2014 Mule 610
NOTE: These pictures are small.... if you'd like to see the full sized ones, let me know and I'll add a link to them.
Greetings!
I thought some of you might be interested in my Kawasaki Mule 610 upgrade project.
First a little background...
About 8 months ago, I picked up a 2007 Mule from my neighbor for a really great price thinking I would use it around the property. However, it really turns out that the Mule isn't seeing any work as my sons either use my ATV or the GC2300 instead. So..... since my whole family and I really enjoy hunting and riding the back roads, and my ATV is a little too small to comfortably haul two people, I decided to turn the Mule into a dedicated hunting/fun vehicle.
This is what I started with. A totally stock 2007 Mule 610 4x4 with about 80 hours on it.
I kind of knew what I wanted to do to it, but spent about 3 months planning things out. I finally made a list and started ordering things for it.
The biggest thing I kept in mind was what type of riding this machine was going to be used for...basically, hunting (upland birds and deer) and trail riding with some more difficult offroading. But I did not want have any negative performance mods. We live at around 5K feet, and most of our offroading is above that, so things like huge tires were not even considered. This model of Mule only has a 400cc engine, so it's not a powerhouse to begin with.
Here are the goals I had in mind and what I ordered to reach them:
Improved body and frame protection:
Front and rear bumpers, full skid plates, c/v guards, headlight and taillight guards
Improved ground clearance:
2" suspension lift, 12" wheels, slightly larger tires (although after mounting, they are actually about 1/2" shorter than the stock tires :confused3
Improved lighting:
LED off-road lights, LED backup lights, second taillight assembly
Improved usability:
Backup light switch, front cargo hatch release cable (the original was very hard to pull)
Improved environment matching. (the bright red does stand out a bit):
3M camo cast vinyl sheeting in Brush pattern (we don't have a lot of hardwoods out here), truck bed lining kit in desert tan
Improved back country range, safety and self-recovery:
Over-sized battery tray, over-sized battery, external fuel, water and storage units and mounts, 3500lb winch and mount
Gadgets:
AM/FM Stereo with weather and AUX input, matching speakers and antenna, go-pro mount
Hunting related:
Gun boots and mounts
MISC:
500D waterproof fabric in matching camo pattern (at some point I'll get the seat recovered with it)
Since I work overseas most of the year, my son started getting all kinds of goodies delivered to him, which he carefully stacked away. When I got home for vacation, we got started on the project together. :cool2:
I won't detail every picture, but I think you guys will see what we were doing.
(if you have specific questions, please ask. )
The basic process was:
Pull nearly everything off the Mule and get it cleaned up and ready to work on.
Pressure wash the Mule.
Install 2" receiver.
Install the lift kit (sorry, no pics of this process....)
Install the front bumper, winch mount and winch.
Install associated winch control wiring.
Install over-sized battery tray.
Install over-sized battery. I was concerned about the small stock battery. The one I put in has 365 CCA compared to I think 105... It should help with the winch. The LED lights draw very little current.
Pre-run front LED light wiring.
Sand and paint roll-over bars. (I will probably redo this by having them bead blasted and powdered coated)
Re-install front fenders and cover with vinyl.
Cover the front hatch with vinyl.
Here is the pattern we used:
Re-install roll-over bars.
Install master battery switch for secondary fuse block.
Build the secondary fuse block and relay harness and install. I am not totally happy with the way this turned out and I may redo it at some point, but it is out of the way, out of the dust (mostly) and can be totally shut off from the factory electrical system if needed.
Build and install the over-head console. (I didn't want a bunch of holes in the dash, and this keeps them from getting bumped) This also gives me a nice place to mount the stereo. I've included a picture of what I drew up in Sketchup to compare with how it actually turned out. It's pretty close and it gives us room for some expansion if needed.
Wire the over-head panel to the secondary fuse block and relays.
Install radio antenna.
Install backup switch in gear box. This is actually a backup alarm switch used on the European models. I used the switch to automatically turn on the LED backup light when you shift the Mule in reverse. I also installed a switch that lets me turn this feature off if needed for some reason.
Install horn button. This was the only hole we put in the dash. It was installed right where the speedometer (that I will never spend the money on) goes. The wire already exists for this, we just had to extend it a little.
