Advantages of all terrain vehicles - i.e. what are they?

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqjILoq_P1c

All I'm seeing is people getting stuck or else in danger of them slowly flipping over and getting crushed. There must be a utilitarian advantage to these ATVs or there'd be no market for them - but for courses like this they seem so ridiculously unmanoeuvrable and slow compared to an enduro or trials bike that I can't quite see the point.

More apt acronym would seem to be ATEHaDMV (all terrain except hills and deep mud vehicle).
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"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[thx1138]

I rode one for over 100kilometers all off road in NZ.

Advantages over a motorbike, engine braking on descents. I went down hills I would have bottled on a bike. Can carry a lot of kit. Deffo would have had several offs on a bike.

Though, if this off road centre had also hired bikes, I'd have chosen a bike over a quad. I suspect they mostly appeal to people who can't ride bikes?

Anyway, here is a short video of me riding one in some place I can't pronounce on the north island of NZ.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A4vOLlstQU

[doggone]

Use one almost daily on the farm, if I take the trail bike instead the immediate problem is carrying anything like a bag of feed, dogs, or tools which it can do admirably on the large front and rear racks.
It can also tow a smallish trailer and a surprising range of other kit almost like a small tractor.

The low ground pressure means it could often go on very soft ground you couldn't take a bike or if you did there'd be ruts whereas the quad floats over.

[thx1138]

[Rogerborg]

Given the huge numbers of them stinking up the "motorbikes and scooters" section on Gumtree (which is a rant for another thread), I'd infer that they come with buyer's remorse built right in.
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[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

Like I said, I can see the utilitarian advantage - my next door neighbour is always on his, working the small holding. And the guys with hundreds more acres around here are never off them. Don't seem them towing owt mind you. But obviously that's one more advantage.

However RE the course / event linked to in the OP it's much harder to see the advantage over a bike. Although I do appreciate that for those that can't ride two wheels there's that.
____________________
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[thx1138]

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v616/THXII38/bogquadgif.gif

[BakesBeans]

I was gonna buy one for launching my jet ski in the sea - pain in the arse at low tide - until I did my research and realised it would be shit.

Great for farmers, and maybe a jolly on off road trails on your hols, and that's about it.


Infact, my [facebook] mate has just bought a road going quad, and it does 60mph don't you know! Yeah, great.
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Current: Kawasaki ZX636
Previous Bike: Honda CBR600F ABS, Yamaha XJ6 F Diversion ABS, Honda VFR400 NC30

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[thx1138]

He's was fine. Apart from coughing up muddy water, I ripped the gif off of an old Bike Havoc dvd. Bike journo, MCN I think? Old one, so quads probly quite new concept, maybe first time on one?

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

And possibly last.
____________________
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[stinkwheel]

Totally invaluable on farms in the UK where the average age of a farmer is 59 with fucked knees/hips and no additional stockmen to help him.

Quad bikes are almost a disability scooter in some cases, they couldn't physically get round their stock without one.

Bombadier came out with a step-through one recently which has proved very popular for the ones with dicky hips that can't get their leg over the saddle and previously had to ride side-saddle.

You also can't put 100kg of sheep feed and a collie dog on the back of a trials bike.

Many of them have been chopping in their quad bikes for "mule" ATVs recently though.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[RhynoCZ]

Quads are cool work horses. You just can't pull wood from the forest with your motorcycle, or put a plow on your bike.

But they are dangerous on the tar and it is rather common for people being injured and killed, when the quad rolls over them in the mud/heavy terrain.
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[Rogerborg]

[stinkwheel]

[Undinist]

Kids in South London like quad bikes for road use because they're easy to wheelie and you don't have to wear a helmet. It's a whole new lifestyle. Most weekend evenings there are 4 or 5 with open pipes putting on a show outside my local pubs in Brixton.

https://youtu.be/tA4FseXB9Dk


I think the idea might have started in Philadelphia where you're not allowed to filter so if you want to do your bike gang thing you may as well do it on a quad.
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[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[thx1138]

[Wonko The Sane]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]