c/atv-general-discussion

Took me 4 years to realize I was mixing my ATV gas wrong this whole time

I was out on some trails near Payson last weekend and my buddy's quad was running way smoother than mine. He asked what ratio I was running and I said 32:1 like always. Then he pointed out I was measuring the oil after I added the gas, not before. I felt like an idiot because the oil never mixed right and my plugs kept fouling every 3 rides. Now I pour the oil in first then add gas and shake the can, and my 250EX runs better than it ever has. Anyone else make this dumb mistake with their premix?

Wasted $200 on a cheap winch from Amazon, regretted it immediately

Ngl, I bought one of those $200 winches off Amazon for my ATV thinking I was saving money. It totally failed on the first real pull in a mud hole outside of Austin. The motor just smoked out after 5 minutes of light use. Save your cash and get a Warn or at least something from a real shop.

Some ATV rider told me to stop leaning forward on steep climbs and it changed everything

I was at Hatfield-McCoy last month, struggling up a rocky hill, and a guy on a 450 yelled at me to sit back and let the front end float. I had been leaning forward for 3 years thinking I needed traction. Now I carry way more speed and don't flip over backward as much. Anyone else get a tips from a stranger that actually worked?

That 70 year old rider who fixed my carb with a paperclip

At a muddy trailhead in southern Ohio last spring, an old timer watched me struggle with my flooded quad for 20 minutes. He walked over, pulled a paperclip from his pocket, bent it into a jet tool in like 5 seconds, and had it running smooth. I asked him how he knew that trick and he just said "they don't make 'em any smarter now, just fancier." Has anyone else gotten help from a stranger that totally saved your ride?

Trail riding with tire pressure too high for years

Rode my Honda 420 for 3 years. Always kept tires at 15 psi like my truck. Buddy from work came riding with me last month out near Flagstaff. He asked why I was bouncing all over. Dropped them to 8 psi and the difference was night and day. Way more grip in the loose stuff. Who else ran their tires way too hard for way too long?

Spent a whole Saturday afternoon just trying to get the carburetor float height right on my old Honda 300 FourTrax

Had to pull it apart three times because the fuel kept overflowing, and I finally realized I was bending the tab in the wrong direction after watching a 10 year old forum video from some guy in Texas, has anyone else had a simple adjustment turn into a full day project?

Read a forum post last night that said ATV tires are overrated for mudding

Guy was claiming any aggressive tire works fine if you know how to ride. I've been running mud tires for 8 years and I'm not so sure. Tried going through a nasty bog last spring on some worn out stock tires and got stuck bad. Swapped to some new ones and the same spot was easy. Has anyone else tested that theory or is it just internet talk?

That Saturday my Polaris lost a belt halfway up a mountain near Gatlinburg

That one muddy Saturday that wrecked my whole week

I took my 400cc quad out to the trails near Pine Ridge last Saturday and thought I was so smart taking a shortcut through a deep puddle. Turned out the water was way deeper than I thought (like 3 feet easy) and I hydro-locked the engine on the spot. Spent the next 4 days drying out the air filter, changing oil three times, and praying the piston wasn't bent. Has anyone else had a water mishap that turned a fun day into a nightmare of repairs?

TIL a raccoon can steal your entire lunch in 4 seconds flat

I was out on the trails last Saturday and parked my ATV to eat a sandwich by the creek. Turned my back for one second to grab a water bottle and a raccoon had the whole bag, sandwich and all, gone into the brush. Has anyone else had a critter clean them out mid ride?

That $50 tow strap snapped on my first real pull

Was out near Silver Lake last Saturday trying to yank my buddy's Rancher out of a mud hole. The strap looked thick enough but it just gave way on the second tug with a sound like a firecracker. Lucky nobody was standing behind it or we'd have been picking nylon out of our teeth. Anyone else had a cheap strap fail on them like that?

Hit 100 miles on my new quad last weekend and it barely felt like a milestone

I hit 100 miles on my new 2024 ATV last weekend - which sounds like nothing compared to some of you guys with thousands - but it surprised me how much that number made me think about break-in periods and maintenance schedules. Do you all treat the first hundred miles as a real finish line or just another ride?

Found a weird trick for unsticking a rusty ATV axle nut

My 2005 Yamaha Kodiak had a rear axle nut that wouldn't budge after sitting for 6 months, tried a breaker bar and even heat but nothing worked. Then I sprayed PB Blaster on it and hit the socket with a dead blow hammer three times fast while pulling the wrench - came right off like magic. Anyone else got a random driveway hack that saved them from spending $100 at the shop?

Took the quad up to Rattlesnake Gulch last weekend and noticed something weird

All the trail markers were spaced way farther apart than I remembered from a few years ago. Had to stop three times to check the map because the gaps were like half a mile in some spots. Has anyone else seen trail markers getting moved or spaced differently on their usual routes?

