How To

You are riding your ATV and you heard a sudden “pop”; you get worried. Well, there is nothing to worry about. It’s just that your ATV is backfiring. ATV backfires when your engine runs excessively rich or excessively lean. In simpler terms, when the engine has more fuel for the amount of air present in it or if the fuel is less than the amount of air it has engulfed, the engine backfires, which manifests as a little explosion in either the intake or the exhaust of the ATV’s engine. ATV backfiring is a very common…

Polaris 2-Stroke Rebuild One of the advantages that a two-stroke has over a four-stroke is that it generally produces more horsepower per cc. Because of their increased wear and tear, two-stroke quad en­gines require more reg­ular maintenance and replacement of the top-end components than their four-stroke counterparts. The good news is that because you are not dealing with valves, springs, cam chains or pushrods, rebuilding your two-stroke is fairly simple. To illustrate how quick and easy a top-end rebuild can…

What parts are worth what power By the staff of Dirt Wheels TECH: HONDA TRX450 A few years ago Dirt Wheels did a story on an owner-built Honda TRX450 owned by a life-long quad fan named Daniel Gonzalez. Gonzalez was so pleased with the build that he took every opportunity to wear the knobs off of that TRX. Some of the miles were in races, but most were acquired by having fun on desert and mountain trails. When Gonzalez did his build, he boosted the power with bolt-ons but left the engine stock and original from the…

PRODUCT EVALUATION: BOYESEN TRX450R SUPERCOOLER KIT By Daniel Gonzalez BOYESEN TRX450R SUPERCOOLER Boyesen has been a front runner in the off-road motorcycle and ATV industry since 1972. Eyvind Boyesen advanced reed-induction technology for two-stroke motors. The name Boyesen soon became a staple for performance on and off the racetrack. Boyesen is known for creating more than just reed-induction products. They offer the Power X-Wing, factory racing clutch covers, Shockout grip system, Quickshot kits and more.…

Anytime you have extra time on your hands, is the right time to work on your ride. These 8 things you can do to your ATV while off work cover a wide range of issues older or well used quads face. They should help you pass the time until the next riding trip. Nearly every ATV comes with very thin, plastic skid plates. They work fine if you don’t use them. But if you are like us and go on as rough as trails as possible, the stockers don’t hold up. This article will help you choose the right tool for the job. HOW TO…

BVC Trikes is the leader in modern day trike builds. Their latest creation is a fuel injected, 2019, Honda CRF450R turned into the sickest three wheeler we’ve seen in a minute. BVC can build a three wheeler out of almost any brand 2 or 4 stroke dirt bike new or old. Enjoy the 2019 Honda 450 dirt bike to trike walk around video. To see examples of their work, check out https://bvctrikes.com/collections. Last month we featured a Yamaha YZF trike conversion you can see HERE.   https://youtu.be/JOmsXkNRE4E

ADDING A SPEEDOMETER TO OLDER ATVs Dear Boss, I’m wondering if it’s possible to install a speedometer on the Kawasaki KFX700? If so, how would you go about doing that? Thanks. Paul Bassani Colorado Springs, CO ADDING A SPEEDO TO OLDER ATVs On the surface your question is simple, but if you take a deep dive into all the equipment available that can read your speed, you had better pack a lunch, son! So, let’s start off with the simplest speedometer—the bicycle speedometer. Back in the day before speedometers were…

By the staff of Dirt Wheels. Photos by www.stephentripp.com and the DW staff. HOW-TO: WINTER PREP IN 10 STEPS Many off-road riders are fair-weather fliers. They might just hang out in the house when it is too hot or cold. Or, perhaps they choose a more appropriate sport for the temperature; for example, wakeboarding in the heat and snowboarding when there is slippery white stuff hiding the ground. If you decide not to take the easy way out, you have to be prepared. It is possible to ride in reasonable comfort when…

By the staff of Dirt Wheels TIE-DOWN SOLUTIONS. Every person who spends time off-road on four wheels faces challenges when it comes to transporting the machine. Even if you ride on your own property, or have legal riding right out of your driveway, at some point it is likely your machine will need to be hauled somewhere. The ideal situation is to haul the same machine with the same truck or trailer every time. It is relatively easy to set up your hauling situation in that case. The absolute best method for…

By the staff of Dirt Wheels with Josh Underwood, Photos by Stephen Tripp/www.stephentripp.com ICE RACING BASICS There is nothing Dirt Wheels loves more than a letter or an e-mail with a radical, high-quality photo included. Some relevant info is just a gilded frame on the shot. And then there are exceptional days like when we hear from photographer Stephen Tripp. We heard from Stephen out of the blue after the 2018 Daytona SX quad race. He was wondering if we wanted to use any of his photos from the event.…

HOW-TO RESTORE OLD PLASTIC When you see a shiny ATV in the showroom, it’s like love at first sight. The light gleaming off the carefully sculpted curves of the plastic bodywork is like art. Then you ride it, and two weeks in, it looks like a tired old mule. We may be exaggerating that last part a small amount, but every machine we test ends up with scuffed, scratched, and beat-up plastics, no matter how careful we are with it. So instead of dropping hundreds of dollars on brand-new plastics, why not repair your old…

HOW TO INSTALL A STRONGER ROLL CAGE We say it time and time again—protection is the most important factor when it comes to off-roading any machine. Wearing the right helmet, eye protection, switching out the stock UTV seat belts with harness systems—all of these are great ideas to keep you riding longer. If you ask one of our editors which UTV accessory you would purchase after the helmet and harnesses, they would tell you to get a stronger roll cage. Rolling a UTV is a serious matter, and the harder you drive one,…