Chinese ATVs are a fantastic and affordable alternative to more expensive Japanese or European brands. But if you want to get the most out of them, proper maintenance is essential.
In this post, we’re going to be looking at how to best maintain Chinese ATVs.
Before we get started, note that this isn’t meant to be a comprehensive guide, and the correct way to maintain your ATV will vary between different brands and models.
With over 20 years of experience, our goal is to share some general maintenance tips that apply to most Chinese ATVs, but you should always refer to your owner’s manual as a first resort. And if the information below contradicts the manufacturer’s instructions, always defer to their recommendations instead.
It’s also usually a good idea to leave the maintenance to professional technicians wherever possible, rather than taking care of it yourself. If you bought your Chinese ATV from ATV Wholesale Outlet, our in-house experts can help.
Now that’s covered, let’s dive into it!
At ATV Wholesale Outlet, all our Chinese ATVs come pre-assembled by professionals, so they’re ready to ride straight away.
But if you ordered your ATV online, you may have to assemble it yourself at home. It’s important to take care during this initial assembly process to make sure your ATV is fit to ride before you take it out on the trails. You should always follow your owner’s assembly manual for your specific model as a first resort. This can be a tricky process, as often time’s instructions are written very poorly and may be difficult to follow. Proper initial assembly will help ensure your dirt bike is safe to ride and minimize maintenance requirements later down the line.
The oil in your ATV helps to lubricate moving parts in the engine and protect them from wear and tear. To maximize the lifespan of your vehicle, it’s important to change the engine oil regularly.
If your ATV is brand new, it’s also a good idea to change the oil before you ride it for the first time. This is because many China ATVs arrive with cheap, low-grade factory “shipping oil” which is not intended for operating the vehicle.
Fortunately, changing the oil is a simple, straightforward maintenance task. First, locate the oil drain plug on the bottom side of your engine, remove the plug with a socket and allow a few minutes for the oil to fully drain out.
After draining, replace the plug and refill the oil at the dipstick to the appropriate level. This will usually be around 700ml or so for small Chinese ATVs. We suggest using non-synthetic 10W40 motorcycle oil, but make sure you use the right oil weight based on your manufacturer’s recommendations.
You should lubricate the chain on your ATV before every ride. It may also become loose over time and need tightening (or in some cases, loosening).
You’ll know it’s too loose if you hear a popping sound and your ATV jerks under acceleration, or if the chain jumps off.
If it’s too tight, it may be noisy and bind, which you should be able to feel by pushing the ATV with the motor off. Bear in mind chains sometimes feel tight when the ATV is brand new, but will usually stretch and create slack once you break it in.
To adjust your Chinese ATV’s chain, look near the center of the rear axle. You should see 4 bolts: two on top and two on the bottom. Loosen these bolts, then either tighten or loosen the key-shaped tensioners to adjust the chain. Once you’re happy with the amount of tension on the chain, retighten the bolts.
Inspect your fuel lines and fuel filters regularly. Many smaller, cheap Chinese quads don’t have fuel pumps and are gravity-fed from the tank instead.
The fuel lines carry fuel from the tank to the carburetor through a small in-line fuel filter. These lines can crack and tear over time, causing fuel to leak out. In that case, you should replace the fuel line by pulling it off and installing a new one.
You should also check for kinks in the line that stops fuel from reaching the carburetor, and you may also need to replace the filter at some point.
The carburetor is the part responsible for pumping fuel and mixing it with air via small diaphragms and ports. These ports can become clogged up with contaminants like dirt and debris, which can negatively impact your ATV’s performance.
You can clean the carburetor by removing it from the engine and soaking it in a mixture of water and fuel solvent, then carefully brushing away the dirt and debris from the outside.
Over time, the nuts and bolts on your ATV can vibrate and come loose. That’s why it’s important to regularly check and tighten nuts and bolts on your ATV, such as the jamb nuts on your tie rod.
Just make sure that you don’t over-tighten anything and accidentally cause damage to your ATV. It’s a good idea to use a good-quality torque wrench to make sure this doesn’t happen.
When your ATV isn’t in use, it’s important to store it correctly. Leaving your ATV outside exposed to UV rays, rain, wind, and freezing temperatures can damage the parts and components, which isn’t good.
