While they often get lumped together, ATVs and UTVs are vastly different off-road machines. Where UTVs respond to controls similarly to a car or truck, ATVs allow you to use your body to better control how they move. To take full advantage of this relationship between rider and machine, there are a number of simple adjustments you can make to get your ATV to fit you perfectly. And when an ATV fits you properly, you can get a whole lot more out of it.
Looking to provide you with the best information possible on improving your fit on your ATV, we chatted with Yamaha ATV / SxS Testing Manager Pat Biolsi to get some tips on how to take full advantage of an ATV’s adjustability to improve its handling.
The first place to start when you are looking to get the best fit out of your ATV is handlebar position.
“General rule or good starting point is to have the handlebar angle match the same angle as the steering stem when viewed from the side of the vehicle,” says Biolsi. “You can rotate them forward or back a few degrees, which can equal a few inches at the grips and make a significant change to the feel of the ATV.”
Biolsi points out that the handlebar on the [Yamaha] YFZ450R has two sets of mounting holes and eccentric handlebar mounts, so you have four different handlebar positions – each offering a change of 10mm.
“From your Yamaha dealer, the YFZ450R is delivered with the handlebar mounts in the rear hole, closer to the rider, and the eccentric part in the front position, for this position was the most comfortable for the widest range of riders, explains Biolsi. “The rider can easily move them back, or closer to themselves, by -10mm or move forward +10mm and +20mm, with the added benefit of keeping the handlebar angle the same, if the rider likes it.”
If you don’t own a YFZ450R (or maybe you ride a Utility ATV), you can still make some adjustments for a better fit. You can rotate the handlebar forward or back. But this is a trickier thing to get right, as this changes the height and angle of the handlebar at the same time.
You can also easily change the angle of the grips, further improving your fit and comfort.
“[A]djusting the setup and finding what’s most comfortable to the rider is key,” says Biolsi.
Once you are happy with the position of your ATV’s handlebar, you can turn your attention to the levers. Don’t be scared to move the brake lever so it fits comfortably in your hand.
“A lever’s angle can be positioned to coincide with your riding preference, if you tend to sit or stand more, for instance,” says Biolsi. “They can be moved in or out on the handlebar (especially sport ATVs) to meet your fingers at the most comfortable point, and some levers even have a ‘reach’ adjustment to be positioned for different preferences of rider body, hand, or foot sizes.”
Much like brake levers, a manual clutch lever can be adjusted to fit a rider’s size or riding style.
“Riders definitely want to maintain the clutch lever’s adjustment, for it is critical to optimizing performance and maintaining clutch durability,” says Biolsi.
Biolsi also mentions that you should remember to properly lube the cable and grease the lever pivot, which will help reduce hand fatigue when you are putting in hard miles.
And if you have ever wondered why hand levers operate the way they do (pulling towards the rider), Biolsi explains:
“On an ATV, we always set up the hand levers so they stay inward of the end of the handlebars. This reduces the chance the lever will incur damage if it gets hung up on a tree branch, etc.”
Foot pegs are another key point of contact between the rider and the ATV. While you can’t make adjustments on a stock YFZ450R’s foot pegs, Yamaha’s GYTR accessory foot peg / nerf bars offer that added benefit.
“Most riders who want or need to buy a high-end set of nerf bars / foot pegs will care about being able to corner as fast as possible,” says Biolsi. “The GYTR setup has two-position pegs that are both lower than stock, with the higher position -.75” lower and the 2nd position -1.
25” lower than stock. The reason Yamaha went with lower positions is we found most test riders were able to corner harder and more comfortably with their weight as low as possible. The added bonus is taller riders will have a more “relaxed” leg angle with the GYTR foot peg / nerf bars, reducing their fatigue when having to repeatedly go from a sitting to a standing position.”
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So, in a rut, the steering wheel rips out of your hands, when driving straight the ATV goes to the right or left, you notice uneven tire wear or you see that one or both wheels sharply go to the side with the steering wheel set straight - all these are clear signs that that it's time for toe and camber adjustment .
It should be noted that on some ATVs only the convergence is regulated, and the camber is set by the manufacturer.
Getting rid of the problem.
There are many ways, we will try to talk about the most obvious and intuitive.
Which nuts to turn?
#1 Loosen nuts; No. 2 Toe adjustment (turn the tie rod itself with a wrench; No. 3 camber adjustment;
Attention! You do not need to hang the ATV, adjust it on a flat surface without holes and hills, set the steering wheel straight.
