NEW Mini Motocross Mod Quad

ATV Four Play Introduces the Newest Mini Motocross Mod

ATV Four Play, known for its championship-winning suspension components and their shock absorbing Soft Bars handlebars, is taking a different line with their latest youth quad release: the Pitster Pro Mod Package.

Parents whose children race ATVs in the youth classes now can customize a national-level rolling chassis from ATV Four Play for their young racer that is capable of receiving five different engine packages to compete in three separate youth classes in the AMA ATV national series.

ATV Four Play builds upon the popular Pitster Pro quad as the base for the Pitster Mod. The long-travel ATV Four Play a-arms on the Pitster Mod are 2.235 inches wider on each side and are the first mini quad to accept Fox’s new Generation II Float X Evol front shocks. ATV Four Play adds their signature chromoly long-travel swing arm, which is two inches longer than the stock Pitster swing arm and allows for 10.5 inches of rear wheel travel with either a dual-rate Fox Podium X or Elka shock.

The stock Pitster chromoly frame is retained, but ATV Four Play adds up to 24 gussets to strengthen weak points while still maintaining the right amount of flex. The frame is adapted to fit the large radiator off Yamaha’s YFZ450 sport quad.

Having five engines to choose from is what makes this youth race quad an affordable, long-lasting performance option for motocross families. ATV Four Play’s Pitster Mod’s has the capabilities of interchangeable engine mounts to accept engines from: Kawasaki’s two-stroke, 65cc KX65; KTM’s two-stroke, 65cc 65SX; Suzuki’s two-stroke, 85cc RM85; Honda’s two-stroke, 85cc CR85; and Honda’s new four-stroke, 150cc CRF150R.

The Pitster Mod features Tarantula Performance Racing's new front bumper design.

Tom Skladzien, owner of ATV Four Play, said having the option to choose an engine lets parents keep the same long-travel chassis for several years and simply swap the engine out when its time for their racer to step up a class.

“The CVT class is great,” Skladzien said. “But the chassis is very expensive to make competitive and it is a frustrating class for most parents. There are so many variables with these machines. The clutching, building the engine, pipes, rollers, belts etc. Most of the time, as ‘mini quad parents’ we find ourselves not having as much fun as we should because these CVT’s demand a lot more maintenance and finesse than your typical Japanese shifter engines require. You buy these CVT quads for $1,700-$1,800 dollars and you find yourself putting $6,000 more into them. And at the end of the day, you’re still a CVT.”

The rear end of the new ATV Four Play Pitster Mod offers 10.5 inches of wheel travel.

Except for the CRF150R, Honda’s new high-tech mini dirt bike engine, all of the power plants available for the Pitster Mod have been winning races in dirt bikes for decades. The two-stroke engines are lighter, more competitive and have a broader availability of parts and modifications. The 65cc engines are competition legal for the AMA 70 mod class, the 85cc engines are legal for the AMA 90 mod class, and the 150cc four-stroke can compete in the AMA Super Mini class.

Pictured above is the KX65 engine package.

Customers have several options for ordering a Pitster Mod from ATV Four Play. You can buy a complete quad that is fully suspended with motor mounts of your choice but without the engine. Or customers can go “Ala Carte” and order a chassis with ATV Four Play suspension parts and then customize it with your choice of shocks, wheels and tires.

The Mod Racer Starter Kit includes the following options for $4,999: Pitster Pro chromoly chassis; spindles, hubs, braking systems, rotors, plastics, gas tank, stock axle and rear wheel hubs, rear sprocket with chain guard, ATV Four Play long-travel a-arms, swing arm and anti-vibe steering stem, 24 frame gussets, powder coated frame, motor mounts for customer engine choice and mounts for all electronics.

Currently, ATV Four Play is working with Hetrick Racing to develop a race-ready package for the KX65 engine and their exhaust. The Hetrick Racing packages may be available for the 2011 season. Fox and Elka are the current shock options for the Pitster Mods, but ATV Four Play may be able to accommodate another shock brand at a customer’s request.

