The first patents for scooters go back as far as 1921. The Razor scooter was later developed by Gino Tsai in Shanghai, Taiwan and became an instant hit with the public. It didn't take long for motor scooter popularity to expand all over the globe. Even before 1950 there were as many as 110,000 scooters on the road in Italy alone. It has been just a little over 50 years since the Vespa-Douglas Corporation in the UK sold their first gas scooters. The Douglas corporation was on the verge of bankruptcy when they first began selling their gas scooters. It was a big hit at the 1950 Motorcycle Show and saved the company from possible financial ruin. From 1950 to 1958 Vespa sold over 125,000 of their gas powered scooters in the UK. Why the great success? During this period the European countries didn't have a great deal of money and there was not much gas available to the public. Due to the scarcity of gasoline and the high gas mileage of the gas motor scooter it's popularity quickly escalated. It didn't take long for the Italian models (the Piaggio from Vespa and the Lambretta from Innocenti) to branch out to other countries. In France they became so popular the French tried to get in on the boom by manufacturing their own. By the early to mid 1950s the sale of gas scooters climbed to about 1 million a year in France alone. Other countries wanted to profit from the newest craze and tried to climb on the band wagon. While some were successful others were not. Germany began to manufacture larger touring models, but this did not satisfy the public in the way the smaller, cheaper and more fuel-efficient models from Italy and France did. These smaller models were extremely popular in the European market. Tourist Scooters Manufacturers in Germany built some very strong and powerful versions and were the first to install electric starters. These larger versions were great for traveling, touring and even racing, but were not as popular as the smaller, cheaper, more efficient models used for traveling shorter distances around town. Vespa began marketing a couple of very popular gas powered scooters from Piaggio, the GS 125cc and the GS 150cc. These were improved versions of the earlier models for several reasons. The biggest reason is probably because the heavy gear mechanism rods were replaced by smaller and lighter cables. France's Roussey Scooters tried to one-up the Italian competition by coming out with a 175cc model. These were very nice vehicles and included the first water-cooled engines along with other new features, but because it had a pull-start it could not compete with the newer models from Italy that were already offering versions with electric starts. As these wonderful vehicles have evolved over the years they have become increasingly more popular all over the world. Today they are everywhere. They are cheap to purchase, economical to operate, and are very handy and functional. These are not toys and are genuinely a lot of fun to ride. There are electric, gas powered, foldable, mobility and utility scooters. The electric types are often used by kids and teens, but are also popular with the elderly and handicapped. Models for the handicapped are usually called mobility scooters. Folding varieties can be folded up and conveniently stored under desks, in closets or in other tiny areas and utility types are used for many different purposes. They are more popular than go karts, mini bikes or go carts. Scooters, sometimes called mopeds or go peds, are very functional, convenient and are here to stay. Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/history-of-gas-scooters-9196.htmlHistory of Gas Scooters
Author: Dr. Larry A. Johnson, D.c.
About the Author:
J Larry Alan is a freelance author providing information about a variety of scooter topics including gas scooters, gas powered scooters and motor scooters.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
History of Gas Scooters
Friday, November 23, 2007
Getting Parts For A Motorcycle
Tune-ups don't require ignition coil replacements. Sometimes you need to replace the spark plug caps on the ends of the wires, though. The resistance value should be around 5K ohms. Honda Tune up kits generally has plugs, points and condensers in them, as a set. The number of miles you have on the bike engine and the overall care it has had makes a lot of difference in what you will need and what may keep going for you, for a while. Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/motorcycles-articles/getting-parts-for-a-motorcycle-195175.html Victor Epand is an expert consultant at http://www.SellUsedMotorcycleParts.com/. Sell Used Motorcycle Parts is a community of various independent used motorcycle parts sellers from around the world. Each used motorcycle parts seller represents a unique style of products all their own. Getting Parts For A Motorcycle
Author: Victor Epand
The tools that came in your kit, if complete, could barely get you by on repairs/tune-ups. If you own a bike, you need to know about how to repair it and have the tools to do the job. You can go to Wal-Mart, Costco and elsewhere and get giant tool packages for $100 or less that will get you going pretty well. An Impact Driver with a selection of bits and a good hammer will be a good investment! Steel screws, resting in aluminum threads for such a long time will setup corrosion in the threads that can spell trouble in some cases.
