Ulfthednar

So . . hows your buddy feel being used for an extraction tool? (gawd I hope people have humor still) Well, right now I'm pretty much solo venturing. I've got a pretty good job schedule, but I'm in the woods when most people are working. I just go . . never sure where, just sure how to find my way back. That's why "self extraction" gear. And, well . . phones and GPS really don't work out there. Cells used to, if I was up on a ridge, but the last six months or so has seen a SERIOUS degradation in cell signals around here. Folks don't know what a CB is much anymore and you can't really get range off an ATV chassis. Not one much for sitting around wishing things were different, theres all kinds of places to go explore and poke around in. So I go, I ride . . . eventually Im gonna get stuck . .

if your bushing go bad . . .

Havent used it in a quad but the 10w40 worked excellent in my old harley.

yes they are. I Usually hunt with muzzleloaders myself, but one of them is a bit long and definitely not a CVA I'll have to experiment with heat molded made to fit cases for them. the one hard boot Ive seen just aint gonna fit right.

I might be able to get a waffle, or two pancakes under mine. Looking more for a hand or foot powered or one of those little portable plug ins that actually WORKS effectively. It is too bad the average joe can't purchase the hot patch kits anymore. The kind you light the plate on and it sears to the casing.

It's like this . . . Only with this . . .

makes ya wonder if it's a video game.

My CF is fairly decent. It's not really designed for flying, but I've gotten some air time on it and barely noticed the landing. My 74 RC however, leaves a mark when it hits and the earthworms curse my passing.

The upper rail on both ends is an OEM add on. The lower rail on the rear I welded in myself. makes for much better mounting options for gear as it overhangs the basic rack by about five inches. I might add some light gauge expanded metal later. I could have built them completely myself, but I couldn't quite make out "where" they attached and the material at the moment would have cost almost as much as buying them. the rails do really make the rack much more usable, too.

right? I internally argued dropping a bit of change on an ATV. Not that I didnt know I would ride it to death, but Ive gotten pretty careful with money over the last few decades. I am kicking myself for not buying in a lot sooner. It doesnt make my 'to do list' shorter, but it sure makes packing tool 1500 yards up my back yard a lot easier and a heck of a lot more fun. And yeah, I can get to places I want to explore a lot quicker now and there are a lot of stones left in my life to turn over.

You might be missing the best part of having one . .

Im considering purchasing my grandkids a quad, partially for fun, I want them to be able to ride with grandpa and partly as a motivational tool regarding behavior. (my adult children can buy their own) Two of them are absolute monsters . . . Love em to death but they have my . . inherited traits? Looking for something in the 90 to 125cc range or so that isnt going to cost me a fortune in upkeep, because I KNOW they're going to break it. Whats been folks best experience in regards to upkeep/cost effectiveness and so forth?

Yup, there are a lot of "tricks" to mechanical drum breaks and a number to hydraulic drums as well. you can shift the actuation lever a tooth on the spline shaft on most mechanical drums, and fine tuning, careful bleeding of hydraulics and a bit of sanding of drum and shoe create amazing results as well. If you have your drums turned, many (used to be most) shops you could request them to forego the finish cut leaving your drums a lot more grabby. You will run through shoes a bit quicker, but the results are worth it considering a $20 set of shoes versus being able to stop on a dime and have change left over. your horsepower should never exceed your ability to reign those horseys in.

Just installed the front and rear rack extenders for mine. Kinda thought the rear was a bit lacking in verasatility. Heres the end result of stage one modification, as well as the front rack and "tool" holders installed. The front bag doubles as a waist pack "glove box" and the rear bags are actually a 2 piece hunting pack that hold basic load management and extraction gear. They all dismount fairly quickly and can be repurposed for other uses. I end up riding solo a lot and try to keep on hand what I might need to get myself home just in case.

Yeah . . It was just kinda like sticker shock when I searched "ATV Chain" . . Ive got the tool for closing the cross link and an angle grinder, metal saw and a forge if If I have to show them whose in charge though. Just another thing to add to my to do list. Just shows how gullible some suppliers want us to remain.

tire chains were invented with tax collectors in mind.

Thats what I'm thinking. Ive got a couple sets from similar sized tires Im going to try out and see where Im at. I found an entire set of drive chains for 10 22s buried in the muck on a job site and several extra sets of LT chains. My point is though, they require less material than my RC chains (identical section width and 1/3 less diameter) and even running a diamond chain pattern, you can get the same quality with the same material in the same size for a road vehicle at about 2/3 the price. $198 for a set for the exact same design for the same size tire as opposed to $350 for one labelled specifically for "ATV/UTV".

