13 ATV Mods That Are WORTH IT (And 5 Mechanics BEG You to Skip)

Don't Buy a Lemon ATV the 45-minute inspection you can do with five tools from your garage: https://oldhandguides.store/lemon-atv/ Forty one hours. That is how long a new drive belt lasted on a 2019 Sportsman 570 that came into my shop with 28 inch tires and a clutch nobody had touched. The belt was $180 to $220 and the bill was $340, and that mistake is killer number one. These are the 13 mods I recommend from the service side of the counter, ranked by what each one saves you in the shop with a real price on every one, and the five that quietly kill belts, stators and engines. Twenty two years in the bay, no brand loyalty. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS VIDEO Number 1. Low pressure tire gauge, $15 to $35. A Sportsman 570 runs 7 psi and a truck gauge cannot read it. Overinflation eats $130 to $190 tires. Number 2. Infrared thermometer gun, $23, or a Razorback belt temp gauge, $175 to $330. Gates belts recover from heat to 338 degrees, the danger zone is 230 to 250 sustained. Number 3. Differential and CVT breather extensions, about $20 in hose. A hot diff in cold water pulls water down a low vent. Run the vents to the handlebars. Number 4. Outerwears prefilter, $15 to $27, over a Uni foam filter, $40 to $57, with the airbox left alone. A dusted engine is a $500 to $700 top end. Number 5. Battery Tender Junior, $45. Upgrade is an Antigravity ATX20 lithium, $320 to $450, 4 to 5 pounds against 14 for the Yuasa. Number 6. Outerwears radiator screen, $40 to $66, instead of a relocate. A $50 screen guards a $700 top end. Number 7. KFI two inch receiver hitch, $43 to $45. Tongue weight on the frame, not the rack. Low range under 10 mph with a load. Number 8. Tires sized for the ride. Maxxis Bighorn 2.0 $165 to $193, ITP Mud Lite II $129 to $146. A 26 or 27 costs nothing in belt life, a 28 is where the clutch argues. Number 9. Clutch kit from EPI or Dalton. EPI Sport Utility $250 to $280, Mudder kit for 28s $280. Number 10. Skid plates and boot guards. SuperATV plastic plate about $480, Ricochet aluminum set $600 to $750, boot guards $60 to $330. Buy the boot guards first. Stop the count. Every mod that adds load adds heat, and heat kills belts, stators and engines. Spend on protection and cooling before power. Number 11. Winch with synthetic rope. Warn VRX 25 S $408 to $459, or a 50 foot synthetic replacement $117 to $150. Number 12. Heavy duty axles only if lifted or on 28s. SuperATV Rhino 2.0 $250 a corner. Number 13. ECU flash only with an intake or exhaust change. Dynojet Power Vision 3 $480 to $530. Killer 1. Big tires on a stock clutch. The 41 hour belt from the top. Killer 2. The $20 bracket lift. CV joints near full articulation sitting still, $250 axles to fix it. Killer 3. The straight pipe. Loses low end, runs lean, burns a valve, north of $700. Killer 4. The oversized cheap light bar. A Sportsman 570 makes 660 watts, a Rancher 420 makes 416, and a 240 watt bar is 20 amps on paper. A $450 to $900 stator job. Killer 5. The $20 performance chip. A resistor on the intake air temp sensor that lies to the ECU and richens everything. YOUR RULE FOR TONIGHT Pull the belt cover and look for black dust. If you find it, look at your tire size before you blame the belt. Then find your alternator output in the owner's manual before you buy any light. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 The 41 hour belt 0:29 Mod 1 Low pressure tire gauge 1:26 Mod 2 Thermometer gun or belt temp gauge 2:12 Mod 3 Breather line extensions 2:55 Mod 4 Prefilter and foam filter 3:42 Mod 5 Battery tender and lithium 4:22 Mod 6 Radiator screen 5:07 Mod 7 Receiver hitch 5:51 Mod 8 Tires sized right 6:35 Mod 9 Clutch kit 7:23 Mod 10 Skid plates and boot guards 8:08 Mod 11 Winch with synthetic rope 8:55 Mod 12 Heavy duty axles 9:48 Mod 13 ECU flash with a rule 10:37 Stop the count. Load adds heat 10:52 Killer 1 Big tires on a stock clutch 11:43 Killer 2 The $20 bracket lift 12:30 Killer 3 The straight pipe 13:13 Killer 4 The oversized cheap light bar 14:17 Killer 5 The $20 performance chip 15:09 Budget road map and your rule for tonight Tell me in the comments the mod you regret most and exactly what it cost you, parts and labor. That is the list the next video gets built from. Subscribe @TheQuadDoctor for two honest ATV and UTV videos every week from a mechanic who has no dealership to protect. I'm Cody. Keep it running.