The cables are now 33 years old.... probably time for a change! If your bike is a 1973 CB350G, then it has a front disk brake that has its own maintenance issues. Same with the CB350F. The "regular" CB350 twins had cable operated drum brakes.
You can get a lot of stuff on EBay, as far as tune-up parts go. You need to identify the exact model, of course, before you move forward, plus a good tune-up guide and/or shop manual will be useful. I have a PDF version of a minor tune-up guide that is a reprint from a Cycle Guide magazine special booklet, but it only covers CB350 Twins. The principles of engine tuning are all the same, but the details between 2 and 4 cylinder bikes are somewhat different in layout of components.
If you used stabil or some kind of gasoline stabilizer for the winter, the carbs should be okay. I would certainly drain them and refill the tank with fresh gasoline. Yamaha makes a carb cleaner that you mix with gasoline and then funnel down the carb fuel line to clean out the parts in the float bowl while it is together. Depends on what kind of condition the parts are in, though. Honda carbs have numerous O-rings inside that need replacing after 33 years!
What you could do, and it may require some modification on your part, is to find a hard bag mount set for your bike and then go to a motorcycle salvage yard and see what they have that you may like. You would likely have to repaint them, but that requires a wind-free place to work and a bit of light sanding and paint and a few hours.
Alternatively, if you know how to work with fiberglass, you could build the bags you want yourself, but this is a long-term project that will eat up a lot of your spare time to do it quickly. You can also look on a few of the catalogue sites. In addition to that, try some of the e-groups for Kawasaki and Vulcan's. There are a lot of specialized e-groups out there for specific makes and models of bikes. Look there, as there may be someone who is getting rid of a set that will work on your bike. It will certainly be less expensive than new.
Honda pretty much washes their hands of responsibility of supplying parts after about 10 years after end of production. They have made thousands of different models and dozens of variations of many of those, so the parts inventory and production considerations are staggering in any case.
Honda does have a vintage parts division, apparently in Japan who will make small quantities of some items that they still have tooling for, like exhaust systems for some of the fours. CB750 primarily. CMS in Holland is tied to them, to a certain extent and almost had them remake the missing #2 pipe for the 350Fs but the cost got too high.
Companies like apex cycle, retrobikes and a few others are having Asian companies remake some items. You won't be seeing any new crankshafts or engine cases coming from Honda or anyone else. Tooling and production of this stuff is way too expensive nowadays.
I have a source in Australia who makes new Dream and CB77 mufflers from stainless steel.
It is a small company and he's willing to do the tooling in-house just to produce the parts, but he's getting near retiring and that source will dry up one day. A company in NZ made some beautiful new CB77 mufflers a few years back, but the supply is now gone, I believe and they don't seem interested in doing another run again.
If there is sufficient demand, someone usually steps up and takes a shot at having parts made, but there are so many parts in a bike and so many models, that it is impossible to expect that the supply line for 40+ year old motorcycles is going to continue indefinitely. Brit bikes and scooters remained relatively unchanged for many years, so making parts for those is less of a stretch, than doing Honda camshafts for 250-305s... there were three versions of splines on just those parts.
