Treading Lightly

"We ride to have a great time, not to make great time." (An adaptation of a comment from Sally, in the movie Cars!)

When it comes to the promotion of trail systems there seems to be endless amounts of energy and resources spent getting people to come see it and ride it and far less thought given to who exactly is being invited to experience that particular paradise. It seems more than short-sighted, perhaps even irresponsible to promote a riding area without giving due thought to the impact that promotion has on the environment.

Whoa! Wait a minute! What's this(?), an off roader that's worried about the environment? Yeah, right, sure. Sounds like an oxymoron! Well, it shouldn't be. Us so-called 'off-roaders' should be very concerned about the environment that we enjoy. We need to be increasingly careful in our use of the great back country that we love to explore so that we can continue to enjoy well it into the future - the future where our kids and grandkids will be able to enjoy it as well! The key word to remember here is 'sustainability!' Write it down. Commit it to memory. Tell a friend!

It seems rather obvious that some trail users are considerably more harmful on the trails, to the trails, to the surrounding areas, and therefore most specifically to our desire to keep our wonderful trail systems open! Who you ask are these harmful users? It seems so obvious it shouldn't need to be said.

But I will anyway.

First let me say it's not necessarily always a 'who' that's bad for the trails, but perhaps more often a 'what'. And like in so many cases, these are generalities with which I speak. That means that there are exceptions to each. So if you're reading this and you're the 'exception' don't tell me, tell all the others that you are the exception from!

* Speed is bad. Speed of course is a relative term, but there is a point where too much speed is not only extremely dangerous to other trail users but also to the trail itself, as the spinning and sliding tires dig up the trails causing more dust, more ruts, and more erosion. Speed and dust is also known to be a rather unpleasant greeting to other trail users.

I've seen a couple good takes on speed measurement. One friend said that if his cap wanted to blow off his head he was riding too fast to be wearing a cap. Interesting. My brother used to say that he rode to see things so he rides slow enough that he can see them.

* So if speed is bad that certainly must mean that sport quads are bad. Although it's not impossible to enjoy scenic trails on a sport machine, the typical sport ATV rider is usually more concerned with enjoying the thrill of riding than being thrilled, enjoying the ride.

* And so that 'speed thing' must also apply to most motorcycles. They necessarily require more speed to ride and their single rear tire spins most of the time leaving a smaller and more pronounced rut. Someone once mentioned to me that the fewer driven wheels a vehicle has, the more damage it does to the terrain. It may also be said that the fewer driven wheels a vehicle has, the less the operator is looking around enjoying the scenery.

* Aggressive tires are also destructive to the trails. We've tested plenty of different tires and types of tires over the years and the outcome was always that deep-lugged mud and snow tires were not only unnecessary for regular trail riding but not even necessary for mild mud or snow conditions. Of course non-spinning aggressive tires may well do less damage than the mad spinning of more regular treaded tires.

Something I always think about is how you can ride an ATV slowly, without spinning the tires across even the most fragile terrain and they barely leave a mark.

* Noise is probably one of the most irritating invasions an off-roader can impose on others. Loud machines are irritating to everyone from other campers nearby, home and property owners you pass along the way, and of course the wildlife. And let's not forget to mention the interruption to the serenity of anyone stopped along the trail enjoying the scenery.

* Trash. It never ceases to amaze me how selfish or just plain ignorant many people are concerning leaving their trash along the trails. Do they not see it or do they just not care about seeing it. So I'll assume that those not concerned with the beauty of our trails are not concerned with riding beautiful trails. In which case I say you should stay home.

Did I sound mean here? Selfish? If you're offended it is most likely you that I'm talking about here. 

Let me just say one more time that the key to being able to continue to ride our trails is sustainability. Keep them clean, keep them environmentally friendly, and keep the other trail users happy.

But of course, I imagine if you are reading this I'm preaching to the choir - so-to-speak.

Happy trails -
or should I say "God Bless our 'happy trails'?"

Wheels & Offset Explained (?)

 
   It wasn't until I moved from deserts of California to the mountains of Utah (where mud and snow is rather more prevalent in our riding than dry sand ;-) that I realized some of the problems associated with wheels with an increased negative offset (Need help with what 'offset is? See the explanation at the end of this blog). The first thing I noticed was how dirty I was after even a short ride. I compared that to tires that resided properly under the fenders - something I've realized were properly named 'fenders'! 


 The other thing I found out about wheels with more (negative) offset is their effect on the handling of the machine. The greater the offset of the wheel to the outside of the machine, the more effect it has on the suspension and steering. Add to that the fact that this happens because you've most likely added heavier, aftermarket tires and wheels farther out and you have not only increased the amount of unsprung weight, but you've also increased it's leverage. Because of that, the tires have a far greater effect on the ATV (or UTV) whether it's the wheel and tire's movement downward from dropping down into a rut or reacting upward to a rock or other bump. The greater the mass and the greater the leverage, the greater effect it will have. And that's not a 'good' effect.
 An even more noticeable effect of increased negative offset is what it does to the steering. That same leverage we mentioned above, when combined with a tire with more traction will now far more easily overpower the steering leverage you have. First, the steering is far more 'grabby' with increased negative offset than with the same aggressive tread with a more positive offset. Then, the more traction and the added leverage can (and often will) be able to out-wrestle you for control of the handlebars or steering wheel.


