Plastic
Tip #1
Everyone's always looking for something to keep their plastic
looking good. I think I've found it, it's a silicone based
detailing liquid used by professionals.It's called "Ultra Cote"
made by Malco products. This stuff works, mud comes off easier and
it stays on longer than your typical "Armor All". But, you guessed
it, it's expensive, 5 gallon pail, about $100. Works nice on
interior of cars and tires too! I don't think they every guessed a
quad rider would find this stuff. Thank you for your time, Chad
Harrison Huron, Oh. 2000 DS 650, 1985 ATC 350X, 1999 Honda Recon
.
Tip #2
Have you ever had to scrub off that caked on mud that soaks into
your plastics and causes them to fade? Welll instead of buying the
other stuff the other guy rcommends you can simply just put Rain-X
(the invisible winshield) stuff for car windows on your plastics.
After a long day of riding in mud just hit your plastics with a
hose and it will come fight off.
Todd Petrignani
GRIPS
Dear Sir,I have a tip to
share with you today that is simple and you might already know, but
here it is. Installing grips, first clean ends of bars thoroughly,
then apply glue to both ends of bars, poke a small hole in the end
of one of the grips. Only one. Begin sliding the other on, using
the blow nozzle on your air compressor press it into the end of the
grip with the hole, give her a couple shots of air, the grips
expand, push 'em on while holding air to it, easy. This will also
allow you to re-position them after there on. Thank you for your
time, Chad Harrison Huron, Oh. 2000 DS 650, 1985 ATC 350X, 1999
Honda Recon .
AXLES & BEARINGS
Here's a tip
for you guys out there that may be a little rough on your
quads.Maybe you like yo do a lot of "Muddin". Maybe you do a lot of
racing. If you find yourself replacing those rear axle bearings
more often than you like .....Consider purchasing an after market
bearing holder. One that has much wider bearings or uses four
bearings.The wider bearings will last much longer and you won't be
replacing bearings as often. The initial cost can be a shock, but
if you plan on keeping your machine for a while, it will be worth
it.
How To Protect The Axle Locking Nuts
This tip is a labor saving tip.After you have just
installed new rear axle bearings,tape up the threads and the
locking nuts used to hold everything in place (see illistration
below).Use a special heat shrink tape you can buy at any
electronics store.Apply it after assembly while the threads are
CLEAN,and when you heat it up it shrinks and seals the threads so
they won't get rusty,dirty,or damaged. This will enable you to
easily loosen the locking nut the next time you need to remove the
rear axle.The cost of the tape ($5.00)will easily offset the amount
of work and possibly money it will save you. I have seen
cases where the threads on the axle got so messed up and rusted
from not being protected the lock nut had to be cut off and
replaced.
Air Filter
For you guys that ride with an open air box....
Take a spare air filter with you when you go riding or when you go
to the race track. Have it clean, oiled, and in a plastic bag ready
to use. This way when have finished riding "The Dusty Trail", all
you have to do is change the filter. This will enable you to clean
the filter after your done riding for the day.
EXHAUST
Repack the exhaust at the mfgs recommended
intervals. This will keep the exhaust flowing and the bike running
with optimal performance. As the packing begins to deteriorate the
exhaust will get louder. We DON'T want that to happen.
If You Ride In Mud And
Water
Add some grease fittings to the quad everywhere
you can. Then after your done riding for the day ,and after you
wash the quad ,GREASE THE BEARINGS. Do this after every time you
ride in the mud. Greasing the bearings pushes the mud and water out
of the bearings. This will greatly extend the life of the bearings.
Here is a list of places you May be able to add fittings. 1) Upper
and lower A Arms...(2) Steering column bushings...(3) Rear axle
bearings
Things to note - When you put
a grease fitting in ,Do Not put the fitting exactly where the
bearing is. Put it next to the bearing. The grease has to go in
through the side of the bearing. You should only put a fitting next
to an Unsealed bearing. If the bearing is Sealed , the grease can
not get in. You should NOT attempt to put fittings into a ball
joint or tie rod end that is not made to have one. This will only
ruin it. I do not recommend putting a fitting at the swing arm
pivot bolt. I do know that on the suzuki LT250 the bolt is exposed
to tranny oil to lubricate it. I have seen people attempt to drill
the bolt to put grease fittings in and after they pumped it full of
grease , the cases cracked and began to leak tranny oil.