Install horn.
Install headlight guards.
Install front grill and fender flares.
Install LED lights and finish wiring that end.
Install new wheels and tires. I went with MSA Bronze Elixir 12" wheels with Maxxis Bighorn 2.0 radials. These are the tires that the new Mule 610 XC's come with. I also got a spare ITP steel wheel and a Duro PowerGrip radial for a spare. I am still looking for a decent spare tire mount.... :confused2: I went with 25 inch tires, not 26 inch as some people have. I did not want to impact the gear ratio too badly. As it turns out, they are a tiny bit shorter than the stock tires.
By now we pretty much had all the wiring done, most of the vinyl was on, and it would move under it's own power. So we installed all of the skid plates and the c/v guards, then took it for a short test drive. The lift definitely changes the handling, but not too bad. There is a known issue (even on the factory lifted XC's with the rear pan-hard bar being too short after a lift.... I may have to have it extended about an 1.5 inches at some point..) A couple of shots of the plates and how much it can flex, which is not much...maybe 9 inches? The back tire was sitting on the ground while I was sitting on the seat. :laughing: I got the bumpers, plates and guards from the same company, and I am VERY pleased with them. They fit very well, and they all worked together perfectly. They only issue I had was with the length of some of the hardware.... I did replace a couple of bolts and I added some washers.
Here you can see the front bumper plate (black), the front plate, center plate and rear plate. There is very little to get caught on underneath now.
We tore the bed apart and prepped it for the bed liner. Nothing difficult, just time consuming. After applying a couple of coats of bed liner, I let it tack up and then used a normal roller to give it some texture. I think it turned out pretty well. We only used 1/2 of the kit.
While the bed liner was setting up over the next day or so, we finished up a bunch little details like tying up the wiring, covering the glove box door with vinyl, etc. Then we put the bed back on the mule and installed the second brake/taillight. The Mule normally only has a left side taillight, but I like symmetry I guess. We did have to drill a couple of new holes for this, and extend the wiring. I don't have pics of this.
We also installed the fuel/water/storage packs on the Mule. I went with the Rotopax units. Expensive? Yes. But they are very high quality and I think it was worth it. The mounts are all aluminum, not plastic like the Kolpins. They are also lockable to the mount. I got a 4 gallon gas unit (the Mule has a 4 gallon tank, so I doubled my range), a 2 gallon water unit and a 2 gallon 'storage' unit. It opens up and has quite a bit of room for things like a first aid kit, tow rope, tools, spare parts, or really whatever you wanted to put into it. No pics of the install, but you can see it on the back rack.
We do have the bed set up to accept a Kolpin gun boot on each side. The nose of the boot can either sit inside the bed, or the whole thing can sit parallel to the bed rail. Since I had to return to work, we did not mount these at the time. Mounting them like we did pretty much leaves the entire bed available for use as needed.
After putting the bed back on and letting everything dry for a day, we installed the last few pieces of vinyl. Basically, the walls inside the frames. A little taping off of the vinyl, and some tan paint to blend things in, and we were done! Well.... almost. Last thing we installed was the rear bumper. I also bought some matching waterproof fabric. My son is going to take the seat down and have them recovered (and the foam repaired) so they will match the rig. He is also going to see about having a cover made up for the Rotopax units using the same fabric. And I do have enough of it, that I could have a custom cover made for the whole Mule. But I'll probably do that myself next vacation.
We did get a chance to do some offroading before I came back to work. The tires do have much better grip that the stock tires, and they don't impact performance at all as far as I can tell. The lift gives it a little bit more clearance and the skid plates keep me from worrying about things getting beat up underneath. Here are some shots of the Mule out in it's natural habitat. :laughing:
Overall I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. We learned a lot about how to apply the vinyl as we went, but it is great stuff. We used a primer with it, and I really doubt it will ever come up on its own. I will probably redo a few things like the roll-over bars and maybe some of the wiring, and I am considering things like a windshield and soft cab, but that can wait for now.
I'll put together an actual list of parts and suppliers/manufacturers if anyone is interested.
If you have comments or questions, feel free to ask!
Have great day!
NV
Source: https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/atvs-utility-vehicles/303313-kawasaki-mule-610-upgrade-project.html
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