The standard chassis and body components on the production Pitster Mod from ATV Four Play include: Tarantula Performance Racing’s new front bumper and Race Safer Pro nerf bars; ATV Four Play’s Generation II Soft Bars; ATV Four Play’s chain guide and chain slide; Streamline stainless steel brake lines; stock Pitster axle, axle carrier and brake plate.

For additional information about ATV Four Play’s new Pitster Mod, log on to www.atvfourplay.com or call 330-289-1423.

Product Review: Soft Bars

ATV Four Play's Generation II Soft Bars
MSRP: $325

WHAT IS IT? The best way to describe ATV Four Play's Soft Bars is to say they're suspension for your wrists, arms and upper body. The Soft Bars work by pivoting in a downward motion on a urethane bushing.  The overall bar length is 31.5 inches with 10.5 inches of usable handlebar space in a 7/8-inch diameter bar. The Soft Bars weigh in at a mere 4.5 pounds and are available in the popular 12-degree bend, which is similar to the original Honda CR high bend.

HITS: Unlike their competition, the Soft Bars are fully adjustable without having to unbolt the handlebar mechanism to swap out parts.The resistance level delivered by the cone-shaped bushing is fully adjustable by turning a screw, so each rider can dial in how soft or stiff they want the bars. And the system is progressive, so the resistance increases as the bar moves through its travel. These bars are available for a wide variety of ATV models and stock and aftermarket steering stems. The bars are completely rebuildable.

MISSES: None! These bars are extremely comfortable from an ergonomics standpoint. They help reduce vibration and arm pump all while cushioning the harsh blows motocross can deal to your shoulder and arm joints. The only down side is the price.

THE VERDICT: ATV Four Play is often leading the way in innovation for the ATV industry. These bars are one of the best investments you can make to your quad. We've been riding on them for a year and they just keep getting better.

RATING: 1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9.5..10

Contact: http://www.atvfourplay.com/

ATV Four Play Soft Bars

New Soft Bars fit stock Yamaha, KTM steering stems

The ATV-specific Generation II Soft Bars from ATV Four Play are now available for direct bolt-on to the stock Yamaha YFZ450R, YFZ450X and KTM XC and SX model steering stems.

These model-specific Soft Bars match factory specifications and bolt directly onto the stock Yamaha and KTM steering stems without the need for additional hardware or modifications. Previously, ATV Four Play’s Soft Bars were designed to complement their anti-vibe steering stems and work in conjunction with most other aftermarket stems.

ATV Four Play designed the impact-absorbing Soft Bars in 2007 to help reduce the harsh hits dealt to a rider’s upper body throughout the course of a race.

Expanding the Soft Bar line to work with stock Yamaha and KTM steering stems gives riders an affordable way to reduce fatigue – and lap times – without the expense of an aftermarket anti-vibe stem. The Soft Bars’ Progressive Dampening System and its cone-shaped, vertical urethane bushing provide superior vibration reduction compared to other handlebar assemblies.          

ATV Four Play re-designed the mounting system to further reduce vibrations for ATV use. By avoiding the use of handlebar clamps, the Soft Bars eliminate the associated metal clamping joints, which can amplify otherwise subtle vibrations emanating from today’s sport quads. However, adapters are available for riders whose steering stems utilize the traditional motorcycle-style handlebar clamp system. And the Soft Bars also work with a wide range of aftermarket steering stems.

Color options are now available in black, orange and red anodized components. All aspects of the Generation II Soft Bars are rebuildable. Constructed of T-3 2024 aluminum tubing, the light weight Soft Bars include all hardened and zinc-plated hardware with attached grease zircs and foam bar pad.

The overall bar length is 31.5 inches with 10.5 inches of usable handlebar space in a 7/8-inch diameter bar. The Soft Bars weigh in at a mere 4.5 pounds and are available in the popular 12-degree bend, which is similar to the original Honda CR high bend. Retail price for the Soft Bars is $325.

To purchase a set of Soft Bars call 330-289-1423. See more of ATV Four Play’s products online at ATVFourPlay.com

Soft bars by ATV Four Play

We're using a lot of brand-new products on the TPR project YFZ450R motocross build, including a set of Soft Bars from ATV Four Play.

A set of ATV Four Play's Generation II Soft Bars adorns the TPR project YFZ450R.

