New to ATV. What do I need for accessories?

[Dale C.]

Hi all. As a newbie to this fine past time, I was wondering what accessories or add-on's I should get for my Quad. I purchased a used Polaris Sportsman 500 H.O. about a month ago, and would like to know from you all what I should be bringing along with me on rides, and if anything should be added to the machine. I hope not to get into too much mud, like in some of the pictures I've seen on how stuck some of you got, but I guess you never know when you run into it. Anyway, here are some pictures of it, hopefully you have some suggestions.
Thanks in advance.
Dale.

 

[Work2Ride]

edit ur post and fix the [/IMG at the end, put it as [/IMG]




A helmet.

 

[MACHINE]

A good winch and a tow cable {rope } is always good to have .

 

[Dale C.]

edit ur post and fix the [/IMG at the end, put it as [/IMG]




A helmet.

Thanks for fixing my picture. It would only let me upload one (maybe I did something wrong).
I did indeed get a helmet, a good start to keep the coconut safe.

 

[storm1972]

its a polaris, so id start with yet another polaris or can am to repalce it when it broken or wont run. j/k, definetly a tool bag, and some sort of tow strap, depending where and when you are riding hand and thumb warmers are nice to have.

 

[Orrin]

By far the best accessory is a group of good friends to enjoy the riding with after that get a small handsaw for pruning from Canadian Tire and strap it on, get a 2" x 5' strap that you can wrap around trees to winch your self out with (the winch cable will damage trees if you wrap it around the tree), a tire repair kit with a small compressor and a way to light fires if you get stuck and can't get out before daylight. The list goes on and on and on if you want it too, after a few rides you'll figure out whats the most important to you.

 

[arff]

Welcome to the site..

A gps will be handy for the trails.

A way to clean the rad on the trails,,small pump or a kids water blaster that sucks up water and sprays it out.

have fun and enjoy your quad

 

[AreWeThereYet]

Go to Princess Auto and get yourself a $5 tire repair kit for punctures.

 

[fat tire]

Go to Princess Auto and get yourself a $5 tire repair kit for punctures.

riding buddies are a must...........unless you are very familar with the trails and hazards..........keep in mind how fast your going and how far.... you can't walk in a day what you usually drive in an hour.....be aware of that if your on your own.

 

[grizzlydave]

I would highly suggest investing i a good set of tires, and a supersoaker water gun, Polaris mounts there rad below the winch and it packs full of mud and the machine overheats.

 

[Brute Force Boy]

First aid kit and waterproof matches, cause you never know.....
A waterproof bag for extra clothes or coat, cause you never know.....
Snack bars and water, cause you never know........

 

[Work2Ride]

Toilet Paper

 

[Orrin]

Toilet Paper

Good one.

 

[Dale C.]

Thanks, all, there were some great suggestions from you guys.
I will pick some of them up before the weekend (going to Alder flats on the weekend).
Cheers
Dale.

 

[goodngrubby]

If you're heading to Alder Flats, take rubber boots, rain suit, and a couple pair of rubber gloves, it's wet and muddy out there. I always carry a 6' ratchet strap incase you pop a tire of the rim.

 

[Dale C.]

If you're heading to Alder Flats, take rubber boots, rain suit, and a couple pair of rubber gloves, it's wet and muddy out there. I always carry a 6' ratchet strap incase you pop a tire of the rim.

I think if I pop a tire off the rim, I'm screwed. I would have no idea how to get it back on with a ratchet strap.
I have seen some videos of Alder Flats this year, and it indeed was MUDDY!!
I was hoping to find it somewhat dryer, as I don't need to get stuck quite yet, being a newbie and all.
Dale

 

[leonard]

1. Helmet
2. Hipweighters
3. Roap
4. Snatch block
5. Winch
6. Some TOOLS
7. If you have Room 2 Quarts of Atv Oil and 1 Oil Filter.
8. If you have more room then stuff like water- toilet paper- food ect.

 

[goodngrubby]

I think if I pop a tire off the rim, I'm screwed. I would have no idea how to get it back on with a ratchet strap.
I have seen some videos of Alder Flats this year, and it indeed was MUDDY!!
I was hoping to find it somewhat dryer, as I don't need to get stuck quite yet, being a newbie and all.
Dale

No, you wouldn't. All you have to do is get the tire off the ground (you can string your winch line into a tree and lift it up, or have a few guys lift it onto a block). Wrap the strap around the outside of the tire, make sure it is in the center of the treat, hook it to istself, and suck it up a litle bit. Doing this eliminates the space between the tire beads and the rim, helping the bead seat while using a little 12volt compressor.
I think it is going to be wet wherever you go, but most of the big holes out there have a route around them.

 

[Phyer Phyter]

Excellent thread,ergo excellent suggestions from all.

Good point about not being able to walk all day what you could ride in an hour. Gotta keep that in mind before taking slightest of risk(s). I proved to my son that a GPS is a good idea. My honda 420 cte has a factory GPS and you can set way points. We went out between Cadomin and Hinton a few weeks ago, I set the way point when we left the trailer. We rode for probly a good hour and a half or better. Thinking we were quite a ways from the van we should probly turn around soon and trace our way back, yet the GPS said the van was only 1.7 km ahead of us. Didn't seem right but trusted it. With out realizing it we went completely around a mountain (Hill was always to our left so figured we were going more or less straight) My point is that with out the GPS we would have retraced our route the way we came to go back to the van which would have taken us another hour and a half. Turned out we were only about 10 minutes from the trailer. Could have easily got lost as we weren't where I thought we were. As I type this I think a pocket GPS would be good too, because if ya ever have to walk out- well you'll be grateful you had it.

 

[Phyer Phyter]

Whoa, Just call me the thread killer....