Basic ATV Handling

ATV with small footprint is not very stable vehicle and some weight shifting is necessary for safe handling. The enclosed pix to some extent emphasis the message

The long seat is to help in weight shifting and not for carrying passenger. When we climb rapidly it may result in the lifting of front end as it happens in bajaj scooters and so it is safer to shift weight forward when climbing. Lower climbing speed will lesson the hazard and weight shift may not be necessary.

Descending is not so hazardous as the centre of gravity will be within vehicle. Still we shift the weight backward for better stability.

ATV has rigid axle at the back that do not allow the rear wheels to move at different speeds. The wear and tear on tyres are more so in hard surfaces. So while taking a turn at higher speed, we allow controlled slip by lifting one of the rear wheels. This is pretty easy once you know how to ride them. The picture illustrates one wheel lifted from ground.

Getting ATV ready to ride

Recently a friend suggested we bring out another ATV following  day. I replied   That is simply  impossible. I need a week to get  that machine ready. In perfect situation, we can open the packing and get ATV ready in four hours. I need much longer time because of my location and circumstances.

My farm workers are regularly irregular in turning up for job. They need to come to get the box out to the yard.

First the packing has to be opened and put all the four tyres on. The machine has to be lifted sufficiently to install the tires. Here is a small hitch. The tyres tends to loose air during storage and tubeless tyres get disengaged from Rim. It is not possible to pump air with hand pump under such circumstances. Large quantity has to be pumped quickly to seal the gap and we can easily do that with compressor. Nearest Petrol pump is ten km away. Recommended air pressure is just Ten pounds.

Handle bar is to be lifted into strait position and four bolts tightened. There is small chance the brake fluid drained on transit from the container on the handlebar. We have to ensure sufficient brake fluid.

The battery has to connected after making sure it is fully charged.

Next comes the critical tuning part. There is no clutch lever and the clutch is indirectly controlled by engine speed. So perfect tuning is a must with  smooth engine humming at idle speed. My local mechanic has to be free enough to come and do the job.

Standard tools that came with ATV are not sufficient. The front wheels need a box or barrel spanner of Size 12. Plug spanner that came from China is very delicate and do not last long. Naturally to put together the tools I use takes some time.

Talking to Chinese about ATV Tow hook

Chinese comprehension of English is very poor. They are very polite and try to help you but many times will not able to grasp exactly what you mean. Here is a example of what I expected and what I got.

  I knew that my Chinese manufacturer fabricate the frame shown in a earlier blog post   and get most components from outside and assemble ATV. So it was possible for them to reinforce the appropriate parts to make frame stronger. I had made it clear to them that I need a tow hook if possible in the backside and given certain parameters like strong support at lowest possible point so that traction is not compromised. I had sent a marked photograph to emphasis my point. I did not know exactly how much this ATV can pull but needed a strong hitching point.

When I got the ATVs delivered I found there was nothing in the back but a  hook strapped to high position in the frame in the front   It was pretty useless accessory that I got as a compliment. They simply failed to understand my explanation.

I had numerous confusion about faulty import papers too. Many Emails were exchanged. The crucial document - Bill of Lading they sent did not mention Container number. This document  should be perfect in all respects.   So searching right container in vast Mumbai port was like looking for a needle in haystack. Luckily I was able to overcome all of those hurdles and get those ATVs home.

50 km ATV ride along seashore.

Being very familiar with the route ahead of us, Rohit assumed team leadership as soon as he turned up. He briefed our First pilot Anil about Do and Donts during the ride assuring him that he will be constantly in touch with mobile phone. He also gave precise hints what constitute a landmark.

I had decided who will ride on different legs depending on accessibility with us on support vehicle. Road by the side of beach mean Twelve year old Sunil will be rider and lesser access with us mean Sixteen year old Anil will be rider. Anil rode major portion as Sunil had stomach upset that morning. Rohit’s little son Abhinav rode as a kangaroo rider for around 40Kms along with Anil.

Unexpected encounters Anil had on the beach was landmines. Our pilot kept on liberally blasting those bombs and showering his jacket with dirty stuff. The sanitation awareness and availability was extremely poor on the coastline. We had been forewarned by Rohit about this but it was not grasped by Anil. Moreover first 750 meters was very clean and Anil must have assumed the same thing all along and raised the speed.

