I’m the proud owner of a 2015 Rancher ES. It had less than 19 miles on it, and a little over 3 hours of use, according to the computer. My dealer had to have it shipped to them, because they had the cammo, and I wanted the red. I figured that in the woods, I could see a red front end better than a cammo front end. 🙂 I guess you could call it my midlife crisis ATV, as I an 48, (going on 49), and this is the first ATV I’ve ever owned. I really love this thing, but I’ve got some questions. Some may have been answered before, but I couldn’t find them in the search.
1. I’ve put a couple of hours on it, and am just now noticing that when I go into third gear, I get a whine, that sounds almost like a turbo spooling up. It’s a cool sound, but I got a bit worried. Gear changes are no problem, and the fluids are all in and level. As I got it from the dealer as a new ATV, I’d have assumed that they did the checks and maintenance to sell it. I’ve gone back, and checked fluid levels, tight bolts, etc. and all is well except for that whine. After doing a Google search, I have read articles, that tell me that this whine is a normal thing until the gears settle in, and I’ve read articles that say that it’s the front differential… (The 2×4 ES model I have does not have a front differential..). Any thoughts? Other than that whine, the machine runs smooth as silk.
2. I am going to be installing a Superwinch on my ATV soon. Is it best to straight wire into the battery posts, or should I run it through the front wiring harness? I’m thinking straight to the battery is probably the ticket, but I’d like to know from those of you who have done this already. As I said, I’m VERY new to the ATV game… I’m pretty handy with tools and car motors, but motorcycle/ATV/UTV’s are new to me. I figure that the winch will come in handy to pull me out of mud bogs, if I wind up in any, lifting and dropping a snow plow, (somewhere down the road), and helping folks get their cars out of snowdrifts.
3. I love the racks, and the utility value of this ATV, but I do want to get some major mud on the tires. 🙂 Anybody know of any ATV friendly riding trails in Western North Carolina? When I was a lot younger, we’d go to Max Patch, or up Spivey Mountain to ride dirt bikes, and bang up our 4WD trucks, but Spivey is a development now, and from what I understand, those folks up there tend to throw rocks and bottles at riders now. I’m just too old for that scene. 🙂
I’d appreciate any advice I can get. Thanks everyone.
