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Mr . Takeuchi made several experimental tires of various
kinds for the new product . In order to maximize the efficiency of the developing ATC vehicle , the ground contact patch of the tire had to be wide enough to let it traverse terrain such as
snow and mud .
He eventually selected a 22 inch tice with a 2 . 2
PSI air rating .
This allowed the vehicle to traverse such
terrains because the contact patch was large enough .
After developing the tire size and configuration , he
then began testing the prototype and found out immediately that
the 70cc engine was too small for adults .
It would not pull the
machine and rider through soft terrain such as mud and snow . The engine size was increased to 90cc , and this was the specifica tion for the first ATC sold in the United States . A dual range
transmission was also added for improved low speed mobility .
The next step of the development work was to decide the
specifications for the vehicle .
In short , they could get running
now
was
performance on snow with the engine size and the tice specifica tions , and now it was a question of turning or stopping and how to create a vehicle which could be enjoyed . Mr . Takeuchi continued to develop this machine and made a second prototype .
He lengthened and shortened the wheel base , and widened and
narrowed the tread . A series of tests were conducted on bumpy
roads , on sand hills whose slopes sometimes were as much as 35
degrees , on trodden and rugged hills , and on grass lands . It was