Rohits friend Yathish Baikampady stopped Anil at Chitrapur. Anil first asked them for water to wash himself. He liberally applied Mysore sandal soap to get rid of the foul smell. Luckily Abhi who was sitting in the front was not bombarded with this. Beach cleaning kara seva was going on and we too were  given Tiffin and tea.

Seashore near Surathkal was full of rocks. ATV had to come out of the beach to cross that gap. By that time I picked up Anilkumar who arrived by bus and we rushed to beach near Sasihithlu. Anilkumar who took over driving Omni and handling camera did unburden my task considerably.

Anil and Abhi on ATV mostly had direct passage ahead of them whereas we on support vehicles had to take make more circuitous road and many times they reached the ,meeting point ahead of us. Rohit was engaged in multitasking - briefing Anil about the passage ahead, taking photographs till they are almost out of sight and rushing back to drive his car to next meeting point. He found time to click some birds too which is his favorite hobby.

Nibeesh on motorcycle was with us till afternoon and proved to be great help. It is difficult to make out once we reach next meeting point if kids on ATV had passed by or are behind us. Nibeesh helped us with locating the ATV team.
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After Sasihithlu next Six km the beach and road were parallel and within 100 m to each other. Sunil rode this part both ways. Finally we reached the beach edge at twelve thirty where the confluence of Nandini and Shambavi rivers join the sea.

I had confusion about crossing the rivers all along. Rohit said follow me and drove his car in NH 17. Anil was riding ATV and Anilkumar and myself was following them in our Omni. With so much potholes in national highway we can surmise that it is more suitable for ATV and not vehicles. The puzzled look of the onlookers on the road when they suddenly see ATV presented good entertainment to me and Anilkumar. Finally our procession stopped in front of a hotel in Mulki for lunch.

All children applied sunscreen lotion and escaped being roasted by Sun. The sunburn did not happen to us as we were not continuously under sun. The beach sand appears very similar all over but their structure varies considerably from place to place. When we compare dry or wet sand of various places we noticed the grip it gives to the ATV tyres do vary. This did upset my timetable as the sinking factor was more in some places.


I had made a list of spares and consumables and carried most of them along. As the sand thrown up by tires plays havoc on chain, I had carried spare chain and links. No component failed us on the except CD unit, that may be influenced by moist contacts caused by previous day wash. Now I have tested that CD unit which is also performing well. Good news is that Hero Honda CD unit works well with this ATV. The sockets perfectly fits each other.

High tides caused made us to take diversion in two places. Near Padubidre we had to come back to highway. Anil was able to climb to fisheries road near Uchila and cross that point. So homework we make with wikimapia.org is dependable only  to some extent. There is permanent cloud cover and shadow near Bhatkal is another example.

Finally Anil – Abhi reached Kaup lighthouse at four thirty. The google picture showed the bridge but I was not sure of approach road till we reached there. The dense vegetation had hid the road and our support vehicles went without problems.

I decided to do some riding after Five and hopped on ATV. A huge wave hit me within fifty meters that immobilized the engine. ATV rider had mobile phone all the way till then but I had neglected on this minor detail. So couldn’t communicate immediately with our team and lost some time.

Our team came back after waiting ahead for a while. Then it was getting dark and the rains started. So we decided to load the ATV into Omni. There was heavy rain by the time we hit highway & we came back via more roundabout Mudipu route.

 Next day I could make out the corrossion effect by sea water and ATV was given good wash by Sampath so that the salty layer was peeled off.

Toppling over ATV in beach mean no broken bones

We had wonderful moments beach near Mulki. Anil was practicing taking high speed turn when the centrifugal force was too much and he toppled over. Rohit who is a good wildlife photographer anticipated this and captured the scene.

While talking to Shankaranna sometime back I had justified taking the ATV to beach saying that it is possible to do maneuvers that will mean broken bones elsewhere. Here is the proof and Anil did not even have any scratches.

Preparing for ATV expedition along seashore .

After coming back from a seaside ATV ride last month, I was looking at wikimapia for next adventure opportunity. After Panambur harbor till Malpe which is about 50 km north, only place where there was hurdle was at Mulki - the confluence of Nandini and Shambavi rivers joining sea. All rivers big and small we come across in National Highway join the sea at Malpe and Mulki was a new pleasant surprise for me. So started dreaming about a trip taking children along on a long ATV trip along the coast. From the beginning of planning, I felt if my good friend and neighbor Anil kumar comes along it will be much easier to manage.

