Pro Remedies

After cleaning out the trailer tool bin and the shop counter I’ve noticed I have multiples of many sockets. This can be a bit of an issue when I cannot find a neat place to put my overages. It’s always good to have extras, but it wasn’t until I found these cool socket organizers that hold shallow- and deep-well sockets to neatly store them that I could truly appreciate my spares.

Changing tires and even entire wheel sets can be a regular routine here in the secret ATVR laboratory. The worst thing about it often is the sneaky little lug nut that decides that hide-and-seek is funny when I’m on a time schedule. I always keep multiple pairs and even sets of hard-to-find lug nuts with many thread pitches just in case the dog decides to wander off with one to be buried in his secret spot.

How many times have we tried to take the upper or lower hose off of our ATV without spilling the sweet-smelling antifreeze all over the floor? If you’re lucky, it can be done without so much as a drop spilt. But if you’re like the other 99.99 percent of us out here, you’ll need a good set of hose pliers to hold back the rush. These are cheap yet effective at stopping the mess before it happens.

If there’s one thing I hate most about maintaining my ATV, it has to be bleeding brakes. The job seems to come about when there is no one else even remotely close to the shop and I’m all alone to bite my tongue so I don’t have to hear what I’m thinking. In this distress I found out that a simple cord clamp could be used to hold the brake lever in while I twist the little bleeder out on the wheel.

While building our mud machines we find that sealing up things like the CVT, airbox and snorkel system is very important to the very existence of our ride. This is even more of a reality when we figure out we might have missed something somewhere along the way. Keeping a good-quality silicone sealant with a built-in trigger on hand ensures that we keep water and dust out while still being able to service the machine.

We pride ourselves in being resourceful, so it’s no secret that we buy what we cannot successfully make ourselves. Some items we use on our race rigs are better left to the professionals, and when it comes to parts of our rollcage or attachments that revolve around our safety we leave it to those who know their business. Most fabrication shops have standard pieces, and they aren’t very expensive.