The Tale of the Broken Down Clutcher

After two grueling days at Scout Camp -- thank goodness for combining two troops for scout camp and having as assistant scoutmaster and a bishopric counselor willing to go to camp part of the time -- I was looking forward to a "tough" day at work on Wednesday. The day consisted of finalizing the number of clients going on our afternoon outing, buying the sub sandwiches and drinks in the morning, and meeting at the trailhead up Hobble Creek for an afternoon of ATV riding. (Hey, it's a tough job, but that's what the hired me to do! It doesn't hurt when your boss is an ATV enthusiast either!)

What a beautful ride up the left-hand trail towards Daniel's Summit! We climbed up higher and higher until we reached, of all things, the cell phone tower at the top of a mountain, from whence you could see Strawberry Reservoir, Daniel's Summit, and Wahlsburg. (This was probably 10 miles or so from where we started.) What a great place to stop and get some Gatorade out of the cooler. (It's nice to travel with people with 4x4 ATVs so they can strap coolers to their machines!)

As a few members of our party were needing to get back at a predetermined time, we decided we should head out and explore for another 15 minutes before heading back down the trail. I mounted my trusty (or not so trusty as things turned out) machine, and pushed the start button. The ATV roared to life for all of 2 seconds and died, ne'er to start again (at least not on top of that mountain). The only semi-mechanically inclined person on the ride (a real estate broker - how mechanically inclined can that be!) deduced there was either no fuel getting to the engine or there was no spark from the spark plug. Fortunately, the ATV has a tool kit under the seat so we pulled that out and removed the spark plug. This actually took some doing, as the spark plug was on so tight the 275 lb. broker had a tough time getting it off!

The spark plug looked OK (as best as any of us could tell). The broker stuck his finger down the spark plug hole and fired the engine. When he pulled his finger out, besides being a little hot, it was dry and he concluded that the fuel wasn't reaching the engine. Since these machines are electronically fuel-injected, there wasn't much to do but put the spark plug back in and try again.

I started the spark plug back in the hole by hand and then used the tool to tighten it down. After one turn of it tightening down, there was a great slip and the spark plug seemed to spin its hole. Determining that this wasn't a good sign, I removed the spark plug socket and out came the spark plug, with the spark plug threads still in the hole. (That cain't be goood!) Fortunately, another guy had the idea that the handle of the pliers might be the right size to fit down the hole and might turn the threads to get them out. There was some luck on that mountain top, as this idea worked. Unfortunately, the extra spark plug that another guy had, was not the right size for my machine!

All the same, without a spark plug, there was no chance the engine was going to start. The broker pulled out his handkerchief and cut a piece off to put down the hole to prevent any dirt or debris from getting into the engine. Fortunately, the last member of our party, who actually caught up with the group on top of the mountain and is my fellow marketer at FATCO (Bryce), had a tow rope, which his father-in-law gave him at the last minute before he borrowed the ATV.

With plenty of laughter and finger-pointing, the guys gave me a mighty push and I started to free-wheeling down the mountain. I made it to the first turn and my momentum died. I was stopped with the rest of the guys up on top of the mountain laughing, waving their arms and pointing. I got off and pushed my machine about 10' to the next downhill run and coasted some more. This continued until I got to a spot where it was a ways to the next downhill section. The broker, who was the only other person on a 2x4 machine, was the only one riding with me at this point. (My boss, David Acor and his 13-year old son, Cason, had to head back to make it to Cason's baseball game on time, and the other four guys were still chilling on the top of the mountain.) He unleashed his belt and strapped it to the rear grab-bar and I held on to the other end and he pulled me. We were passed by one of the other riders and finally got to the next downhill section. The rider who passed us came back our way (probably wondering where the other 3 guys were) and we took his belt to hook to the first belt to make the tow strap longer. I coasted down the next section on my own and then grabbed the belts for the next uphill section. It is pretty hard to hold on to a belt with one hand, a 400-lb. ATV with the other and go uphill, especially when you go about 10' and the second belt snaps in half!

Yes, the rest of the guys found great amusement in my misfortune and continued mishaps! Fortunately, Bryce and the other two guys finally decided to head down the mountain and Bryce hooked up the tow rope to his ATV and to mine. The rest of the ride down was uneventful, although, there were enormous amounts of dust that I ingested, inhaled, and that covered me from head to toe.

I called Steadman's in Tooele, where we bought the machines, and talked to the sales guy that evening. He said that the spark plugs have been known to have some trouble at high altitudes like that, but that doesn't make any sense to me. Since the machine is still under warranty, we will take it in and have them check things over.

As luck would have it, there wasn't an auto parts store that carried the spark plug I needed. On Thursday, I went to the Yamaha dealer in Prove and bought a new spark plug. When I got home and put it in, guess what happened! The ATV started up on the first push of the button!! The kids and I cleaned it up, put it back on the trailer and returned it to dad's garage.

The morals of the story are, 1) make sure you always have an extra spark plug with you and 2) take a tow rope in case you need to be towed off the mountain.

Despite the travails of the day, it was a wonderful ride and everyone agreed that being broken down on the mountain with your ATV is much better than a great day in the office!