 Yet another effect of this added offset and added traction is its ability to also overpower a differential. A 'limited slip' front differential will be far less effective and unable to 'lock in' when the amount of leverage and traction is changed.


 And it goes without saying that the effects of all this weight and leverage will add tremendously to the wear and even breakage of all the suspension, brake, and drive components.


 So, what's my point? Simply this - It's easy to look at a set of very aggressive tires mounted on a set of wheels sticking out past the fenders and go, "Wow, that's cool-looking. It must work awesome" and be overpowered by the appearance of performance. But real performance is not measured by looks, perception, or (imagine this) popularity, but by actual performance. Yes I know, that's a profound statement and you may need some time to let it sink in. What's even more amazing is that this same perception of performance applies to other areas of an ATV as well, but we're not talking about swingaxle's versus IRS systems here ;-)


 I've indeed been very fortunate to be able to try an incredible variety of wheel and tire combinations on a huge assortment of machines and most recently in a great many different trail conditions. And I've learned a lot....


 Negative offset may look good and add some much-needed stability to some ATVs, but is offset (no pun intended;-) by a detriment in steering precision, handling, and even traction.


 Big, giant tread may also look good but may come with the penalty of added weight, lack of steering precision (and control) and even a loss of traction and definitely a loss of power.


 The general rule that seems to 'almost' always work is the use of three basic principles; Use the stock aluminum wheel or an aftermarket aluminum wheel with the exact same offset as the stock wheel. Find a moderately aggressive tire and then always choose the one with less over more. And finally watch the weight - it's easy for tires to be incredibly overweight in the name of traction and reliability.


 And actually when you apply all three of those principles you'll find the choices are narrowed enough that your decision is easier.


 Oh, did I mention that no matter what it needs to be radial construction?


 All of this is knowing that no one modification to your ATV will have a bigger effect - good or bad.




OFFSET EXPLAINED -

The offset of a vehicle's wheel is the distance between the centerline of the wheel and the plane of the hub-mounting surface of the wheel. It can thus be either positive or negative. Offset has a significant effect on many elements of a vehicle's suspension, including the suspension geometry, clearance between the tire and suspension elements, the scrub radius of the steering system, and the width of the wheel faces relative to the fender coverage.

Zero Offset - The plane of the hub mounting surface is even with the centerline of the wheel.
Positive Offset - The plane of the hub mounting surface is shifted from the centerline toward the outside of the wheel. Positive offset wheels have most of the wheel toward the inside of the wheel.
Negative Offset - The plane of the hub mounting surface is toward the back or brake side of the wheel's centerline.

D

EV - Slower and Quieter Can Be Plusses

If you haven't read the earlier ATV Television Blog entitled, "I've seen the future" please do. That way you'll understand this one much better.

I have sitting outside my office, one of the new Polaris Ranger EVs (Electric Vehicle). Now before I go on I'll give you a little time to clear your senses because if you're anything like me, the thought of an electric off-road vehicle will send electrical shocks through your brain until you are convulsing - with laughter ;-)

Okay, you better? Now guess what? It's quiet! So quiet in fact that I can here my passenger talking to me. And I can hear them clear enough that I can answer back without ending up hoarse. In fact it's so quiet I can here the stream flowing beside me as I drive along. I can also here those dastardly fossil fuel powered wheelers coming long before I can even see them.

I can also here the wind in the trees, the deer running up the bank, and the sound of thunder off in the distance. I hear the birds singing and the rocks from the tires flipping up into the air.

I can also see more clearly all the smiles on the faces of all (okay most) of those that I pass by. I see wildlife startled at not hearing me coming from far away. And I see the future of back country travel where peace and love abound. Okay, whoa, that went a bit far. Let's take a minute here. Let me go slam a brewski, kill an innocent animal and strap back on my redneckhood.

It didn't work. I still see the advantages of an off-road vehicle that disrupts the forrest and the community around the forrest far less than now.

Of course there's some things that just don't work on the EV. For one, it's slow and heavy. I suppose that really should count as two, huh? For another, it doesn't go very far.

But I do see is the advantages of the quiet operation of a UTV. Or maybe (just maybe) what we need to do is ride more responsibly with what we have.

Hmmm.

Slower. Quieter. It's a trail use that's an amazingly wonderful experience - I can assure you. And so is fruit, granola and yogurt. And no animals die. Trust me ;-)

  

Some Random Thoughts About TIRES!

Let me say it again – “Tires are the single most important modification that you can make to your ATV or UTV!”

I’ll say this too! “Most ATVs – especially those coming from the Japanese manufacturers come with cheap, round, thin, biased-ply tires that are on the machine to save unsprung weight and save money!”

The proper tires will improve and enhance the performance of your ATV (or UTV) more than most people know simply because most people to not upgrade to the best tires for their machine and their riding. Most people upgrade to a tire they think looks good or their friends and other people say is good.

