Hey Guys,


I'm new around here. I grew up in GA where ATVs were pretty much a part of life. First ATV I had a good amount of experience with was an early model Grizzly 660. I was off the ATVs for a while and rode yesterday with my wife on a rental Sportsman 570 2-Up. Now she wants one to explore the Front Range of the Rockies with. Go figure a city girl from NY rides an ATV for the first time and has a blast. I guess that puts us in the market. Only problem is, I'm 6' and can handle any utility quad out there. That's something that I can't expect from a 4'11" lady so I guess we'll have to compromise on size and power since I know she won't want to ride shotgun all the time. Thanks guys.

 

Welcome to the forums.

See if she'd like a Polaris ACE. It's a single rider machine that you sit in. Can get it with power steering too. More car like controls. There are some smaller utility quads made by Honda that I would call medium sized that might be a good fit.

 

Greetings Anschutz: Welcome to the ATV Connection and welcome to Colorado. I'm both new to Colorado and new to the ATV hobby. Unlike you, I've had nearly zero prior experience with ATVs.

I started researching ATVs and side by sides last November when a couple of new friends got me interested. Trail riding in Colorado is quite good with over 80 designated trails around the state. ATV Connection members helped me a lot with my final decision. I ended up with a 2 up Can Am Outlander. My friends recommended a narrow side by side, but it was too big and too expensive for me. I will plow Colorado snow with mine. Machine reliability was very important to me. I did not find very much data on ATV reliability though. It's a roll of the dice to select a brand. I don't believe the Japanese brands make a 2 up ATV, so that limited my search.

One thing my Colorado friends strongly suggested was buy all the power you can afford for high altitude riding. The air gets pretty thin up there. Many high powered machines come with "engine detune" features that allow a tame ride most of the time, and a special selection for full power. I find this feature on my Can Am quite handy.

I'm sure that rental Sportsman 570 at what, 45 hp, had plenty of power to haul the two of you around. But the next size up may be even better at 10,000 feet.

David

 

Welcome to the forums.

 

Shoot there's probably 80 trails in the Pikes and San Isabel National forest. I've done quite a few in the Jeep and haven't even come close to touching them all. Check out traildamage.com and they list a good number of trails in Colorado. As for what I've been looking at as far as quads, I'm either looking for a powerful 2up that way I can use it to pack out game and get both of us around the trails or a midsized 1up and add a seat on it.

 

Most manufacturers and experienced riders don't recommend a passenger on a 1 up machine. 2 up machines have roughly 8" more wheelbase. That makes them safer climbing and descending steeper grades. There could be too much weight shift on a standard wheelbase machine causing it to flip. Let's call it a wheelie from hell.

Maybe you should consider a 2 up machine or two one up machines, a his and hers so to speak.

I am inexperienced in ATV riding opportunities in Colorado. I do have a "Stay The Trail" brochure that a friend gave me and it lists 89 off highway trails, not all of which are designated ATV. But I'm sure I don't know about all of them.

I hope some day Colorado will pass a street legal ATV law like Utah and many other western states. Then we could ride down secondary roads in the mountains and enjoy nearly the same scenery as a trail ride. Maybe you could license your ATV in Georgia and ride the country roads? Adding secondary roads to the ATV "trail network" would be awesome.

David

 

That makes sense now that I think about it. Now that's got me thinking about a 700 or higher 2 up. It would also help with stability ascending and descending even when riding solo. I'm also thinking that when hauling game it would be a little more stable with a small trailer loaded with equipment.

 

Your reading and talking to others will help decide on the "long wheelbase" models or a standard unit. I picked the long wheelbase one for uphill, downhill stability due to my residence in Colorado, and my desire to carry a passenger now and then.

I'm sure the sport trail riders who like to zoom through the trees and rocks fast would not want a larger machine. Sports cars are more nimble than pickup trucks so to speak.

It sounds like for your use the 2 up configuration would work well. They come with electric assist steering, which makes the machine pretty easy to pilot over rough ground. I'm sure your wife could handle the machine well.

David