By: ATV Connection Editors

Hello ATV Connection readers, welcome to our latest feature! Due to the rising popularity of the Ask the Editor forum, we have decided to expand the idea and post responses to the homepage.

For those of you who are new to this, basically, if you have an ATV related question, you can ask our editors for help/advice. Create a forum account if you don’t already have one, then create a new thread in our Ask the Editor section. It’s easy and fun!

And without further ado, here is this week’s question…

Dear ATV Connection:

In your opinion, does the future of ATVing and MX riding look like it’s getting better or worse? The environmentalists seem to always be after us for some reason, real or imagined. I know several riding places have been closed in the past few years and I was just wondering if you had good info on where we are headed.

Budedm

Excellent question! The fact of the matter is that editors surrounded by the industry 24/7 are susceptible to falling into the line of thinking that everything is fine and well. In truth the ATV industry (and off-road powersports scene in general) is faced with all of the same turmoil currently troubling the world: Natural disasters, rising gasoline costs, shaky economy, cutbacks on unnecessary spending and so on. To further compound the situation, these troubles are in addition to long-standing obstacles plaguing the industry such as the environmentalists you mentioned and lawsuit liability responsible for the closure of dedicated riding areas.

But rather than speculate, we can look at the hard numbers for a more accurate idea of the current state of affairs.

Believe it or not, for a majority of the first decade of the 2000’s (just before the bottom fell out of the market thanks to the housing crisis in 2008), ATV sales were breaking records at a near-constant pace. In 2004, 912,000 units were sold in the United States. The first signs of slowing up took place in 2007 when 759,000 ATVs were moved. The numbers continued to fall on through 2010, but believe it or not, sales improved slightly in the first half of 2011, when compared to the same period in 2010, and continue to look strong as we near the end of the year.

In fact, sales stats have actually begun climbing to the point that the many of the manufacturers have seen fit to release genuine 2012 model lines (after a couple of years of sitting idle while leftover warehouse industry was liquidated).

So that leads to a very simple question: What has been happening to get sales back on track? Believe it or not, there are two primary factors that should give riders all over the globe a surge of hope: the surprising popularity of the UTV and the recent overturn of the CPSC lead law that had effectively banned the sales of all youth ATVs, bikes, parts, accessories and the like.

For off-highway vehicle (OHV) manufacturers, dealers and others already suffering because of the nation’s flagging economy, this new law that repeals a de facto ban on the sale of kids’ OHVs is welcomed news indeed, as business owners and managers say the new law will literally help them stay in business while also fostering the sport of off-roading by introducing children to a lifelong sport.

Another encouraging sign has actually come about thanks to the unstable domestic economy in the form of the disappearance of many cheap off-brand imports from flooding the market. In the mid 2000s, these machines began to flood the industry, popping up for sale everywhere from Pep Boys to local gas stations. The prices were appealing of course, but these machines were made of inferior materials as well as being assembled by the same guy who was barely qualified to pump your gas a week prior. Mechanical failures and, worse still, resulting injuries were only further giving the ATV industry a proverbial “black eye” as well as taking business away from established manufacturers/ dealerships. A tough economic climate has actually handled the problem from within, as these days, off-brand ATVs are becoming harder and harder to find.

So that leads us to the news coming directly from the manufacturers… Are production lines being shut down due to the dip in sales stats and the natural disasters that have been plaguing much of the globe of late? Surprisingly not in the least! In fact, this is another area we can find great comfort. Consider some of the following tidbits that have been announced within the past couple months:

The start of new ATV production in Newnan, Georgia is a major step forward in the companies’ long-term strategy to transfer the majority of Yamaha’s worldwide ATV manufacturing to the United States. When complete, the production transfer could add 200 or more American jobs at Yamaha’s U.S. factory as well as additional jobs at the 125 North American parts supplier companies.

Domestic off-road vehicle manufacturer American Highland has unleashed an all new fully aluminum framed ATV featuring a 450cc 4-stroke, 4-valve liquid-cooled engine that is fuel-injected and puts out between 55 and 60 horsepower as it is delivered to the customer.

For 2011 Can-Am is offering their most extensive contingency program covering several major racing series across North America to date, including up to ,000 in Racer Support Benefits and 75 % discount on Racer Performance Kits.

Arctic Cat confirms rumors that highly anticipated Wildcat 1000 will indeed be a reality for the 2012 model year.

As of August 30, 2011 Polaris Industries reports .36 billion in annual revenue with a profit of 8.51 million for 2011.

As you can see, there is no shortage of optimism coming from the companies who ensure that we will have ATVs to ride.

Environmentalists and the actions of irresponsible riders will always be a threat to the sport we love, but legislation (thanks in no small part to the AMA/ ATVA) have witnessed more land closure turnovers in recent months than have been achieved in the past eight-years! Additionally while attorneys tried to go after Yamaha by stating that design flaws in the Rhino resulted in consumer injury, the rulings have been going in favor of the manufacturer! These cases are finding improper use and rider negligence is responsible for resulting injuries, not design flaws. Compare this to the media frenzy that took place in the 1980s when society turned against the 3-wheeler and again, this another very encouraging sign. And do keep in mind, even when it all went south for the OEMs in terms of 3-wheeler production, the ATV industry didn’t only survive the disaster, it continued to grow in spite of it.

Indeed, these trying economic times coupled to record high fuel costs are having an affect on the enthusiasm level you may encounter on the trailhead or at the racetrack, but as a whole, the ATV industry has survived far worse in the past and appears poised to stay strong until the economy’s inevitable recovery.

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