Tips for a Newbie, when it comes to wheelers

[Jarrid Houston]

Just bought my first wheeler (2014 yami Grizzly 550). Plan on using it mostly for plowing and ice fishing. Any tips/tricks and good advice for a new ATV owner?

[Jarrid Houston]

I heard wait until over a 1000 miles to start using Amsoil..

[ESSGuy]

I have 2 kodiaks and have had 12 YZ 125 and 250's over 15 yrs of motocross racing. Yamalube oil has always worked great for me.

[BoxMN]

Keep your battery charged in tip top condition (many use battery tenders), and I use whatever oil/lube the manufacturer sells, in my case Honda. I met with folks who create and make many oils, and there is a difference based on manufacturers. But I also use Amsoil in small engines so think it is decent stuff, but don't feel you have to use it.

I personally like a rear drop basket, but it does add weight, but comes in SOOOOO handy especially for fishing.

Have fun!

[BobT]

Keep your battery charged in tip top condition (many use battery tenders)

Have fun!

Ditto the battery. This is particularly important if your plow uses a winch to raise it up. The charging system on your ATV will not keep up with the demand a winch puts on it so I highly recommend putting a charger on the battery after using it for plowing.

[Jarrid Houston]

Interesting about the battery deal. So seems like I need to charge it after use every time? Kinda like my boat trolling motor battery. I assume the small trickle charge until it's at 100 percent eah time? Probably doesn't hurt anything,,,

[BobT]

Persoanlly, I don't use trickle chargers. Here's why. A battery rarely charges complete enough to completely open the circuit. Even a fully charged battery will put a load on a charger, albeit a small one. A trickle charger charges at a very low current rate and a battery that applies even a small load on the charger can fool the charger into thinking it is not done charging. As a result, the charger will continue to charge indefinitely and potentially generate heat that will evaporate the electrolyte. For this reason, I prefer to use a good automatic charger.

[rundrave]

If your ATV has a AGM battery. The biggest problem with them is recharging them. If the charging voltage is too high, over 14 to 14.5 volts, it will fry the battery. The battery should be charged at a rate of .75 to 1.5 amps on an auto shut off battery charger. If it's a 15 amp hr battery and is dead, it should be charged at 1.5 amps or less for 10 hrs. Put it on a 6 amp charger and it will charge it too fast and kill it.

[BSLNORTH]

I would consider a windshield, its amazing the difference it makes. I went many years without and cant believe I didnt do it sooner. I recently bought a new Ranger and put full cab on it, thats hard to beat!

[BoxMN]

I would consider a windshield, its amazing the difference it makes.

Agree 100%.

[Jarrid Houston]

Got the windshield! And hand warmers.. Little hold up because we found that the coolant hose needs to be replaced. For a 2014 grizzly this is not cool!!! But the dealership say they would take care of it. I sure hope nothing else happens!!!!

[Jarrid Houston]

And they throw in some free fluids maintenance for our inconvenience "especially because of this new snow"...