ATV Four Play has helped win countless championships with their a-arms. They clearly know how ATV suspension should work. So it made perfect sense to complement the MGC MX long-travel a-arms we're using with a set of their new Soft Bars. The bars were introduced last year to help cushion the hard impacts motocross riding can deal to a racer's upper body.

The bars work much like your typical quad shock. An allen-head bolt can be tightened or loosened to stiffen or soften the bar travel on each side. The bushings used are a cone-shaped polyurethane. The Progressive Dampening System ensures the resistance increases the more you tighten the allen head and as the bar moves through its travel - just like an ATV shock.

The Soft Bars are designed to mount directly to an aftermarket steering stem. In addition, ATV Four Play offers two more bar sets with differing mount positions in order to fit the stock Yamaha YFZ450R stem and the stock KTM stem.

The view from overhead shows the 12-degree bar sweep, which feels very comfortable and is similar to the CR high bend bar.

The Soft Bars are made of T-3 2024 aluminum tubing and billet T-6 6061 aluminum. The pivot areas are sealed, but one great aspect of the bars is they feature grease zircs to maintain the life of the pivot bushing. The bars retail for $295.

ATV Four Play's Generation II Soft Bars - quad engineering at its best!

We haven't ridden the TPR project YFZ450R on a motocross track yet to provide a review of the bars, but we'll be getting ready to conduct our test video with ATVOnDemand.com hopefully in the next few weeks. And ATV.com will be running a series of stories on the project quad, including a complete ride review, this fall.

Our next post will feature the Tarantula Performance Racing MX-Series front bumper and a set of TPR's new Race Safer nerf bar and heel guard combo. Stay tuned...

Powder coat - 'chameleonization'

There is a God, and his name is Capital Powdercoating! I picked up the parts for the TPR project YFZ450R we chose to have powdercoated from Capital Powdercoating in Suffield (Portage County) Tuesday, and the color is simply amazing.

Capital Powdercoating, on Congress Lake Road in Suffield, Ohio, did an amazing job powder coating the ATV Four Play and DWT parts for the TPR project YFZ450R. Capital also did some miscellaneous brackets with a "shattered glass" coat that makes the parts sparkle in the sunlight.

Capital sponsored the build by coating the beadlock rings for our DWT Champion in a Box wheels, the ATV Four Play MGC MX A-arms and a few miscellaneous brackets, including the front engine mounts. The pictures here on the blog don't do the color justice. Twisting the parts in the sunlight makes them appear alive!

A close-up look at the ATV Four Play a-arms shows the "shattered glass" and cross fade from orange to blue. Below are the DWT beadlock wheels from their Champion in a Box kit.

One of the trickest aspects is the coat on the a-arms, which fades from ATV Four Play's orange to blue with a shattered glass coat that shimmers in the sun like the mid-day ocean. R.H., the owner of Capital Powdercoating, coined the term "chameleonization" to describe the custom powdercoat job.

The custom fade is available to all Capital Powdercoating customers, and its surprisingly affordable.

For the TPR project YFZ450R, we only opted to have a few parts powdercoated rather than strip the entire frame and engine cases and other parts. After all, this quad is going to be ridden, so we didn't want to go over the top like the Spyder Quad knowing the parts are going to get blasted by roost and the power washer.

The makings of a pro-level front end: Fox Float X Evol shocks, ATV Four Play MGC long-travel MX a-arms, DWT Rok N' Lok beadlock wheels and Maxxis Razr MX soft-compound tires.

Until Tuesday, I had been worried that perhaps the TPR project YFZ450R would look too plain, but this quad is sure to catch your eye. The colors are incredibly trick, and they're also going to stay looking good for a long time. Capital Powdercoating has been painting ATV parts for years, and their stuff is known to hold up.

Capital Powdercoating really gave our parts some shimmer and shine. This quad is guaranteed to attract attention.

The color combination featured on our parts is custom, but it's also available to the public. Capital Powdercoating can strip and powdercoat your parts for an incredibly low price. The custom colors are somewhat more expensive, but they offer an affordable method to grab the attention of a potential sponsor, and that's priceless.

The TPR project YFZ450R is nearly finished!

You can contact Capital Powdercoating for your next custom paint job at 330-388-2597.