Just got this quad, built it and have my kids riding it around. Seems to be good on flat ground but doesn't seem to have any power to get going on a slight uphill trail. It is almost like there is no torque but the weird thing is that when u put it in reverse it has a ton of power. Do I have an issue or is it possibly a gear ratio?

 

Guessing it is one forward speed, neutral, and reverse. Try going up a hill in reverse, it is usually much better because gearing is much lower for reverse in the transmission. With mine, i was able to hit nearly 40mph on a 110. That is much more top end than needed, i dropped the front sprocket by 2 teeth and that provided a big boost and didn't even lose that much top end. You can also make the rear sprocket bigger. 1 tooth on the drive sprocket = 3-4 on the driven. Going down on the drive or up on the driven = more low end.

 

First thing that comes to mind is did you change the oil in it? Usually they come with some sort of biodegradable shipping oil and they usually have a sticker or something in the manual that tells you to change oil before first run. If its shipping fluid still in it the clutch could be slipping. You need clutch safe oil in these things. Also the clutch could need some adjustment (not sure if yours has a adjuster) their should be a procedure in the manual for adjusting.

 

I changed the engine oil to a 10w40. Was there any other fluids that needed to be changed?

 

nop but was the oil wet clutch safe?

 

If it has plenty of power in reverse, it is clearly a gearing issue, not a clutch slippage issue. Because it is a single forward speed it is one big compromise. They want it to be fast on the level, but that means very little low end torque. Like I said, change the gearing to get your low end power. I did and it is much better, I may even go lower.

 

Thanks for the info guys! I got in contact with Tao and they have said they have heard of this issue with no power. Told me to watch video on YouTube to see how to adjust clutch but I definitely think it's a gear issue. I am using just straight up quaker state 10w40 conventional motor oil. Is that a proper lubricant for the machine?

 

I don't think it's a gearing issue lots are shipped with the same gearing. With the way these things are designed they are a little under powered at slow speeds. If this has the adjuster you can set the clutches a little tighter and make it better.
Every quad out their even veh are snappier in reverse. I had a old machine that was beat to crap. Had some extremely heavy people ridding it way to small of machine gor them. Had the wrong oil in it and clutches slipped bad but if you poped it in reverse you would almost go over the bars. No slipping at all

 

I'm not saying don't check the clutch, but if it is adjusted right, what you just said about them being underpowered at low speeds can be fixed with gearing. So check out the clutch, but then invest in some good gearing combos and it will make it snappier. Even a lively quad can be made better with lower gearing.

 

Yup, I agree with you on this. I just hate those that always blame the gearing when the factory stock is always fine. If this is a cvt auto, then I would open the cover and inspect. Very possible the rollers are bound and it's not operating as it should. See the video below on how it works and you can verify if your is not working this way. The left side has the rollers and they push out and the belt up. The right side is the clutch and once it grabs and the rpms go up, you'll see the belt go down. Check both the roller side and then the clutch side, usually a good cleaning will do the trick.