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Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Thing To Consider When Buying Used Harley Davidson Motorcycle
Buying a new Harley-Davidson motorcycle is fairly easy. All you have to do is pick a model, visit local dealers, test drive the Harley, and pay in financing or in full. However, buying a used Harley-Davidson motorcycle is a different story. Since it is already used, you should be more extra careful in closing your deal immediately. Here are the things you should consider if you want to buy used Harley-Davidson motorcycle: Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/thing-to-consider-when-buying-used-harley-davidson-motorcycle-57537.html This content is provided by Low Jeremy. It may be used only in its entirety with all links included. For more information on Harley-Davidson & other useful information, please visit http://harley-davidson.articlekeep.comThing To Consider When Buying Used Harley Davidson Motorcycle
Author: Low Jeremy
Motorcycle history - Since you are not aware of things that have happened while you are yet the owner of the motorcycle, you need to know its history. Here you will learn if it was involved on accidents or have been submerged under water. These information are vital since you want to buy a good used Harley.
Price - One of the reasons why you buy used Harley-Davidson motorcycle is because you want to save. If you are not aware of the current market value of the model you are buying, then it is time for you to make some research.
Overall Condition - Whether you are buying a 1978 or a 2005 model, you have to consider the overall condition of the motorcycle. Never disregard this since you will be the one who will take the whole responsibility of your purchase in case you have bought an ill-maintained motorcycle.
Check the exterior or the motorcycle as well as its performance. Like buying used cars, you should check everything and test-drive the vehicle. Check the sound and the engine. Check for rusts, dents, and other things that may affect the price of the Harley.
Mileage - Since the mileage reading is the main basis of the price of the any type of used vehicle including the Harley-Davidson motorcycle, you must check it and base it on the price being offered.
Proximity - This may not be very important for some. But for those who want to get to see the used Harley motorcycle being sold, location is very important. If a Harley-Davidson seller happens to be near you, you can easily visit and have the deals made fast.
Owner's background - This does not mean you have to investigate thoroughly the owner by hiring an investigator and make a report for you. All you have to do is to ask the seller questions related on how does he take care of the motorcycle while in his possession. Or, if you happen you have a chance to meet the owner, be observant on the things around him. Surely, you will get clear idea on how well he is as a motorcycle owner.
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Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Is Your Harley Davidson Ready For Sale
What if there will come a time when you have to sell your Harley-Davidson? You do this maybe because you want to buy another, newer model or would like to buy a much older, harder to find one. You can come up with unlimited reasons why you have to sell your Harley-Davidson of course. But with all these, have you asked yourself: "Is my Harley-Davidson ready for sale?" Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/is-your-harley-davidson-ready-for-sale-61863.html This content is provided by Low Jeremy. It may be used only in its entirety with all links included. For more information on Harley-Davidson & other useful information, please visit http://harley-davidson.articlekeep.comIs Your Harley Davidson Ready For Sale
Author: Low Jeremy
If your answer is "maybe", "I don't know", or a definite "no", follow some tips below and you will surely get your Harley-Davidson sold in no time...
Do the aesthetics.
If you are a buyer, you simply would like to buy a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that looks great. Since the exterior is the very first thing that a costumer would look at when buying a Harley-Davidson or any vehicle for that matter, you should pay attention to it before anything else. You can look on the weak spots of your Harley and make changes on it. Dents should be removed. Rusts should not be in any visual. Dusts should not sit on corners. In short, your motorcycle must be clean on the outside. It will not only give your potential buyer the impression that you maintain your Harley very well, it will also increase the value of it.
Do the inside.
Some riders buy Harley-Davidson for its sound and engine performance. So, you have to keep the sound as Harley as possible. If you can, maintain the original sound of your Harley. Sell your motorcycle by promoting the sound and the engine. In other words, if you have a great Harley sound, you are one step closer to the sale.
The price.
The price of your Harley-Davidson would either depend on its current market value or on how well you maintain it. Set the price which is very attractive to buyers but not necessarily cheap. Price should always be reasonable.
The receipts.
If you happen to do some changes or replaces some parts that have to be replaced, you should compile all the receipts of these and present them to the buyer. Receipts are your supporting documents when you sell your vehicle to the potential buyer.
Remember that when you follow all these, you get increase your chances of landing at the best sale possible. Though these would help, you have to remember that working to achieve it relies on you and you alone.
