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I've got a couple of taotao 125's I picked up really cheap for the kids. I thought I would document some of the issues I have had and repairs I have cobbled, because obviously at this price point and quality level one cannot invest much in improvements. First of all, if you are not mechanically inclined do not buy one of these. You will need a awareness of how things work, a willingness to take things apart, and the patience to do things more than once, because whatever you do you will probably be doing again at some point. As is pretty common knowledge, every bolt on these that can come loose, will. Get some locktight and keep it handy. do wheels, axle nuts, swingarm and front suspension right away, and anything else as you go through it, and you will go through it.

Alrighty ... so someone said I know Tracks ... Funny thou, they never said I know Jack before ... and I still don't know Jack .... But I think I know enough about tracks to answer your questions Gilroy Guy ... First ... if your friend was stuck out on the lake in snow & slush with his 500lb sled ... with a tracked ATV, which with the snow & ice on it, will weight about 1000 to 1400 lbs (And I SH*T you not about those numbers) ... I'm afraid you would be too. And Yes, they are a SOB to get unstuck. Sorta ... I've never been in snow & slush, but from what I've read & talked to some Canadian friends about it, it's NOT something I want to try. Getting stuck in just snow ... and you will ... isn't to bad, if you just take it as part of the adventure & take your time digging yourself out. See, usually when a tracked ATV gets stuck, like tires, it's because the belly of your ATV is resting on snow & the tracks don't have anything to grab a hold of ... Yeah, you're high centered. So, armed with a good snowmobile snow shovel, you have to dig down around the ATV so you can dig the snow out from underneath the ATV. And maybe dig a ramp affair in front of the ATV & usually, you can drive right out. That has worked for me for 10 yrs, so .... and a winch is worthless unless you have something to attached it to. And even then, you'll have to dig because the winch won't be able to get out out of the hole you're in & back on top of the snow. So, to answer your questions ........ 1) Buy whichever one you like best. I've had a Can-Am since 2011 & I've ridden with a friend with a Polaris with tracks. Personally, you couldn't give me a Polaris. But you asked. 2) All Season vs Winter Tracks. I've had both and after the first season of using my 4 season tracks, I ended up using them for snow only. Tracks ride real dang rough on dirt. They throw mud every where. But the 4 season tracks can ridden on asphalt for miles if a guy needed to without hurting the tracks. Snow only tracks are just that ... Snow only. Think "Snowmobile" ... Snow Only. It takes a bit of time to change out tires to tracks & back. But I use the time to do all my service work. Change oils, grease things up, inspect everything, check the belt, etc. They say you can do the change over in a couple hours. I'd say 4 hrs not killing yourself. What takes most the time is putting the mounting brackets for the tracks on. The tracks themselves mount up just like tires with 4 lug nuts.I usually take a couple days cause I also take the skid plates off & really clean the bike up. And with my back etc, I see no reason to hurry. Are snow only tracks worth it compared to 4 season tracks ?? ...... That's a tough one. For me personally, where we get between 4 to 8 ft of snow ... YES. HOWEVER, I used my 4 season tracks for 9 yrs in those same conditions & did just fine. (I did get stuck more often thou) But these new Can-Am Apache Backcountry Tracks are AMAZING !!! Pricey, but Amazing ... And I wouldn't go back to a 4 season track ... but that's me & where I ride. Your third bullet point asking about tracks and long trail rides in the summer .... You could I guess, but the tracks are going to beat the crap of you. Tracks have no give like a tire. They ride damn rough on dirt. AND, a tracked up ATV will NOT go as fast a one on tires. Track drive sprockets are between 14 & 16 inches in diameter. Your ATV tires are 24, 25, 26, or larger. So with tracks, you are geared down a lot. The fastest I've ever done on tracks (& that is my new ones with 16 inch drive sprockets) is 42 mph. But let me tell you, you will have your motor rpms maxed out. I usually run 18 to 25 mph on hard pack snow. Yes, I can go faster, but I don't. And speaking of being geared down, with tracks you will use lots more fuel. About twice as much. My Can-Am 1000 has a 5 gal fuel tank. On tires, I've ridden 82 miles on a tank before I refueled. On tracks, both on hard pack & powder snow, & remember, you'll be in 4WD the entire time, I've done 33 miles before I had to refuel. How long are tracks good for ?? I've got a set that are 9 yrs old & they look brand new. Remember thou, I've used them mostly for snow only. The hub bearings & bogie wheel bearings are where you have to pay attention. I used to change ALL my bearings out every 2 or 3 yrs. Something like, 56 bearings I think. Yes, I bought cheap Chinese bearings & greased then up good. My new tracks I'm hoping will be better. On the plus side, if I have to change the bearings out, there are only 22 not counting the 4 additional bogie wheels I added to the rear tracks, which would be 8 more bearings. Warranty issues with tracks ?? Depends on your dealer I guess. I do ALL my own work on my machines & have the dealer check & verify I did good. But I'm on REAL good terms with my dealer, so .... Issues with stock axles, clutches or other components ?? Not in my experience. But anyone can break anything given enough time, throttle or alcohol. I started with a 2003 660 Grizzly. I was told that was the worse year fo Grizzly there was for breaking axles. I ran tracks on that machine for 4 yrs & never broke an axle. Actually, the only issue I've had with tracks over 11 yrs is one CV boot. I tore a hole in one doing some spring track'in on my 4 season tracks. But, I've also put holes in CV boots while riding on tires, so ........... Stock clutches should work fine. And I've never had to change a wheel bearing or a tie rod. Some guys I guess have had issues with those components, but I haven't ... ever. Hope that info gives you the answers you're after ....... PRAY FOR SNOW !!!! ...

