Mon-Fri: 8:30-6 | Sat: 10-5
Honda ATV and Side-by-Side Repair in Weyers Cave, VA
If you wrench on your own machines, and most serious Honda riders do, you already know the engine that "runs forever" has valves that need adjusting, and almost nobody adjusts them. Honda's ATV singles use simple mechanical adjusters, ten minutes of feeler-gauge work when you know what you're doing, and skipping it is the one shortcut these engines won't forgive. Tight valves show up as hard starting, worst when hot. It's the Rancher that spins over slow and reluctant on a warm afternoon at the trailhead. Left long enough, tight valves burn, and now a cheap adjustment has become a top-end job caused by a valve seating or worse the timing chain snapping. We do valve checks constantly at New Town Automotive & Tire, and on a hard-ridden Honda it matters more than any accessory you'll ever bolt on.
The advantage of shaft drive, and the downside
Here's the spec that separates Hondas from most of what shares the trail with them: the majority of these machines run gear or dual-clutch transmissions instead of a CVT belt. No belt to slip, glaze, overheat, or swap on the trails. It's a big part of why Foremans outlive their owners' trucks, hauling salt blocks up hillsides on half the farms between Mount Crawford and Fort Defiance. The trade is that clean oil does double duty for engine and clutches, so a skipped change hurts twice, and the interval isn't a suggestion when the machine gets ridden hard.
The rest of the pattern: carbureted Ranchers and Foremans that sit from deer season to spring arrive with varnished carbs. Surging idle, no low-end, dies off choke. Fuel injection fares better but isn't immune when ethanol gas sits for months. And every Honda that plays in creeks and mud eventually pays. Wheel bearings and ball joints ground down by grit, brake pads glazed from riding descents, batteries that died quietly in the barn around February.
Honda Rancher 420 set up for hunting
Honda services we perform
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Valve adjustments and engine diagnosis
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Batteries, charging system testing, and electrical repair
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Oil, filter, and gear-case fluid service
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Brake pads, rotors and fluid
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Wheel bearings, A-arm bushings, tie rods, steering boxes, rack-n-pinions, and more
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ATV and UTV tires. Tread and ply to match your ride
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Carburetor and injector cleaning
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Pre-trip and pre-season inspections before big weekends
Honda ATC250SX