Visually we try to evaluate the wheels in front, look at the eye, it will immediately become clear which wheel goes to the side more and which one less. Sometimes adjusting by eye is enough, if we want everything according to science, then we move on.
Method 1
On the rim, on the very edge from the inside, on both sides of each wheel, near the shoulder, we make marks with a marker so that the marks are parallel to the ground.
With the help of a simple ruler, we set the convergence, we rest the ruler against the marks and measure the front and back along the marks.
A ruler is a pipe inserted into a pipe of a larger diameter, at its ends there are L-shaped stops (curved so that the bottom of the ATV does not interfere), with which we will rest against the marks.
For convenience, we fasten the tape measure onto the ruler and look at the numbers, the shiny bolt is the lock, rested on the marks in front and fixed it, looked at the numbers and repeated the procedure on the back of the wheels.
We loosen the locking nuts on the steering rods, turn the rods in one direction or another, twisted and measured a bit, realized that it was a little or a lot, we turn further. Wheel alignment is measured between the edges of the rim. The wheels should be as in the figure below, the difference between A and B should be 0-3mm (less in front and more in the back). Universal convergence is made 0 mm.
After we lock the nuts and try to drive, perhaps the steering wheel will be a little crooked, and the quad will drive smoothly. We loosen the lock nuts again and turn the rods for the same number of revolutions, thereby aligning the steering wheel, but without touching the convergence.
Nothing needs to be adjusted on the rear suspension.
Method 2
1. Set the steering wheel to straight ahead.
2. Place the stands in front of the ATV perpendicular to the rear wheels as shown.
3. Stretch the elastic band around the ATV legs so that it just touches the rear wheels lightly.
4. Measure the distance between the tensioned tape and the front and rear points on the front wheel rim. The distance to the far point on the rim should be 2 - 3 mm greater than the distance to the near point on the same rim.
You yourself could see for yourself that there is nothing complicated in adjusting the toe and camber on an ATV, and you yourself are quite capable of doing it without resorting to the services of a car service. So we put the saved money in our pocket and happy and satisfied we go for a ride.
"Carburet setting...
Wheel chains... "
Camber adjustment problems on an ATV are a very common problem on this type of motorcycle.
And even cool ATVs "get sick" with a similar problem. This malfunction is diagnosed by the following features:
● when turning, the steering wheel of the motorbike breaks out of the hands;
● When driving in a straight line, the ATV will turn to the right or left;
● rubber on wheels wears unevenly;
● The wheels lean noticeably to the side when the steering wheel is level.
You can adjust the camber with your own hands, or by contacting the services of professionals from a motorcycle service. In some models of ATVs, you can only change the toe with your own hands, and the camber is set during the manufacture of the vehicle, and does not change in the future.
If you want to forget about wheel alignment problems, then you have three options:
● unscrew the nuts a little to loosen them;
● adjust toe;
● Adjust the camber.
It is not necessary to hang the ATV for this work, it is best to place it on a flat surface with the handlebars straight.
Usually, the need for camber adjustment can be identified purely visually by determining which of the front wheels of the motorcycle deviates to the side.
If it was not possible to correct the situation by eye, then you can try to loosen the nuts. This is done as follows:
● Use a marker to mark the wheel rims with two marks parallel to the ground;
● using a ruler, determine the amount of toe-in front and rear from the marks;
● loosen the nuts on the tie rods with a wrench;
● tighten the rods to the optimum toe-in values;
● Toe-in is measured between the edges of the ATV's rims and should be between zero and three millimeters.
Now you need to check if the adjustment has been made correctly. For this purpose, you need to fasten the nuts, and try to drive a quad bike a little. Sometimes it happens that the motorbike moves smoothly, but the steering wheel looks to the side. To fix this, you need to loosen the nuts again, and scroll the corresponding number of turns of the thrust, trying to give the steering wheel a level position.
If the above method does not suit you, there is an alternative. To adjust the camber on an ATV, follow these steps:
● set the vehicle's steering wheel straight;
● place the racks in front of the motorbike in a perpendicular position relative to the rear wheels;
● Wrap the ATV with elastic so that it barely touches the rear wheels;
● measure the distance from the tape to the rear and front marks on the rims. The difference between the measured distances should not exceed three millimeters.
Adjusting the camber of an ATV is not the most difficult task, and therefore every motorist can cope with it if desired.
If you do not have enough free time or skills to adjust the camber of an ATV with your own hands, then you can always contact the Dvako Moto motorcycle dealership. Highly qualified craftsmen will perform all the necessary repairs and maintenance of any type of motorcycle not only extremely quickly, but also at a very pleasant price.