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Saturday, November 17, 2007
Yamaha Yzf-r1 : The Road Monster
Yamaha YZF-R1 is a natural born land rocket by combining the technology from the race track with a great design compare to other super bikes in the same category. It is quite a while since it first appearance but from its unique performance in every aspect makes the YZF-R1 still in most bikers mind. Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/yamaha-yzfr1-the-road-monster-90603.htmlYamaha Yzf-r1 : The Road Monster
Author: Varon Sanornoi
Foe anyone who owns this R-1, you don't have to be worry that your model will fade through time because the Yamaha has made a great design for it. As time goes by this bike still be trendy and even for the minor change they never miss every little detail. If you look at the minor change it looks a lot like the old model but actually more than 200 parts are change. Specially the body parts, it may look alike but the Yamaha has to redesign it and test the arrow dynamic force to find the best model that will has the least wind resistant. The front mirror angle is reducing by few degrees. The front head light is uniquely redesign and added the air duct ability to help cool down the intercooler and the engine itself. For the back mirror, the size was longer and moves the position higher for better seeing. Other than what they mention above, the overall weight is also reduced by 2 kilograms.
The frame is the newly develop frame from Yamaha under the name of Delta-Box II and used in the first time in the R-1 and later used in the R-7 which is the best super bike of the year. The new frame is lighter, stronger than and not as big as the earlier one.
The new engine technology that is used in this monster is lighter but more powerful. It is a 4 cylinder Double Overhead Camshaft engine uses the Genesis 4 step technology 998 cc. The cylinder diameter is 74 millimeter and the pull length is 58 millimeters and the compression ratio is 11.8:1. It produces 150 horsepower at 10,000 rounds per minute with the torque 11.0 kilogram-meters at 8,500 rounds per minute equipped with a six speed manual transmission. The gear plate is small and changes the ratio for 1st gear to close to 2nd gear. The cylinders use the ELEC-TROPLATING technology to reduce the occurred friction and also helps cool down the temperature. The fuel injection they use is from Mikuni 40 millimeters with a special system that will transfer the data to the ECU. The fuel rail is bigger. The start motor is smaller and shorter by 12 millimeters. The valve cover is made from magnesium for lighter weight. The muffler was redesign and the muffler tip is made from titanium.
The last change is the fuel tank. Yamaha has removed a support from the end of the tank and reduced the size by 5 millimeters which gives the comfortable feeling while you are riding it. The overall design is impressive and creates the modern look.
About the Author:
Varon Sanornoi is the internet freelance writer. If you want to find a car dealership in Washington DC,please go to Washington DC Car Dealer
The History Of The Legendary Harley Davidson Motorcycles
Harley Davidson is a famous brand of motorcycles, and it all started back in 1901 when a young man by the name of William Harley crafted a blueprint of an engine that would fit onto a bicycle. Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/the-history-of-the-legendary-harley-davidson-motorcycles-61432.html You will find more from this author at: vehicles-magazine.comThe History Of The Legendary Harley Davidson Motorcycles
Author: Joe Goertz
In 1903 the very first Harley Davidson motorcycles were made available to the public when William Harley and his friend Arthur Davidson produced one built as a racing motorcycle. It was purchased by one of their childhood school friends, Henry Meyer. During this time, the Harley Davidson production plant was nothing more than a crude wooden shed with the words "Harley Davidson Motor Company" scratched across the front door.
1905 was an important year for Harley Davidson, as they hired their first full time employee and one of their motorcycles won a race in Chicago, putting them on the map in a sense. Years and years go by, and the 1950's find Harley Davidson's winning races, being featured on magazine covers with Elvis Presley, and becoming a household name among race and motorcycle enthusiasts everywhere.
In 1983 the Harley Owners Group was formed, and was referred to as H.O.G. It became the largest motorcycle club in the world to be sponsored by a factory. In a mere six years, the club had grown to include more than 90,000 members. In 1987, Harley Davidson became listed on the New York Stick Exchange, and owners everywhere realized what a wise investment they had made!
