5 things you're doing to ruin your ATV

5 things you're doing to ruin your ATV

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You’ve just returned from an incredible trail ride. Your machine is plastered with mud and is ready for a bath. You quickly hose it off and park it in storage. You think it looks nice on the outside, but on the inside it’s screaming for more attention.

No matter how often you ride your ATV, it’s important to maintain more than just the outside. Below are five things that are ruining your ATV and how to fix them.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

1. Riding with a clogged radiator

Have you been playing in mud puddles, riding through the woods, or ripping it up in the sand? Wherever you like to ride, the terrain can be rough on your ATV’s radiator, and if the radiator gets clogged, your engine could quickly start to overheat. To make sure you don’t ruin your engine, you need to regularly clean out the radiator.

To get rid of mud in the radiator, take a hose, choke it for higher pressure, and let it run behind the radiator. It can take a little while, but the mud should start to disintegrate. You can also try to put some degreaser on the caked mud or sandy areas, and the mud and sand will start to fall off. While unclogging the radiator may take some time right now, it can prevent major ATV damage and problems in the future.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

2. Forgetting to clean the air filter

Your ATV’s air filter is one of its most important elements. If the air filter gets clogged, then your engine could stop working. Many ATV air filters are made of foam. To clean these foam filters, pour some dish soap into a bucket, and gently massage the foam filter into the solution. After cleaning the filter and letting it dry, you can then apply oil to it. While the oil is drying, clean out the air box with a contact cleaner spray. Once the filter has dried, place waterproof grease on it, put it back in, and you’re good to go.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

3. Not tightening bolts

It won’t kill you to grab a wrench or socket and check to make sure all of those bolts are on tight. Tightening bolts is one of the easiest things to do, but for some reason one of the hardest to remember. Having loose bolts can be very scary for riders. It can cause your machine to break down, your parts to loosen, and serious injuries to occur. So stop putting it off, and just tighten your bolts already.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

4. Never changing the oil

To those of you who believe in a magical grease fairy who sneaks into your garage and changes your ATV’s oil at night, there is no such thing. Stop procrastinating oil changes and get out there and do it!

Over time, your oil collects a lot of gunk. From dirt debris, metal shavings, and even water, your ATV oil is a breeding ground for disaster. So at the end of your riding season, it’s essential to replace the oil. Changing the oil is a simple task and can save you from a world of trouble.

The first step to changing your oil is to let your ATV run for 3 to 5 minutes. This will give the oil time to warm up. Locate the drain plug on the underside of the ATV and then place the drain pan directly under the drain plug to catch used oil. Once you’ve opened the drain plug, you can let the oil drain.

After draining the oil, you should reinstall the drain plug and place a funnel into the oil fill hole. Pour oil into the funnel, and close the oil cap. Then start your ATV, and allow it to idle for a few minutes so that you can check for any leaks. Then turn off your machine, insert your dipstick into the oil fill hole, and remove it. The dipstick should reach the “F,” or full mark. If the oil level is full, replace the oil fill cap and you’re ready to ride.

Photo credit: iStock

5. Submerging it

Don’t treat your ATV like a submarine. Going through small creeks and streams is fine, but riding through deep water can really hurt your engine. If you’ve sucked up too much water, get your machine onto dry land and don’t try to start it!

To get water out, tip your quad on its back end and drain some of the excess water out of the exhaust pipe. After draining the exhaust pipe, pull the spark plug out and gently blow water out of the cylinder. Then, open the air box and pull the filter out to dry. By doing these things, you can salvage your machine when it’s wet. If you can get your ATV running again, don’t try pushing your luck by continuing to ride it.

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