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When it comes to engine break-in, rumors, rituals and horror stories abound. There is no denying that this is a particularly critical moment in the life-cycle of any engine on account of the fact that wear rates are at their absolute highest.

Years ago when machining processes weren’t quite as refined as they are today and oil formulas didn’t offer the type of protection of today’s blends, damage to engine internals during improper break-in were quite common.

We here at ATV Connection aren’t big on instilling a false sense of security when it comes to such matters, but we have undoubtedly witnessed massive improvements in terms of engine break-in troubles throughout the years.

Further aiding this positive trend along, we recently had an opportunity to sample a product from AMSOIL specifically designed to make that break-in period even more painless while providing priceless peace of mind.

Called AMSOIL Break-In Oil SAE 30, we picked up a few bottles of the viscous red fluid from our local dealer at a very reasonable $7 per quart.

So what makes Break-In Oil different from standard synth oil you ask? The answer is high levels of zinc and phosphorus, which are proven to provide additional anti-wear properties.

Piston-ring sealing/ seating is another major benefit to running the break-in formulation as well as increased film strength to coat and protect the rod and main bearings.

If all of this sounds like nothing but marketing hyperbole, think of it like this: A freshly homed cylinder may look smooth to the naked eye but it in fact contains countless peaks and valleys. A strong film of no-friction modifier heavy oil levels it all out, providing the piston/ rings a perfect surface to slide upon. Additionally, providing the rings a tighter seal actually increases horsepower.

We’d love to tell you that we dissected our freshly rebuilt Raptor 660 engine to verify the molecular miracles taking place here but alas, we have to take the AMSOIL engineers’ collective word for it. What we can state with certainty is that the Break-In Oil cost roughly the same as the synthetic we usually run and the break-in on our freshly rebuilt high-performance engine went without hitch. This is cheap insurance!

More info can be found at AMSOIL’s site: www.amsoil.com

When it comes to our ATVs, time is always against us. Every single component is designed to function for a certain amount of time before inevitably failing: Some of these components have an accelerated lifespan due to use (think about your quad’s piston or shock seals) while others break down even while your machine rests peacefully in the garage (batteries, tire compound and fluids for example).

Fortunately ATVs, like most mechanical devices, are designed with parts to be maintained, rebuilt and often times replaced. This is important because we live in a world where disposable is becoming the norm… When your microwave oven, vacuum cleaner or flat screen TV crap the bed, it’s sayonara.

All of this brings us to the topic of the hour meter and what it can do for you.

Why Works Connection?

We use hour meters here at ATV Connection as they are invaluable for product testing and have come to really appreciate many of the features Works Connection packs into their pint-size powerhouse. For starters the unit requires no batteries of its own and doesn’t even need to run off your machine’s battery. Instead, you simply wrap its wire around your ATV’s spark plug wire (it works on both carbureted and fuel injected models). Next peel off the included double-sided tape and stick the unit (which is only 2” by 1”) to a frame spar of choice. That’s it. Installation can’t be simpler.

We typically mount ours to the frame near the radiator/ radiator guard as its tucked neatly away and well protected from the environment/ roost.

All told the complete unit goes for $37.95 and includes everything you need to get underway. Should you not trust the double-sided tape or (like us) transfer your hour meter among multiple vehicles, Works Connection also offers a bolt-on aluminum bracket for an additional $14.95.

In Action

Sure it’s not as sexy as say bolting on a new pipe or fresh plastic, but the Works Connection hour meter begins working its low key magic immediately after installation. If you mounted it somewhere where you can glance at its screen during vehicle operation, the meter also functions as a digital tachometer. Otherwise, it just silently clicks away the minutes the engine happens to be running (including idle).

The tach not only displays real-time RPM but it stores peak RPM achieved for those of us who swear we’re bouncing off the rev-limiter and want proof.

Real Benefit

Think of the tachometer feature as a bonus benefit to the Works Connection Hour Meter formula, the real beauty of this device is it provides precise information on how many hours you have on your ATV and its specific components. It’s invaluable for keeping track of intervals between oil changes, air filter lubrication, top-end life and so on. And don’t be surprised to notice, especially initially, that the hours pile up a lot quicker than our generally-optimistic estimations!

More Info/ Order

Head over to Works Connection’s official site by clicking here.

Admittedly, your ATV Connection editors are in no way affiliated with the fashion police. After all, we voluntarily wear brightly colored pajama wannabe outfits out in public each and every week.

However ATV/ UTV operators in general are known as a rough and tumble lot. We don’t panic when there’s work to be done on the farm, in the woods, around the yard or in the garage. As surprising as it is to us, sometimes the sweatpants you like to wear to watch Sunday football aren’t good enough for the job.

Enter Duluth Trading Co. These guys have been around since 1991 and have established a well-earned reputation for quality; after all, they began life as a manufacturer of fabric based tool transportation when a pair of tradesmen realized there had to be a better way. Throughout the course of the ensuing 20+ years, they’ve maintained that no-nonsense attitude and rep for durability. Their guarantee says it best: “If you are not 100% satisfied with any item you purchase from Duluth Trading, return it to us at any time for an exchange or refund of its purchase price. Simple, unconditional, no nonsense, NO BULL.” –Tough to argue with that!