More years pass, with Harley Davidson inventing new motorcycles on a regular basis, winning more races, and selling more motorcycles than any other manufacturer. In 2006, Harley Davidson appointed the first authorized dealer of their motorcycles in China.
Today, Harley Davidson produces a wide variety of motorcycles that come in all different styles, shapes and colors. Harley Davidson not only makes recreational and sport racing motorcycles, they also make touring bikes. The Ultra Classic Electra Glide is the king daddy of them all, loaded with extra features and offering the ultimate in comfort. It even comes with an advanced audio system!
While Harley Davidson is most well known for their motorcycles, they also produce a full line of accessories to compliment their motorcycles. Some of the available accessories include sidecars, saddlebags and pouches, chrome covers, windshields, seats, mirrors, backrests, hand controls and sissy bars.
They also make a full line of clothing including leather goods, warm, cold and wet weather gear, helmets, gloves, jackets, vests, shirts, pants, boots, eyewear, as well as racing attire. There clothing accessory line is available in a wide range of sizes for men and women, as well as children.
If you are in the market to buy a Harley Davidson, you'll be able to find one no matter where you are in the world. Harley Davidson has dealerships in over 60 countries, and as a company employs more than 9,000 people.
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Thursday, November 15, 2007
Motorcycle and Atv Cylinder Rebuilding Options
Recent History of Cylinder Types Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/motorcycles-articles/motorcycle-and-atv-cylinder-rebuilding-options-247293.htmlMotorcycle and Atv Cylinder Rebuilding Options
Author: Thomas C Schueneman
The oldest and most common method of cylinder design is a cast iron block that is machined with a cylindrical bore directly from a solid casting. There is also a cast iron block that incorporates a sleeve that is pressed into the iron block. Generally iron block motors weren’t very successful in small engines. Most small engines were used in vehicles and equipment that needed to be light and mobile. This made cast iron blocks undesirable for this purpose. There were a lot of single cylinder motors used in lawn mowers, construction equipment, scooters, small tractors and small motorcycles that used cast iron block motors in the early years. These began to disappear in the 60’s and they were replaced by aluminum block motors with cast-in iron liners. This opened the door for new lightweight motors that could be used in many more applications and in bigger displacements than ever before. This was accomplished by placing a cast iron sleeve into the mold before the molten aluminum was poured into the mold. This made the sleeve an integral part of the cylinder block. The sleeve usually had locking rings or flanges around the outside to prevent it from slipping in the casting as the engine expanded from the heat generated by the combustion process. A major problem occurred often when air pockets would develop during the casting operation around the sleeve. This caused hot spots and often caused premature engine cylinder failure.
There is another type of aluminum block with a cast iron sleeve that wasn’t cast-in; it is installed in the block after casting. The cylinder bore of the aluminum block is machined to 3-5 thousands of an inch less than the sleeve diameter, block is then heated to around 600 degrees Fahrenheit, and the sleeve is dropped in. When the block cools the sleeve is held in place by the interference fit and the flange at the top or bottom of the cylinder. This cylinder can be rebuilt by simply re-heating the block to 600 degrees and removing the old sleeve and replacing it with a new one. Of course the finish bore will have to be machined to size and honed.
Near the end of the last century it was discovered that you could make a mold pattern using a computer aided molding system out of Styrofoam. This made it possible to have precise duplicate patterns of a particular cylinder that you wanted to mold of aluminum.
These are placed in a mold made of sand, molten aluminum is then poured slowly into the mold melting and replacing the Styrofoam pattern. This process is called total loss mold casting. Now all they have to do is a little milling and drilling, plate the bore and hone to size. For the two stroke market the best part of this is the finished product is an identical copy of the original. The factories love this because it just eliminated a whole lot of assembly line workers. No more absenteeism, no health insurance or pensions, and no coffee breaks. As far as the consumer goes they get a cylinder that doesn’t need a lot porting before they can be competitive.