It is not really easy to plan such a off the beaten track trip in India. The government considers 200 km from the sea or national border as restricted area and we had limited access to good maps. Ashokavrdhana of Arohana adventure team in Mangalore sometime back had lot of trouble to procure a seventy year old survey of India topographical map. There is no clue of Panambur harbour in that map but even map with so much accuracy took lot of effort. Now we have access to satelite maps like http://wikimapia.org which is simply unimaginable few years back.

I have spent numerous hours in front of computers looking at and copying hundreds of maps in wikimapia. I made sure that there is some overlap between one map and the next. The numbering was bit difficult. The computer started recognising  my maps as 1,11,12,13,....2,20,21,22.... So had to repeat two three times to reach best option. Finally gave the map number derived from the latitude like 13.3456 North became 133456. Thereafter I could work faster with maps.

In most places there are roads parallel to the seashore. I had to plot the places where the roads exist and where they dont. Road adjacent to road mean Twelve years old Sunil will be rider. Lesser road access mean Sixteen year old Anil will be the rider. I was fortunate to have the support of Anilkumar who agreed to drive our support vehicle Omni most of the way.

GPS is a very useful accessory for this kind of off the beaten track trips. I had written about utility of this instrument in my kannada blog last year.   I Emailed Balu Hegde hailing from Sirsi who uses GPS about present availability scenario. Balu gave me proper inputs but being busy with routine activities and preparing for this trip, did not have enough time to procure one from Bangalore or Mumbai. Poor health mean few off road trips. So why buy a expensive umbrella for a single rain - goes my thinking. Moreover two people had been jailed in Gujarat last year for GPS maping leaning on our stupid laws.  

When I scouting for information Ashokavradhan gave me mobile number of Rohith Rao. Rohith had shepherded a big battalion of more than one hundred and sixty scouts who walked along beach from Mangalore to Malpe. When I spoke to him, Rohith immediately agreed to join us with Camera and GPS.

When riding along the beach, it is better to ride on wet sand. Boys who cycled along the beach will be familiar with this. It needs less effort and naturally fuel consumption will be lower. But we have to keep an eye on approaching waves. I try to consider all possibilities and make comprehensive preparation. I asked Rohith if boys need to wear life jackets on and Rohith had said No. It was me who failed in this respect in the last leg of the trip.

After the last outing to the beach, I had taken taken the chain to Shankaranna’s Car wheels at Puttur and got it washed with diesel and dried with compressor. So asked about the pre trip chain treatment with Shankaranna and he said not to apply oil. There was some slack in chain but Mohan said let it be as it is. The sand on the chain will make it tight. When I came back and checked the chain tension it was pretty tight. There was chance of getting break if had tightened before going to beach. Thank you Mohan.

Rohith had emphasized the need to make early start. The sunshine is very harsh in the beach and so we have to cover some distance before it gets too hot. We left my home at Quarter to Five and took roundabout route via Mudipu as direct highway to Mangalore was pockmarked with potholes. After covering about sixty five km called Rohith to inform that we are at a hotel in Kulur and will be in beach in twenty minutes.

I wanted to make routine inspection and prepare ATV for the long ride before Rohith reaches the spot. With poor health, my concentration affects considerably with little diversion. So unloaded the ATV in Panambur beach parking lot and got into job.

Little bit of washing  just before loading previous day   created some problem. The engine was misfiring and running erratically. Nibeesh who came with Rohith rang up a technician asking him to come. Technician pinpointed the problem within two minutes after his arrival and asked me to change CD unit. Problem was solved and technician hopped into his bullet and went away accepting just thanks and no money.

Chain link for my ATV

Coming back from beach other day the transmission chain was fully covered with sea sand. So I decided to give a thorough cleaning. Shankaranna got it washed with diesel and cleaned with compressed air.

I never miss a opportunity to locate the suitable indigenous spare part. I found that chain is 47 inches long consisting of 47 links. So took the chain link to the small spare part shop nearby.

We found the ROLON R 428H chain link coming as spare for Pulsar bike is suitable. Though I do not anticipate the need, I have one chain link as spare now.