Have you ever run across a person that said they bought this ATV, or that truck, or in this case, this particular tire and it’s not the best? Let’s just look at tires; If someone upgrades their tires from the stock units, almost anything will mostly work better ;-)

If I may use a good friend as an example – he purchase a brand new Honda Rubicon. When the stock tires wore out at 800 miles, he upgraded to a set of Goodyear Mudrunners. They improved traction incredibly, but they didn’t steer as well or handle as well. He figured that was the trade-off necessary for the better tires. When those wore out he purchased a set of Maxxiss Bighorns. Now these were the best tires made because not only did they have great traction, but they rode better than the Mudrunners. He told all his friends that the Bighorns were the best ATV tire he’d ever ridden.

Then we met. I was incredulous with his choice of tires and perhaps more-so his opinion of them, and made him try a set of Carlisle ACTs. He was amazed at what he didn’t know before. Like so many others he could only make a measurement of a tire’s performance based on the tires that he was familiar with. Once he became more familiar with other tires he became aware of what he didn’t know before.

And that’s a typical case. The only difference is that Kenny was open-minded enough to want to know more, and a talented enough rider to be aware of the differences.

So, what makes a good tire?

Light weight. The lighter the tire, especially in relation to the weight of the machine, the better it will handle. A lighter tire will move up and down with less effect on the rest of the machine than a heavier one. A lighter tire will also start turning, continue turning, and stop with less effort than a heavier tire.

Tire compound. The consistency of the rubber that a tire is made from is called the compound. A harder compound will wear less and last longer. A softer compound will wear faster and therefore wear out faster. But, a softer compound will ‘stick’ or bend around objects like dirt, rocks and sticks and provide better traction whereas a hard compound will simply hit against it and somewhat like a bullet, ricochet off. The perfect combination of compound will make a tire have traction in dirt that is controllable.

Tread design. Here’s what seems to be a no-brainer. More tread is better. Wait, that’s not true. More tread can mean more weight, and more weight is bad. More tread with a soft compound can mean more flex and flex is bad. What then are we left with? The type of tread is important. An angled tread makes the tire clean the mud from it easier, but an angled tread can also make the tire less precise. A lateral tread makes for a smoother ride. Lateral is the tem for the tread being somewhat continuous around the circumference. A cut out tread – or a non solid rubber tread makes for a lighter tread and a tread with a bit more flex for superior traction without too much flex as with a deep tread with a soft compound.

Siping. Siping is the small slits in the tread of a tire. Sipes allow the tread to grip the surface better.

Sidewall structure. While a sidewall needs to flex for added comfort and the ability to give over irregular terrain, it needs to be strong enough to resist punctures. Just as important, the sidewall needs to be firm enough to not roll over while turning. Stock, bias-ply tires roll very easy when under lateral forces and that’s why ATVs and Rhinos can fall over so easy. A radial tire retains a constant contact patch and the sidewall does not flex with the tread so it is much more stable.

And since I said that these were random thoughts, here’s something else to mull over. A good part of traction and performance is based on a tire’s contact patch on the ground. When thinking of contact patch, most people only think wider and not longer. A longer contact patch comes from a taller tire. A longer contact area provides more traction. So you see, a taller tire can have more advantages than just more ground clearance.

So a good tire is as light as possible with as soft of a rubber compound as feasible with the tread designed to ride smooth and be self-cleaning. The tread should be just tall enough to provide forward traction but not so tall as to add too much weight or to bend while cornering. The tread should be somewhat flexible with siping or hollowed edges for better traction. The sidewall should flex slightly but be resistant to punctures.

And there you have it.

A Betty Ford Center For Vehicle Addiction?

Sometimes it comes to this; you must face up to your problem. For some people it’s drugs of some sort that take over their life. Other’s it’s alcohol that won’t let them go. And for some it’s an unfortunate addiction to things that go – vehicles, cars, boats, ATVs – things with motors, engines, noise and vibration.

The difference is that if you have a problem with drugs or alcohol it’s a much more accepted problem. By that I mean it is seen as a problem and because of that there are means and ways for you to get help. There plenty of clinics available and eager to step in and administer to the poor soul that can’t say no to another drink. Unfortunately there is no one waiting to help you with you problem if you are addicted to vehicles.

So I propose a solution.

Like every other addiction, the first thing we have to do is recognize that there is indeed a problem — a problem that you have no control over. In this case it’s the addiction to vehicles. Here, rather than not being able to say no to another drink, it’s not being able to say no to another thing with wheels and an engine. Or just wheels or just an engine. Or sometime neither – but they once had ;-)

To better identify the problem let’s look at what the government says is normal. To apply for any government aid you are allowed only one vehicle. The normal American family has two vehicles. The more involved and less socially acceptable may actually have a three-car garage filled with yet more items sitting outside in the driveway.

There are the telltale signs of vehicle addiction such as justification of purchase. Not to name names, but my son-in-law recently bought an FJ80 with the ‘justification’ that he needed something to seat 7 people. The new registration hadn’t even shown up in his mailbox before he installed a lift kit and mounted bigger, and (much) more aggressive tires on it and headed out to the mountains to go camping.

