Son smoked his to that same point of throwing chunks everywhere by having it in high gear in nasty rock covered hill climbs.

Last year, mine developed a rhythmic sound that was more pronounced going fast. Kind of like a ratchet sound. Was able to limp it back to the truck and I replaced the belt at home. It had lost 2 or 3 teeth but stayed in one piece. It had over 2000 miles on it including a couple winters of plowing.

 

I can't remember ever changing a belt other than the 2 that were smoked. I have no idea what kind of mileage any of them had but they last a long time. When they do break it seems like it's usually operator error. Some people with manual transmissions put CVTs down calling them rubber band drives but you can't rebuild a manual transmission on the side of the trail if it breaks. It's going to take a lot more time and more money than changing a belt.

 

This week we're recognizing the fact that we have the farm community to thank for a good portion of the early success of the ATV in America:

https://atvconnection.com/articles/a...facts-know-10/

 

I think of Honda starting the "utility" ATV market. Yes, Big Red was marketed as a work horse. But I think it took the advent of 4 wheels and carrying racks before the utility market really took off. The Honda TRX200 may have been the first machine catering to this market.

I remember a company called "Cycle Country" who started making snow plows for ATVs way back in the 1980s. I rolled my eyes at the very thought of it. Now I think entrepreneurs who starting making "implements" for utility ATVs were a major player in the development of this market. Cycle Country is not Koplin.

And you could still take your utility workhorse ATV hunting or trail riding on weekends. It helped justify the expendure.

David

 

These days ATVs equipped with multiple-cylinder engines are commonplace but where did the trend begin? We have to head back to the 80s to find out:

https://atvconnection.com/articles/a...facts-know-11/

 

I fondly recall the twin cylinder two stroke motorcycles of the 60s and 70s. The Kawasaki 500 was the fastest thing out. The Suzuki 750 tripple was very nice too. The Banshee ATV is legendary.

David

 

Yep. Legendary. Before I bought my first ATV I asked my brother what he would get if he was buying a new one. He said a Banshee if he was getting a sport ATV and a Sportsman if he was getting a utility. I didn't know the Banshee was the only 2 stroke twin ATV but it was the only one I ever saw. One of the guys I ride with has one but I don't see many others on the trail.

 

Way back in college marketing we learned the ultimate goal for any brand is to become such commonplace that you literally use it to identify the product. Think about saying you need Chapstick instead of a tube of lip balm.

Well one ATV manufacturer has achieved that status in certain parts of the world. Know who it is? We got the answer here:

https://atvconnection.com/articles/a...facts-know-12/

 

Surprised by that.

 

Same here. A lot of people refer to all snowmobiles as Ski-Dos but I never heard of ATVs taking on a brand name like that.