I just bought my first quad from my neighbors tagsale, 2002 recon, i was wondering how it is going to do in the winter. My idea is to be able to tow a friend behind me on a snowboard and whip them off a jump... I know 4wd would be best, but I picked this up alot cheaper, and now i'm wondering the best way to make it winter capable, Should i put chains on the rear tires? or put studded snow tires with spikes or something?, i think the tires are going to spin alot... but hopefully it can tow people in the snow... please help winterize my atv... n obie here

 

Depends on how much snow you get and how fast you get it.. If you can get a good hard trail packed on a regular basis - you will be ok.
If you venture out in 6"+ in fresh snow you will not be having friends for long - you will get no where.

If you do get chains - make sure they are on correctly/safely!

Good luck!

 

Man are you going to have fun I had a suzuki ozark and my friend had a recon and we used to pull people with sleds all the time off of just on the street you name it...I think it is more fun without the chains and such even though they would help you get better traction in the snow its more fun without them...You can get a hitch and tie the rope either there or on the rear rack just make sure the rope doesn't get tangled around the tires and axle(rear) make sure you don't go stopping or else your friend will become part of your quad and roost/slide around turns with your friend holding on and make sure they and you are wearing a helmet...very fun look forward to it and make sure your hands are really warm as your fingers will start to really be cold you can get heated gloves or heated grips def look into either one...Have fun and be safe.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

if you mean actual snow like +3/ 4 inches then no, if its anything like the 2wd rancher, the second your frame even touches the snow your going to loose traction, my buddy left his here for a bout 3 weeks , i have a 4x4 rancher, and i was tearing around my land with about 5-6 inches of snow on the ground, i had 0 issues in 4x4, as soon i as i jumped on his i went about 6 feet and got stuck, i kid you not, i backed up and tried again and got stuck 4 feet down the road. the bikes are worthless for breaking a trail but if you have a 4x4 in front of you and a decent set of tires, you can cut it in the woods

 

i have chains on mine and i will be plowing with it this winter, i live in the northeast so that means noreasters [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] and i go out often, however once you go past 6 inches you probably will start to lose traction, if your gonna use it in like 3 inches of snow then its super fun for you and the person you are towing.

 

Get a Maier plastic skid plate! The plastic is very slick (compared to aluminum) and it acts like a huge ski, floating the frame along on top the snow so it won't dig in. You can actually handle some pretty deep snow, at least until the rear end digs in.

 

i have had a recon and they do fine in snow up to 6-5 inches much more than that and your not goning anywhere.