There are other signs, like the size of a person’s garage – oftentimes referred to as a ‘shop’ thereby giving it less of a classification as a place to park vehicles as to simply ‘justify’ its size by it’s use as a ‘workplace’.

Or how about the shear number of vehicles a person has owned over the span of their lifetime. I recently read a Peter Egan column where he listed that he had owned something like 97 vehicles in his life! Most likely a disgusting number to most people – even those 60 years of age or more.

Now, like the three main questions you must ask yourself to find out if you’re an alcoholic, I guess we now can ask ourselves three questions to find out is you are addicted to vehicles. (Now I may not be absolutely correct in this but I remember these 3 ‘alcoholic’ questions – Do you crave a drink? Do you drink at the same time every day? Have you repeatedly tried to quit drinking?) Maybe we should add that repeatedly tried to quit to our list of vehicle addition questions as I remember that being the clue that I wasn’t an alcoholic – I never tried to quit ;-)

So, let’s be honest with ourselves and answer those questions (That’s the ones referring to vehicle addition and not the alcohol-related questions as after all, alcoholism is pretty much an accepted decease nowadays;-)

I’ll step up first:

1) Have I ever tried to justify the purpose of a vehicle?

The most recent vehicle purchase was a Mazdaspeed Miata modified by Flyin’ Miata to put out in excess of 240 horsepower.

But, it does get better mileage than any other vehicle I own so that’s not really justification right?

2) Do you have a garage that is referred to as a shop because of its size?

Because I test vehicles and work on building ‘project vehicles’, of course my building where my vehicles sit is referred to as a ‘shop’. And 4000 square feet isn’t that big for a shop anyway. Nor is the fact that there’s another 2000 square foot shop in anther state.

3) Have you owned more vehicles than a normal person could justify?

Do I really need to list them?

Motorcycles: (24)

Suzuki 80

Honda Super 90

Honda Scrambler 160

Honda 160 Street

Honda Trail 90

Honda Trail 110

Yamaha RZ 350

Yamaha 100

Yamaha 125

Rickman Hodaka (incredibly fast)

Bultaco Montero

Bultaco Alpina

Bultaco Pursang

Yamaha DT2 250

Husky 360 8-speed (Malcolm Smith’s)

Husky 250 4-speed

Husky 250 (2)

Husky 400 (2)

Husky 450 (3)

Yamaha TT500

ATVs & UTVs: (16)

Honda 185S

’82 Honda 250R

’83 Honda 250R

Honda 350X

Honda 350X 4-wheeler (first 4-wheeler!)

Honda 250X

Yamaha Tri-Z

Yamaha Warrior (super modified for mag article)

Yamaha Moto 80

Honda Odyssey 350

Kawasaki Prairie 700

Suzuki LTZ 400

Suzuki LT80

1999 Polaris Ranger 6x6

Kawasaki V-Force 700

Suzuki King Quad 700

Suzuki King Quad 750 EPS

Cars and Trucks: (54)

65 Blue Meyers Manx (original from Lion Country Safari)

67 Orange Meyers Manx

Yellow Empi Baja Bug

Digger Single-seat VW sand car

Sand Toy 2 Seater

Sandwinder 2-seat racer (Ex Johnny Rutherford car)

65 VW Convert

62 Green VW

70 Orange VW Convert

72 Porsche 914

79 Honda Accord

74 Ford F250 4x4

43 Ford
Datsun 280ZX 10^th Anniversary Edition

GMC S-15 4x4

Isuzu Trooper 4dr 4x4

Isuzu Extended Cab 4x4

70 Chevy 2500 4x4 (Service Bed)

68 Chevy 327 pickup

75 Chevy 1-ton flatbed 350

73 Chevy 1-ton flatbed 454

72 Chevy 4x4 pickup (Dave Gay modified 396)

85 Chevy CrewCab Dually 4x4

85 Toyota flatbed dually dump

92 Toyota pickup automatic

84 Buick LA Olympic Edition

52 VW (restored)

74 VW Thing

72 VW Thing (import with reduction gears)

Orange VW Thing (for parts)

70 VW w/ Porsche 356 engine and tranny (EMPI GTV)

67 Blue Manx (Dave Parsons)

70 Meyers Towd

70 Honda 600 (original bought from owner of Reno Honda)

Suzuki Sidekick Convert

52 Chevy truck

46 Willys Pickup

68 yellow VW

66 Ford LTD 390

Yellow Glass Buggy

VW Rabbit Diesel pickup

Suzuki Samurai – Rockcrawler

61 VW – Fontana Grey

76 Toyota FJ40

85 Toyota FJ60

1989 Jeep Cherokee (Scofield)

1993 Ford F350 4x4

1999 BMW M3 Convert

2003 Range Rover

2004 GMC 2500HD Diesel 4x4

2006 Toyota Tundra CrewCab TRD 4x4

1990 Mercedes 300 SEL

1994 Mazda MPV 4wd

1993 Toyota FJZ80

2004 MazdaSpeed FM Miata

Boats: (8)

18’ Sol Cat

18 Horizon 460 Ford Jet

16’ Trihull

440 Jet Ski

300 Jet Ski

Yamaha Waverunner (2)

Airplanes: (4)

100cc Yamaha Weight-shift Quicksilver

440 Cuyuna Quicksilver

440 Pterodactyl

440 Pterodactyl 2-seater

Tractors: (2)

Kubota

Cat 247B


We don't have to list tools with engines - mowers, generators, wood-splitters, saws, and weed-wackers do we?

