The All-New Argo Avenger 8x8

By Rich Mellon

First Ride!

How many of us are guilty of looking at a trophy rack and playing “what if”? You know, what if the brow tines were the same length, or if only the G 5 wasn’t broke off on the right side. That kind of thing, building the ultimate score. I’ve done this same mental exercise in other areas, one of them was my Argos. I’ve been running Argos since 1976 and more than once I’ve said all that it would take to make these machines perfect is better tires and more ground clearance. If you’ve wished for the same then you’ll be happy to know that the machine is finally here!

In March, I got my first look at the Avenger and of course, the big aggressive tires and the new styling are the things that first jumped out at me. There are how ever a whole lot more changes and probably more important ones than what first meet the eye. Last week I got the chance to run the Avenger and really put it through its paces. Sandi and I were in Northern Alberta land of mud, muskeg, beaver dams, rivers and giant bear to film a couple of hunting segments for The Outdoor Quest TV Series. This would be a good test as there isn’t anywhere much nastier in the spring that I know of.

First some of the changes I notice, I’m sure there are others that escape me but I like what I’ve see.

Tires

The Goodyear Rawhide III 25x11.50-9 are big beefy and coarse, just the way all terrain tires should be. Axle spacing had to be stretched a little to accommodate the need for wheel clearance for the big mudders but that only improves the ride. Ground clearance jumps to an impressive 8 inches under the chain rails and just over 10 inches under the belly pan.

Steering

A single handle bar steering system is new for the Avenger.

Throttle control is the same twist grip on the right side. A bicycle style lever controls the straight braking function. Steering is accomplished by turning the handle bar the same way you would steer a bike.

Brake disks are thicker this year with ventilation cuts to help cooling and stop heat warpage.

Drive Chains

The use of double 50 (D50) weight chain has been reduced this year. Idler chain and the rear drive chains are now single 60 weight. The only D50 chain used is on the front two axles.

Motor

A Kohler Aegis LH 685 674cc 25 HP liquid cooled 4-cycle overhead valve V-Twin gasoline engine, complete with electronic ignition, solenoid shift started, fuel accelerator pump, full pressure lubrication and oil filter and a 3 year warranty is used for power.

Transmission

Also new just for the Avenger is a new gear box. While the difference is noticeable on the outside the real improvements show in the mud. Belt-driven, Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) maximizes engine power to the transmission with high and low range forward, neutral and reverse, compactly housed with an efficient planetary differential that puts power to all wheels for optimum performance in challenging terrain.

Slick Tricks

Ok something’s are just plain genius and this is one of them. Argo engineers realized that all that rubber on the ground was hard to turn and that 8x8’s often pivoted on the second axle rather than the center of the machine causing more work once again for the steering system. Their answer was to raise the front and rear axles.

What this does is rest more of the machines weight on the center axles giving it a more centralized pivot point. On hard ground the rear tire doesn’t even touch giving much easier steering solutions. Put some weight in or hit the bog and all 8 wheels are pulling again.

The all-new dash incorporates a map compartment with a mesh net, two drink holders and a power point in addition to the standard hour meter, heat and charge gauges.

The front compartment has more leg room and the seat is a little deeper. The battery has been moved to under the seat. The gas tank is larger this year at 29 liters/7.7 US gallon or about 8 hours of continuous use.

Both hauling and towing capacities are up too. Hauling; 1150 lbs / 521 kg total. No restrictions for rear compartment. Tow rating is a whooping 1800 lbs / 818 kg.

The Real World

So does it all work? You better believe it does! The week I spent with the Avenger included traveling 30 miles some days and all of the worst bogs and creeks that northern Alberta is famous for. The Avenger took it all in stride. One creek crossing has been a headache for weeks, the banks are mud and the Conquests spin out on the steep slick banks and quickly develop ruts that high center the machines and that means pulling winch cable. The Avenger simply walks up the same banks right after the other machines are winched out of the way. No spinning, no fuss the aggressive tires score big on this one.

Deep bogs are no problem either, with the new transmission and steering system. With even power to all the wheels, steering in a bad bog is very easy to do. The steering system is exceptional! Think of riding a bike, it is that easy. Because of the new brakes incorporated in the steering, tracking down the trail has never been so easy or so smooth. Gone are the jerky rides typical of skid steer machines. The one difficulty I had was the first time I needed brakes quickly I very nearly ripped the handle bars off trying to pull back on the brakes like I would on the old style steering system. A few days of driving saw that problem taken care of and someone with no history driving Argos will never know the difference.

Water entry and exit are much improved, both by the larger tires and the tires projecting further out in front of the body. Going in the big tires provide more flotation and cause the Avenger to ride higher in the water. It makes it much harder to dunk the nose on a steep or fast entry. Water speed under tire power is much faster than the Conquests we had last year, most likely due to the aggressive paddles on the tires and less body and tire being in the water. Exiting is a dream! This is the way amphibious machines were meant to work. Conquests and any other amphibs have always had problems exiting the water.

If a spot wasn't chosen carefully the nose of the machine hit the bank, the tires dug ruts and you pulled winch line. Not with the Avenger. The big aggressive tires out in front of the body grab a hold of the bank and the

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new transmission supplies the power where it needs to go. I've never experienced such sweet success dumping into beaver dams and clawing my way out the other side.

The Avenger is a real workhorse taking absolutely everything in stride. I hauled bear bait and camera gear and went anywhere I wanted to with out getting stuck, which was good as the demo unit didn’t have a winch on it. One fellow from Illinois said he couldn’t believe where an Argo would go, he said he had 4 wheelers at home but there simply wasn’t anything like this terrain to test a machine there.

Take a look at the size of the bear in the back of the Avenger. He went 500 pounds with a 20” skull. The happy hunter in the next picture that shot the bear rode out with me and the bear and camera gear, all totaled over 1100 pounds of payload. We sat in the lap of luxury across bogs through creeks and mud holes, never once did the machine hesitate. The outfitter summed it up best when after falling in the creek pulling winch line watched the loaded with bear (for bear?) Avenger easily scramble up the slick creek bank. Shaking his head he said, “That ain’t right. It just ain’t right.”

The machine is a tank! Unstoppable it seems, but woe to any machine that makes the mistake of following in its ruts!

Conclusion

ODG got it right on this machine. My only recommendations would be to turn the first 3 tires on each side around. The way it stands now it’ll back out of anything but I’d go for even more forward traction. With the even pulling transmission, the machine is capable of going up, over and through almost anything given enough traction. At the time of this test there were no accessories available and a winch and windshield would have been welcome for the security and comfort they give. Stay tuned for more testing as the year goes on.

Rich