Hey gang, as I said in another thread, here is a list of things you should check before you buy that used atv ?!. Does it start at all ?. If it starts, does it smoke ?. how good are the tires ?. are the rims bent anywhere ?, are the rims rusty ?, does the tires hold air ?. take a small car jack with you, jack the front and back up off the ground, grab each wheel, lift up/rock the whole wheel, any loose play ?, if so ?, wheels bearings are bad, tie rod ends are bad. turn the handle bars, feel any slop, rattle, clunks ?, if so ?, lower steering bearing can be bad ?. these go bad a lot, as most owners never replace them !. there is also a rubber bushing right under the bars, bolted to the upper frame, these go bad a lot too. How are the front and rear brakes ?, any play in the wheel when you jack up the rear end ?, if so ?, bad differential bearings ?, bad bearings on both outer ends ( backing plate side, and rear left axle tube has bearings in them if they are SRA ? ( SRA is solid rear axles ) IRS axles may have bearings in them ?, I have not had the pleasure of working on a IRS. ( IRS is independent rear suspension ). any oil leaks from the rear differential ?, any oil leaks or signs of oil leaks inside the rear tire rim and axle tube ?, if so ?, this means oil seals are bad. any clunks, rattles, grinds when moving ?, can be a bad differential , bearings, ring gear, pinion gear is bad !..this is costly !. does the transmission shift through all gears ?, if not ?, then this means it has a transmission problem. any noise , rattle coming from the top of the motor ?, if so ?, bad cam chain ?, bad rockers ?, loose rockers ?, worn cam lobes ?. take a compression gauge with you..ALWAYS CHECK COMPRESSION BEFORE YOU BUY IT !!. this is the number one killer in all motors !!, and it cost a lot to rebuild these motors !. Inspect the frame, from UNDER IT, REAR, FRONT, SIDES..ALL THE WAY AROUND !!, can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen rusted out, bent, MISSING frame tubes !..lol. pull the seat, remove the air box lid, clean ?, air filter even there ?!..lol. does the inside show any signs of mud ?, water ?, sand ?, small signs of oil is ok !, as there is even oil on a new filter from Honda. any smell of fuel ?, if so ?, then you can have a stuck float needle, and the fuel is flowing back into the air box, because the one-way check valve is not working ?, these are always attached to the bottom of the float bowl, and run down and back away from the motor and carb. remove the oil dipstick, full ?, low ?, clean ?, dark ?. smell the oil, if it smells like gas ?, then at one point..the carb float needle stuck closed, and fuel ran into the intake valve, and pretty much ruined your piston rings !!. does the lights work ?, are the lights even on the atv ?. battery good ?, ignition switch work and there ?, A MISSING IGNITION SWITCH TO ME, IS A DEAD GIVE AWAY TO A STOLEN ATV !, NOT ALWAYS IS THIS THE CASE ?, BUT I JUST DON’T LIKE IT !. the number one way to tell if it’s be stolen ?, IS THE ATV VIN NUMBER IS MISSING, SCRATCHED OFF , GRINDED OFF ?, OR HECK..THE WHOLE DAMN VIN NUMBER PLATE IS GONE !!!..DO NOT BUY ANY ATV IF THE VIN NUMBER IS MISSING !!!, MAKE SURE ALL LETTERS AND NUMBERS ARE THERE ?, AND CAN BE READ ?!. there are 17 digits to Honda atvs and motorcycles….ALL HONDAS ARE MADE THIS WAY !. count from left to right, until you reach the 10th digit, it will be a letter or number ?. this letter or number tells you what this atv is ?. when your inspecting the wheels as I covered at the beginning ?, don’t forget to have a look at the upper and lower a-arm ball joints in the front !. how’s the plastics look ?, cracks ?, missing ?, fenders are not cheap !, and on older models, most can not be purchased new !!..this means..ebay ?, or off Craig’s List ?. any mud/splash guards missing ?, foot wells missing ?, again..these parts all add up !, figure in the lower cost to the seller if you really want this used atv ?!. pull the spark plug, put the spark plug back into the spark plug wire, lay it on the engine, turn the key on, crank it over a couple times, do you see any spark ?, if not ?, this means a few things, bad c.d.i. ?, bad stator ?, bad reg/rec ?, bad spark plug coil ?, bad pick up coil ?. any signs of oil seal leaks from any where on the engine ?, if so ?, they are bad..and need replacing. any oil leaks from around the oil drain plug ?, if so ?, can be a stripped out oil drain plug ?, and this will suck !..lol. I am sure I am forgetting things ?, so if anyone wants to add to this post ?, please feel free to post what to check before you buy that used atv !.