Then that's only 107. A couple more than Pete, but does that really mean anything - really? Keep in mind that I got my first vehicle at age 13 and I’m within months of being 60, so considering that’s 47 years of vehicle ownership - when the total number of vehicles is divided by the number of years of possible ownership is only barely more than the national average of 2 vehicles – per year.

4) Have you repeatedly tried to quit buying and owning vehicles?

Fortunately being an automotive journalist there have been many years where I didn’t need to own a vehicle as I had at my disposal multiple test units. Did that answer that?

I’ve learned a lot in writing this. First, I feel I’m fully qualified to judge whether a person can be classified as a vehicle addict. I’ve come to that conclusion based on my ability to answer the above questions openly and honestly.  Although many people may find my answers show all the signs of addiction, I realize that because of the fact that I have not ‘ever’ tried to give up purchasing vehicles that I can not be classified as an addict.

So, with that knowledge I would like to say that I am here for you if you have a problem and would like to get help. It’s a multi-step program. Take the test. Answer the questions. Clear your conscience and clean out your garage.

I can help you with the clean-up process and point you to the nearest Prius dealer.

Make the step. You’ll feel so much better, and so politically correct.

But be prepared as if too many of you face up to your problem I may have to expand my ‘shop’ to hold the spoils – I mean the clean-up process debris.

We’ll walk through the clean-up process in a future blog.

'Till then don't sell a thing -

Too Extreme For Me!

All my life I’ve lived at the edge of civilization. Living there certainly has had some great advantages for someone whose life revolves around vehicles and the backcountry. I grew up in the southern California desert where I could ride out from my house on my Honda Super 90 and learn how to stay upright on rocky trails and long sand washes.

During my early adult years I lived in several different places in Southern California, and as before, always at the edge of civilization, and as always, able to spend all my extra time out exploring the many trails that lead to only ‘who-knows-where.’ This was at a time when there were so many places to ride and so many areas of sand dunes that you actually had a problem deciding where you wanted to ride!

When my means for earning a living changed from building custom homes to writing about off road vehicles, I continued to live on the edge of the Southern California countryside. While I welcomed the access to the open trails for testing, this was the first time in my life that I witnessed the incredible abuse of the backcountry by off-roaders. I was appalled by their lack of regard for private property and closed trails.

This was the first time in my life that I actually started to question my fellow off roaders ethics, morality, and understanding as to what it is to be part of the human race. I don’t know if those are really the right words or not but I certainly questioned if I wanted to be part of the same group of individuals that showed so little respect for others.

The odd thing here is that these problematic off-roaders were a cross breed of people – some local kids whose parent’s considered an off-road vehicle as the perfect babysitter. The others traveling miles and miles from their homes in the city to the areas they deemed open places to ride.

One time I was actually out working on my tractor doing some irrigation work on my property when a couple of riders (on sport quads with loud exhausts I might add) went around the gate and ‘Private Property’ signs that marked the boundaries between my property and the many, many thousand acres of the Wildland’s Conservancy that my place bordered. They rode around on the hiking and horse trails while I wondered why they thought they had that right. When they returned along the gated trail past my property I stopped them only to be jumped and yelled at, with the much younger, and fully geared rider yelling a great many obscenities that included a few regular words at the tractor operator with something to the effect as to why I would care about this country anyway, as it was nothing worth caring about!

Suddenly I realized that my backyard was nothing to be concerned about if you were an off-road rider. Wow, that’s something I never considered when I was out riding on the trails in my youth. I saw no trespassing signs and personal property as places to stay away from. Hmmm. I was shocked and would be forever changed. Forever changed!

Now I have been well entrenched in the off road industry for many years, and recently moved to the state of Utah, and once again, you guessed it, right at the edge of civilization. This time my place sits at one of the busiest entrances to the incredible Paiute Trail system. My reasoning was that there would be no better place to test ATVs and related products than where I could easily access thousands of miles of ATV trails.

All that proved true. But what I failed to consider was that once again I would be at a place where I would have a front row seat to see the absolute lack of consideration and outright in-your-face abuse of our backcountry by off roaders. And their total lack of respect for others. I was amazed. Actually I’m amazed that I was actually amazed now that I think about it.

Every time I’ve lived where I’ve had a front row seat to the backcountry I’ve witnessed the absolute disregard that many off roaders have to the people around them.

So here I am, sitting out on the patio trying to enjoy a wonderful weekend BBQ only to witness once again the irresponsibility and disrespect that off road users have for the people around them. The next-door-neighbor, visiting for the holiday weekend is enjoying riding back and forth out to the end of their 100 yard driveway with one of his two young sons, one riding a small motorcycle and the other a small ATV. Off in the distance I can so clearly hear and only barely see a loud sport ATV climbing a hill. This hill not only borders thousands of miles of open trails, but has been posted ‘closed’ due to its proximity to town, houses, and people, as well as being, what-do-you-call-it(?), oh yeah, ‘private property’!

