LiteFoot ATV track conversion kits

Other — By ATV Mag on April 16, 2004 at 12:00 pm

Do you want true, go-anywhere performance from your ATV? Do you need to travel over soft ground, deep snow or other previously impassable terrain? Then you need a track conversion kit installed on your machine. They turn ATVs into tanks capable of going almost anywhere and doing almost anything.

LiteFoot ATV track conversion kits are manufactured in a 100,000-square-foot production facility that currently produces track conversion kits for full-size, four-wheel-drive trucks and SUVs. We met up with LiteFoot executives in northern Minnesota (and with our great planning skills, during a snowstorm) to judge for ourselves just how well the LiteFoot ATV tracks allow an ATV to travel in waist-deep snow. The results were amazing and fun!

LiteFoot track kits are designed to fit most 4X4 ATVs. The kits have Polaris wheel-bolt patterns and wheel adapters are used to attach the track kit to other brands of ATVs. During the initial installation, some additional hardware and brackets need to be installed, though there is little or no permanent modification required to your ATV. Once the installation is complete, changing back and forth between tracks and tires requires little more than the time required to change tires. The swap can be completed in 45 minutes or less, using regular tools, we’re told. Each track kit weighs about 100 pounds and has a track width of 11 inches.

Three LiteFoot track-equipped machines were available for our test pleasure; a Polaris Sportsman 700, Yamaha Grizzly 600 and a Honda Foreman 450. When stopped or moving slowly, steering is difficult compared to tires. Once you get going a little faster, steering becomes easier. At 20 mph, the steering is comparable to that of an ATV outfitted with 12-inch-wide mud tires.

Our first speculation was that we’d be limited to a top speed of about 20 mph when riding the LiteFoot ATVs. Not the case! The LiteFoot tracks are designed to handle the operating speeds of your ATV, however, top-end speed will be reduced about 25 percent due to the natural gear reduction gained through the smaller diameter drive sprocket of the track kit. We don’t see this as a negative factor since a machine equipped like this is not intended for the racetrack. We also didn’t feel the ATV lose any power or torque either. When we needed extra power to get through deeper snow, we had it at the touch of our thumb.

The LiteFoot track kit allowed us to ride through snow depths about waist-deep that were unthinkable of trying with an ATV equipped with 28-inch tires. To prove durability, some test riders launched the machines 3 feet in the air off snowbanks to show the kit’s quality. LiteFoot claims to never having a track blow off the carriers.

The added surface contact from the track kit, compared with that of a tire, gave us great traction in snow. There’s no reason for us not to believe the same traction performance would not be achieved in other trail conditions like sand, swamp and mud. While your machine will gain about 4 inches of ground clearance, the larger footprint creates a longer and wider overall wheelbase. The actual center of gravity, however, is lowered because of the stance. The LiteFoot ATVs felt stable at top speed.

We witnessed the incredible floatation capability achieved with the LiteFoot track kit after watching a test rider hop off a machine and sink into the snow above his knees. No ATV tires that we know of float that well.

LiteFoot claims that its tracks average less than 1 pound-per-square inch of pressure on the ground.

For maintenance, a few grease fittings need an occasional shot of lube, but that’s about it. If needed, the consumer can adjust track tension. If you typically ride in soft soil conditions or are contemplating adding a utility snowmobile to your motorsport arsenal, and already have a 4×4 ATV, for $4,398, we’d suggest checking out the LiteFoot ATV Track Conversion Kit. You’d save some garage space, too!

CONTACT: LiteFoot; (218) 436-6000; www.litefootatv.com