We picked up a pair of their Men’s Flex Fire Hose Work Pants (#45507) in desert khaki color for $69.50 and set about throwing a few long days of riding, trail working, and downed limb removal at them. Would we flush out a weakness? Before we get to the results, let’s take a look at the feature set of this particular pair of pants:

· All the features of our regular Fire Hose Work Pants
· 8-oz. Fire Hose cotton canvas is 30% lighter than the originals, just as abrasion-resistant
· 3% spandex provides incredible flex as you work
· Prewashed, broken-in feel right out of the box
· Treated to resist stains and water
· Hidden crotch gusset for extra ease
· Mid-leg utility pockets and back pockets with tuckable pocket flaps
· Triple-stitched seams

Let’s begin by discussing fit- these pants are surprisingly comfortable right out of the box. Unlike casual khakis though, don’t expect a real relaxed feel, especially from the knee down. The Flex Fire Hose feel initially a lot like a good pair of cargo jeans, slimming and form fitting. However, the real charm of this configuration isn’t revealed until you crouch, squat or bend over. That 3% spandex all but eliminates that restriction/ fabric bunching so often associated with quality work gear.

In the field, the pants proved even more impressive. The design of the pockets, loops and flaps certainly speaks on behalf of this company’s heritage. Whether hanging a tool belt from the waistband or dropping a hammer into the side loop, it’s tough to find a single complaint about the storage solutions presented.

Additionally, don’t let the relatively light color we selected shake you, these babies are resistant to stains and water – and if you somehow manage to supercede the fabric’s natural repellent qualities, the pants are machine washable and tumble dry. No special regimens required and after a washing, there is no evidence we’ve ever worn the pants to report (much less did field work in a very swamped out NY during the fall in them for two day straight). We did experience a small degree of post watch shrinkage that quickly dissipated once we put the pants back on.

We’re also quite impressed with their ability to resist rips, tears and abrasions, even in those real high stress areas (like the knees and seat of the pants). Again even after much heavy use, ours look like they were never even worn.

Finally, and this may not be as important to everyone as it is to us, the pants have style! No we don’t mean “style for workpants”, we mean they look good enough to wear for casual use. In fact, a favorite trick of ours is to finish up on the trails, change jackets, and go straight to the restaurant to refuel after.

In all, it’s pretty tough to find a single complaint about the Men’s Flex Fire Hose Work Pants, they simply did everything as advertised and more and that’s not even including what is perhaps the most impressive guarantee the industry has to offer. This is money well spent!

For more information on these pants or all of Duluth’s product line, click here.

When it comes to working on your ATV, there are only two types of situation concerning a bolt that refuses to come free: Those of us who have encountered this frustrating situation and those of us who will.

When that happens you can do as we do (swear, throw things then proceed to round out the bolt in question) or you can do things the right way and invest in a breaker bar. We decided to drop the $20 on a Byrneos Nut Flex last week when we found a particularly tricky nut on the underside of a Yamaha Blaster’s front fenders. Read on to find out if it was money well spent or just something else we could throw across the workshop after rounding out another of our machine’s bolts.

What Is It?

It’s a breaker bar with a screwdriver handle and a little trick up its sleeve and by sleeve we mean its handle: A plethora of common sockets (8, 10, & 12mm) stay hidden away there until called upon.

How Does It Work?

The magnetic socket storage/ switching process is surprisingly intuitive. The top socket allows you to yank the hidden sockets out of the handle. You select the one you want to use then stack up the others to put back inside. The handle’s end cap slides sideways to make the swapping possible. It’s quick, painless and the magnets are actually powerful enough to do the job asked of them.

The actual function of the breaker bar works incredibly well! The tool turns flicks of the wrist into smooth, usable torque. We not only removed the rusted out bolt/ nut on the fenders in question, but we were able, thanks to the variety of sockets included, to completely disassemble the machine using little more than this tool.

What Makes It So Efficient?

Aside from the fact that it comes equipped with most of the sockets you would need to wrench on modern ATVs, it allows the user to bend the tool to 90 degrees for maximum leverage, then straighten it once the nut breaks to be spun out with the speed of a screwdriver. Very nice!

Will It Work With Your Own Sockets?

Absolutely, so long as your sockets are ¼ inch drive. We were delighted with its ability to offer similar benefits using screwdriver bits, hex keys, torx keys and so on. So long as you have ¼ inch drive bits (or an adapter), the Nut Flex accepts anything you throw at it.

How Much Does It Cost?

The Pro model (which includes the 2 spare sockets) goes for $21.95 and can be ordered directly from the company’s website. The standard model includes only an 8mm socket and goes for $14.95

What Do We Think?

We think stripping out or rounding off bolts really ruins our day. Breaker bars are always a wise investment in preventing this but the Nut Flex goes a few steps further in terms of portability and ease of use. Now that we’ve witnessed how well the product works in the garage, we’ve got ours in our ATV’s under-seat tool kit for potential trailside snafus. The Nut Flex Pro is money very well spent!