My buddy swore I'd regret buying a cheaper winch and he was dead right

Last year I thought I was being smart saving $150 on a no-name winch from Amazon. Took it out on a ride near Silver Lake Sand Dunes and the thing seized up halfway through pulling a buddy's stuck Raptor. Had to call another friend with a tractor to yank us both out. My buddy Dave told me to just get the Warn and I figured he was being a brand snob. Now my wallet hurts twice as much because I bought the Warn anyway plus the tow fee. Anyone else learn this lesson the hard way?

Pro tip: throwing a winch line straight vs at an angle on a recovery

I was pulling my buddy's stuck Rancher out of a muddy creek bed near Chattooga River last weekend and realized my first angled pull did nothing but spin the tires. Once I walked the line out straight and used a snatch block to redirect, it came out smooth in about 10 seconds. Has anyone else noticed how much easier a straight pull is compared to trying to yank from the side?

That trick of riding in 2nd gear through deep mud saved me on Sunday

Got stuck twice before I remembered an old forum post about keeping the RPMs high in a lower gear instead of trying to power through in 4th. Does anyone else use this or do you have a better approach for soupy conditions?

Met a guy on a trail near Moab who swore by his 20 year old quad

Was out riding last fall near Poison Spider Mesa. Stopped to help a dude with a stuck winch. He told me his 2004 Polaris Sportsman never needed a single major repair. Just changed the oil and tires. I asked about upgrades and he laughed. Said people waste money on stuff they don't need. Made me think hard about my own mods list. You guys ever meet someone who makes you feel like you are doing it all wrong?

TIL swapping from a rigid axle to a swing arm changed my whole riding style on trails

I used to fight my old Sportsman 500 through every root and rock because that solid rear end just bounced me all over the place. After 3 rides on my buddy's Polaris with the independent rear suspension, I realized I was gripping the bars way too tight and never letting the machine work for me. Has anyone else noticed a big difference in how they take corners after switching suspension types?

Swapped from knobby tires to dirt track tires on my ATV... big mistake at first

I thought I could just throw on some cheap dirt track tires for the muddy trails around my place in Alabama. First ride out, I slid sideways into a ditch after about 20 minutes and bent my front rim. Cost me $85 to get it straightened at a local shop. Took me another two tries with different tire compounds before I realized flat-profile tires just don't grab like knobbies do on wet clay. Ended up selling the set on Facebook Marketplace for half what I paid. Anyone else learned this the hard way or found a tire that actually works for both?

Rant: I thought belt snapping on ATVs was a myth until I blew through 3 in one season

I used to laugh at guys carrying spare belts, you know, thinking they were just being paranoid. Then I took my 2004 Sportsman through some deep mud in the Pine Barrens last June and pop, gone. Took me 2 hours to hike back to the truck. Next month I snapped another one climbing a steep trail with a buddy on the back. By August I learned the hard way that too much throttle in sticky conditions is a death sentence for belts. Now I carry 2 spares and a 10mm socket. Anyone else flip from being a skeptic to a believer on something basic like this?

Overheard a guy at the Mudhole Trails say 'just send it' right before his CV joint blew

I was out at Mudhole Trails in Alabama last Saturday and this dude in a lifted Polaris was talking big game about a deep rut. He yelled 'just send it' to his buddy, gunned it, and I heard this nasty crunch like a metal can being stepped on. Turns out his CV joint snapped clean in half and he was stuck for like 2 hours waiting for a tow. I took away that sometimes taking a second to scout a line is way better than just flooring it. Anyone else got a story about someone learning that lesson the hard way out on the trails?

Overheard a guy at the gas station say ATVs are just noisy toys for grown kids

I was filling up my 400EX last Saturday near Pigeon Forge and this older guy in a truck tells his buddy ATVs are just noisy toys for grown kids. I almost laughed but then I thought about the $600 I just spent on a bent tie rod from hitting a hidden stump. Maybe he's got a point in some ways. But then again, I've gotten more use out of this thing in one season than my neighbor's boat in five years. Anyone else ever get called out like that and kind of see both sides?

Got told I'm 'overloading' my ATV with a cooler and a bag

I was loading up my machine yesterday to hit a trail over near Pine Creek, just a small cooler and a dry bag strapped to the back rack. A guy in the parking lot told me I was gonna blow my suspension and he's got his decked out with a full camper setup. How do you guys decide what's too much weight on a standard utility quad without going overboard?

Blew $500 on a cheap winch kit that lasted exactly one mud pull

I bought this off-brand winch on Amazon for $500 thinking I was saving cash over a Warn. First time I actually needed it, buried up to the frame in a bog near Mill Creek, the cable snapped on the third pull. The motor smelled like burnt toast and the remote stopped working. Has anyone else had garbage luck with those no-name winch kits?