ATV for hunting

On the topic of tires...


Most riders waste a ton of money on tires because they do not use tire tread irons or don't even know they exist. Trimming tread block leading edges to square them up and cutting new sipes makes a huge difference with regaining lost traction and making old tires perform close to when they were new. You can also customize the treads such as converting worn tires into snow tires by cutting a bunch of narrow sipes in the tread blocks or dividing large rectangular tread blocks on mud tires into 2-3 squares on every other or few treads for much better log/rock gripping. Get free turf tires by picking up a "garbage" set of worn ATV tires and cut most of the treads off...


Tread doctor is what I use and is less than $100. A few of the guys that have borrowed mine snapped axles or CV joints because they were used to their worn tires and having to apply more throttle to keep moving and spinning tires all the time. After cutting the treads their tires were much more grippy, but they didn't alter throttle control to match traction. Snap!

on an average won out stock ATV tire how much rubber is still there?

My worry has always been digging to deep and puncturing it
 
On the topic of tires...


Most riders waste a ton of money on tires because they do not use tire tread irons or don't even know they exist. Trimming tread block leading edges to square them up and cutting new sipes makes a huge difference with regaining lost traction and making old tires perform close to when they were new. You can also customize the treads such as converting worn tires into snow tires by cutting a bunch of narrow sipes in the tread blocks or dividing large rectangular tread blocks on mud tires into 2-3 squares on every other or few treads for much better log/rock gripping. Get free turf tires by picking up a "garbage" set of worn ATV tires and cut most of the treads off...


Tread doctor is what I use and is less than $100. A few of the guys that have borrowed mine snapped axles or CV joints because they were used to their worn tires and having to apply more throttle to keep moving and spinning tires all the time. After cutting the treads their tires were much more grippy, but they didn't alter throttle control to match traction. Snap!

That has got to be the most ridiculous post I've seen in quite awhile.
When your factory tires are worn out, get some Mud Lite tires and you can go almost anywhere. If you go into nasty stuff, step up to Mud Lite II tires.
If I had to resort to cutting treads on worn out tires, I'd walk instead.:onCrack:
 
Tread doctor is what I use and is less than $100. A few of the guys that have borrowed mine snapped axles or CV joints because they were used to their worn tires and having to apply more throttle to keep moving and spinning tires all the time. After cutting the treads their tires were much more grippy, but they didn't alter throttle control to match traction. Snap!

Snapping axles because they re-cut thread on their tires?!?
- Sorry, but how much beers did they drink before they snapped stuff... :onCrack:
 
well this is a long thread....

I do see the advantages to a nice little side by side, my brother is running one that is highly modified for the bush, lots of comfort and storage space.

I'm still running Hondas, I have a little 1986 350 that is tiny, fits down the really narrow trails and can wiggle through the bush to drag out downed game, and it has a kick start which is a bonus as the starter is problematic.

I also have a 1999 Honda 450S another tough little machine, few years back it dies on me, no compression, scored cylinder, needed a rebuild, but worth the money. Just need to sort out the carb now and the electrical gremlin that keeps killing the battery, something to do with the heat sensor I believe.

the 350 is rough riding as both front and rear axles are solid, poor old girl needs to be retired and kept just for running around on the acreage in the back pasture.
 
well this is a long thread....

I do see the advantages to a nice little side by side, my brother is running one that is highly modified for the bush, lots of comfort and storage space.

I'm still running Hondas, I have a little 1986 350 that is tiny, fits down the really narrow trails and can wiggle through the bush to drag out downed game, and it has a kick start which is a bonus as the starter is problematic.

I also have a 1999 Honda 450S another tough little machine, few years back it dies on me, no compression, scored cylinder, needed a rebuild, but worth the money. Just need to sort out the carb now and the electrical gremlin that keeps killing the battery, something to do with the heat sensor I believe.

the 350 is rough riding as both front and rear axles are solid, poor old girl needs to be retired and kept just for running around on the acreage in the back pasture.

we've got 3 Honda's
80's 350 full time 4x4 (more KMS than anyone knows)
2001 400 Canada trial edition (+10k kms)
2012 420 TRX (4k HARD kms)

they are work horses. they haul wood, game, ride the hydro line flat out, and go through mud holes waist deep.

never once have any of us had to walk home
 
My opinion, wunce tires arrr tired, they are garbage.
Many mewns ago I purchased re-grooved tires.
Chit is chit.
Flats galore.
Wuzz skeered tuh run over a stick.

