There are many ways to connect and follow us these days!

Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/motoalliance1 and you can see what other Moto customers throughout the country are saying about our products and customer service, watch videos and see what’s new.

Share your pictures and videos with us on Facebook by sending us a private message. Tell us what you like and how you have used our products best. Or, write a review and it will be posted immediately on our Facebook page. This information is so helpful to potential customers who are curious about installment and product quality.

Win a little something from Moto! Each month we choose out favorite pictures and videos that customers have sent in, and the winners receive a free MotoAlliance t-shirt! Like us today and get those pics sent in!

Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/motoalliance1/ and when you post pictures of your ATV, use the hashtag #motoalliance and we will repost your picture to a larger audience.

If Twitter is your thing, follow us at https://twitter.com/motoalliance and we will follow you back!

If you’ve been near a plow for long, you know that plowing can be hard on the cable because of the constant tension on a small portion of the cable. Our engineers have designed a plow roller to help with this issue; no matter if you’re using steel or synthetic cable, the roller has a two-inch diameter that perfectly matches the bend radius of quarter inch cable perfectly. This helps the cable to roll smoothly and avoid abrasions and preserves the integrity of your cable. If you’re considering a DENALI plow, or already have one, the plow roller is a great addition to your plowing success.

To order a plow roller go to https://motoalliance.com/Site.Store.go?action=gotoProductDetails&id=1274

Twelve years ago we started this business by selling one winch, the Viper Classic, available in three sizes and a variety of about twelve mount plates to choose from. We were an off-shoot from another business, just playing with the idea of forming something real without much understanding of the power sports market. We started with two employees, both taking orders, shipping items and whatever else needed to be done.

Over time we started paying attention to what our customers were looking for and we brought on more leadership, support and resources and focused our energy on better products. Out of these improvements came products like the Viper Elite series winch, the Denali plow and Sirius LED lights. We also formed relationships with other makers, resulting in providing our customers with Impact Implements, Firestorm Cab Heaters and Evolution Bumpers.

The Moto in our name is obvious, all things Power Sports. The Alliance is the partnership with dealerships, with other creators and with our customers to provide the highest quality products at the lowest price points possible.

Pulling Power on an ATV Winch with a Permanent Magnet Motor

Whenever people call and talk to me about their winch not having enough pulling power, the first thing I do is make sure they understand that line-speed and power are not the same thing.  Some winches will use a larger motor and less gearing to achieve the same rating.  This means that the line speed will be faster than other winches, but it also means that it isn’t as strong or reliable.

If you’re sure it’s not just a question of line speed then you’ll have to check your voltage to figure out what the problem is.

Winch power is directly related to voltage. The first thing to check would be the voltage at the battery.  If you have a Volt Meter, you can check between the positive and negative at the battery.  Make sure that you're seeing at least 13.5V while your winch and machine are running. Batteries can carry a surface voltage so you need to test the battery while it’s under load.

If the voltage holds steady during the load test, then battery and charging system are likely good, next check voltage going into and out of the contactor and then check at the winch.  Make sure there is no voltage drop along the line. (i.e. If you're seeing 13.6V at the battery you should be seeing around 13.6V at the winch while it is running)

If you are showing less than 12.8V at your battery then the problem is likely with your charging system or the load capacity of your battery and you’ll need to look into replacing or upgrading them.

If you're showing over 13.6V going into the winch while it is running, then you’ll have to look into the winch motor, the brushes, the motor coils, ect. to make sure there is no carbon build up or break in the line.

Most of the time I work with people on the pulling power of their winch, the issue ends up being at the battery, so make sure you take the time to test it thoroughly and under a good load.  Remember a winch is only as good as its power source.

One of the most common questions I hear is, “My winch stopped working and now my contactor is just clicking, does that mean I just need to replace my contactor?” 

The simple answer to that is, “No.”  The fact that the contactor is clicking is actually a good sign.  It means that the switch is telling the solenoids inside the contactor to fire, and that the solenoids are firing properly[1]. 

