I then wanted to see how the rims could handle my weight when landing from a jump. I'm not a huge-air person, but with the amount I caught I never had a flat spot show on the wheels. I then had the big-air jumper throw a leg over the machine and see what damage he could do. After he made the biggest leap of anyone in our group, the claimed strength of the wheel was prevalent. It would have to take a serious impact to hurt these things.
After four days of riding in and out on our pavement access road and hitting the dunes, these tires were well worn but held up better than expected. STI is going to make a quick name for itself. With front 21x7-10 tires for $43.69 and rear 20x11-10 tires at $60.26, I predict there will be many quads in the sand on these new meats. To complement the tires, I highly recommend the STI wheels. With front wheels for $63.86 and rears at $68.36, the combination is affordable for outfitting both the front and rear of the quad.
-Eli Madero
| TIRES | 89 |
| Traction | 23/30 |
| Weight | 20/20 |
| Handling | 18/20 |
| Durability | 8/10 |
| Price | 20/20 |
| BOTTOM LINE: Solid performance at a low price. |
| DISTRIBUTED BY MTA: 951/272-0971; www.axorace.com |
Battery Tender Plus
We have all mistakenly left the key to our ATVs turned on only to find a dead battery as we're loading the truck under the early morning moonlight for a weekend ride. The familiar clicking sound of the relay is followed by a silence then a few phrases that can't be repeated in public. Batteries are one of the few items that have a better life when frequently used than with no use at all. They will sit and slowly lose their charge retaining insufficient power to get the starter turning. A simple solution to this common misfortune is to apply a trickle charger to the battery keeping the power level at its peak.
The Battery Tender Plus is an advanced battery charging system that no shop or garage should be without. This advanced system is a smart charger with the ability to sense a change in the status of the battery and charge as necessary. Unlike typical battery chargers the Battery Tender can be attached and remain on the battery until its next use with no fear of overcharge or damage. This is a great insurance policy with a price tag of only $59.95. The charger can be affixed directly to the battery using traditional clamps or hard-wired to the difficult-to-reach battery with a male and female coupling. I prefer the hard-wired method to simplify things in the shop. Each machine has a pigtail under the seat that is simply plugged in whenever the ATV is not in use. This unit is compatible with all 12-volt electrical systems, therefore you are not limited to ATVs. The boat, hot rod, lawn mower and crotch rocket can all benefit from the purchase of a Battery Tender.
With new products being released every day, us editors are constantly testing products to get reviews out to our readers. Very few items have seen the use that this particular product has endured over its three-year service life in my shop. As I mentioned earlier, we have all been in the situation where the battery has been found depleted at the last minute and we found ourselves struggling to make it to the track or trails. It has been three years since I last suffered this fate, and unless someone borrows and fails to return my Battery Tender, I plan to tack on a few more.
-Mike Newsom