This is what I observed at the Off-Road Vehicle Advisory Workgroup held in Lansing MI, March 7, 2012.

Sam Boumis and Elise Lancaster (?) from Scofes & Associates Consulting attended the meeting to represent Polaris Industries. They provided hand-outs outlining that some of the off-road machines that the manufacturers are building have surpassed statue definitions. They want MI and other states to re-word their definitions to include vehicles up to 65 inches wide. Polaris contends the people buying these machines (50” to 65” wide) want trails wide enough to ride them on. They do not want to ride them on our routes, county roads or forest roads because they are too wide, straight and unchallenging. They want the same riding experience that a 48” machine would have on a 50” trail.

Many on the board expressed several concerns and there are no funds to create a new 65” trail system. Lewis Shuler from the CCC read from a prepared statement rejecting the idea of establishing 65” trails. It was pointed out that 50+” machines have thousands of miles of forest roads, county roads and routes to ride. It was suggested that the manufactures should consider making a large financial contribution to establish any new trails. Boumis stated Polaris has provided approximately $750,000 in grants to 83 organizations across the nation (no time period provided). He further stated Polaris has received very few grant requests from MI organizations. He mentioned one going to Drummond Island and another to the CCC.

 

Interesting concept that I have been advocating for the past few years. Only I was looking for a 60 inch standard. I can't believe it will cost millions of dollars to go to 60 or 65 inch standard. You run a SxS though a 50 inch trail a couple times and you have it done for you. It only represents resetting of gateways at trail heads. I see why they want wider trails. They want wider Side by Side access. I support that. Side by Sides represent a major portion of theirs, and everyone elses sales right now. Why not support that?

 

If they did make the trails 65" instead of 50" everyone on an atv could go a lot faster. That may not be a good thing.

 

Iam probably going to get kicked around for this.... 65" wow thats a wide machine. At that width its not a OHV is a jeep. A CJ5 jeep is 68" wide and a suzuki Samurai is 61" wide. Is a Samurai going to be allowed on the trails? If not why? They fit between the gates... Sounds like people get big machines, mod them to be wider than cry when they cant find a place to ride.
Its great that Polaris is willing to shell out some cash so people who buy their machines can use them. But 750,000 spread out over 83 groups is only $9036 per group. If a trail/road is going to be built for 65" machines and is not a one way route it would have to be 10'-12' wide. So you would need a dozer and excavator to build it. It costs 1k a day to run both machines.
Bottom line people buy machines that are to big to get through the gates and now the WORLD has to change to suit their needs. I say F them, they should of know better when they bought their "jeep".

 

I know I have talked to rangers and owners of some riding areas and here is the main reason they are set to 50" is they want to keep them ATV trails not as mentioned some of the suv type 4x4 trucks by keeping it at 50" they cant get in or through. with them not getting in there is not someone in one of them taking up all the trails and getting in the way of the ATVers once on the trail (some that I have ridden) they are ~100-110" allowing for 2 way traffic yes as a courtesy you still pull over and wait for them to pass but think about allowing a 65" machine the trails would go from 100-110" to 130" so its not 10 inches its a 20-30" width adjustment and when your out riding your ATV do you really want a bunch of people in trucks hogging the road slowing you down getting in your way and ruining your ride? (and some think because they are in a bigger vehicle that they have the right away on all the trails I have ridden on some trails in Minnesota with trucks running the same trails and it is a royal Pain in the you know what to deal with)

 

A small part of the blame lies with the dealers, they either don't know the local trail laws, or omit that fact when they sell the UTVs......"sure, you can ride this anywhere its legal with an ATV ", then when the new owner gets to his first trail head and finds boulders or steel posts blocking his too wide ride, he gets angry at the state instead. I want everyone to enjoy the sport of ATV/UTV riding, but as stated above, if we make all the trails wide enough , what will stop the small trucks and jeeps from hogging all the trails? I already see jeep/truck tire prints on ATV only trails, they like the challenge of running a tiny, twisting trail, you open that up wider, and it will soon be turned into a rutted out truck pit that only they will enjoy, or only the larger utility ATVs will be able to crawl through thier ruts.

 

Over at the Hatfield McCoy, you find that they have a mixture of single track, easy trails and more challenging. The easy trails are open to UTV's. I have not see any measurable increase in accidents as a result of UTVs on wider tracks, which are in fact coal mining roads. Much wider than 65 inches. What it means is you have to properly mark the trails N 4x4 vehicles or those designed originally for street use and enforce it. Do speeds increase? that is debatable as to the cause, whether that is wider road or because it is on a flatter surface etc. But in general, I will concede that point.

 

I bought my 50" RZR because I wanted to be able to go where everyone else rides. I'm not going to modify it in any way to make it wider so I won't be restricted from riding anywhere. These are all conscience decisions on my part because of where I ride and want to ride. If you increase the width of the trails heads you'll have jeeps ans small trucks on the trails.

 

Well like I said, that is where enforcement comes in. It doesn't seem to be a problem here now that everyone understands where they can and cannot go. It takes buy in from local authorities and law enforcement. I doubt the narrow paths are really going to stop a determined jeep owner from using the trails anyway. But take his Jeep away from him, and he and his buddies might think twice about it next time. Also, I think many people make the mistake of thinking that we are sepearte groups... I think if you look at it hard enough, that the same people own and use ATVs, Dirt bikes, snowmobiles and 4Wheelers. The Side by side industry is here to stay. They are the fastest growing segment of powersports, and they should be welcomed, not seen as the enemy. Putting a more utilitarian vehicle on the trails will open them up to many new possibilities. Most important is creating a unified group that can lobby for more trails etc.
What I do not buy is the smoke screen being put up regarding so called increased costs to build and maintain the wider trails. That is just blade width of the machinery. A BS answer that says they don't want to make the effort, when in reality, they should be looking for ways to accomodate requests, not look for ways to NOT do something. THe fact is, the more people we have on the trails, the more resources will be made available to build and maintain them. Infigting will only hurt the sport.

 

Also, Do not forget that current machine widths were made so that machines could fit in the bed of a Pickup. I think as machine sizes grow, and the use of trailers increase, that thinking is a tad outdated.