Ideally, you should store your ATV indoors in a dry area, like your garage. But if you must store it outside, make sure you use a heavy-duty, high-quality cover to protect it from the elements.
If you’re storing your ATV long-term, there are additional steps to take, especially if you’re storing it during the winter months. For example, you’ll want to clean it so there’s no dirt or debris to corrode it during its time in storage. You might also want to lubricate everything, change the oil, etc.
Some manufacturers have specific recommendations to prevent corrosion. For example, you may need to remove the air filter, spray fogging oil into the intake, drain the carburetor, disconnect the battery, etc. Check your manufacturer’s instructions for specific recommendations.
That concludes our brief guide on how to maintain Chinese ATVs. The tips above can help you to keep your ATV in tip-top condition, but for the best results, the most important tip is to buy from a reputable dealership.
At ATV Wholesale Outlet, all our Chinese ATVs come pre-assembled and undergo a 3-phase quality control inspection before you take them home.
And our team of experts is always ready to service, maintain, and repair your vehicle from our in-house professional repair shop. Check out our selection of ATVs to find out more!
You May Find Helpful: How To Maintain Your Chinese Dirt Bike
If your ATV engine is sputtering, rapidly losing and increasing power, blowing black smoke, or losing power while retaining speed, you probably need to adjust your ATV carburetor. Read this post to learn how to do that in both ideal and emergency situations.
Before you examine the ATV or try to adjust the carburetor, turn off the machine and let it completely cool.
You don't want to burn yourself.
When learning how to adjust your ATV carburetor, you'll have to learn about your ATV's individual requirements. Get out your manual and start getting to know the locations of this machine's parts and its tension specifications for the jets and air valves.
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There is an ideal fuel to air ratio your carburetor is working to achieve, and when the ratio is off, it allows too much or too little fuel to pass into the engine. This is called having a rich mixture or a lean mixture.
A rich mixture will cause the sputtering and fluctuating power, and if the situation is bad enough, it will cause black smoke. The black smoke comes from so much fuel being let into the engine that it has nowhere to go and just burns up. Anytime you have a rich fuel mixture, you can check the spark plugs and find a black, sooty plug.
A lean mixture causes the ATV to lose power while retaining speed.
The spark plug will have a white or blistered spark plug.
If you aren't already familiar with your spark plugs, they should be tan.
To fix rich or lean mixtures, you will be adjusting the carburetor to increase or decrease the amount of fuel, depending on your needs.
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First, locate the carburetor. The owner's manual can tell you exactly where to find it in your model, but it is usually under the seat and the air box.
The carburetor contains several pins/screws that control the fuel and air ratio for different aspects of the carburetor functions. One controls the fuel to air ratio at idle to 1/4 throttle, one controls from 1/4 - 3/4 throttle, and one controls from 3/4 to full throttle.
Of these, the jet pins will be clearly visible, and they look like little gold pins. The air adjustment screw will be on either the lower left or right side of the carburetor.
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Your ATV's manual will tell you the specific turns of the screws needed to achieve the right balance and how to achieve that balance for your altitude.
The first step is to tighten the jet pins with a screwdriver until they touch the carburetor. Over tightening serves no good purpose and will make the instructions in your manual incorrect. You want to start from the turn just where the pin met the frame. This is the leanest position, and each turn "measures" a certain amount of fuel mixture.
Now unscrew the pins whatever number of times the manual states.
You will repeat this same process with the air valve screw.
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You'll want to adjust your carburetor at home or in the shop, but if an emergency strikes while you're riding, you may have to tend to it so you can get back home.
In a pinch (again, not recommended), you can wing your ATV carburetor tuning by utilizing the same technique as above but doing it a little at time and trying out the results.
Pick the pilot screw that seems to correspond to your problem. If you seem to be running rich, pick the pilot screw on the engine side of the carburetor. If you're running lean, pick the pilot screw nearest the airbox.
Take a screwdriver, if you have one, or a key, credit card, whatever you can make work, and turn the pilot screw corresponding to your problem until it is flat to the carburetor.
Be very careful that you don't turn it the wrong way and let the screw fall out where you might lose it!
Having the screw flat to the carburetor starts you in the lean position, where you can then loosen the screw to let a little more fuel or air in. You'll want to turn the screw in one quarter turns. Do this 1 and half time and start your engine to see how it runs. If it turns on and doesn't sputter or stall, you're good to go.
