Best Initial/ Preventative maintenance tips!!
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08-22-2010, 08:51 PM
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Best Initial/ Preventative maintenance tips!!
Good day all! Please allow me to share ten helpful tips to make the best out of your Chinese type ATV. If you follow these simple and cheap steps, you will vastly decrease the headaches commonly seen on this forum. For reference, I currently own a Tao Tao ATA-110B, but the following can apply to all other china ATV's.
First steps:
1) Find battery; start charging it while assembling other parts. Let charge for 8 hours initially. Buy new battery tender for motorcycles, ATVs, and other small type battery. The ones with trouble/ready lights work best. The OEM one is crap and takes too long.
2) If available, after un-crating your youth ATV, reassemble it and throw a sheet of plywood on top. This make a great work stand for small ATVs. If you can't easily lift the ATV with two people at least three feet, it’s probably not a good idea to do this. Use a suitable jack.
3) After completely assembling the ATV, fill with fuel. Then let idle for 20-30 minutes. This will allow time for the moisture packet found inside the carburetor (some types) to dissolve. The gel can clog carburetor jets and so forth. DO NOT THROTTLE IT PAST HALF WAY. LOW RPMs FOR NOW!
4) tighten every nut and bolt, I mean every single one. The china hardware is of good quality alloys but of irregular specs. Some mechanical malfunctions are from hard ware loosing up. LOCTIGHT , semi fixed type (BLUE) the following, Tie rods, shock ends, seat latch bolts, brake mounts, chain tightener, handle bar mounts and rear axle nuts. Some of them are hard to get at, use a socket extender. Buy an assortment of cotter pins, there all over the place on these things, never reuse a pin.
5) Change the oil the first 30minuets of operation while it is warm!!!! Don’t ride it either. I’m in the Army, I had my friend an aviation POL (Petroleum Oil and Lubricant specialist test the OEM oil and it is NOT petroleum based, most likely fish oil or some other type. The results actually came back inconclusive because the Army only tests petroleum based oil and fuels. Best bet, measure what you take out and put back in the same amount of 15w40, the cheap stuff at first. SET THE LIMITER FOR LOW-MID SPEED!!!!! Then ride for about an hour. Change the oil again, if you desire, run a magnet under the oil stream as you drain it. You will find a significant amount of metal shavings in the oil that would have otherwise ruined your rings, and pistons. A magnetic oil drain plug is an added bonus as there is no filter in the 110cc and smaller. I personally have done this twice past the initial 30min warm up or three times total. After that the motor should be good to go!
Later steps
6) Most electrical components are ruined by exposure to moisture. Avoid exposure of standing water of any depth. Even mud can cause a short in lights, ignition relays, ECU and other parts. I highly advise you rap all the plastic connectors in electrical tape or a rubber self adhesive sealing tape. Be careful when rapping the connectors, some wires can be easily be pulled out. If you have to repair a connector, abbreviate the wire colors on the sockets they go in before removing them. After sealing all of them, water or mud won’t be such a big deal; just watch the intake filter.Taking it a step further, a vinyl shield was fabricated to protect the electronic connectors located next to the front tire. See pict below
7) Use fuel system cleaner regularly! A premium fuel system cleaner runs about $7.00 but treats 11-15 gallons. Add the amount of cleaner the manufacture recommends to the tank or fuel can in the ratio prescribed. This will help keep your fuel system clean. Sediment is the culprit for problems in China ATVs. Also buy like type fuel filters and keep them on hand, they can be had for few dollars on online. Change them out every other oil change or as needed.
8) Check all the joints for grease, if absent lube it up. Grease all the joints with an injector every year thereafter. With a small tip applicator, it is easy to get under the rubber boots.
9) A digital hour meter/tachometer is a huge help! They can be found on eBay for less than $20.00. Not only will it make tracking maintenance a breeze, but you can set the idle at a optimal RPM of 1450-1550. This will aid in starting tremendously. BTW, mine starts on the first crank 95% of the time.
10) You can learn a lot from your spark plug, check the color and condition regularly. It will tell you how well or poor your ATV engine is running. Check this link out for further clarification.http://www.verrill.com/moto/sellingguide/sparkplugs/plugcolorchart.htm
Lastly, did I mention that mine starts on the first time 95% of the crank? Good luck and ride safe. Make sure those kids wear their safety gear.
Hour/Tach meter ( That glob is the remnants of a grape after my son ran threw the vineyard.... lil brat
)
Fabricated plastic mud shield
Wrapped connectors
First steps:
1) Find battery; start charging it while assembling other parts. Let charge for 8 hours initially. Buy new battery tender for motorcycles, ATVs, and other small type battery. The ones with trouble/ready lights work best. The OEM one is crap and takes too long.
2) If available, after un-crating your youth ATV, reassemble it and throw a sheet of plywood on top. This make a great work stand for small ATVs. If you can't easily lift the ATV with two people at least three feet, it’s probably not a good idea to do this. Use a suitable jack.
3) After completely assembling the ATV, fill with fuel. Then let idle for 20-30 minutes. This will allow time for the moisture packet found inside the carburetor (some types) to dissolve. The gel can clog carburetor jets and so forth. DO NOT THROTTLE IT PAST HALF WAY. LOW RPMs FOR NOW!
4) tighten every nut and bolt, I mean every single one. The china hardware is of good quality alloys but of irregular specs. Some mechanical malfunctions are from hard ware loosing up. LOCTIGHT , semi fixed type (BLUE) the following, Tie rods, shock ends, seat latch bolts, brake mounts, chain tightener, handle bar mounts and rear axle nuts. Some of them are hard to get at, use a socket extender. Buy an assortment of cotter pins, there all over the place on these things, never reuse a pin.
5) Change the oil the first 30minuets of operation while it is warm!!!! Don’t ride it either. I’m in the Army, I had my friend an aviation POL (Petroleum Oil and Lubricant specialist test the OEM oil and it is NOT petroleum based, most likely fish oil or some other type. The results actually came back inconclusive because the Army only tests petroleum based oil and fuels. Best bet, measure what you take out and put back in the same amount of 15w40, the cheap stuff at first. SET THE LIMITER FOR LOW-MID SPEED!!!!! Then ride for about an hour. Change the oil again, if you desire, run a magnet under the oil stream as you drain it. You will find a significant amount of metal shavings in the oil that would have otherwise ruined your rings, and pistons. A magnetic oil drain plug is an added bonus as there is no filter in the 110cc and smaller. I personally have done this twice past the initial 30min warm up or three times total. After that the motor should be good to go!
Later steps
6) Most electrical components are ruined by exposure to moisture. Avoid exposure of standing water of any depth. Even mud can cause a short in lights, ignition relays, ECU and other parts. I highly advise you rap all the plastic connectors in electrical tape or a rubber self adhesive sealing tape. Be careful when rapping the connectors, some wires can be easily be pulled out. If you have to repair a connector, abbreviate the wire colors on the sockets they go in before removing them. After sealing all of them, water or mud won’t be such a big deal; just watch the intake filter.Taking it a step further, a vinyl shield was fabricated to protect the electronic connectors located next to the front tire. See pict below
7) Use fuel system cleaner regularly! A premium fuel system cleaner runs about $7.00 but treats 11-15 gallons. Add the amount of cleaner the manufacture recommends to the tank or fuel can in the ratio prescribed. This will help keep your fuel system clean. Sediment is the culprit for problems in China ATVs. Also buy like type fuel filters and keep them on hand, they can be had for few dollars on online. Change them out every other oil change or as needed.
8) Check all the joints for grease, if absent lube it up. Grease all the joints with an injector every year thereafter. With a small tip applicator, it is easy to get under the rubber boots.
9) A digital hour meter/tachometer is a huge help! They can be found on eBay for less than $20.00. Not only will it make tracking maintenance a breeze, but you can set the idle at a optimal RPM of 1450-1550. This will aid in starting tremendously. BTW, mine starts on the first crank 95% of the time.
10) You can learn a lot from your spark plug, check the color and condition regularly. It will tell you how well or poor your ATV engine is running. Check this link out for further clarification.http://www.verrill.com/moto/sellingguide/sparkplugs/plugcolorchart.htm
Lastly, did I mention that mine starts on the first time 95% of the crank? Good luck and ride safe. Make sure those kids wear their safety gear.
Hour/Tach meter ( That glob is the remnants of a grape after my son ran threw the vineyard.... lil brat
)Fabricated plastic mud shield
Wrapped connectors
#3
08-26-2010, 02:13 PM
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