CapitalPress.com
October 7, 2016
ATVs need TLC as
they take on more jobs
By BRENNA WIEGAND
For the Capital Press
Since their introduction in
the 1970s, all-terrain vehicles
have become a valuable tool
in agriculture.
“Like most pieces of ag
machinery, when something
happens — say the animals
get out — you need it up and
going,” Ed Stritzke, manager
at Linn-Benton Tractor Co. in
Silverton, Ore.
“Probably the most im-
portant thing is working with
a dealer or repair shop that is
in tune with an ATV’s agricul-
tural functions,” he said. “A
motorcycle shop in downtown
Portland is not going to under-
stand that it is a tool and a real
workhorse.”
Once harvest is done and
the ields are disked and re-
planted, ATVs should be
winterized alongside other
vehicles. Unlike most other
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& US
farm vehicles, ATVs tend to
be used throughout the year,
which makes them easier to
leave out of the end-of-season
lineup for winter services.
“This is when I want to get
that machine checked out,”
Stritzke said. “We want to
get it serviced: Dump that old
oil that has accumulated acid
and other impurities and get it
away from the connecting rod
and bearings.”
Any farm machine’s fate
also depends on its care in the
thick of the season when tires,
ilters and luids need constant
monitoring.
Once the dust settles, ser-
vice includes preparing it for
the challenge of doing noth-
ing the rest of the year.
“It’s actually harder on
equipment to sit idle than to
be used,” Stritzke said. “It’s
sort of like people. If you sit
on the couch a lot you start to
go downhill.”
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ZIMMERMAN OLIVER-CLETRAC
1450 Diamond Station Road
Ephrata, PA 17522
www.olivercletrac.com
717-738-2573
Fax 717-733-3529
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