Too a point yes - but I can find chains for my Seriously odd RC tires for far less. The tires run on most ATVs are pretty similar in size to typical car tires. I could literally (though not advisable) mount my ATV tires on my Dodge Stratus rims. I can get Vbarred or Studded tire chains for my Stratus with basically the same sized casing for half the price. Dimensionally, the chains are pretty close to what I run on my 98 sonoma with 15 inch rims. which external casing size including tread measure out at very close to the same circumference as the tires on my ATV. But the "ATV" appellation adds $200? So . . yeah . . . sometimes the economics dont come out in the wash. Tire chains are tire chains, not proprietary rocket science. Guess the suppliers gotta take this one in the snoot. Which, of course leads to the obvious answer . . . buy the chain style for a matching sized Automotive tire. Then the ATV chain suppliers won't have any demand at all.

Anyone know of places to get ATV chains that don't cost more than my new ATV? Seriously, I can outfit My 74 RC with 34x9 - 15 Swampers with Vbar tire chains for what 1 pair of ATV chains cost. And theyre not a "popular size" tire. The gougy prices at $250 to $350 a pair is . . a LOT GOUGY. If I hurt a suppliers feelings, good, they deserve it because the prices are ludicrous. I've thrown chains on everything from garden tractors to semi trucks for forty years or so. I am not confused about the prices. They're gougy.

I've never been lost since I was six or so. Many times I didn't know where I was, but lost, never. Learned way finding as a kid. I got lost ONCE in the Sierra Nevadas at six and figured it out on my own. Since then I have always known "how to get back", I just don't loose track of . . like a mnemonic map pin or something. I do ride with a MAP that shows the legal trails and there is a compass in my trouble gear. I'll carry a TOPO with me if Im going deep.

So far so good. I haven't found anything yet that really slowed this machine down. However I was running a trail the other day that turned out to be a LOT of FUN up here in my big backyard. I ran across something that I traversed readily the way I was going but made me think "lower pressure" and maybe a ground anchor would be handy. It wasn't huge, but it was a slick rock face at a pretty good angle. It was an easy roll through with a bit of gas at the bottom going the way I was but going the other way it might be a bit of a pain. Its the first thing I've seen where dropping the tire pressure might be beneficial. The rest of the trail my tires did really well on at their current pressure. I've got an emergency Co2 driven pump, but wouldn't want to waste the cartridges just to air up a few pounds. Does any one run an onboard compressor on their ATV or has found an ATV sized portable plug in unit that works well?

Recycled Cycles has been here for Decades in Hayden Idaho. Theyre a fixture kind of like Blacksheep Sporting Goods. Not sure what they have at the moment, but you might give them a shot. http://recycledcyclesusa.com/

Nope.

I get your concern. So I did a lot of digging and eyeballing before I bought mine. From a first time ATV owner pov I can only say I havent regretted buying mine yet. From a point of view of a guy thats worked on stuff since my first bicycles and skateboards as a kid . . This thing is WAY above the normal chinese stuff. Im not saying I might have some troubles yet but from a mechanically experienced point of view as well as over a million miles of driving and deaceds on street bikes (mostly cantankerous old harleys) . . This is a pretty well built machine. Frame welds are NICE, clean, tight and well dressed. (cnc of course) The body panel fitment is good and clean and no huge or sloppy gaps that look wrong. The seat is NICE. I mean real nice. I cant say on durability yet but its a nice seat. I can romp around all day long wihtout my 57 year old but getting sore, or my back. My first ventures into the engine are . . pretty pleased. The only thing I can say I wasn't hip on was stamped timing gears, CNC machined allows might be better, but overall the engine is very cleanly built. No slop, slag, sprue or ill fitting parts. Everything fits RIGHT. IF your experienced mechanically you know what I mean by "fits right". It so far is a pretty easy machine to work on. I just took my time dismantling what was needed, tested how everything fit and preceded with due caution on a new machine. The valve adjustment was straight forward as was the over all inspection due after break in period. I have found not one thing that made me cringe yet. Ive looked at hisuns and, well, remember the early japanese motorcycle well enough. These things are well above that kind of quality and remind me of late 80s onward hondas in fit and finish. I know it's difficult to swallow . . because you know . . China . . lmao . . but this isn't something youd find at walmart. more like Sears Roebuck in it's prime. I seem to have access to parts and aftermarket. most of the dealers around me are established dealers in carry other brands as well. just my 1.2 cents at this point.

So While not extreme, it is pretty loose (what we call bullrock here) scree going up my lower back yard. The side shot is to give you an idea of the angle. (notice the trees are relatively vertical, so I wasn't leaning sideways) My CF800XC doesn't hesitate at all. 4high seems to work the best. I've pulled it in 2 high with no real issues, just a bit of wheel spin. 4low is overkill right now (condition wise) and 4low with the front locker is nuts to hold onto. anyway, this is part of why I bought an ATV I've drug 16 to 30 foot logs down this hill by hand. Maybe ten to fifteen tons of stone for landscaping features and a cord or two of wood. Figured a quad would make the trip up easier and getting logs down a HECK OF A LOT EASIER! I've passed the break in mark and no complaints. oh yeah . . the top end of the upper backyard gets a bit steeper . . Didn't feel like walking up there right now.