So once again I’m left to wonder exactly what it is that I have in common with these people that show so little regard to others.

Perhaps I might understand all this better if I just had a tattoo of a dragon on my arm. Or perhaps had some kind of hair or facial hair design with the sole purpose of drawing attention to me rather than actually making me look more attractive to other people. No, I take that last part back. Let me make that attractive to ‘normal’ people!

Whatever. . .  I just don’t understand this stuff anymore. How little we care about our appearance or even how we ‘appear’ to others is one thing - how little we care about how we affect those around us – now that’s a whole ‘nuther thing altogether!

I guess I’m ‘old school – stuck in the 60s or something. Whatever it is I think I’m done being a part of this new group of off roaders that seem to have no concern for the harm they are doing to the rest of us. Their lack of concern not only hurts us in the eyes of the non-ATVing public, but also will be the driving force in closing off more of our trail systems.

I know what you’re going to say now. You’ll say that it’s only a small percent of the riders that I’m talking about here and don’t let that small percent ruin everything. Sorry, it saddens me to say this (to realize this) but I think we are the small percent now.

So we lose. Just liked I watched the sand dunes change from a bunch of families having a good time to a huge party where all the attendees have more money than sense – or even (good) taste for that matter. It’s a dangerous place filled with extreme.

Extreme. Maybe that’s the word that changes everything now that I think about.

Whatever word we use to identify it - we lose.

Now I wonder, where do we go from here?

And how long will we have ‘till it goes EXTREME!

Where Are The Great ATV Writers.

I just finished reading (yet) another great article by one of my favorite motorsport writers and perhaps one of the greatest motor vehicle writers of all times. Peter Egan writes the most incredible columns for Road & Track magazine and Cycle World. His columns, titled ‘Side Glances’ and ‘Leanings’ are indeed incredible, incredible stuff.

On the day the magazines come in the mail I excitedly make my plans to set aside a ‘special time’ where I can sit comfortably, glass of wine in hand and spend some quality time with an old friend and his musings about his life’s travels, adventures, and sometimes just his thoughts on various subjects. Whatever they are about, they are always entertaining and always amusing.

I enjoy my time with Pete so much that I even buy the past collections of his writings so that I can relive the experiences he describes over and over. And every time I read them I feel like I’m sitting there visiting with an old friend. Make that an interesting old friend, as I know more than a few ‘old’ friends that I wouldn’t enjoy spending this much time with ;-)

And all this to ask the question: where are all the great ATV writers? My first thought (no make that my first wish) is that they are all too busy riding to spend any time writing. A worse thought is that it reflects on who we are as a group. My worst thought is that my worse thought is the right thought. Oh never mind, even I’m getting confused.

Is it possible that ATVing is less interesting to write about than sports cars or sport bikes? That just can’t be. I know because I’ve enjoyed them all and they all have their great adventures that are worth writing about. So we’re back to that worse thought thing – perhaps it’s that ATVers are a class of people that are less interested in reading than those people that are interested in sports cars or sport bikes?

Bummer.

Perhaps I’m wrong, but I doubt it. If I am please let me know where the good ATV writers are doing their writing. I want to find a friend to drink some wine with while reading about his adventures.

Turbo Dog!

For those of you that read my earlier (Used ATV Post) you may have noticed I mentioned my new Flyin' Miata Turbocharged MazdaSpeed. I have fallen in love with chatter - the sound of the pop-off or blow-off valve.

Well, thanks to Dan we've discovered that if you can find a Turbo Dog you can enjoy this wonderful sound in the comfort of your own home!

Is There a Used ATV In Your Future?

What To Do If You Can't Afford A New ATV —

Let’s face it, the economy just isn’t very good right now. And, as long as we’re facing it, I don’t think it’s going to improve very much for a while. Then, to make things worse, most knowledgeable types are forecasting that the price of gas is only going to go higher.

It’s all quite depressing news to everyone except folks like my friend, a UPS driver who continues to put in more hours each week than he prefers. More likely than not you are one of the 80% of able-bodied men that still have a job but continually wonder just how secure it is in our current state of affairs.

No matter who you are though, these are good times to keep your spending within the limits of your savings rather than the limits of your credit card. And even then it may be best to limit your spending to just a small percent of your savings.

But you want a (new?) ATV!

So what are we to do? I see three scenarios:

1) You bought a great ATV some time since 2005 or so and wonder if you should buy a new one or just keep this one and ride it.

2) You own an older, perhaps tired or too small ATV and you’d like to upgrade.

3) You don’t own an ATV at all and want one!

So here’s my advice – for what it’s worth!

1)  For those of you with your dream machine sitting in your garage, count your blessings! Need some help counting? Check out what a new ATV costs nowadays. And if that’s not enough you might also notice that nothing has really changed all that much, or improved, just gotten more complex and just maybe made more cheaply.