Good questions! You want some feedback from @Gunny, he's got tracks and posts some videos like:

So there is always chatter of the air/fuel mixture screw accessibility on the carburetors we all work on. So I found this clip and thought it was interesting. This goes back to a post today about carburetors not having an air/fuel adjustment screw as well as getting to the darn thing to make an adjustment! Thsi videoclip clarifies the way it’s found and taken care of for some of tye carbs we come across. Furthermore which I found to really like was the replacement air/fuel screw that was put back in place from the original making adjustment a ton easier! No more fancy angle screwdrivers. Let me know what you think. It’s a quick video.

From what I could find searching on CFMoto their ATVs prior to 2012 were iffy at best . Since then they have vastly improved their quality control and are ready to compete with the major brands. Don't kid yourself on "China brands". They can produce some junk there, but so can Canadians and Americans. China is also capable of producing products that don't take a back seat to anyone just as our domestic makers can. Some of the best "American" branded products are actually either built in China for the American company or have some "made in China" components if you read the fine print on their products.

Thank you JacobSlabach for your input. There are no rev limiters or wiring into the throttle Frank. Tomorrow I shall spray some carb cleaner around the connections to see if there is a leak. I have a Suzuki that is bogging down and backfiring as well which I recently bought which sounds like the same problem! Thanks all. Thanks Frank - I will check tomorrow!

2-1/2 is where I start. But I’ve leared over the years that the smaller engines like my 220 bayou or my 250 bear tracker like to run at 1-3/4 turns out. My old bayou 400 was -2-1/2 turns out and and a hair further to be perfect. Have you checked for any rev limiters on the bike ? Does the throttle have any wiring going into it ?

are they made in the usa? ...or just another china brand to fix daily 😴

The ultrasound cleaner is great but will not get everything cleaned. You may have to pull the carb off again and clean it out using a small piece of wire to get inside the jets. Use air to blow out all the orafaces. The float may be getting stuck and that may be your reason why fuel is not getting up into the carburetor. Did you remember where the air/fuel screw was set at before you broke it down? If not set it at 2-1/4 turns out from a snug position. And adjust from there either in or out, which ever way the bike runs better while the bike is running and the air cleaner is installed. You may have to figure out a way to turn that air/fuel screw or make up a small angle screwdriver while the bike is running. Lastly what made you think it was the carburetor in the first place? What pointed you in that direction ? Had the bike been sitting ?

Yep I have to have that bill of sale. God forbid the bike is stolen. It’s my only defense. And you also need that signed and printed name bill of sale attached to the DMV form The dmv form here in my is a 51-b. It’s total cost of about $100 bucks and three weeks in the mail. They offer expedited service for $30 bucks more. One week turns around.

Harbor Freight, wait til they have a 4.99 coupon and grab them up, got them on everything one stays with each car or on it sometimes vehicles can go weeks without being ran around here

That’s a good question. I buy and sell bikes all the time. I would say 60% to 70% door have papers. I always get a bill of sale signed and printed with tye atv number on the bill of sale. I fill out a form on the dmv web site and get titles for the bikes. It’s pretty simple. (As long as they don’t come back stolen)with the vin check. And other times I get a bill of sale and just flip it like that. But I think it’s pretty common as bikes change hands a lot and paperwork gets lost.

I've used them all in the past, but always end up back at ubuntu. It's just so easy, the latest version is no big deal to get, it'll run decent on even the most crusty machine, it's wonderful. Right now I'm on one of those really cheap throwaway computers that doesn't even have a hard drive, just 30gb soldered to the board. It wasn't capable of upgrading to the new release of windows ten, and was painfully slow anyway, but a fresh install of the latest ubuntu takes only 8gb and leaves me with a nice running, simple cheap laptop. If you don't do anything unique you don't have to do anything beyond what comes with it, there is loads of specific software for those that want it, mostly free, if you don't mind a small learning curve, give it a try.