No More of.... Gee, I wonder where this bolt
goes
To: atvtech@off-road.com I came up with a good
trick this winter to keep all of the bolts in place from my engine
when I split the cases. Since some of them are different lengths
you wanna put em back where they came from. Well heres how I did
it, I took a sheet of cardboard about 1' square ( size is not
important ). On the cardboard I drew a rough profile of the case
marking the position of all the bolts. I then punched holes in the
cardboard where my marks where to slide the bolts into. Whalla an
economy bolt holder. When you re-assemble just put em back the way
they come out of the cardboard.
THANKS
to...... Alan St. Hilaire for sending this tip in .I know I've
needed it before .
Does your Honda 300ex have mushy front
shocks
To: atvtech@off-road.com
I was having trouble with the Dip and Dive of the front end of my
honda 300 when traveling through the rough and some gullies I
checked with the local honda dealer and he suggested new shocks,
the cost was prohibitive at over $250.00 , so I went to the local
motor cycle junk shop and found some after market shocks from a 400
honda motorcycle.. the length was 3/4 longer and had an adjustable
ring on the bottom. Bottom line is the new old shocks made my
machine ride like a different machine... saved a bundle both shocks
cost $24.00.. The Brand Name is HKD of Japan, 13 1/2" long.
If you have any questions about this tip you can
e-mail...... billyj@rmci.net
Double
Your axle Bearings
TIP : For the honda 250r . you can take your
bearing holder to a good machine shop & have them bore it for a
double set .all it takes is too set it up in bridgeport type
machine & bore the new depth for another set of bearings.there
is plenty of meat in the holder to do this. but you also need to
have them remove the same amount of mat. from the spacer that goes
in between.(the width of the bearingx2)(bearings=.470 so .940
removed from the spacer)it should only take 2.5 hours maybe
150.00$.cheaper then 300.00$.(this is what i did too mine)see i
work in a machine shop. This may work on other ATVs also.<
/FONT>
also for a little harder clutch
spring for the same bike the cr 500 spring works good only 20%
heaver then stock.
thanks for letting me
spit this at you .see you in the dunes.
SANDAHOLIC
Extend your Blaster
Axle
Well if you find you have a bent or broken blaster
axle get a torch and care fully take the ring on the disc side off
of the axle. Find a used stock banshee axle and put the ring on the
disc side of the banshee axle in the same spot as the blaster and
weld it on there.
Wah Lah!!!! a cheap Extended
axle!Do You Have A Tech Tip ? Send It To Us
@
ATVTech
I am looking for a used rear axle for my son's 1985 LT250ef quadrunner. Please porvide me with some help. Thanks, Tom
Bob / Fenton, , MI, UNITED STATES
Posted May 26 2009 06:35AM
I have a 2002 Honda 450ES 4 wheeler. I put a new battery in it last year. About 3 months ago I noticed the battery was not staying charged. I didn't think to much of it because I don't us it much. The other day I went to us it and I had to pull start it. It started fine and ran fine until I put it in gear. On the display the gear selection was flashing and the oil light was on real dim and the 4 wheel light and the others were flashing. When I put it in gear and this didn't matter if it was first or reverse. I wanted to make sure the charging system was working so I unhooked the battery and it still ran. With the battery still unhooked I checked the voltage at the battery cables and it read 13.4 which I thought just fine. Now when I put it in gear it goes to about 5 volts and the lights start flashing. I also can't shift anymore after this happens. Any ideas?? Voltage regulator????? Short??? Bad ground??? Thanks Bob
Chad / wellsburg, WV, UNITED STATES
Posted Aug 13 2009 01:11PM
I have a 1988 Yamaha Terrapro YFP350U, when running the PTO with the mower it bogs down off and on. When the PTO is off it runs fine. Any Ideas?
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