My advice for all of you is to use a portion of your savings to buy a good set of radial tires or a new winch (or just a synthetic rope). Then put the rest in gas and keep riding!

2) Owning an older, smaller, out-dated ATV may be the toughest dilemma of any. Is it something that you can live with? Is it something that a good set of radial tires and maybe a set of better shocks can change? Those are the items that just may make your current ATV ‘good to go’ for a while longer..

If not, here’s my suggestion. Clean it all up. Detail it. Change the oil and filter. Fix anything that’s wrong with it. Then you can sell it with a clean conscience to someone from group three. You will sleep well at night knowing that you have given someone an unregretable entry into our great sport.

3) So you don’t own an ATV or you’ve sold your old ATV and are ready to look for something better!

Here’s my advice. First, and perhaps most important, don’t get in a hurry. Have the amount you want to spend decided upon in advance and set aside. Now start looking. Where? Which ATVs should I look for? What do I look for in the ATV? Whoa! Slow down! Let’s go through this one item at a time.

Where to look? There are lots of good places to look. The local classifieds are the easiest simply because the ATVs to look at will most likely be closest to you. There are internet classifieds as well, but beware that as the distance that the ATV is away increases, the more time and money it will cost to look at it and the greater pressure you’ll be under to make a quick or hasty decision.

Which ATV should I buy? This is a very personal question, and one I’m always saying must fit what you plan to do with your ATV. But I will also say this. I have favorites and they are based on two things – how well they work for the recreational exploring that I love so much, and how well they hold up over the long haul. I like to ride ATVs a lot more than I like to work on ATVs.

The machines I’ve always fallen back on are the Suzuki King Quads. I’ve put many, many miles on them since the day they were introduced. I love how smooth they are. How quiet they are. And I love how reliable they are. I also love the Yamaha Grizzly. It’s a great machine, especially since its redesign in 2007. And the same goes for the Brute Force since it’s redesign in 2008.

Want something smaller? The King Quad 500 has all the features of the 700 and 750. Or look at the 400, which is basically a redesigned Eiger is a rock-solid and simple machine. As long as we’re talking rock-solid and simple, the Honda Rubicon, Foreman, and little Rancher fall into that category. So do the smaller Yamaha’s like the Kodiak and the Big Bear.

Reliability is a big issue as although I love hiking, I don’t like walking back from a ride! And yes, we’ve all heard stories of this and that, but I prefer to rely only on my own eyes. Spending so much time around the Paiute Trail in the busy summer months I get to see a lot of machines being used exactly how I use mine. I see many with lots of miles and I see some broken down along the trails.

The machines listed above are also the very same ones I see used for many years and many miles with little chance of major problems. But as with anything, your experience may vary. The good news is that you can lessen the chances of getting a bad machine by just paying attention.

Here’s what to look for – and how to look:

We’ll assume that you have narrowed your search down to one or two ATVs that fit your desires and purposes and it is now time to go look at the ATVs in person – well, so-to-speak.

The first thing to do is to talk to the owner for a while. Find a little of what’s he like. Ask him why he is selling the ATV. Ask him what he did with the ATV. I like to get a feel for the person that’s selling so I can get a first impression of the type of person they are. This gives me the first (and maybe best) idea of how it was taken care of.

I also like to look around a bit and see what else the seller has and how well he takes care of those things. I like to look around and see if his garage is clean. Is there an old truck being restored or perhaps a clean Miata sitting under a car cover? How’s his daily driver look? Clean? Are there supplies laying around like he would do his own oil changes? Is there a compressor for blowing air filters out?

Okay, now let’s take a closer look at what you came here for:

Take a look at what the ATV looks like externally. Are there any obvious scratches on the fenders like it’s been abused? How does the seat look? Is it faded from sitting outside? Is the seat ripped? Is there obvious rust? What about the handlebars and controls? Are they all clean and straight? Is it pretty obvious that the ATV has not been rolled? Good!

Next, look under the ATV. Are the skid plates beat badly or merely a few scratches? How about the CV joint covers? Are they clean and not ripped or leaking? How are the tires? Are they stock or are they new radials with little wear? Stand at the front of the ATV and look at the front tires. Are they lined up – pointing in the same direction? Are they worn fairly even?

Now let’s look a little closer. What’s the mileage? Hopefully you already knew the answer to this but look anyway. Pull off the seat and take a look at the air filter. Clean? Look at the battery and the cables. Clean? No corrosion hopefully. Pull the oil dipstick and check the oil level and cleanliness. No foam in the oil hopefully. Ask the seller when he last changed the oil and how often he changed it? What oil does he use? Ask him if he uses any additives? And ask if he ran regular or premium fuel as well.

Look closely at each side of the ATV. Are the little plastic fasteners all there? Are they in good shape or do they appear to have been removed and replaced roughly? Look at the bolts you see. Do they look like they’ve been removed? If it has a winch take a close look and see if it’s been used. If it has, the cable will be worn at the end where you should be able to easily notice it even without spooling out the cable. Look again for rust to see if the ATV was run in the mud or snow and not cleaned properly.

