Ask The Editors: Why No Carbon Fiber ATV Frames?
Contrary to common misconception, carbon fiber is plenty strong enough to handle the rigors of even the most brutal off-road experience and would likely be much lighter in the process to boot. So why then do we not have race quads and UTVs decked out in the stuff? The answer is two-fold but the main issue is simply one of cost.
Carbon fiber is expensive to produce, even in volume and this hike in price would certainly end up being transferred to the consumer directly at the MSRP level. This isn’t to suggest that we’ll never get to experience full factory carbon treatment so much as it’ll likely take a brave manufacturer with a lot of faith in the economy (something that hasn’t been the case domestically since 2008) willing to invest some major R&D dollars into initial development cost.
The second factor deals with the simple nature of carbon fiber when used for structural integrity. In short it behaves differently than metal. Don’t mistake this for being weaker per se, so much as it lacks the give to dent or bend when subjected to major impact. Rather what typically ends up happening is it cracks at fatigue points and becomes prone to major failure should the spot continue to be subjected to stress.
As it stands, right now you could probably find a few custom carbon fiber shops throughout the nation willing to build you a one-off full carbon ATV frame but thanks to cost and long term durability concerns, we’re still a ways away from witnessing carbon frames at a factory level.
