amillson

Hi guys, thanks for all the comments. The ARGO has plenty of torque with the L motor; that's not the limiting factor. The limiting factors are the chains and dog-clutches. Even though the ARGO is a fairly small model, its heavy enough to push the transmission to the limits. Turns out the brown chains aren't as strong as the black chains; they must be a few microns thinner and thus noticeably weaker. I photographed the ARGO with the brown chains for better colour contrast against the black chassis (plus I liked the way they looked). But the ARGO runs with the stronger black chains. The other limiting factor is that the clutch gear (6542) slips on the transmission drive ring (6539) under high torque. The ridged axle connector (6538) doesn't hold the clutch gear against the drive ring very well. Or rather, I guess LEGO calibrated it to slip under a relatively low torque. So under high loads, either the dog-clutch pops, or the chains pop. The XL motor wouldn't easily fit into a model this size, and it would overwhelm LEGO's 6538/6539/6542 combo and the chains. Even the brakes, which are strong, struggle under the torque because the tires are sticky, the wheelbase is long, and the model is heavy, which puts a lot of stress on the transmission and brakes when skid steering. If this was a tracked vehicle (with low friction plastic links instead of rubber) it would be a breeze. Anyhow, the L engine is strong and it doesn't labour in the ARGO. The gearing (at the differential) can be changed from 1:3 to 1:1 which makes the ARGO move faster and it still has lots of torque.

Hi All, The iconic ARGO 6x6 XTV (extreme terrain vehicle), made by ARGO Industries in Canada, was my inspiration for this project; a remote controlled Technic Power Functions version of the real life machine. The ARGO is a formidable little amphibious all-terrain vehicle that will take you deep into the wilderness and get you back safe and sound. You can see some more photos on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/153579346@N08/with/36775449934/ This model uses disk brakes to lock the left or right wheel-sets to skid-steer. The wheels are connected with chains like the real ARGO. The handlebars are connected to the disk brakes using flex cables. The handlebar assembly decouples the left and right brakes, so when you twist the bars only one side is activated. The brake assembly is very compact. When you want to control the ARGO remotely, you can drop in the handlebar servo assembly. Here's a video of the ARGO that shows the different functions. If you like it, please check the ARGO out on ideas.lego.com. Thanks!

The Highflyer is very cool and original. It would be great to see a video of it in action.