There are a lot of four stroke motors that use aluminum blocks and aluminum sleeves that are plated a variety of hard finishes. These sleeves can be removed and replaced. The replacement sleeve can be either iron or aluminum. If you want an aluminum sleeve it will have to be plated after installing otherwise it won’t be true and round.
There are several types of plating that has been used over the years, and the companies doing plating guard their formulas carefully. The finish in the early years was a simple chrome or hard chrome electro-plating. The plating was generally only a few thousands of an inch thick. If it was more than about ten thousands of an inch thick it was prone to chipping or flaking because of heat expansion and contraction. In the early seventies Electrofusion became popular. Electrofusion was different from electroplating in as much as it was a fusion process instead of electroplating. Next there was ceramic composites and Boron. All of these perform in about the same way as far as wear and durability. Then there was Nikasil. Nikasil was a new plating formula of nickel-silicon-carbide. It was harder than the others that came before it. For years you couldn’t get a cylinder re-plated when you damaged one, the only way to get going again was to buy a new one. Now you can choose from many companies doing their own version of Nikasil.
Now let’s look at a person’s choice of repair or rebuilding methods for their Motorcycle, ATV, Snowmobile, Personal Watercraft, or Outboard. You can have your Nikasil or other plated cylinder re-plated (or some called it re-coated). This includes the composite types.
Or you can have it sleeved with a hardened alloy steel or cast iron (when you add alloys to iron its considered steel). If your cylinder has an iron sleeve already, whether it’s cast-in or not, you’re only real choice is replacing it with another sleeve or a sleeve liner.
Let’s assume you’re an avid racer and race 25 weekends a year, you’re going to need a rebuild of your cylinder by the end of the year no matter what type cylinder you have. If it is a plated type cylinder you have three choices. 1- buy a new cylinder for $500-600 for the top end and expect to do the same next year. 2- re-plate it for about $300-400 with piston kit and gaskets and figure on doing it again next year. 3- have it sleeved for about $250-350 with piston kit and gaskets and next year have it bored (most models) to the next size for about $55 plus piston kit and gaskets.
A properly sleeved cylinder will perform as well as any plated cylinder. A properly sleeved cylinder is one that has the proper interference fit, proper pre-sleeve bore finish, accurate flange machining, and sleeve made from the proper alloys. The most popular sleeve is the Moly 2000 chrome-moly iron. The proper boring and honing to match the piston clearance requirements goes without saying.
Pros and Cons
Re-Plated Cylinder Bore
Pros
• Small advantage in heat transfer
• Slightly better wear factor
• Somewhat lower co-efficient of friction
• Weighs a few ounces less
Cons
• Costs slightly more
• Can’t be bored when damage occurs
• More fragile
• Can flake and peel
Iron Sleeved Cylinder Bore
Pros
• Costs less
• Boreable for future over sizes
• Honeable to keep bore true and proper ring seal
• Can be worked with common tools
• Can be replaced when needed
Cons
• Slightly slower heat transfer
The Bottom Line
Both systems perform equally well when professionally done, so it really comes down to economics. You can expect a sleeved cylinder to give more life for the money. Re-plated cylinders are as close to original as you can get. So if you’re happy with your OEM plated cylinder you should have it re-plated. If not have it sleeved by a company that has the reputation, experience, and warrantees to protect your investment. http://kustom-kraft.com
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Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Some Knowledge About Motorcycle Shock Absorber
Shock absorber includes front absorber and back absorber. Back absorber is simple and made up of absorb spring and damper. Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/motorcycles-articles/some-knowledge-about-motorcycle-shock-absorber-251333.html Koma Wu is director of utility trailer. You can get the latest information and products about ATV winch and ATV parts.Some Knowledge About Motorcycle Shock Absorber
Author: koma
It has good bounce and it's always unable to take-down. Some of the back absorber has the adjust items which can adjust spring's flexibility.