Muhneezs and fewls shall soon part, but spending $$ to replace warn tires
is a gawl dang gooder investmint.

Butt then agin, ymmv.
 
I'm still running Hondas, I have a little 1986 350 that is tiny, fits down the really narrow trails and can wiggle through the bush to drag out downed game, and it has a kick start which is a bonus as the starter is problematic.
I have a 1987 Honda 350, can't kill it, just keeps on chugging.
Damn great little machine.
Did some maintenance on it in 2016, brakes, tie-rod ends, painting bits, minor stuff like that.
Have never had to do any serious repairs to it.
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That has got to be the most ridiculous post I've seen in quite awhile.
When your factory tires are worn out, get some Mud Lite tires and you can go almost anywhere. If you go into nasty stuff, step up to Mud Lite II tires.
If I had to resort to cutting treads on worn out tires, I'd walk instead.:onCrack:

mud lite's and mud lite II's are all I will ever put on my atv..
Mud, snow, slush, as long as the bike has momentum and doesn't belly pan itself on hardpack, those tires are awesome.
I don't use chains ice fishing but we usually have a good crust to drive on for traction.
I've got 4300KM on these tires , probably an even split between gravel and offroad and snow and I have "just" worn the leading edges of the lugs. I could sype the mud lite II tires at this point and restore those leading edges but they grab fantastic still so why bother. As long as the side walls stay in good shape they will probably last another 2000 K or more.
I've pounded thru some brutal clear cuts with loads of slash down and never shredded one of these tires.
The only negative if there is one is you really have to watch tight turns at any kind of speed with the mud lite II's or you will dump your bike faster than you realized it was possible LOL
 
Picked up the 350 about 5 years ago right after the 450S died.

it had 4 new tires (kenda bearclaws) and a snow plow, parked indoors mostly. I have no idea how many miles it has and I have used it for hunting these last 5 years and some work around the acreage. I suspect that it will need some servicing sooner or later. Brakes are not great and I suspect that it could use new rings. But I paid $300 for it so I can't complain :)

Thing is built like a little tractor


I have a 1987 Honda 350, can't kill it, just keeps on chugging.
Damn great little machine.
Did some maintenance on it in 2016, brakes, tie-rod ends, painting bits, minor stuff like that.
Have never had to do any serious repairs to it.
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2.jpg
 
I am running a 2016 Honda TRX 420 now and all I did was swap out the boots with a set of Kenda Bearclaws that were 1" taller. They are damn near bullet proof ATV's. I have owned a few Yamahas and and older Honda 450ES in the past. All of them ran well but right now, I'd be hard pressed to buy anything other than Honda.
 
I don't know how good (or bad) they are, but in the last few years I've came across a number of guys exploring logging rds with those Mahindra Roxor

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One of the guy I talked to was joking that he didn't drive it has hard as its old side-by-side... so he wasn't breaking as much stuff as before.
 
Honda is crap. Unless you like paying lots for parts, riding in reverse for a few miles when the e-shifter craps out (twice in my case and it doesn't have 3k on it). They refused to even reimburse for a recalled part, apparently on the pretense that I replaced it myself and is therefore substandard... I'm happy I didn't pay a dealer a days labour and get hosed that. The resulting backfire on them is I might not even buy a GX engine again (sadly because those are good) and certainly never an outdoor product made by them. Screw me, I report how bad you are to anyone interested on top of that lose thousands in sales to a guy who requires the service of many outdoor products... but since that guy requires reliability and loathes BS...

Any future ATV purchase I'll be looking at Suzuki and Yamaha for sure... and I'm considering a working style SxS for farm use now.

