hey guys ive been reading the forums on this sight for a few months and found it very helpful in my research in buying a new quad. i decided on an 08 red rancher 4x4 foot shift that a dealer had left in the back. my question is that i have heard you need to ride these kinda rough in order to break in the engines properly? any help would be appreciated. also the bike has 12 itp rims with 25 in zillas from the dealer, i would like to lift it 1-2 inches does anyone know where to get new springs to accomplish this cause i have read on here that the spacer kits can cause suspension damage.thanx for the help i look forward to many future posts

 

Check out www.highlifter.com for springs and lift kits. I just bought new heavy duty springs for my rancher, just waiting for them to arrive

 

Use the Motoman break-in method. Otherwise, your rings will not seat properly and you will be down on power for the life of the engine. I do monster hillclimbs for break-in:

Break In Secrets--How To Break In New Motorcycle and Car Engines For More Power

A couple other tips are to change the oil and oil filter after 1 hour, to get any metal shavings out that may be left over from machining, and be absolutely sure that you do a valve adjustment at 20 hours.

Also, change the oil in the front and rear ends, after a few hours..also to get out any shavings.

During break-in (~20 hours), run a petroleum based motorcycle specific oil that is rated API SG/JASO MA (I recommend Maxima Premium). After that, you can switch to synthetic if you wish (I recommend Redline, or Maxima Extra/Ultra/530MX). Some good reads on motorcycle oils. Some excellent oil reads:

ThumperFaq: 4-Stroke Oil

Oils Well That Ends Well, Part 1 - Sport Rider Magazine

http://www.maximausa.com/technical/l...beNews2002.pdf

As for the tires/suspension issur, my experience has been that big aftermarket tires do is turn this sweet handling trail quad into a clunker! If you needed a mud monster, you purchased the wrong machine......

 

Normally I'd disagree with the above about the tires. Size wise i personally think your OK, its a decently powerfull bike that will turn 25's well with miminal power loss. The problem is that the zillla's are heavy, but worse they get extremely heavy in mud since the tread is so deep they really load up and lug the motor.

A set of mud lites, or mud lite XTR (radials) are a better all round tire that are lighter to start, but are lighter when loaded with mud, without sacrificing too much in the traction department (and have a smoother ride on hardpack to boot).

I ran 27" Blackwaters on my Foreman 450, and now 27" Mud Lite XTR's, my buddy with the identical bike ran 26" Zillas and mine ran circles around his in the mud. In places I could run 3rd gear in the deep stuff, he had to use 2nd to keep the tires turning and motor not lugging.

On trails, the difference from heavier tires wasnt really noticeable.

 

And my opinion on lift kits for SRA bikes is Don't.

IMHO all they do is increase the angle that the CV joints (and worse the rear U-joint) operates on, which increases stress and can lead to a failure over time. No one makes a sensable lift kit for these bikes that keep driveline angles close to stock, all the kits just space the shocks/change angle of the shocks.

 

Given, that there are a few swampdonkeys who genuinely need huge heavy tires (and huge horsepower to turn them!), I think the big tire craze comes from the same place as the guys who wants to put on a noisy aftermarket exhaust, just because it is loud. The exhaust guy likes the noise, and the tire guys like the look. Neither adds anything to the function of the machine, and in the case of the little Rancher it negitively effects handling.

 

the Rancher 420 has under siced tires compared to the other mid sice atvs i dont think that going up one tire sice will hurt the ranchers handeling at all, and the factory front tires were horrable for me i couldnt get any trackion with them in the mud and i dont do a lot of mud riding but there are mud holes on the trails that i ride and i like to go through them insted of around them

 

Action 450S?

I have 26" Mudlite XTR's that shake the steering above 35 mph on my 09 Rincon. At lower speeds I notice nothing. Do yours do that? It seems to be getting better the more miles that I put on them (600 miles). If on lose stuff it doesn't do it all, but as soon as the road gets hard or turns to pavement it gets much more noticeable. It almost seems like the treads are fighting themselves a little.

I had regular Mudlite 26" on my previous quad and had no issues. Just wondering, Thanks and sorry to go off topic.

As far as putting 28" tires on a racher, why? Unless your in mud 80% of the time it will be useless. Trail riding is about low center of gravity, which is one of the best aspects of that machine. JMO

 

I've had mine to top speed on pavement with no shaking, they actually run quite well. I'd check your steering alignment to make sure the tires are not toe'd in (pointing in at the front). Could be a bad tire that is out of balance, since you dont balance ATV tires like car tires, a bad tire can cause this. Could also be a bent wheel.

 

I had an alignment done shortly after I put the tires on (still under warranty). I need to try to put the shockers back on and see if it does with them. I doubt it will, feels like a tire out of balance. I don't run that fast very often so its not that big of a deal, just wanted to know if yours did the same. Thanks for your reply

TG