If not, turn it in one quarter turns until it does. Get your engine to run as well as normal without overdoing it and flooding it. If you can get back to your truck or hauler, you can work on it or have someone else work on it to get it perfect later.
If you bring your manual with you on your rides, you can eliminate most of the trial and error here.
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How to adjust the carburetor on an ATV? What to pay attention to? What are the signs of misuse of the device? About this today in our article. Using the proposed instructions, you will be able to set up the carburetor step by step without the help of specialists.
For stable operation of the ATV, it is necessary that the engine receives the optimal amount of combustible mixture corresponding to its rev range. Otherwise, the following problems may occur:
What needs to be applied in this case:
Important! Carry out tuning only when the carburetor is cleaned outside and inside, as well as when the engine is warmed up to operating temperature.
Check. Then turn bolt #2 one turn. The enrichment of the mixture occurs in a clockwise direction, depletion - against. Note. The location of the bolts on each carburetor model may vary, so read the instructions that came with your machine.
1. Start the ATV and test ride. Wait until the engine has completely cooled down.
2. Check the condition of the spark plug. To do this, unscrew the cap and inspect the candle.
What to look for:
3. Unscrew the needle cover at the top of the carburetor. Pull the needle. This is the main element that regulates the supply of fuel to the combustion chamber, since the needle is connected to the gas trigger. When the trigger is pressed, the needle rises, slightly opening the hole for supplying the fuel mixture. This directly affects the growth of power and speed of the ATV.
4. Remove the cable, then press the needle to pull it out. The needle has 5 grooves and a retaining ring. By default, it is set to medium. The lower the retaining ring is located, the higher the needle is raised, which means that a lot of gasoline and little air is supplied.
Accordingly, the higher the ring - the less gasoline and more air.
5. Reposition the circlip in the desired direction to optimize carburetor performance. Insert the needle into place.
6. Start the engine and press the throttle trigger. With proper adjustment, the engine should not stall from a sharp pressure.
And remember, you should resort to adjusting the needle only as a last resort, when adjusting the quality and quantity screw does not bring results.
The performance of a four-wheeler depends on the correct level of gasoline in the carburetor. An excessive amount will flood the candles, spill onto the ground and lead to unnecessary expenses. If there is too little fuel, the engine simply will not start.
How to optimize the fuel supply
The operation and life of the engine directly depends on the quality of the fuel mixture.
The carburetor is responsible for the preparation of the composition, but after prolonged use of the equipment, the settings “go astray”. This results in:
Many riders who decide to buy an inexpensive ATV simply do not spare the technique and ignore this procedure. But even if you plan to change your device in 1.5-2 years, adjustment is needed. The reason for this is increased fuel consumption. A quad with an untuned carburetor "eats" 30-40% more gasoline, and these are tangible costs.
So how do you adjust the carburetor on a Chinese ATV? For this you need:
However, it is important to remember that all adjustments are made only with a "clean" carburettor. This means that the rider needs to remove all the dirt from the node and flush the system to remove condensation and sediment from it.
Note: The engine must be warmed up to operating temperature immediately before adjustment.
To set the carburetor idle speed, the float chamber must first be cleared of fuel. To do this, start the ATV, close the fuel cock and wait until the machine stalls (5-10 minutes). To speed up the process, you can take a little ride on the quadric. Of course, gasoline can be drained, but in any case you will have to warm up the device, so the first method of "removing" gasoline is more effective.
Then:
Read the manual before adjusting the carburetor on a 125cc ATV to be sure. Remember that the location of the bolts is different in different devices, so read the documentation in advance.
To evaluate the quality of the fuel composition, make a test run. After that, unscrew the candle, and evaluate its condition. If it is:
Also look out for these "symptoms": damaged tip (electrode failure), oil deposits (damage to rings and caps), chips and inclusions (sign of motor failure).
To adjust the mixture you need to twist the needle cover and pull it out. To get the needle, pull out the cable. After that, move the ring in the required direction (lower - more air, but less fuel and vice versa). Then start the engine and make sure it doesn't stall.
The final step in adjusting the 125cc ATV carburetor is adjusting the gasoline level. To do this, you need:
