2008 Oregon Dune Fest

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Aw the sweet sounds and sights of thousands of ATV enthusiasts gathered together, united by a common goal:  Hardcore duning!!!  If you’ve never been to an ATV festival I strongly urge you to attend one at some point in your life. [Read more]

Racing on the beach??

Wildwood NJ-

Sitting on the beach during the summer soaking up the sun one can’t what it would be like to race your quad on these very sands? [Read more]

Follow up and Gratitude

Follow up

After you get a sponsor and have been racing regularly you need to let them know how you are doing. Many sponsors would like a monthly report of your progress. Check with the rider support director, you do know who they are right and see how often they want them. You should include results from the last month, a well written race report, don’t forget to spell check it, and a couple of professional quality action photos of you putting their product to good use. Many riders do not go this extra mile and I have found that by building this quality relationship with the team director the sponsorship is more beneficial to both you and the sponsor.

Gratitude

Don’t forget to say Thank you. All the time. Thank them when you get the sponsorship deal, thank them when you get the product, that you thank them for their support at the end of each race report and most importantly at the end of the season for all of their help. Many local newspapers and some national publications will offer a year end special on classified ads for thank you notes to sponsors. This is money well spent.

So that’s all there is to being a sponsored rider. Now go out and get some sponsors and sell their product.

To read the rest of the series click HERE

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I am always open to comments, questions, or ideas.

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Aww #%@*!, Removing damaged fasteners tips and tricks.

Everyone has seen it or come across it at least once in their lifetime while working on their ATV or motorcycle, a damaged fastener. This can happen by the fault of not being patient, using the wrong tools, or just plain ignorance. Damaged fasteners are commonly found on used equipment since most neglected ATVs are hastily maintained with a pair of vise grips and a hammer by their cousin “Earl”. Often times though even relatively new machines can come in contact with “Happy hour Harry” on the assembly line or dealership neglecting to tighten or over tightening a bolt. There is also the fact that certain fasteners just wear out over time if they are taken in and out frequently. What ever the cause broken, stripped, buggered fasteners can be a real pain in the rump. What follows are some quick tips and tools that can make repairing these “Uh-Oh’s” into “Hurray!” and leave you looking like and ace mechanic.

The most common damaged fastener is the bolt with a stripped or rounded head. Before you barrow that pair of vise grips from Earl’s tool box try some of these tools instead. Bolt extractors for example the Bolt-Out(tm) by Craftsman.  These type of tools look like a socket with sharp fluted reverse spirals inside to grip the head and turn it.  For stripped phillips and flat head screws first try taking in hacksaw or rotary tool with a small cut off wheel and cutting a slot in the top then try removing the screw.  If that fails or there is insufficient room to get those tools in the space try a screw extractors such as the GrabBit(tm) which contains a pilot drill on one end and the extractor on the other.  These work well for relatively small bolts and screws.

For larger bolts and screw you will need to use larger screw or bolt extractors such as Easy-Outs(tm).  These require you to drill the appropriate sized pilot hole fairly centered in the bolt.  These can be the saving grace on bolts with broken heads where there is no stud exposed for a stud extractor.  One thing to be aware of is extractors are made of high carbon steel that is very hard, seldom do they break but they can break or twist apart and if you twist one off into a stud they are almost impossible to remove and most common drill bits will not drill into them, more on that later.

Having discussed some common methods of removing fasteners that already had damaged heads or were broken off in the hole lets look at some techniques to eliminate having to resort to those measures.  The most common ways a bolt head gets damaged or broken are, using the wrong tool, wrench, or socket thus rounding off the corners.  Another way is simply the bolt is rusted or corroded in the threads “locking” it in place.  This happens for a variety of reasons but its mostly chemical reactions between dissimilar metals, air and moisture.  I could go into detail on which metals react with each other but for the sake of this discussion I will forgo the explanation.

Ok so the bolt is stuck and will not move under normal circumstances using the correct tools, so what do

you do?  First try the  easiest solution grab a can of your favorite penetrating oil.  Use it liberally let it set a few minutes and try to remove the bolt.  If it is a bolt and nut combination or its not a blind hole make sure you spray the backside as well as most oils are designed to “creep” into the threads but this generally doesn’t get too far.  Chances are if the bolt is really rusted in there penetrating oil will do nothing so it will be on to a bit more of a persuasive measure.  If you remember one of my other articles I recommended that an impact driver should be a part of any tool box, well here is where it can become a life line.  Using the impact driver (with either a socket or screwdriver bit) you can shock the bolt in an attempt to free the bond of rust or corrosion.  The impact driver does two things at once: first it shocks the bolt then it simultaneously turns it counterclockwise in an attempt to loosen the bolt or screw.  Usually it only takes a few good strikes of the hammer to free the bolt and in some cases the bolt will then come out by hand.

CAUTION: What follows should only be attempted by professionals with proper safety equipment and knowledge of the tools.

The next step and probably the most extreme is using heat from a oxy-acetylene torch to heat up the bolt in question to aid in its removal. This technique is best done with two people, obviously this can only be performed by someone with the right equipment and knowledge on how to use it properly and safely. Ideally welders and metal smiths would use what is called a rose bud for heating up metallic objects but in this case a rose bud is probably going to apply too much heat over a large area. Instead use a number 4 or 6 welding tip on the torch body this way the heat can be more focused and controllable as not to accidentally damage other parts from the intense heat. Before you start remove any and all combustible materials from the work area, this includes the fuel tank and carburetor to reduce the risk of fire from igniting fumes. Also depending on the bolt in question it may be necessary to make a crude heat shield from some sheet tin, old license plate, or a piece of steel to protect rubber, plastic, electrical wires or any other thing that could be damaged by indirect heat. The key to this technique is to heat only the bolt or nut while using some of the above techniques and this should allow the bolt to free itself from the rust or corrosion without damaging the head or threads.

And last but not least if heating the bolt won’t make it budge, it may be time for desperate measures,

drilling and re-taping. The key to this solution is starting your pilot hole as centered on the broken, buggered head as possible. Using progressively larger drill bits, drill into the bolt until you have removed all the material of the original bolt. Now using the correct sized tap for the new hole you just drilled create new threads and replace with the appropriate sized bolt.

I saved the best tip for last. The one that could keep you from ever having to resort to the above mentioned solutions for removing stubborn fasteners. Anti-seize compound plain and simple, use it anytime you put a bolt or nut back in place especially into blind holes. Anti-seize compound nearly eliminates corrosion and rust forming on the threads which is the basis of causing a bolt to get stuck into a threaded hole. As with anything always consult your service manual for proper torque values for each fastener to eliminate damaged threads.

Your role as a sponsored rider.

Your role as a sponsored rider is to sell the sponsors product or service. Your JOB, yes it is a job, is to always be telling people about the features and benefits of your sponsors stuff. You do know what the features and benefits are, right? You need to spend the time and become familiar with what they do and what they sell. You should always have their products presented in a positive image. When you are a representative of company XYZ you need to be sure that your quad or bike is clean and professional looking. Your gear and pit area are professional in appearance. And most of all your attitude is professional. No more horsing around getting in dirt fights with your buddies. You are a professional now. [Read more]

Ready for the Hunt?

Planning and Preparation

Know the area you are going to hunt. This means checking the maps, the local rules and regulations of OHV travel and regulations regarding the use of ATVs or UTVs for game retrieval.Ask yourself a few questions; Is my quad in good working condition and up to date on its maintenance? Do I have my OHV sticker and/or registration? Have I let somebody know where I’m going and when to expect me back? These are just a couple of questions to consider before you head out. Preparing for the trail can mean as little as packing a lunch along with your hunting gear or as much as outfitting for a weekend of camping. I’ve been asked many times, “what do you carry” when I’m out on the trail. This is basic list of what I usually take along when I head out to the woods.

[Read more]

Sponsorship Cutbacks, a slow economy, plus the Media Allstars Promo Video

Well, the economy is officially making silly season impossible as just about everyone is cutting back their budgets. Not to mention that a lot of the big fish have reportedly yet to sign. It’s a rough year when you consider just about every major player in MX (both two wheeled and four) is up for a new contract. On the two wheeled side, everyone’s contract was up, it was the exact same thing on the ATV side which essentially means the majority of teams, and sponsors won’t commit to anything until they see who they land. Creamer, Little, Wienen, Wimmer, Dunk, Arno, Byrd, & Bubba Stewart, Reed, Windham, Villopoto were all up for grabs this off season. With a good economy it would be tough, with the current situation the reality is it’s table scraps at best for the rest of us.

I swore I’d try to refrain from too much blatant self promotion, but I’m really digging the new Media Allstars Promo video.Check it out, let me know what you think. It was intended as a supplement to our sponsorship proposals.

Harold Goodman clinches 2008 EDT title

With the final round of the 2008 Duro Extreme Dirt Track series rained out and no make-up date announced, Harold Goodman will repeat as Pro class champion. Harold started off the year taking second to Mitch Reynolds at the opening round. Goodman then rattled off four straight wins to take a commanding lead in the points. This year would bring new competition from South Dakota’s Michael Coburn. Coburn would reel off five straight second place finishes and a win at round 7 to keep pace with Goodman. Unfortunately Coburn could not control mother nature with the cancelation of the final round. Rounding out the top five inPro class was Brad Riley, Danny McGraw and Chuckie Creech.

[Read more]

How do sponsor support riders?

This is part 3 in a series. To read the previous posts on this subject click HERE

Cool it! cooling system problems explained

Its something that almost every ATV or motorcycle enthusiast will encounter at some point in their lives with any particular machine, overheating. Its a condition that can be intermittent or constant depending on the conditions. Manufactures go to great lengths to design a system around the constraints of packaging, manufacturing, reliability and performance and any change in the parameters that the system was designed to run in will most likely cause problems or put strain on the system. I took this from a question I was asked in the ATV forum and expanded on it.

Basically there are three types of cooling systems air, air & oil and liquid, both with distinct differences and advantages. I will break each down explaining the disadvantages and advantages of each system.

[Read more]

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