"Lots of parts" My 99 Fourtrax 300 doesn't ever seem to need anything but a plug per year, oil and filter. Where would you normally buy parts for an old 99 300 anyway? Oh! I have a confession to make. last year I bought a new set of Bear Claws. Originals not worn out but dry rotted after 18 years.
 
Snapping axles because they re-cut thread on their tires?!?
- Sorry, but how much beers did they drink before they snapped stuff... :onCrack:

Worn tread blocks and sipes no longer existing means poor traction and increased throttle/wheel speed. After running tires with poor traction for a while you get used to hammering it everywhere to keep momentum going. Throttle control isn't really a big deal because the tire s can't get enough traction to damage anything.

Now, re cut those treads and sipes and you have near new tire like traction meaning throttle control is required to prevent damage.


Run some machines and tires that are capable of snapping cv joints and axles like twigs if you aren't using proper throttle control then get back to me...
 
That has got to be the most ridiculous post I've seen in quite awhile.
When your factory tires are worn out, get some Mud Lite tires and you can go almost anywhere. If you go into nasty stuff, step up to Mud Lite II tires.
If I had to resort to cutting treads on worn out tires, I'd walk instead.:onCrack:

It is very clear that you're misunderstanding what you do with the tread iron. You use the tread iron to re cut the treads and sipes on ANY atv tire when the tread blocks are worn. Think of it as having ice skates sharpened every so often. When trimming tread blocks you're shaving 1/16-1/8" on the leading edge of each tread.

You aren't cutting into the flat thin part of the tire, it's the tread blocks only that you cut.


Tread Doctor. Google it to learn something new...
Btw...I have Mud Lite XTR's with around 7000 kms that have had the tread iron treatment done twice.
 
Now, re cut those treads and sipes and you have near new tire like traction meaning throttle control is required to prevent damage.


Run some machines and tires that are capable of snapping cv joints and axles like twigs if you aren't using proper throttle control then get back to me...

Please do tell us what kind of ATV these guys are running, that cutting new tread of worn-out tires is enough to snap a CV joint/axle?
- Sounds like something that would happen to one of those Aliexpress Chinese $1,000 ATV (I was going to make a Polaris joke, but that wouldn't be nice)
- Poor quality machine/parts or someone not keeping up on maintenance...
- or fitting parts that are not designed to go on there... Like putting oversize tires, we see it all the time with 4x4. Some guys fits nice much-bigger tire on his truck/SUV/Side-by-side, add a "spacer" lift kit... and than complain when the parts fail because they weren't design to handle the added strain.
 
When I first decided to buy a quad I realized I did not find trail riding very appealing. I just needed one for a workhorse. I wanted one that was a gear banger with a lockable front differential and no electronics and IRS. Guys that I hunt with sometimes laugh at my choice. It is a 2004 Suzuki 300 King Quad. I use it for snowplowing, hauling deer and moose out, and every day chores around the place. I cannot keep up on the trails with the bigger machines and they cannot keep up to me in the bush. All the wiring is up high and out of the way. Manual shifters and hi2wd hi4wd lo2wd lo4wd superlo2wd superlo4wd and superlo diff lock. A very handy machine. It does what I bought it for. Unfortunately they are no longer made.
 
Most guys are over CC'd and over powered in the bikes they buy for hunting. If you are smart and know how to use one properly, pulling out moose is easily doable with something in the 300-350cc range. I'm not saying that big CC is a bad thing, but it's not needed in an ATV that was bought for hunting. I'v owned up to a 700CC fuelie in a Yamaha Rhino and while it was a great machine, my Honda 420 will go everywhere the Rhino went and do it with half the fuel. Some guy just want to have the biggest #*%k on the block.
 
Most guys are over CC'd and over powered in the bikes they buy for hunting. If you are smart and know how to use one properly, pulling out moose is easily doable with something in the 300-350cc range. I'm not saying that big CC is a bad thing, but it's not needed in an ATV that was bought for hunting. I'v owned up to a 700CC fuelie in a Yamaha Rhino and while it was a great machine, my Honda 420 will go everywhere the Rhino went and do it with half the fuel. Some guy just want to have the biggest #*%k on the block.


Now this I agree with

you don't need a machine that will go +70Km/h for hunting
 
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