Hi there, just bought a second hand Chinese quad, don't know what brand, but, after checking it out when I got home, it is pretty well flogged out. the steering is quite loose, apart from the tie rods,(Which are definitely worn), the A frame bushes have a bit of movement and the pivot pin/sleeve that fits to the front wheel has a bit of sideways movement as well.
I have a few other Chinese bikes for the kids, but this is the first ATV.
Is it normal to have a bit of movement in these areas, as there isn't any noticeable wear marks on the bolts or the pivot pin/sleeve combo.
Should I just shim the bolts and pack it with grease, or buy new ones.
I know the bikes I have already, are pretty slackly put together, but I would appreciate your opinions.
Cheers.

 

mine have been fairly tight.
look on the front grab handle area for a sticker/metal ID Tag. or, look under the seat or on the vertical downtube from the handlebars, those a just a few places the chinese stick the ID Tags on these quads. post a couple of pics and we may be able to identify it for ya.

 

Hi Jaster, thanks for your reply, I pulled all the steering apart today and found that the inner tubes were rusty where they were supposed to turn in that black poly bushes.
I cleaned off the rust and re-greased them, now they work fine. The steering pins that run in sleeves connected to the bottom A frame, had a fair bit of slop, though no obvious wear. It was about 1.9mm of sideways movement.
I shimmed these with brass shims in the sheet form, that is it comes in a sheet and you cut a bit out to wrap around the shaft.
It's nice and firm now, moves smoothly with no slog.
The steering column had no bottom nut on it and the black poly sleeve/bracket, halfway down the column, was over tightened, so I pulled all this apart and greased everything. All working smoothly now. :-)
My problem now is to fit the new wiring loom.
I fitted it up, according to the way I was shown at the shop, but there is no life at the starter. I'll have another look tomorrow. Cheers.

 

do a continuity check with your ohm meter/voltmeter. if your leads ain't long enough, they make a "fox and hound" circuit tester that can help you out. i would be willing to bet that the issue is going to be a quick connect not completely snapped together, a spade backed out inside a quick connect connector, or a pinched/broken wire in that circuit run.

 

Hi again Jaster, I tracked down the problem to mismatched coloured wires to the ignition and starter switchesand a connecter that had to be plugged into a plug with different coloured wires.
Thanks for your help.
Cheers.