Ulfthednar

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.

well . . I wouldn't mind one fir thrashing . . . I'm pretty content with the CFmoto 800 . . really content. But a lighter quicker one would be a blast . . so I could see how they could be a problem.

Yeah . . Ive got a 96 fourtrax here of my bros. It runs fine +/- tuning and tweaking and some odds and ends repaired or fabbed up (theft recovery) It has the opposite problem. Ran it up my hill . . turned around . . ran it down the hill . . . Almost ended in the ravine on the other side of the road . . . The brakes worked fine for him . . on flat ground. Told him NO ONE was touching it til I got the brakes fixed.

kinda new to quads but seen the same thing on all sorts of vehicles . . .

Good point. Wheels built to adjust offset, while they can affect torsion/stress on parts are never as bad as pavement princess spacers.

Seriously . . . make sure your turning it the right direction. Then you need a spanner or special wrench to secure the yoke. You might get by with a pipe (F style) wrench, but you can probably find a yoke tool that fits that. Then a long breaker bar preferably and impact if all else fails. Not sure what it is on but I have encountered reverse thread Yoke/pinion nuts in other applications. On full size trucks they hit 150 ftlbs of torque and up. Not sure what the torque is on this but . . you need to lock up that yoke and stabilize the machine. It probably isn't stuck. just needs more grunt. Its tight quarters in there so the longer the handle and the finer the teeth in your ratchet head if thats what your using, the better the leverage your going to have. but yeah, make sure its strapped down and secured.

Besides a winch that is. Im not new to wandering around in the woods but new to doing it on an atv. Ive already equipped an axe, tree strap and clevis and am looking for a shovel. whats been your most valuable piece of gear outside of a strap and winch?

Ive been wanting one for awhile now. Finally just said the hell with it, I aint getting younger and I'm pretty sure Im going to ride it to death. Just like my motorcycles. so far, Its kinda like my Harley, except built for the woods . . .

Just a question .. is the rear end froze or is the brake stuck?

"Wolf" in North Idaho, Ulfthednar to all ya'll heathens out there. New to ATVs but not real new to life. Just picked up a 2022 CFMoto CForce 800XC. I've been wrenching on my own vehicles since my first bicycle fifty years ago. I have found in the long run that the brand name in most cases has less to do with than the idiot wielding the wrench. Built up several trucks, built my 80 80 FLH Electra Glide out of milk crates, wrenched on a lot of other stuff in between. Ive even Trail road my 73 shovel in places that would give a kid with a BMX second thoughts. Anyway, Ive wanted an ATV for awhile and its already handy around the house and a lot of fun out on the trails. From a point of view of working on things for quite awhile . . I am not disappointed in the least yet. Not with ATV riding or the machine . . . My back yard runs up to about an 8 or 9 pitch (for ya carpenters out there) and rips right up it. This thing pulls hills and handles pretty damn good once you get the drifties going. Its close to 1,000 lbs so I dont really see it as a jumping machine, but it handled a pretty good bunch of whoopties out on an MX/ATV trail. Once I got the timing down of the machine it was a sheer blast. Id have more pics of that day, but every time I stopped the bald face wasps tried to jack my machine and lunch.