Hey gang, I don’t recall if this has been said lately ?, but I figured I would take a few min’s to pass on some great info to anyone looking at buying a used atv ?. First , never…EVER TAKE ANYONES WORD ON NOTHING WRONG WITH IT ?, or..it ran when I parked it ?. do not..i repeat..DO NOT BEILEVE THIS !!!!!. Second , it’s used…DO YOU REALLY, HONESTLY THINK IT NEEDS NOTHING ?, if you believe this ?, then I’ve got some beach front property in AZ i’ll sell ya !..lol. I am going to post a sticky in the repair section on what to check when looking into buying a used atv, then maybe we won’t see members joining us, telling us, they are buying this..or buying that, and they want to know what to look for ?, what to check ?, where to look ?, then you can decide on what the price is REALLY WORTH ?, or you should not walk ?, but RUN AWAY !. ( or your pockets are deep ? )…lol. P.S. please keep in mind, unless you have purchased atvs from this same person ?, and it was what they said it was ?, or you know of their work ?, then please..by all means, jump all over it ! :-).

I have had my 1991 Trail Boss for a year now. In order to get it running well, a bunch of parts were replaced.

So, now I want to maintain it so that it stays in good running order.

It is a 1991 Trail Boss 350 4×4. What kind of yearly, or other maintenance would be recommended.

I plan on replacing the spark plug yearly. What else should I do?

Working on a 2003 TRX 350 that just quite running while heading down the trail. Has good spark, cleaned the carburetor, shot of starting fluid and will not fire. Any suggestions??

Looking for information on lodging at wide the wilds. We wanna stay at a nice cabin or hotel with trail access. Also a place where gas and food would be close by. Looking for easier trails for my kids, but would like to cover as many trails systems as possible while up there. if anyone knows of nice cabins or hotels near the trails, food and gas stations please let me know. Any info would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you

Or if you’ve been up there, let me know where you stayed. Also what trails were accessible, along with gas and foods and would you recommend it.

I just bought my son a 50cc quad and i’m trying to figure out the best way to haul it.
I put my quad in the box of my truck and pull a 19 foot travel trailer.
I’m thinking of building a rear rack on the back of the trailer. (Either that or well have to bring a second vehicle)
It weighs 245 pounds, since my fully loaded rig is around 6000 pounds I don’t think the weight will be much of a factor.

I couldn’t find much for pics but this will be the general idea…

Bolted to the frame… Not the bumper.
I’ll fab it up my self, Steel frame and wood deck.

Anybody here try something like this before? Any suggestions?

I just bought my son a 50cc quad and i’m trying to figure out the best way to haul it.
I put my quad in the box of my truck and pull a 19 foot travel trailer.
I’m thinking of building a rear rack on the back of the trailer. (Either that or well have to bring a second vehicle)
It weighs 245 pounds, since my fully loaded rig is around 6000 pounds I don’t think the weight will be much of a factor.

I couldn’t find much for pics but this will be the general idea…

Bolted to the frame… Not the bumper.
I’ll fab it up my self, Steel frame and wood deck.

Anybody here try something like this before? Any suggestions?

Hi all new to the forum. Just replaced the u joints on the rear drive shaft but I noticed when I pulled the diff back to get the shaft out, some diff fluid came out. Not sure if that’s supposed to happen or I just wrecked the seal by pulling it out.

Any ideas?

Hi all new to the forum. Just replaced the u joints on the rear drive shaft but I noticed when I pulled the diff back to get the shaft out, some diff fluid came out. Not sure if that’s supposed to happen or I just wrecked the seal by pulling it out.

Any ideas?

I have a 2015 Outlander L 500. I was thinking about making some upgrades to it like tires and a few other items. One thing I was curious about but can not seem to find anything online about, is dual exhaust. I think it would be a really neat upgrade. I have seen it on other higher end Outlanders but not on mine specially. Does any one know of any place that sells kits for my Outty or even if this would be a possibility for me with this particular outty. Thank you for any help.