I bought my wife a 2001 Bear Tracker. It looked a little rough, but she liked it I guess because its red. Anyway, we got it home, washed and waxed it and repainted the wheels silver (they were black over the silver and it was flaking off. I put a new Autozone battery in it and it starts and runs well (no smoke), shifts smooth, and rides OK for the little bit we've been on it. The brake pads are worn out and the front brakes are dragging. I reseated the caliper pistons and will pick up new pads tomorrow.

Does anyone have any tips on the brakes, valve adjustment, etc. that would make life easier? I have three quads from three different manufacturers and I am the only one doing maintenance on them. I need this thing to be dead reliable for her.

 

$62 from the dealer for a set of pads! After spraying the caliper pistons with some Aerokroil and sanding the rust off the pins that hold the pads in, the brakes work perfectly. My wife is very happy now that is is shiny, waxed, and doesn't sqeak.

I still need to adjust the valves. The dealer wants $160 for that, so I will be buying a shop manual.

 

Why did you go to the dealer for brake pads? They rip you off. Tusk off road brake pads are
better and are only $25 for the full set.

 

take all the plastic off and they will do it for under $60

 

ATVMike92:

I am aware of that, but there is something called instant gratification. My free time is limited, I had the thing apart, I wanted the pads to be done so my wife could play with her new toy, I paid the price. I will purchase a spare set elsewhere for future use. Thanks for the tip on Tusk pads. can you recommend a place to purchase them?

Speedy2222:
I'll probably just buy the manual and do it myself. I have no desire to let the dealer do routine stuff I can do myself. I'll save their services for the times when I am really in over my head.

 

THe best place to buy manuals for most atvs is ebay. Get the electronic ones to save some cash. Some are mailed on CD and others are e-mailed to you, saving shipping cost. I have done this for more than one machine and been very happy with the manuals i recieved.

 

first of all you talk about instant gradtification but u go buy a broken down bike and pay to fix it up. If you want a good bike you have to step up a bit or be willing to work on it. All used things will have problems. Also for the manual you can get them for free on the internet in acrobatic reader format. I got mine for my raptor 660 on sandwizzard.com or somthing like that. Trust me there out there just do a quick search. For the fools that paid for them on ebay all the ppl are doing is burning the free manuals onto a cd or even just puting them in a email atatchment and sending them to you. Its a scam if you ask me. Also valves are easy and take me about an hour, the hardest part is taking the plastic off. After that you will just pop the covers off and move the valves to TDC and stick you're feeler gage in there and adgust them to the right specifications.

 

Thank you for your intellegent and thoughtful post. In the future it might be a good idea not to insult the person you are trying to help in the first sentence. Some manuals are out there for free and some are not. For around $5.00 on ebay you can get a manual that you could spend an hour or more trying to find for free, and then discover you still can't find it. If someone has limited free time, like kartattack, paying a little bit for one is better than spending all your time searching for one.

It is also not a good idea to go around calling anyone a fool, particularly if you are new to a site. They might just take offense. If you have a different opinion that is your right, if your opinion is worthwhile people will quickly realize that. If you just go off spouting insults and pure speculation, people will also recognize you for what you are.

 

ha ok i knew you'd post a loveing post back to me thanks for you'r intellegent and thoughtful post. The post you just posted has just changed my life and now I will never call anaybuddy a fool........Im sorry.

 

What is the legal status on these? I've never heard of anyone being stopped from selling these. I have the Beartracker Factory Service manual I got from one of these places on Ebay, and if kosher I can email a copy.