Front absorber is a bit complicated and take great influence on motorcycle.Front absorber not only absorb front wheel's shock but also pass the running power.
So it demands a good flexibility. Moreover two absorber's flexibility should be the same in order to keep the motorcycle driving straight.
Front absorber librates 80 times/min, it requires good toughness spring and front fork core. It also requires high produce precision and toughness. Concretely front fork core should never been damaged or distorted, otherwise it affects absorber's effect, increase abrasion. Front fork's belt limit is 0.1mm to 0.2mm, it will be changed over 0.2mm.
Moreover, oil seal is also very important because it's hard to seal reciprocate than whirligig. Oil seal's material have to be good rubber and be spring.
Shock absorber should be removed by expert in order not to do harm to shock absorber.Front fork and oil seal take a great influence on motorcycle driving. Drivers should use original fittings for Front fork and oil seal.
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Friday, November 2, 2007
Teaching your Kid About Riding an Atv
Teaching your kid about riding an ATV Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/motorcycles-articles/teaching-your-kid-about-riding-an-atv-130367.html For more information about kids atvs and products relating to your needs feel free to contact Jackel Motorsports toll free at 1-888-529-8629 or on the web at www.jackel.com Teaching your Kid About Riding an Atv
Author: Ray Martin
Your kid’s first ATV ride experience may not be as easy as you may think it is – even with his great enthusiasm to learn to ride one. Most ATV parents are eager to pass on the ATV “legacy” to their kids without first finding out if their kids are interested. Besides just teaching them to ride, there are other issues that the parents have to tackle first – such as the physical, emotional and mental assessments of your child.
First of all, it is really important that your child is interested in ATVs, or at least is keen in learning to ride on one. If your child shows keen interest, you will need to discern if he is physically ready to ride an ATV. He should be able to at least stand on the footpegs or the floorboards while straddling the seat on the ATV. Your child should be able to reach the control levers comfortably and also have the strength to operate them. After your child passes the physical requirements to ride an ATV, you will need to evaluate his ability to comprehend risk – is he able to recognize and reduce risks? True, you may not be able to get rid of all the risks involved with riding an ATV, but with detailed preparation and careful prevention, you will be able to reduce the risks significantly.
Once you have determined that your child is ready to ride on the ATV, you have to start teaching him from scratch. Remember, patience and good communication are 2 great keys to get your child to understand how the machine works. Explain to your child what he needs to do to get the machine going and stopping. Try to minimize your use of technical jargons that only an adult ATV rider understands. Don’t tell him to shift to a lower gear or a higher gear when you can actually just tell him to tap the shifter down with his toe. Do not try to rush your kid in learning how to operate an ATV – take it one step at a time. It is more important that he is able to learn how to ride the ATV safely first and this alone is a big step in learning.
Whenever your child is making progress – do praise him, but never compare him with other kids if the others are making a better progress than he is. You need to remember that every skill advances in its own pace and that you simply can’t rush your child. Never allow your kid’s frustrations upset you while you are coaching him – if you see that your kid is struggling, more often than not, it is best to just take a break. If he does not get it right the first time, try and try again. Bear in mind that each child is different and it is best to work within their individual limits and not push them ahead of their own pace. By pushing them too hard, they may lose interest in learning and give up altogether.
Even if your child have mastered the skill of riding an ATV, it is best that you be his eyes and ears while he is riding. It is difficult for a young rider to recognize everything that goes on around them, so if you sense or see danger, you will have to take action immediately. You should never allow your child to ride an ATV all by himself. One of the best ways for you to access his skills is to ride alongside with him – that way you can also stop and offer advise whenever it is needed and you will have more fun riding together that way too!
For more tips and ideas about learning to ride an ATV, check out some of the ATV websites’ forums and discussions boards, or better yet, if you have some tips about teaching your kid how to ride an ATV, you can always share your great ideas at www.jackel.com or www.kazumausa.com too!
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