others have been tooling around the woods for a while, but since most people don't "race" these mowers yet, but I know adding a clock to the equation will bring out the crazy in people.

I hadn't got around to updating you guys on this because of work, but I'd like to put this out there before chris updates the PDF.
 
for those of you without the benders/welders, I'd be willing to discuss making one for little over what it costs to make and ship(well you ARE cutting into my riding time, thats gotta be worth something). I'm not trying to start a business around it, but making it available to you is important to me. if you have a welder and no bender for some bucks a machine shop can bend it twice, you weld it to the mount plates and voila.

[Chris]

You know, I was actually thinking about this the other day... I like the idea, but tying a roll bar into the frame correctly will be very tricky with mower frames. The catch with the mowers as opposed to your cart, is it's much easier to jump off the mower and let it roll. I've rolled my toro a few times when it was stock, and the way I rolled it, the roll bar would have prevented me from jumping off. It's a good idea, but I never brought it up becuase there are instances where it could do more harm than help.

[ryf]

I think if you make it a single bar, at least 6" back from the rider (tied to the "rear plate" of the mower) the only type of exit you could prevent would be an over the back, which isn't that easy to pull off anyway. plus it would give you a place to grab for other exits, which would help in exiting.

its a thought that came into my head after my occurence. I could even see it as owners option, so if people could see the benefits, it would be acceptable.

I think the key to tying it in would be welding it to a plate, bolting the plate with at least 3 bolts to spread the load to the sheet, and welding on 2 support tubes that could act as the "seat plates" that tie in the same way just under or in front of the seat with plate or angle iron. with this arrangement, it would be more than adequate as an ROPS, and would not/should not be too invasive as far as exiting, considering you can push up on the lower supports, and pull up on the roll bar.

haha and if you used angle it could be used for discrete stiffening as well.

[tntchitwood]

I had a massive atv crash saturday, I was hurt pretty bad. If I had not been able to bail off before impact I would probably be dead. I'm not against a rollbar, just take your time and think this thing through guys.
                                                                    Tom

[Chris]

Yeah, a few of my "smooth dismounts" have been off the back :biggrin:

Think we should keep it optional, because if you look at it these things are more like an ATV with the engine in front of you as opposed to being under you. Some machines can do an all-out exoskeleton or fab up a sweet roll cage, but if a rollcage was incorperated a seatbelt would bea definatel MUST, because you dont want to get trapped in it while it's rolling and get cut in half or something...

[ryf]

well I'm not saying it should be forced. encouraged strongly perhaps

an ATV is VERY different animal, since your already in a crouched position it is alot easier to hop off, since most mowers you are driving in a fully seated (in some cases almost stretched out) position, it changes the dynamic of the ride and the escapes. my brother in law will pop a wheelie and as he carries it up, step off the rear rack of his 450 honda. When I'm on a 4 wheeler, I tend to lift up off the seat when I'm doing things that will cause a roll, which you really can't do on a mower as you wouldn't be able to use the clutch or brake then

I don't see a mower as easy to extract yourself from as a four wheeler IMO. and thats why if you're like me and figure your going along for the ride, a seatbelt & ROPS doesn't seem out of line.

with your rear engine chris you could go exo   

as I said, this is more lobbying for an option/allowance than demanding it as with brake upgrades.