It is possible that the solenoids are firing but aren’t connecting power through to the winch due, most likely, to either carbon build up on the connections or a jammed connection plate[2].  The best way to test this is to use a voltmeter between the two studs on the winch.  You should show at least 12V when you press the rocker switch one direction and at least -12V when you go the other direction.  If you’re showing strong voltage moving through the contactor to the winch then the problem is definitely with the winch motor. 

Most of the time when I get a winch back because of a burned motor it is because the winch was run too long without being rested.  It is important to read the directions for your winch and make sure you follow the recommended duty cycle.  If you’re unsure of what is recommended for your winch a good rule of thumb is 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off. If you’re winching at the upper capacity of your winch’s pulling power I would advise increasing the amount of rest you are giving it.

 As always, your winch is a great tool, but you will only get out of it what you put into it.

February Promotions Overview:

Discount Code: February2013

Sale Runs: 2/1/2013 - 2/28/2013

10% off :

·         Elite Winches - Standard and Wide Spool

·         UTV Pro Series Plow Kits

·         ATV Plow Kits

·         Under Dash Cab Heaters (NOT Under Hood)

20% off:

·         UTV Rec Series Plow Kits

With all the ATV and UTV winches on the market today, why buy VIPER?

We believe the answer is simple. Here at Motoalliance we proudly design our VIPER winches and have them manufactured at a high-end powersports facility in China. Because it’s our unique design, we also control the quality.

Most other winches in the USA are simply mass-produced copycats off the same assembly line in China. Each copycat winch is given a different company label like KFI, Champion, SUPERATV, Eagle, Talon, and Runva just to name a few.  Same winch, different name. These winches can be cheap, but the American companies that sell them have no control over design or quality.

Like WARN and their high-performance winches, we like keeping control over the process to make sure our VIPER winches are made to our specific standards. But unlike WARN, we don’t have the sticker shock price tag because we’ve eliminated the distributors and their 30% margins.

So we believe that VIPER winches are the “best of both worlds” – winches people can afford, but still made with American design and quality control.  

I met with our IT person, Rhonda, last week to launch the NEW MOTOALLIANCE BLOG. Told her I’d whip something up real quick like and we’ll be off and running…..

…….hmmmm…..it’s a week later and still nuthin’ but a boring welcome screen…..

I guess blog writing is a bit more challenging than I thought….so many questions about what to do….

1.      Do we shamelessly promote our products?

2.      Do we offer tips on installation and usage of plow, winches, tires, snatch blocks, etc?

3.      How do we avoid being self-indulgent?

4.      Can we comment on other companies or other products in the field?

5.      Should we talk about our upcoming products?

6.      Should we try to be edgy, funny, straight-shooting to gain an audience?

7.      Why would anyone read a blog? If you write a blog and no one reads it, is it still a blog?

I kicked all this around for the past week and came up with the following answers:

1.     Yes. Because I like our products.  (Seems like I might be biased)

2.      Yes. It’d be quite helpful I would think.

3.     No idea

4.      I know it goes against Marketing 101 to mention a competitor, but, well, we just might.

5.      Don’t want our competitors to know what’s comin’….conventional wisdom says hit ‘em hard, fast and bury them. But as everyone at Motoalliance knows, I can’t keep a secret anyway….so we’ll probably announce what’s coming.

6.      How about we just be ourselves. I hate all things advertising,…..finding the right angles, targeting your audience, blah, blah. I figure it’s a pretty good starting place to just be who we say we are; a company that offers top-quality products, at solid prices, with great customer service. If we focus on that, sales will take care of themselves.

7.      Really don’t know….would love for you to tell us in the comments below…..

So that's it...first blog…..really kind of a non-entry, no graphics, no images, no fancy YouTube links.....

.....but it’ll help guide the next post coming early next week. We’ll talk about ATV winches in general, how our VIPER winch line developed, why it’s different, and how we’re thrilled to have sold over 8,000 of them last year.  Might just mention some competitors in this one and have some actual pictures too!

All the best and Happy Easter.