Now it’s time to start the ATV. Does it crank right up and idle smoothly? This is rather easy on a machine with EFI and a bit more challenging on an ATV with a carburetor. But a good seller would have previously started the machine so it would already be warm when you went to start it. Put it in gear. Does it shift into gear cleanly? Does it start to move easily or does it seem to take what seems like too many revs to get it going?

While the machine is running pull in the brake handle(s). Does the lever travel too far? Does it fully engage? Do the same with the foot pedal. Check if the parking brake actually holds the ATV at a standstill. Turn on the headlights and see if they work correctly.

Now it’s decision time. I have seen some used ATVs that are so clean you wonder if they were ever used at all, some with less than 1000 miles so the real decision will only be if the price is fair. Remember, you will more often than not get what you pay for. Super clean will cost you more than beat hard and put away wet – almost every time.

Let’s assume that the ATV has been used but not beat. If it’s been beat you should have been able to spot that rather quickly and turn around and drive off without looking back, perhaps not even needing to look the machine over closely to see it’s not what you want.

A machine that’s neither unbelievably clean and yet not beat is the category where the vast majority of used ATVs will fall. This is where you’ll need to use the suggestions above for looking over the machine. This is also where you’ll be weighing the price to the condition. This is where you are on your own. Does the cost of the ATV fit your budget? If there are some small items like worn tires, is your budget enough to fix these items?

My advice is to find as clean of a machine as you can afford. The cleaner and lower the mileage, the more trouble-free use you’ll get out of the ATV. I also always plan to make some repairs on anything I buy. So you may need to replace the tires. You may also need to replace the drive belt. If the ATV has never had the belt replaced it is something I would just plan on doing no matter what. The same with changing the oil and air filter. It’s all just good preventative practice.

So there you have it. Find a clean machine being sold by a nice person that either can’t ride it any more or has simply decided to move on to another hobby and you’ll live happy ever after.

On a side note: I have recently sold several newer, higher dollar vehicles and replaced them with older, simpler, and less expensive, or simply different machines. In every case I felt comfortable with the decision being made – the selling based on my knowledge of the cleanliness of the vehicle being sold, and buying based on both the condition of the machine, and perhaps more importantly, the obvious moral character of the seller.

In one case I was so confident of the seller of the car I purchased (a Flyin’ Miata MazdaSpeed if your interested) that a deal was made sight-unseen. My son-in-law made the comment that it was like buying a car from myself. I’m not sure where the resting place for that compliment was directed, but I think it fell on everyone involved! What a great way to buy (or sell) a vehicle. I wish you the same luck.

Will Polaris Be Our Only Choice?

If you’ve seen any of our Latest News we’ve posted lately you’ll notice that Polaris has purchased Indian Motorcycles, the oldest motorcycle manufacturer in America. It’s an incredibly gutsy purchase that will save a great heritage. They also announced that they are purchasing GEM – Global Electric Motorcars from the Chrysler Corporation. That will give them a huge leg-up in the on-road urban electric vehicle market. That’s also an incredible marketing move! And if you look a little farther back you’ll see announcements about new machines – market-busting machines, like the new high-performance RZR XP.

More importantly (perhaps), if you look inside our shop you’ll see a number of wonderful Polaris machines sitting there waiting for good enough weather for an old man to ride in.

But it’s what you don’t see that worries me the most. You don’t see any Latest News about new Yamahas, Suzukis, Hondas or Kawasakis. Okay, okay, there’s a new Honda with EFI and a new Kawasaki with EPS. But I probably don’t have to remind you that those two items have been on Yamaha and Suzuki ATVs for more than just a few years.

It’s what I don’t see that scares me more than what I do.

While the folks at Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Honda are hiding behind closed doors cowering and waiting for the economic wolf at the door to go away, the folks at Polaris aren’t hiding behind closed doors. In fact, you won’t even find them sitting behind their desks! They are outside with their swords drawn, perhaps not just chasing the wolf away from their doors, but knowing all too well that the only place for the wolf to go is outside the doors of Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki.

So not only does Polaris continue to dominate the market with new models, but perhaps more importantly, they continue to be aggressive in their marketing, supplying models to testers like us to ride and review. And while other manufacturer’s market shares decline, their share of the now smaller market continues to grow at an incredible pace!

Is there a connection between marketing and market share? I suppose if there wasn’t we’d have neither marketing departments nor measurements of market share. While Polaris continues to market their ATVs and UTVs, the competition pulls the blankets over their heads, loaning only a very few test units to the biggest reviewers to evaluate.

The capitalist in me says that Polaris should be rewarded for their bold and aggressive marketing. The realist in me sees that Polaris’ reward is a well-deserved increase in the share of our market.

Let’s just hope that Polaris will someday offer a V-twin for those of you that liked Kawasaki’s instant power, a balanced, high-geared single that’s smooth enough for all you King Quad fans, a 4wd system as capable as what you love about the Yamaha’s, and a simple, reliable workhorse for the Honda fans. Because the way things are going Polaris will be the only manufacturer standing.

Hurrah for them. Too bad for everyone else. I don’t know what to say about all of us.